[Josh] has a series called Ham Radio Crash Course and a recent installment covers how you can grab satellite images directly from weather satellites. This used to be more of a production than it is now thanks to software defined radio (SDR). Josh also has another project using a 3D printer to make an antenna suitable for the job. You can see the video below.
Wxtoimg Windows 10 Download
The software is the venerable WXtoImg program. This is abandonware, but the community has kept the software available. The program works on Linux, Windows, and Mac. The satellites in question operate around 137 MHz, but that’s easily in the range of even the cheap SDR dongles. [Josh] shows how to use a virtual audio cable on Windows to connect the output of the radio to the input of the WXtoImg program. Under Linux, you can do this with Pulse or Jack very easily without any extra hardware.
There’s some setup and calibration necessary for the software. You’ll also need the current orbital data and the program will tell you when you can find the next satellite passing overhead. Generally speaking you’ll want your antenna outside, which [Josh] solved by taking everything outdoors and having some lunch during the pass. It also takes some time to post-process the data into images and audio.
Wxtoimg boasts a fully fledged graphical interface upon which NOAA images are displayed in real-time during reception. WXtoImg shares many of the features of Satsignal, so much so that its use will be almost intuitive if you have already been using the latter program. After a struggle I have at lasl worked out how to get WxToimg working with the latest version of windows 10 19025 other that by switching of the built in anti-virus and using Malwarebytes One simply needs to go to controlled folder protection an switch it off It is best to do a complete removal of WxToimg first and do a new setup.
We know this isn’t new. But we did like [Josh’s] clear and up-to-date guide. We remember watching NOAA 15 as it started to lose its electronic mind.
APT Weather Satellite Reception - Decoding and Display Software
Overview
Although expensive dedicated interfaces with accompanying software areavailable from commercial suppliers of weather satellite hardware, mostenthusiasts these days decode the APT data from the NOAA satellites using theirpersonal computer and its associatedsoundcard.
A number of dedicated amateur programmers have produced software packages thatcan be obtained either free, or for a very modest charge, and produce veryhigh-quality images indeed.
Wxtoimg Windows 10 Radar
| Program | Author | Details |
| Wxsat | Christian Bock | Wxsat is probably the simplest entry-level soundcard program. Wxsat can decode images in real-time. The program can simultaneously save the image as a bitmap and store the raw data as a WAV file for future decoding and manipulation as the signal is being received. Wxsat is freeware. A full tutorial on using this software is here. |
| JVcomm32 | Eberhard Backeshoff | JVcomm32 is a multi mode program which can receive and decode weather charts, weather reports, NAVTEX and SYNOP messages, weather satellites, ham radio SSTV and FAX. NOAA weather satellite (FAX) transmissions are decoded into images in real time, and the images saved as bitmaps. A demo version is available, but JVcomm32 must be registered to create usable images. |
| WXtoImg | Craig Anderson | WXtoImg is a feature-laden program that decodes NOAA data in real-time, saving the raw data as WAV files. The program can be made to process these WAV files into images in a variety of projections, and can create colour composites of numerous types. This is the most complex of the programs listed. To release its full power, registration is required, although the freeware version has more than sufficient features for the beginner. |
| APT Decoder | Patrik Tast | APT Decoder is a another feature-laden program that decodes NOAA data in real-time, saving the raw data as WAV files and processing them both monochrome and colour composite images. The particular advantage of this software is that it is completely free. The link to Patrik's site no longer works. I have tried to contact him via Facebook. Until I hear from him the link 'APT Decoder' will directly download an archive copy. Additionally, Les Hamilton has a page on using APT Decoder here. |
| SatSignal | David Taylor | Satsignal differs from the above programs in that it does not actually demodulate NOAA data transmissions. Satsignal has been designed specifically to create high-quality images from pre-existing WAV files created by programs like Wxsat and Wxtoimg. Satsignal boasts an impressive array of image enhancement tools (gamma, histogram, creating colour composites, sharpening, illumination adjustment, cropping noisy lines etc.) The basic version of Satsignal is free to use, but registration is required to unlock its full range of image processing tools. |
| SatScape | Scott Hather | Satscape is primarily a fantastic satellite tracking program with a beautifully crafter interface. But it also has a facility that enables it to record NOAA raw data as WAV files. Satscape can combine its tracking powers to automatically 'switch on' WAV file recording when a satellite comes within range. These can subsequently be processed into images using Wxsat and Satsignal. |
Wxtoimg Windows 10
Displaying Your Images
The NOAA APT images you create can, of course, be displayed by the abovedecoding software packages. Chess rules for kids pdf templates. However, if you wish to scan through a library ofarchived images, a dedicated image viewing program is preferable.
One of the best such programs is IrvanView, created byIrfan Skiljan. https://golstep.netlify.app/download-fairy-tail-episodes-dubbed.html. IrfanView is completely free, and is one of the most popularpieces of software of its type. It can view all the common (and many uncommon)image formats and has an impressive 'slideshow' feature.
Click this link for more details, and to download IrfanView.