A local positioning system (LPS) has been designed to track mobile athletes within a confined area such as a sporting field to determine their relative position in time. The LPS is also integrated into an existing TDMA network of mobile RF beacons where global positioning systems are not an adequate solution. The LPS is based on a number of radio direction finding receivers and implements surveying techniques to improve positional accuracy. The receivers are configured as an arrangement of switched parasitic antenna arrays surrounding the defined area also acting as nodes within the wireless TDMA network scheme. Each switched parasitic array antenna is composed of a fixed centre reflector surrounded by switchable active/parasitic elements. The array is mounted on a conductive sleeve ground plane to reduce its lateral dimensions.
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