WEATHER SATELLITE
HANDBOOK
HOMEPAGE
Ralph E. Taggart WB8DQT
The Weather Satellite Handbook has been in continuous publication since 1976. The current (5th) edition is published by the American Radio Relay League(1). The Image Communications Handbook, scheduled for publication by the American Radio Relay League(1) in August of 2002, looks at the broad spectrum of Amateur image communications and has two chapters devoted to weather satellites.
One of the general impressions I hear today is that all the analog satellites are being phased out and, with an uncertain prospect of equipment for the new digital birds, this is not a time to get into weather satellites. Actually, this could be further from the truth. There are currently three active polar-orbit satellites (NOAA 15, 17, and 18) and NOAA expects this type of satellite to be available until at least 2013. I emphasize the at least, because the digital polar satellite programs are a real mess. NOAA is late and vastly over-budget on their projects and the Europeans, who were to pioneer the new digital birds with their METOP satellite have suffered a major setback. LRIT (low-rate image transmission) was to be the digital replacement for APT on METOP, but the primary transmitter failed shortly after launch. The backup transmitter is now permanently off because in caused unacceptable interference to almost all the spacecraft subsystems! There has been absolutely very little progress in the development of polar LRIT hardware and software, which isn't surprising since there is nothing in orbit producing the images. What all this boils down to is that we should enjoy the spacecraft that are now in orbit and realize that signals of this type will be available well into the next decade. By the time we have to worry, I am quite certain that cost-effective LRIT systems will be available. Meanwhile, enjoy the Earth from space! To see what I am using now, check My Analog APT page.
This page and those linked to it, are designed to provide support for the weathre satellite aspects of both these books. The site is divided into the following components:
This section will deal with Handbook-related issues - questions, plans for new editions, etc.
Handbook projects and new hardware projects will be featured here.
The WSHFAX software for the Handbook Interface was designed to work with the most basic PC configurations and did not take advantage of all the image quality the interface could provide. Recently I have been working on significant software upgrades, which will be available for free downloading on these pages. In addition, the program has been ported to the serial port ICH satellite interface, and that version will be available for download.
Satellite Status and Keplerian Elements
Here is where I will post notices as to the operational status of the various spacecraft as well as Keplerian elements to keep your tracking software up-to-date.
Hard-drive storage is at a premium on this server, but I will post some images to show newcomers what they can expect to receive using different equipment options.
The World-Wide-Web has become the most significant information resource for weather satellite enthusiasts. This page will provide links to major information sites (typically either governmental or organizations), vendor/manufacturer sites, and pages maintained by other ground station operators.
Things will probably be a bit rough around-the-edges until I get things organized, but I would hope the site is functioning smoothly in the near future. Questions or suggestions about this site can be sent to me via email at:
taggart@msu.edu
(1)
Copies of the 5th Edition of the Weather Satellite Handbook (ISBN: 0-87259-448-3) or the Image Communications Handbook can be ordered through most major booksellers, some of the larger amateur radio dealers, or it can be obtained directly from the publisher:The American Radio Relay League
225 Main Street
Newington, CT 06111-1494
Ph: 860-594-0200 Fax: 860-594-0259
www.arrl.org
Current cost of the WSH is $20 plus shipping and handling. The price of the ICH will be determined at the time of publication.