SDR satellite n00bie would appreciate advice

[ac4rd]

TIA for any suggestions. I'm an SDR newbie, got one to play with. So far I've caught a few (very few!) images from NOAA APT sats. And I've tried the SDR on local stuff with success. (Not much success with the NOAA weathersats so far.)

So the NOAA passes here are evening. I'm wondering what other sats I can try for *that have downlinks I can hear with the SDR* and that can be translated or decoded so I know I actually got something. I can get ham sats with NFM, no prob, but I'd love to see images from satellites.

Right now I've got a 137MHz dipole outside, about 12' above ground, but building new antennas is usually fun for me. I've been planning a QFH for 137 but haven't had enough success with 137MHz sats to make it worth the bother--unless it will make a significant difference. The SDR is an RTL-clone, I believe. I've got GQRX and SDR++ on an old laptop running DragonOS.

I'd also like linux software that I can track sats in realtime to see if anything is coming in range soon. I had a program like that, load in "the Keps" for hamsats, back when my brand-new work machine was a 486DX. Long time ago. N2YO's site is great but not quite what I want for that.

Any suggestions? Thanks! --ken ac4rd

 

[AB9NN]

TIA for any suggestions. I'm an SDR newbie, got one to play with. So far I've caught a few (very few!) images from NOAA APT sats. And I've tried the SDR on local stuff with success. (Not much success with the NOAA weathersats so far.)

So the NOAA passes here are evening. I'm wondering what other sats I can try for *that have downlinks I can hear with the SDR* and that can be translated or decoded so I know I actually got something. I can get ham sats with NFM, no prob, but I'd love to see images from satellites.

Right now I've got a 137MHz dipole outside, about 12' above ground, but building new antennas is usually fun for me. I've been planning a QFH for 137 but haven't had enough success with 137MHz sats to make it worth the bother--unless it will make a significant difference. The SDR is an RTL-clone, I believe. I've got GQRX and SDR++ on an old laptop running DragonOS.

I'd also like linux software that I can track sats in realtime to see if anything is coming in range soon. I had a program like that, load in "the Keps" for hamsats, back when my brand-new work machine was a 486DX. Long time ago. N2YO's site is great but not quite what I want for that.

Any suggestions? Thanks! --ken ac4rd

I use Orbitron to track my satellites. AMSAT (google it) is also a wealth of knowledge. Beyond sats you might try running DSD+ FastLane to decode all sorts of digital and analog traffic. I receive NOAA, Coast Guard, aviation, public service, ham radio, etc.... VERY powerful.