my hobby : About My Hobby

High above the earth numerous satellites circle the globe transmitting a constant stream of video, audio and data. For purposes of this site and that part of the hobby that I am devoting much of my time and interest are those known as "LEO's" or Low Earth Orbit satellites which are polar orbiting - more specifically those operated by the U.S. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration "NOAA" and the Russian Resurs/Meteor spacecraft.

These polar orbiting satellites circle the globe in either a north-to-south or south-to-north pass some 450 miles high providing radiometer data for monitoring weather data and thus are commonly referred to as "WXSats". This data is in the form of visible, infrared, temperature and water vapour The analog "signal" transmitted is continuous and is known as Automatic Picture Transmission, "APT", and consists of an image swath of a few thousand miles wide by several thousand miles long with a pixel resolution of 4 km square. The APT transmitter outputs any two of the five available sensors onboard the satellite (see example at right) - one provides visible light imagery during daylight and another infrared (IR) sensor is used constantly. A second IR sensor is utilized during the nighttime portion of an orbit - replacing the visible light sensor. The two combined can be used to produce a false color image. Depending on a ground station's location, "line of sight" to the horizon, receiver and antenna setup one can receive these signals, optionally record and process them - displaying the results on most personal computers.

It's not practical to do this without any help and therein lies my purpose for this site. My intention is not to duplicate many of the fine resources available on the internet but to guide the enthusiast in the appropriate direction while at the same time share my own "APT" images, details of the equipment I use, D.I.Y. projects that I've completed, software employed, etc, etc

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