Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining received signal strength of a radio frequency signal of a frequency dependent device to determine errors in automatic frequency control calculations. The method includes the steps of: 1 ) receiving the radio frequency signal; 2) providing at least two artificial thresholds based upon the signal during a first portion (45) of a signal block (32), wherein the artificial thresholds lie outside the peak and valley amplitudes of a demodulated intermediate signal (225) of the radio frequency signal; 3) providing automatic frequency control to determine a frequency error value (250) during a second portion (46) of the signal block (32); 4) determining a correction factor based upon the position of the demodulated signal in relation to the artificial thresholds during the second portion (46) of the signal block (32); and 5) varying the frequency of an adjustable crystal (220) in accordance with the correction factor applied to the frequency error value (250).