  The communication range of wireless networks can be greatly improved by using
distributed beamforming from a set of independent radio nodes. One of the key
challenges in establishing a beamformed communication link from separate radios
is achieving carrier frequency and sample timing synchronization. This paper
describes an implementation that addresses both carrier frequency and sample
timing synchronization simultaneously using RF signaling between designated
master and slave nodes. By using a pilot signal transmitted by the master node,
each slave estimates and tracks the frequency and timing offset and digitally
compensates for them. A real-time implementation of the proposed system was
developed in GNU Radio and tested with Ettus USRP N210 software defined radios.
The measurements show that the distributed array can reach a residual frequency
error of 5 Hz and a residual timing offset of 1/16 the sample duration for 70
percent of the time. This performance enables distributed beamforming for range
extension applications.
