The local area positioning system (LAPS) slave receiver is an extremely sensitive, ultra low noise, high speed up-converting microwave receiver operating in the 900 Mhz to 1.6 Ghz frequency range and is designed for use with a positioning system. The receiver, which may include fiber optic links, allows detection and switching of high speed short duration pulses used to control an associated highly stable 1.0 Ghz start/stop event counter. The receiver, in combination with the counter, is capable of measuring RF propagation distances with an accuracy of 12 inches.