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On 2019-04-17 7:46, Ed Popko wrote:
> I have read that Amelia Earhart was the first civilian pilot to try (and she 
failed) Bendix RDF equipment on her ill fated flight.  I have also heard that 
air navigators within the US were issued small directories of the 
latitude/longitude of powerful AM radio stations, mostly major cities, as an 
aid to navigation.

This WW2 U.S. Army Air Forces document, "Radio Operators' Information
File," may have some clues.

http://www.angelfire.com/wv/liberator2/roif/roif.html

In the chapter on the radio direction finder, page 1-7 describes a
couple Army technical orders with listings of radio range stations and
broadcast stations.

http://www.angelfire.com/wv/liberator2/roif/p6_1_7.jpg

Speaking of Earhart, I believe the Coast Guard ship Itasca clearly heard
her transmitting on 3105 or 6210 kHz. Well, the chapter on the CAA
(predecessor to today's FAA) says, "CCA [sic] stations guard 6210, 3105,
and 4495 kc."

http://www.angelfire.com/wv/liberator/roif/p3_2_1.jpg

I had not realized those frequencies were continuously monitored.
Apparently nobody except Itasca heard Earhart that day, though
*allegedly* several people in the U.S. (but apparently not the CAA)
heard distress calls from Earhart on subsequent days.

   

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