Listening to Weather Satellites with Random Junk

Рет қаралды 647,718

3 жыл бұрын

Listening to NOAA weather satellites as they pass overhead is relatively simple! All you need are some bits of wire and a basic radio. Actually getting imagery decoded from the transmissions took a little more effort, as I learned in the process of making this video. Below are some of the resources and guides I found helpful for this project:
Basic intro to satellite reception: publiclab.org/notes/sashae/06...
The antenna design I used: lna4all.blogspot.com/2017/02/...
Website for tracking satellites and determining upcoming overhead passes (As of early 2021, the ones to watch are NOAA 18, 19, and 15): www.n2yo.com/
Info on the NanoVNA I used for antenna tuning: • #480 NANOVNA Made Simple
This is a decent Software Defined Radio that's capable of hearing these satellites. You can get them with or without lots of extras like antennas and amplifiers: www.rtl-sdr.com/buy-rtl-sdr-d...
The software I used to interface with the SDR and record audio files (for Linux / Raspberry Pi): gqrx.dk/
(I have heard SDR# is good for Windows, but have not tried it: airspy.com/download/)
The software I used for decoding images: wxtoimgrestored.xyz/
Some "gotchas" I ran into when working with saved audio files (not always obvious from online guides):
-WXtoIMG is ancient abandonware and barely works on modern computers. The Linux version has some display issues and freezes when trying to update Keplers, at least on my system. On Windows I found that the beta version works better, the "stable" release won't install at all). It also doesn't like modern sound drivers, so if you can't decode live signals you may have to record and decode later (see below for even more tricks with this!)
-Gqrx saves recordings in stereo at the wrong sample rate. You'll need to open the saved audio file in Audacity (or some other audio editor), collapse the file to mono and change the sample rate to 11025. You'll probably also want to Normalize the file after each step. See here for more details: lucasteske.dev/2016/02/record...
-WXtoIMG It is very finicky about date/time stamps and you may need to fiddle around a lot to get your recording to match a known satellite pass. I had no luck using the filename to specify recording time as the faq recommends. I had to download a file attribute editor (Or this software can change timestamps: noaa-apt.mbernardi.com.ar/ ). You need to change the "Modified" date and time (not the "created" attribute) to the time when the recording started (because once you process the file through Audacity, the timestamp will be different). I then had to manually adjust the map overlay in WXtoIMG (fortunately I had a visible reference point, if it's all clouds you might be out of luck!) See wxtoimgrestored.xyz/faq/ for some info on this.
Hopefully all that helps! There are a lot of guides online for how to do this, some are more complete than others. There are problably also plenty of videos better at explaining this than mine, I was just trying everything out for the first time.

Пікірлер: 1 100

@saveitforparts Жыл бұрын

For everyone asking how I soldered aluminum... I have no idea. I think I just globbed enough on there that it kind of had a good-enough-ish electrical connection. I didn't use that antenna very long, I've gone through a couple designs and am currently using a QFH based on this: usradioguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/20200307-How-To-Build-A-QFH.pdf

@TheIsmaelIsaac Жыл бұрын

Good educational content .. I just was wondering why you are only able to receive weather balloons satellites and not any other space satellites?

@thettguy Жыл бұрын

@@TheIsmaelIsaac it was not a weather balloon. They do not fly in predictable paths that you can look up Online.

@TheIsmaelIsaac Жыл бұрын

@thettguy Oh I see thank you for clearing this out for me. But still, why can't you receive signals from the geostationary satellites? Like the ones boardcast international news or any else?

@saveitforparts Жыл бұрын

@@TheIsmaelIsaac I have some other videos on geostationary satellites, those need bigger dish antennas since they're farther away.

@TheIsmaelIsaac Жыл бұрын

@saveitforparts Awesome 👌 I will scroll down the thumbnail to watch and enjoy. Thanks a lot

@PulishYuro Жыл бұрын

Being able to interact with highly expensive technology such as a satellite with only $50 is so COOL!

@832738 Жыл бұрын

and less than legal 😂

@shadowbladez2457 Жыл бұрын

@@832738 How is it illegal? As long as you yourself aren't EMITTING any signals, it should be fine to just listen.

@832738 Жыл бұрын

@@shadowbladez2457 just an assumption.

@mechspace Жыл бұрын

@@832738 It's perfectly legal.

@MidnightMarrow Жыл бұрын

@@832738 It's an open broadcast. It's not some encrypted military satellite and he isn't "hacking" into it. From a legal standpoint this is no different than getting in a car and turning the radio on. It's also a weather satellite and you can go online and see what he got with better quality lol easiest way to think of it is downloading the images without internet.

@Frobbl Жыл бұрын

This is 2 years old but now suddenly showing up in everyones recommendations apparantly. But this is actually a youtuber who deserves blowing up. KZfaq algorithm doing a good thing supporting actually good and creative newcomer KZfaqrs for once.

@insanitycubed8832 Жыл бұрын

Nice to see a guy who actually likes what he's doing on the internet

@Sparky_Otter Жыл бұрын

Yeah, I love to see more of this happening tbvh.

@tantalus1394 5 ай бұрын

His face on 4:51 when he first Hears the satalite made my day❤

@Dude8718 Жыл бұрын

Getting an image from a radio/audio frequency transmitted from a satellite is just super cool. So much technology being used together for an end result. "A sufficiently developed technology is indistinguishable from magic!"

@bbrockert 3 жыл бұрын

I'm amazed you managed to solder to aluminum at all.

@saveitforparts 3 жыл бұрын

I wouldn't say it's a *good* solder connection, more of a massive blob. I also cheated and used a butane torch on part of it, hence some of the charred areas :-P

@derkeksinator17 3 жыл бұрын

I noticed that as well and had to skip back to where he got the rod to verify I didn't misheard it. Impressive that this worked at all, we had to get around it but it involved plasma cleaning and sputtering, the "just torch it"-approach sounds way easier and less time consuming!

@derkeksinator17 3 жыл бұрын

@@saveitforparts That's because you can't really solder aluminum due to the oxide layer. With aluminum it's especially bad. Maybe try out some copper pipe if you have some lying around.

@eswnl1 Жыл бұрын

Additionally, aluminum is a good conductor of heat so you need a lot of heat.

@nationofgandhis Жыл бұрын

@@derkeksinator17 tap and screw? Less time...

@douro20 Жыл бұрын

The "Weather Satellite Handbook" is a self-published book by Michigan State paleobotanist and radio amateur Dr. Ralph E. Taggart which goes into great detail about how to build receivers and even spark printers for weather satellites.

@chisps_ Жыл бұрын

Watching the doppler shift in real time was amazing. Has helped recapture some of the wonder eroded by 4 years of electrical engineering school. Great video!

@Mavi222 Жыл бұрын

For anyone reading, if you buy that Baofeng radio, you can actually listen to ISS when it's passing by. Even with the default antenna that comes with it. It's pretty neat looking above to see the ISS flying by, and listening to the radio chat between someone who has powerful radio and the ISS. Great video by the way!

@nikostalk5730 Жыл бұрын

btw, dont try to talk to them or they will change frequency, and you will be alone, again.

@A_very_tinly_can Жыл бұрын

@@nikostalk5730 wait fr?

@d1sternagle Жыл бұрын

Wow you are delusional.

@rod1931 Жыл бұрын

Which model radio is that? I am always watching the ISS and would be neat to actually listen as it passes over.

@Mavi222 Жыл бұрын

@@WA4NDR yeah I used UV-5R to listen to the ISS. Its not optimal but you can still hear it.

@pastohh Жыл бұрын

Content like this remind of old KZfaq.

@luke-xz1gb Жыл бұрын

this is epic level nerdery. you sir, deserve widespread recognition!

@RazzleBloq 11 ай бұрын

Yeah same here

@Schwtz Жыл бұрын

I dont know what to say exactly.. but... that was awesome. Especially considering you didn't have prior knowledge and just figured it out. 2 thumbs up. idk how you only have 62k followers but i can see that changing. This video alone should have millions and millions of views.

@ChrisRyot Жыл бұрын

tbh, I just clicked on this video because it sounded like some nice geeky shenanigans and that's what I figured it was after having watched the first couple of minutes. However, seeing the actual satelite image you've captured in all its grainy glory....I kinda got a little emotional. It's just so cool that this technology exists. Now I'm not versed in any of this at all, but I do appreciate some tinkering to get stuff to work. And this is one magnificent example.

@cwguy8960 Жыл бұрын

In a modern world where most people buy it, use it, then throw it away, I LOVE how you researched and made your own antenna, tested along the way, figured out what was not working, and persevered to a successful finish! The best part was when you said that when you started the project, you didn't know how to do what you were doing - but you stuck with it. Now THAT's learning! Great job - and a fun project!!

@saveitforparts Жыл бұрын

Thanks! There are a lot of projects where I don't know what I'm doing when I start. Sometimes I don't at the end either, but it kind of works anyway :-)

@MarkPentler 3 жыл бұрын

That little antenna mount is absolute genius

@thisiserich Жыл бұрын

This is the guy in the movie that saves everyone because of his obscure and extensive knowledge on things normal plebs never think about. Thank you for your service and since you doxxed yourself, I now know where to go when the apocalypse begins.

@remeyrune6009 Жыл бұрын

Very cool, at the end I was blown away when you could actually decode the signal and see the image.

@Cameronsutubes Жыл бұрын

Found your chan a week ago . Love it, junk built from junk . And you can not fail unless you trying something , then it becomes a learning experience. And subscribers learn from your experiences .

@AuditAmplifier Жыл бұрын

Quite impressive...👍 I couldn't have done that myself and your Raspberry Pi tricorder box is the bees knees...!

@evilcanofdrpepper 3 жыл бұрын

So cool that you caught the Doppler shift on camera right there! I would love to see you design some thing using a Doppler shift that really illustrates the principles at work there (and maybe even mingling with the vice principles).

@peterfitzpatrick7032 Жыл бұрын

Just drive past a church as the bells are ringing, with your car window and you'll get a good doppler shift example... 😏 😎👍☘️🍺

@bensmith4563 Жыл бұрын

The fact you got solder to stick to aluminum is pretty impressive not easy to do

@douro20 Жыл бұрын

You have to get through the oxide layer. It helps greatly if the surface is plated with another metal.

@zcommandante Жыл бұрын

Лимонная кислота часто помогает паять что угодно к чему угодно, главное нагреть до плавления

@MunnyLerner Жыл бұрын

Love your format - seeing the trial and error process is much more rewarding than a highly produced and streamlined video. Weirdly enough I the important stuff easier to remember, like the hoops you had to jump through to get a useable image from the data. Great stuff, subbed!

@robweber6652 Жыл бұрын

Your a very intelligent dude, you put everything in layman’s terms but you are on a different level, really enjoy your videos

@jeremylaughery2555 Жыл бұрын

This type of project should be used as a senior design project in electrical engineering! Nice work!

@MadMax00215 Жыл бұрын

Dude. You truly need to have that image professionally printed in large format and have it framed. Very cool.

@Frobbl Жыл бұрын

I get your idea but a large print would look like trash with that quality lol.

@RamoArt Жыл бұрын

@@Frobblor maybe it'd illustrate that the image was transmitted via many, many signals. I'm an artist and don't know shit about Radio but I'd frame and hang this

@lawdpleasehelpmeno Жыл бұрын

This is extremely cool. I am blown away that you were able to extract a weather image. Truly amazing.

@anthonypiper4263 11 ай бұрын

I recently bought a Baofeng UV5R, The next day I ran across this video. Tracked NOAA 18, went outside and captured my fist weather image. Not very good, but I got an image. Thank you for this information. I am now going down this rabbit hole!

@narvul Жыл бұрын

This is what I love from people like you. No bullsh*tting, real about what you do and don't accomplish and full info about what you did.

@InservioLetum Жыл бұрын

Oh wow... this gave me the same buzz the early Mark Rober stuff did, like the snowball launcher for example. Really cool journey, did not expect it to be this easy!

@ethanhermsey Жыл бұрын

That's pretty cool! I was amazed to see such a clear picture come from radio data.

@luisderivas6005 Жыл бұрын

My father and I did this back in the 80's with a scratch built receiver for NOAA/METEOR Sats with similar software on a 486 PC. No SDR back in the day! PS: Reception is better if you lay a reflector grid out some hardware cloth underneath the dipole antenna.

@mikemealey3661 Жыл бұрын

They way you calmly thought it through with a smile✌was impressive. Off camera smashes $35 box😎

@o15523 Жыл бұрын

One thing to note - when using your SDR you should use a USB extension cable to reduce noise caused by plugging it directly into your laptop. It could have raised the noise floor above the signal strength.

@keiyakins Жыл бұрын

Wouldn't the hub at the end introduce noise as well? Passive extension cables are noncompliant and shouldn't be used (though in practice they're all over the place, sigh)

@BenCos2018 Жыл бұрын

@@keiyakins I have a zigbee dongle for some automation stuff and it works best with a exenstion cable tbh

@rfmerrill Жыл бұрын

@@keiyakins It's true that passive extensions are not supported by the USB spec, but you have a situation here where the peripheral was designed somewhat lazily to have a built in type A when it really should have had a type B or C jack to support being at the end of the cable. Sometimes you have to use non-compliant cables in order to make stupidly designed devices work. E.g. I have a logic analyzer that works great except it has a type A receptacle on a device port, so you have to plug it in with an A to A cable.

@clarkd2742 Жыл бұрын

Good idea thanks

@ebaystars Жыл бұрын

u could try some toroidal ferrite chokes and wind the cable around them each end we do that to dampen noise on some cables in lab work cheap but an upmast preamp (dc powered via the radio cable) is better as it can site the antenna a few metera away from the niosy stuff

@sski Жыл бұрын

Wow! You did it! When you decoded that image I felt so happy for you. That's pretty cool and something not everyone knows how to do (but should). Rock-on, brother!

@Nikkk6969 Жыл бұрын

For whatever reason these popped into my recommended vids and I’m not disappointed.

@DistractedTrader 4 ай бұрын

So you inspired me over a bunch of videos to get into RTD-SDR. Guess what.. My nooelec v5 dongle arrived today and I just had to try it out as it was a warm clear evening, despite not having any antenna gear. Well I looked in my shed and found an old bunny rabbit antenna. I did some dodgy stuff but essentially cut and wrapped some tv coaxial around the SDR dongle and gaffer-taped it there.. I vertically mounted the V-dipole under a brick in the gutter and hoped it would be ok, then Ran 5m of TV coaxial to my bedroom, plugged it in. After 20 minutes of learning SDR++, by chance I was scrolling past the polar orbit band and there was a spike on SDR. I clicked on it and I found my first satellite! OKEAN 3 :) Thank you for sparking a new interest. I appreciate it!

@saveitforparts 4 ай бұрын

Very cool!

@yo_marc Жыл бұрын

This is amazing! I’m thoroughly impressed. I can’t imagine the excitement you must have felt when finally getting that image decoded.

@RobertLiesenfeld Жыл бұрын

I loved this video, very much in the spirit of radio experimentation! Never be ashamed of your prototypes, if it works it’s not ugly!

@thomasparisi5333 Жыл бұрын

Very cool, brings back memories, I was the Quality Engineer for NOAA 18 at Lockheed in Sunnyvale, CA. And I actually have a scrapped APT transmitter box from the NOAA 19 accident! Those were the days ......

@saveitforparts Жыл бұрын

That's awesome! I currently have an automated setup grabbing each pass, with a better antenna. I'm hoping these keep operating for a while, they're a very cool resource.

@thomasparisi5333 Жыл бұрын

@@saveitforparts they were contracted to operate for around 3 years, it's amazing they're still going :)

@turt1emaster Жыл бұрын

I’m jealous of how organized your garage is. I seriously took a screenshot of your pegboard setup so I can duplicate on my end.

@saveitforparts Жыл бұрын

Most of the pegboard was in there when I bought the place. Former owner even had an entire closet made of pegboard in the basement! Also the middle of the garage is a giant pile, only the edges are sometimes organized 😅

@1rocknroy Жыл бұрын

I especially appreciate how you have your tools arranged on the wall. Great!

@dillypentland Жыл бұрын

This was excellent, really liked when all the fields you science'd came together to create an image at the end.

@davida6451 Жыл бұрын

I just came across your video by accident. I'm a layman at such things....amazed, that's all I can say. I've subscribed. Great youtube video. Thanks.

@CarsCatAliens Жыл бұрын

No idea why this was recommended as I have never looked at anything related. But hey variety is the spice of life. I will watch, and be intrigued

@ronsmith4325 Жыл бұрын

Very cool, I remember playing around with this about a decade ago when the RTL-SDRs first became available.

@brandonzawaski Жыл бұрын

Love the view from space. This could save somebody's life.

@filippofanesi Жыл бұрын

“I’m in a hurry because I’m lazy” has to be one of my favourite sentences I’ve ever heard. If you don’t mind i would like to steal it

@saveitforparts Жыл бұрын

Ha, go for it! A lot of my projects go that way!

@davidholmgren659 Жыл бұрын

COOL! And you are in the twin cities!...so am I! Great video...and I am envious of you grasp of the subject. Well done!

@ericbrown2336 Жыл бұрын

Yay! I understand vaguely whats going on here! Radio always has amazed me. There are so many disciplines and understandings and concepts contingent on to pull that image off the weather sat on display here. 😮 Very neato.

@xnavynuc Жыл бұрын

I have no clue about ham radio, antennas, or satellites, but I still think this is really cool!

@adeh503 Жыл бұрын

Had absolutely no idea what you were talking about but this is still one of the coolest videos I've seen on here 🗼🗼

@criminalbrewing5509 Жыл бұрын

Outstanding Bro... You are the Guy we all wish lived next door.

@jani73 Жыл бұрын

Years ago I recorded weather satellite signal to minidisk, and at home moved signal to computer. It worked well.

@nuclearrabbit1 Жыл бұрын

This guy will be invaluable to my zombie apocalypse survivor colony.

@radthunderdan9951 Жыл бұрын

It’s 2:24 am. This popped up in my feed. I watch the whole thing and had no idea of what the hell was going on… but you brought it home in the end. That was some nasa wild animal engineer stuff. 🤯

@radio645 Жыл бұрын

Last night I caught NOAA19 over my house using my brand new Baofeng UV5R radio, thanks to this video. Can't wait to hear ISS when I get the chance!

@norcalandrew Жыл бұрын

I need someone like you in my neighborhood. You know, to keep things interesting.

@SconnieKayaker Жыл бұрын

As a weather geek, this was MINDBLOWINGLY cool!!!

@hashkeeper 11 ай бұрын

i just bought that ham radio model, i can not wait to start tinkering when i get it. thanks bro this was brilliant

@chrisleggatt3240 Жыл бұрын

This is probably one of the most genuine youtube hack videos I've encountered! Excellent work dude!

@billdomitilli8125 Жыл бұрын

Besides RF gain, NF [Noise Figure] is a big factor in the first receiving stage. Lower is better. To solder correctly, the joint must be clean. Use flux, tin the tip, wipe off, tin again, HEAT THE JOINT, add solder to transfer more heat if necessary, Apply solder OPPOSITE the heat source. Solder will flow toward the heat. When the joint is molten, remove the heat. Clean the joint of flux. Done.

@meeperator Жыл бұрын

Jump cut to "so, conditions are not ideal..." in a winter wonderland was genuienly funny. I'm learning a ton about my old rtl-sdr dongle from this video, plus seeing more cheap tools to play with! Thanks! I'm getting an urge to dig into my radio hobby again.

@RayBrooks0 Жыл бұрын

Very KLF, excellent. Love how you dropped it down into the minor key for extra spookiness!

@RayBrooks0 Жыл бұрын

Uh this is really embarrassing but i commented on the wrong video 🤦‍♂️

@VishalSingh-ux6ke Жыл бұрын

This is amazing. Really appreciate how you kept going on despite failures. You are an inspiration.

@acathosh Жыл бұрын

This is super impressive! I'm definetly subscribing for more of this. I'm already inspired to make stuff myself

@rezzer7918 Жыл бұрын

Looks like a radio electronics & pc programming genius to me. Very resourceful 👍

@ipaqmaster Жыл бұрын

This video was fun enough to watch already then I saw your goose hanging out in the background ❤ GQRX is great love it for some SDR fun

@sotoo9645 Жыл бұрын

More than anything... I'm loving your tool bench. I can see by the assortment you're quite handy.

@Armafly Жыл бұрын

Simple and straight to the results. Bravo!

@johnaeliason 3 жыл бұрын

That is so cool you got that image! very fascinating.

@nationofgandhis Жыл бұрын

We used to listen to satellite coming over head it was an experiment sat with a repeating recording.funny how you can hear it coming up over the horizon back in the 90s. Nice work grabbing the image!

@robbd9935 Жыл бұрын

Humble and honest. Props to you!

@FetchTheCow Жыл бұрын

Very cool! I like how you keep at it and learn from mistakes.

@WhittaII Жыл бұрын

As someone that absolutely refuses to throw out anything I can fix/reuse down the line, I love this and had to subscribe. I'll never be as creative as you but damn it I respect a man that can make something from anything. True talent!

@snafu5563 Жыл бұрын

This is the best thing youtube has ever recommended to me

@user-xn7jt6xh4x Жыл бұрын

Great vid... I do remember the headaches I would gain from the old ARRL project manuals.. (76 Alpha Yankie November

@SSJIndy Жыл бұрын

Using 3/8" Al stock is a good idea. You can thread it with a cheap Harbor Freight tap and die and this gives you possibilities for both mounting the elements and for solderless connections just by wrapping wire under mounting nuts.

@alanwatts8239 Жыл бұрын

"Some may call this junk, me, i call them treasures..."

@PeteBaldwin Жыл бұрын

That's awesome. I have no idea why KZfaq recommended this to me but it was a really cool watch. Cheers.

@zolobolo3150 Жыл бұрын

I not a subscriber and this is the first video I watch. But man, you really like what you do, from heart, its very rare. Keep it up good job.

@FrancoDX 2 жыл бұрын

Enjoyed this. Great to see someone making homebrew antennas 👍🏼 I might see how this idea works with Satcom. Been using a 3 element Yagi made from coat hangers and it’s quite effective.

@jessemazo4791 Жыл бұрын

dude im starting to love this channel especially since ive always been a big antenna head this stuff intrigues me quite a bit! also dunno if you have ever heard this but you have a resemblance to a uxwbill and hes is quite a jolly old fella, i swear you guys would get along great lol, keep up the good work!

@alexmarshall4331 Жыл бұрын

The Amish are VERY annoyed...🤜🖕🤛

@djcfrompt Жыл бұрын

Dude, that is so freakin' cool! I didn't remotely follow all the radio jargon, but that you can cobble something together with spare parts to download image data off a NOAA weather satellite is amazing!

@yakopro49 Жыл бұрын

Pretty cool. This is what time on your hands looks like.

@madmarkthepyro5247 3 жыл бұрын

I'm waiting on the Saveitforparts space program.

@saveitforparts 3 жыл бұрын

I'm actually hoping to do a Sandland space program day with some of this stuff set up in a nice clear field and a variety of rockets. Will need to wait until spring & more people vaccinated though! Also I still need to fix the Washing Machine Rocket after that crash last year...

@apexsystems2286 3 жыл бұрын

@@saveitforparts do you have an email? I have about twelve different engine types that use a spinning axle instead of a rocket.

@saveitforparts 3 жыл бұрын

@@apexsystems2286 try my channel name @ gmail. Or my website is saveitforparts.com.

@ocsrc Жыл бұрын

The SDR you need to adjust the frequency. There is an adjustment in the software that you have to either add or subtract depending on how far off it is on the cheaper sdrs it could be anywhere from single digits all the way up to around 75 negative or positive The really good ones the PPM is less than 1 so those you don't have to adjust the frequency

@mohawk14616 Жыл бұрын

Dude seriously, great video! Well spoken and concise. Not to mention the audio and video quality was awesome. Thank you.

@pjousma Жыл бұрын

Dude, I love you man! Your videos are too chill!

@loughkb 3 жыл бұрын

While this may or may not be the best way to learn, depending on who you talk to, it's the most fun for sure! Hacking stuff together and getting it to work gives such a sense of accomplishment. Good job. BTW, FLdigi will also decode wesat.

@robhildreth2381 Жыл бұрын

Pretty cool. I'm always trying to make Antennas out of different materials that I find.

@petersack5074 Жыл бұрын

6:30 time .....SWR meter. Okay, i used to fix these CB radios, at an electronics shop. SWR is short, for Standing Wave Ratio. Meaning, the higher the number, the more ' loss ' and inefficiency your antenna has, to that particular wavelength. Back in the day, if i could get a 1 to 1.1 or 1.2 reading, that was the best match, for the antenna / radio wavelength. TUNING the length, of the antenna, (cb band, 27 mhz.) was a CRITICAL ISSUE. We ALWAYS, had to place the antenna, with a good ' ground plane ' ; such as in the center of a car roof, utilizing that horizontal roof, as a ' ground plane ' directing the radio wattage, into the atmosphere horizontally. Not beam-forming, but a global dispersion. ..anyway. good luck, sir !

@PeteVanDemark Жыл бұрын

Best accomplishment in a video I’ve seen in a while. Really cool! Congratulations! Well done!

@dwatson4 Жыл бұрын

Try a yagi antenna with the rtl sdr. It has gain built into the antenna. It’s pretty much a dipole with a director and a reflector radial. Reflects and focuses the signal. Much more directional you will have to track the satellite. Get your technician license easy test, then you can transmit to communication satellites with the uv5r. Good luck

@rawexploiterp6951 Жыл бұрын

This motivated me enough to buy a good RTL-SDR v3 with dipole kit. At first I was figuring things out. Then I got to fun part of receiving APT from NOAA. At first I was getting nothing because 18 was in Asia while I'm in middle of Europe. I figured out that I need better spot to receive from ( I did 1st runs indoors, because it was cold outside). So I went to kitchen and tried there. 19 wasn't perfectly above me, but I could get faint signal. I was so happy. So I thought I have to place it in balcony, not inside. Tried. 15 was pretty close to me and i got amazing signal for 7 minutes. Decoded what i received and saw some clouds. According to map overlay, when satellite was going from africa to europe, i had no signal (blocked by indoors/behind). But after it flew above me I started getting signal (accessible from balcony). Very nice. But i have a question. Is it okay that my dongle gets hot? Not warm.

@saveitforparts Жыл бұрын

Cool! I like the RTL-SDR v3 as well, that's what I mostly use now. With the V-dipole I noticed a lot of dead spots and interference from surrounding trees / buildings /etc. The little dipole antennas are OK but not very forgiving of weak signals. There are some ways to improve them, like getting it closer to a ground plane or a set of reflector rods like this: www.reddit.com/r/amateursatellites/comments/gicy6c/modified_the_vdipole_antenna_with_a_reflector/ I eventually went with a QFH antenna up on the roof (after a couple tries) which gives me a more consisten signal. I used this guide: usradioguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/20200307-How-To-Build-A-QFH.pdf I've noticed that NOAA 18 is the strongest signal and the others tend to be weaker. As far as heat, mine can get hot too but hasn't seemed to hurt it. I guess you could stick a metal plate on there as a heatsink, or a small fan if you're worried? My cyberdeck thing gets really hot when I leave it on but I havent killed that (yet) either!

@jamesgrigsby3971 Жыл бұрын

You didnt fail, you just learned a couple different ways that didnt work. Really cool video!!

@TSGEnt 10 ай бұрын

Great video. Thanks! I love the rubber band the radio to a piece of wood. Quite excellent! Why not right? This was a "learn to how-to" quite fun!

@MihalisNavara Жыл бұрын

That is impressive. Receiving an image from a satellite? I was expecting just some waveforms and dial up modem noise...

@rawexploiterp6951 Жыл бұрын

i use noaa-apt program, it works amazingly for decoding APT. ill try to get APT physically (i have the same cheap blue receiver, ill do something about it), i have been practicing with airspy server network (people share their receivers)

@saveitforparts Жыл бұрын

Lately I've been using Raspberry-Noaa V2. I set up a Raspberry Pi with RTL-SDR and filter in a waterproof box on the roof. I made a QFH antenna out of copper pipe, it took a few tries to get it right!

@rawexploiterp6951 Жыл бұрын

bought RTL-SDR v3 Blog with adjustable dipole antenna, I'm sure that will work.

@rawexploiterp6951 Жыл бұрын

Works perfectly. Currently practicing decoding ADS-B (getting aircrafts flying above Slovakia, there is no-fly zone in Ukraine at the moment). NOAA-19 will be above me in about 7 hours.