Ham Radio - My local setup for receiving NOAA weather satellites.

[@ed-jf3xh]

Back in the 60's we used to use turnstile antenna to receive sat beacons.

[@dougtaylor7724]

In a little over 40 years ago this would have been science fiction. Now you can capture a signal with minimal equipment in a mobile setting. Thanks for the demonstration!

[@daviddavidson1372]

Love decoding stuff on hf and vhf. Great video as always...

[@scottmajors4430]

Greatly enjoyed this video, Kevin. I always learn much from you - thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge with your subscribers.

[@philtuckerm0dpk212]

Thanks for doing this. Totally fascinating video. It would be good to explore this subject some more. Good job.

[@michaeledmonds3027]

One of your more interesting videos to date. Also....With your location, night sky observation with binoculars and a folding lawn chair must be excellent. Take care!

[@mikehorvath4780]

Thanks for the quick response! I look forward to your videos. I spend the winters in the Phoenix area, and amateur radio is certainly alive and well there.

[@1998diegox]

you practically have the very same setup i built 2/3 years ago for a uni project! Cool!! Keep up the good work

[@thomaskilburn3111]

Thank you for the information on the satellite antenna . It's great for emergency radio center.

[@billyhunt5640]

Thank you. Very informative. I enjoy all your vids! The XYL and I use to RV all the time, loved it, aww but time has cought up with me so XYL and me stay home a lot now. Again thank you. And microwave 1 !

[@Westlake]

Cool video! Thanks for sharing! Checking in from southern Ontario.

[@sinanuluvar9174]

Nice video Kevin. Thank you. As far as I remembered I have connected GPredict & SDRSharp with an addition of a line in config file. The frequency was changing automatically to compansate the Doppler shift. Your location is great. I could not obtain good images in an apartment flat surrounded with many other buildings in a city.

[@criminalbrewing5509]

Hope you keep this vid available, It's very educational even though almost no operator will experience a near 90 degree pass-over with this type of antenna alone. I've always wondered what the drop would be... and now, I think I know. Thanks.

[@dougvb9048]

Thanks for the great video. I'm in New Zealand and currently playing with NOAA reception using a SDR play RX with an elevated Discone. I'm in a N-S valley close to SL, crap location compared to you. One thing I've noticed is that the orbits seem to be optimised for the northern hemisphere . We get most passes at night. It may be my imagination! Very timely video. Cheers Doug ZL2DVB.

[@BobtheTraveler-WD8NVN]

Great Video, Kevin !!

[@paulanderson997]

Interesting, well done Kevin I didn't know it was really that easy.

[@miquel9898]

very nice! NOAA reception is what got me down the rabbit hole of radio amateur hobby btw there is a community online on reddit r/amateursatellites , bunch of helpful people doing NOAA sats and way more interesting ones too!

[@andrewhill4226]

I got good results when I built a QFH Coaxial for 137mhz, which was the best antenna I used. I would get reasonable results from a 40m delta loop as well LOFF. Thanks for the video, interesting. 73's Andy M6APJ

[@claytonmoore9530]

Another excellent video on getting images from noaa satellites ! Thanks, Kevin!

[@claytonmoore9530]

Ps.. I have been trying this out since your last video. Either I’ve had time or a satellite is in range but not both. Hoping to get lucky this weekend.

[@loughkb]

Part of the reason this video was a bit late. I had to wait more than a day a few times, to get everything in sync with a pass. And remember to set an alarm. :-)

[@larrybomber83]

Wow, that peaked my interest. I might have to look into the satellite thing since I live within 10 miles of NASA Houston.

[@R50_J0]

Great video.

[@Dacoyoteman]

I've got some spare 450 ladder line, time to build that 2m slim jim! Cool video!

[@loughkb]

I linked my video on it in the description. Pretty easy to build and a solid performer on 2. You'll be pleased with it.

[@KE8CCD1972]

Great video, the Noaa sats are fun to receive. If you get a chance build a right hand circular antenna, that will eliminate the fades

[@lilblackduc7312]

Thank you, Kevin! You made it look easy...🇺🇸 😎👍☕

[@TheNoCodeTech]

Super cool

[@PaulaBean]

Thanks for showing the software programs! and how to operate them.

[@radio645]

I recorded NOAA18 last night as it flew over Santa Fe, NM on the SDR RSPdx, my very first satellite transmission was very excited to have done so. Waiting for the chance to hear ISS when the time comes.

[@brendanhynes473]

Very interesting Kevin, thank you de GM0CQV

[@dro6619000]

Thanks for the info, W6DR0

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

I had the NOAA-APT source code for the BBC Model B and AMSTRAD 644 personal computer both used a hardware addon receiver, the program for the Model B was written in 6502 machine code plus BBC BASIC and Z80A Machine code and AMSTRAD Locomotive Basic,the audio would be decoded into coloured maps the article was in the MAPLIN Electronics Magazine which is no longer published.

[@Kilroy01]

Very good video. Interesting and informative. Would love to see you do one of receiving the deep space geosynchronous weather satellites such as NOAA-15, 18 and 19.

[@loughkb]

Those were the satellites I was receiving, 15, 18, and 19. They're not geosyncronous.

[@Kilroy01]

@@loughkb Sorry. It's been a while since I looked into this and I had my numbers wrong. I think 16 and 17 were the ones I was thinking of.

[@loughkb]

@@Kilroy01 I'll look into it.

[@Kilroy01]

I think they are harder to receive due to the 22k miles distance. I have a 7' dish I want to set up with a SDR for that purpose.

[@nickmoniker]

That was a very informative test! Are you still planning on building an egg-beater antenna, or does this test conclude that the slim jim is good enough for your needs?

[@loughkb]

Yeah, pretty much the latter, as I kind of summed up in the vid. With the slimjim up, I'm on 2 meters most of the time. Only have to move the coax to the other radio if I want a sat pass. It works well enough to fill the need. Turnstyle, cross dipole, the helix version, they're all pretty much unity gain antennas I think, like the dipole. They should all perform pretty close to each other. I still might build one down the road, to see in real life. :-)

[@billw2976]

Hi Kevin, thanks for your work and your very interesting video. I have one of the SDR receivers and have been able to see a pretty strong signal. My question is, all three satellites passes, in my area, are right at or just after sundown, does darkness effect the quality of the received image? Thanks again for your time and enjoy the high desert. Bill. N5WO

[@loughkb]

You may have missed the previous video where I used a webSDR over in Europe to capture a pass at night. In the decoded image, you see two copies. I think the one on the right is infra red.

[@tratzum]

what was your setup. I am just dipping my feet into ham as a new General and have a general interest in this. I have a a few vertical dipoles and a few SDR dongles/ Hack rf. All I ever hear is static.

[@albertogavassa5434]

Great video Kevin, tks very much, would you give me the size of the dipole arms? How long are them ?

[@loughkb]

Together, they should add up to about a half wavelength at the desired frequency. There are many formulae, for different measuring scales. For example, for calculating a half wave in feet, 468 divided by frequency in MHz. So at around 137 MHz on these sats, that's 3.4 feet total, or 1.7 feet each. 20.5 inches.

[@JBBost]

You can see the intensity of the signal change not based on the current position of the satellite but rather the current position + the time it took the signal to reach you. Relativity in action, yo!

[@JBBost]

Also, the longer it took the satellite to lose signal at the edge of the map tracker is like literally proof that the flat earthers are a bunch of weirdoes

[@DonDegidio]

Hi Kevin, I would agree the Slim Jim is all the antenna you need. Any word on the county situation? Stay safe. 73 WJ3U

[@loughkb]

County issue is resolved. I'm safe to stay through the summer.

[@DonDegidio]

@@loughkb Hi Kevin, That's great news. Stay safe. 73 WJ3U

[@davidsradioroom9678]

That was a very interesting video. Does GQRX work better than SDR#?

[@loughkb]

I guess that would depend on the particular criteria you measure 'better' with. :-) I don't have a lot of experience with SDR#. I played around with it a few years ago. I remember it felt 'clunky' like most windows programs. Not so much intuitive. I went to the docs a few times. GQRX seems to work more intuitively. The mouse did exactly what I expected it to do, if you know what I mean. I didn't have to think about the mechanics of doing things.

[@davidsradioroom9678]

@@loughkb Thanks for responding. I have RTL-SDR. I will try GQRX.

[@mikehorvath4780]

Great video! Can you tell me what information is available from the satellites? Winds, precipitation? Thanks!

[@loughkb]

In my previous video, I linked the wiki page for noaa-19 in the video description, which contains info on the sensors it has. I've only received the image downlink.

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

I wonder if there's a processing delay on the satellite between camera and transmitter, accounting for the displacement in the image between the error bars and your null location.

[@loughkb]

Actually, I was pointing at the wrong spot on the map. I'm a bit further north, right under the null.

[@JohnTarbox]

Kevin, have you been able to automate the reception and decoding of the images? It would be great to have the various passes captured during the night while you are sleeping and then browse them when you wake up in the morning.

[@loughkb]

There's a raspberry pi build for doing just that.

[@JohnTarbox]

@@loughkb Perhaps that would make a good video?

[@pincus321]

I noticed that gpredict can control your radio using CAT commands is there an advantage in receiving using a seperate program like you have. Or is it just that you used an SDR and that was adequate for your needs.

[@loughkb]

Gpredict can also control GQRX to follow doppler automatically. I just didn't set it up. With the SDR, I can set a filter width of 40-60 KHz. If I used my icom, I don't think WFM mode is quite that wide. So I'll get a bit better image with the SDR.

[@billyhunt5640]

Ps . I love xtal set building , hence microwave 1

[@CE4JDM]

My AirSpy SDR# does not stay in WFM mode when receiving NOAA sats. It jumps to USB mode. How can I solve this?

[@sircampbell1249]

[@billyhunt5640]

hey kev! n4lgs here (Billy) what OS are you running and what is the program you using to decode and track the satelites with?

[@loughkb]

POP! OS 20.04. System 76's take on Ubuntu. As I showed in the video, Gpredict for tracking, NOAA-APT for decoding.

[@WhatsUpWithSix]

While I have Linux, I don't have it on my radio desk machine. Do you know of any other program like GPredict that will show the satellite positions, but for Windows 10?

[@loughkb]

Gpredict is available for windows. There's a couple of comments on this video or the next one with the download link. I think it's on the sourceforge page for the program under download. sourceforge.net/projects/gpredict/files/Gpredict/2.3.37/gpredict-win32-2.3.37.zip/download

[@WhatsUpWithSix]

@@loughkb thanks. I thought it was only for Linux. I actually much prefer Linux for day to day stuff. But so much radio software is only on Windows so the machine on my radio desk is Windiws. Thanks again my friend. Great video!

[@ctrain226]

Was there a Geiger counter in the back round ticking away?!?

[@loughkb]

Probably. I have one that I sometimes leave on to listen for gamma ray bursts.

[@dougtaylor7724]

Kevin, this has nothing to do with this but I have a question for your expertise. Didn’t you have a video that mentioned building an antenna to pick up lightning and static discharges from things in the sky? I thought it was you but I can’t find it.

[@loughkb]

Nope, not me. (not yet anyway.) A loop antenna will really pick up the static electricity. When lightning storms pass within 10 miles of here, we can draw almost 1 inch arcs off the coax end to the landowners 80 meter full wave loop.

[@edneely]

I didn't catch how you tracked the satellite. What app are you using?

[@loughkb]

Gpredict. It's available in the repositories for nearly every Linux distribution. I believe it's also available on windows and mac.

[@edneely]

@@loughkb Thanks. I didn't see a Windows version. I found PreviSat, another open source app. Just started looking at it. Maybe others here have a suggestion for this.

[@BentConrod]

If you're interested in capturing SSTV images from the space check out the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Facebook page for details of an SSTV event planned for June 9 & 10.

[@loughkb]

Way ahead of you. :-) Probably going to be this weeks video if they have the transmitter on during passes over the US.

[@seasparrow7427]

I can't get the GQRX program to run. Is it only for Linux or MAC?

[@loughkb]

It can be run on all three platforms. Search for GQRX and Windows and you'll find instructions for installing it on Windows if that's what you're running. But you can use other SDR applications, it doesn't have to be GQRX

[@cybersean3000]

Do a mobile version of this using a tablet or phone and an other cable with an sdr dongle

[@loughkb]

Honestly, if I were mobile, I'd probably take the laptop. I really don't like the limited interface on phones and tablets. I find them frustrating to use.

[@charlesschindler1971]

👋

[@stevec2196]

I picked up a signal like that on 137.618 Mhz.

[@loughkb]

You were close enough. NOAA 15 - 137.6200 MHz NOAA 18 - 137.9125 MHz NOAA 19 - 137.1000 MHz

[@ChaplainDaveSparks]

I'm guessing that the null on the _Slim Jim_ would be *WORSE* if it were tuned for the precise frequency!

[@loughkb]

Probably not. The null is due to physical characteristics, not resonance.

[@wa4mck]

Hey spin the world in the righ direction

[@loughkb]

But then it wouldn't bother the OCD folks. ;-) I've left it that way to see how many people notice. You're only number 4 to comment in the four years it's been the intro.

[@joemcmanus79]

Hey Kevin, I'm new to doing Linux, so don't pull your hair out over this :-) but you never told us HOW to ADD THE NOAA satellites TO GPREDICT in the first place, or if you did, I sure as heck missed it! could you help on this??? Thanks mate, L8R

[@loughkb]

Up in the right corner of the program there's a little down pointing arrow. The tooltip says configure module when you hover the mouse over it. Click it and select 'configure' from the drop down menu. There will be a huge list of available sats, find the noaa sats and add them to the active column.

[@joemcmanus79]

@@loughkb Thanks mate, been going a bit craz(ier) than I normally am (🤪😁) trying to figure it out!👍 L8R, & Merry Christmas 🎄⛄

[@catalinalb1722]

Great Video Kevin! I think there is a way of connecting gpredict with gqrx so that it shifts automatically the frequency. 73! DE1CTL

[@loughkb]

Yes. I showed that in a video a couple of years ago. I just didn't bother to set it up this time.

[@stridermt2k]

Inspirational!! Thank you for this! 73 de N2NLQ

[@charlesschindler1971]

👋