I hope you all have power and are staying warm as this storm sweeps across the nation.

This may be a dumb question, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what operational use a BC-453 receiver would have in the air. It is variously described today as a 'navigation' or 'beacon' receiver and while it covers the LF band, what helpful information could be discovered while using it in flight?

The BC-453 is connected to the single, fixed antenna of the airplane along with any other receivers.

To find your position, don't you need a fix on the direction of two (or more) beacons? And isn't a rotatable loop antenna and possibly a signal strength indicator required to do that?  Or does the pilot select a beacon and turn the airplane for maximum audio and note the compass reading? Seems like a clumsy solution.

The SCR-274N manual provides no guidance; it only covers system description, installation and maintenance.

The Radio Operator's Information File has two pages on navigation. It discusses the protocol for contacting a ground station on CW to request a heading. Nothing about using beacons to find a position.

The R-23A/ARC-5 did have provision for a loop antenna so I can see how that would work.

Forgive me if this has been discussed before but I don't believe it has come up in the many years I've been reading this fine reflector.

73, Dave N9ZC