This system captures radio signals from NOAA weather satellites. It decodes these signals into visible weather images, offering insights into atmospheric conditions. Here's how it works:
- Satellites: NOAA's weather satellites orbit the Earth, capturing various weather data, including cloud cover and sea surface temperatures.
- Signal Transmission: Satellites transmit data via radio signals in VHF/UHF bands back to Earth.
- Antenna and Receiver Setup: Specialized antennas and software-defined radios capture the signals.
- Signal Reception: These satellites transmit their data using radio frequency signals, primarily in the Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) bands. Frequencies around 137 MHz and 1691 MHz are often utilized for capturing Automatic Picture Transmission (APT) and High-Resolution Picture Transmission (HRPT) signals, respectively. A specialized antenna called a Quadrifilar Helix (QFH) antenna, is employed to accurately capture these signals.
- Audio Recording: Received signals are recorded as audio, containing encoded weather data.
- Decoding: "WXtoImg" decodes audio into visual images.
- TCP/IP Transmission: The decoded images are uploaded automatically to our web server in a batch process.
Last TCP/IP File Upload: 6102 hours and 41 minutes ago