Method and system for synchronizing a network of RF devices

1. An RF device for use in a network of RF devices, comprising:

a network controller connected to a network connection;

a time controller operable to exchange timing information with the network controller and synchronize a receiver clock to a common time using the exchanged timing information; and

an RF receiver, further comprising:

a downconverter connected to an antenna;

a digitizer connected to the downconverter;

a memory connected to the digitizer;

a digital signal processing device connected to the memory and the time controller; and

a device controller connected to the digital signal processing device and the network controller.

2. The RF device of claim 1 , wherein the exchanged timing information is used as a frequency reference for the RF receiver.

3. The RF device of claim 1 , wherein the RF device further comprises an RF emitter.

4. The RF device of claim 3 , further comprising:

an upconverter connected to an antenna; and

a digital-to-analog converter connected to the upconverter.

5. The RF device of claim 1 , wherein the time controller is operable to synchronize the receiver clock to the common time with a timing accuracy of at least 50 nanoseconds and a standard deviation of less than 30 nanoseconds.

6. The RF device of claim 1 , wherein the memory stores time-stamped RF data output by the digitizer in response to a wireless RF signal received by the RF device.

7. The RF device of claim 6 , wherein the network controller transmits the time-stamped RF data via the network connection to a processor.

8. A network, comprising:

a central processing device; and

a plurality of RF devices each connected to the central processing device through one or more network connections, wherein each RF device includes:

an antenna adapted to receive an RF signal;

a downconverter adapted to downconvert the received RF signal to a particular frequency band;

a memory adapted to store time-stamped RF data from the downconverted RF signal;

a network controller configured to exchange timing information with the central processing device; and

a time controller configured to synchronize a clock of the RF device to a common time using the exchanged timing information such that the time-stamped RF data is synchronized to the common time.

9. The network of claim 8 , further comprising a common network clock.

10. The network of claim 8 , wherein the common network clock is integrated within one RF device in the plurality of RF devices.

11. The network of claim 8 , wherein the common network clock is integrated within the central processing device.

12. The network of claim 8 , wherein the central processing device comprises a computing device.

13. The network of claim 8 , wherein one or more RF devices in the plurality of RF devices comprise an RF receiver.

14. The network of claim 8 , wherein one or more RF devices in the plurality of RF devices comprise an RF emitter.

15. The network of claim 8 , wherein the time controller in at least one RF device provides a frequency reference for the downconverter in the at least one RF device.

16. The network of claim 8 , wherein each RF device is adapted to transmit the time-stamped RF data to the central processing device.

17. The network of claim 16 , wherein the central processing device is adapted to process the time-stamped RF data from the plurality of RF devices to determine a location of an RF emitter.

18. A method of determining the location of an RF emitter, comprising:

providing a network of RF devices connected to a central processing device;

synchronizing the RF devices to a common time, wherein the synchronizing comprises:

exchanging timing information between the central processing device and each of the RF devices in the network of RF devices, and

synchronizing a receiver clock in each RF device in the network of RF devices to a common time using the exchanged timing information;

at each of the RF devices: (1) receiving an RF signal from the RF emitter, (2) processing the received RF signal to produce RF data, (3) time-stamping the RF data using the common time of the receiver clock, and (4) storing the time-stamped RF data;

transmitting the time-stamped RF data to the central processing device; and

at the central processing device, processing the time-stamped RF data from the plurality of RF devices to determine the location of the RF emitter.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising using the exchanged timing information as a frequency reference for a downconverter in at least one of the RF devices in the network of RF devices.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the time-stamped RF data is transmitted to the central processing device in response to the RF device detecting a trigger condition.