High voltage insulation defects cause partial discharges (PD) which can be detected through the reception of radiated radio frequency (rf) impulses. The paper describes a method of detecting insulation defects on overhead lines using vehicle mounted rf measuring equipment. The equipment is based on a 4 antenna array that is directly sampled using digital equipment with a bandwidth of 1 GHz. The results are analysed by firstly estimating the time delays apparent between the 4 antennas. Secondly, using the time delays, bearing and RMS time delay error information is calculated that allows identification of the PD source. The equipment has been tested in the field on a 132 kV overhead line defect that was initially reported to a radio spectrum management agency. The results show that equipment has the sensitivity to identify the defective insulator string