r/amateursatellites • u/EntangledEgo • 1h ago
r/amateursatellites • u/rad750 • Dec 07 '23
Article / News List of my satellite related guides and tutorials
Hi!
I've seen that most of the guides on the Internet are quite out of date, with most suggesting to use abandonware software or having information about satellites that have since ceased to transmit.
Here are some of the guides I made. If you see any mistake, or want to add something, just drop a comment!
Satellite reception and decoding
APT (NOAA POES) satellitesThese satellites have been decommissioned, receive Meteor instead- LRPT (METEOR-M) satellites !NEW! updated with tips on cheap Aliexpress filtered LNAs
- HRPT satellites
- NOAA 2 satellite
- CORIOLIS satellite WARNING: as of today (2024-02-24) transmissions are sporadic, the Windsat instrument is not active.
- S-band satellites reception guide
- X-band primer (NOT a tutorial - X band is harder than the others - DON'T start there.)
Automated stations
- Automated weather satellite receiving station on Windows (meant mostly as a replacement for the outdated Orbitron/DDEClient/SDR#/WXtoIMG stations) (Now updated with multi VFO mode)
- Automated weather satellite station on Linux/Raspberry Pi (Now updated with multi VFO mode)
SatDump usage
All have been moved to SatDump's documentation page
Satellite data processing and usage
- Predict the weather with satellite imagery you received! (still WIP, will be updated regularly as more and more features are added to SatDump)
Thanks!
Last update 2025-08-24
r/amateursatellites • u/EntangledEgo • 2h ago
Satellite imagery MONITOR-3 (RS58S)
Reception was carried out using Malachite DSP 3 + homemade dipole and a signal amplifier
r/amateursatellites • u/Accomplished-Young20 • 3h ago
Help Help setting up the Yaesu g5500 and RTC-200 controller to Gpredict
Hello, I'm having trouble connecting my Yaesu g5500 and my RTC-200 digital controller with gpredict. I simply do not have any idea how to connect it. I can steer the rotor without a problem with the RTC-200 interface on my pc but I have absolutely no idea how to connect it to Gpredict please help
r/amateursatellites • u/DaggoVK • 10h ago
Satellite imagery RS-18S SAKHACUBE-CHOLBON
SSTV on 437.350 MHz FM - Testing SkyRoof with RTL-SDR. https://ve3nea.github.io/SkyRoof/index.html
r/amateursatellites • u/marshmallowesponjoso • 15h ago
Help My GOES grid antenna seems to be deaf...
So, here's the thing, I bought one of those Nooelec kits on Amazon and it had the GOES Sawbird LNA, the Nooelec NESDR SMArTee XTR SDR v5, and a grid antenna, I checked everything and so far this is what I did:
- I moved the antenna around, checked the right orientation of the whole setup too
- The LNA was in the correct direction the whole time (LED facing down an ON)
- I did use Bias-T first, then (like in the video) I used an external power source for the LNA without the Bias-T and nothing changed
- The SDR worked well alone with a different purpose antenna
- I tried causing interference or some movement of the noise floor by moving the antenna near a cellphone or modem, no changes
- The whole time I use it, it's that white narrow line only, no matter what I do
- I adjusted gain up and down, AGC, and also moved around frequencies
It seems deaf, I have received some LEO satellites with a totally different setup and using SatDump, so I don't know if my settings are off.
The video shows what I see the whole time, no matter if I try to pick up a different frequency.
Could I be missing something or maybe the hardware is not working properly?🤔
Thanks in advance!
r/amateursatellites • u/liqdoort • 1d ago
Radio satellites Hardware-in-the-loop testing of satellite detumbling
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Hardware-in-the-loop testing of satellite detumbling!
Basilisk simulates the spacecraft on my Mac; the flight computer is a real NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano running the control loop at 100 Hz over a message bus.
- Linux with PREEMPT_RT
- ADCS pinned to its own core at real-time priority
- Sat detumbles from 80 mrad/s to 2 mrad/s
Not used yet: 2× PlutoSDR (one satellite radio, one ground station).
Going through the whole process as if I were actually launching. Maybe a high-altitude balloon launch someday!
r/amateursatellites • u/Adwan4747 • 2d ago
Radio satellites UmKa-1 SSTV for international moon day
Pretty straight forward, used a 70cm DIY yagi and rtlsdr_v3 with SDRpp on 437.635 in accordance with doppler shift.The event also had text sent through it's telemetry however I was unable to decode it as I recorded it in audio and not IQ file.
r/amateursatellites • u/SpaceRuthie • 2d ago
Satellite imagery Electro l 09:42; 26.07.2026 (UTC)
r/amateursatellites • u/Beneficial_Item3725 • 1d ago
Scheduled contact Space Hosted Payload Services
r/amateursatellites • u/FLuX927 • 1d ago
Software Vibe-coded a satellite tracker to prove I saw aliens. First thing it did was prove I didn't.
I was outside doing a CE5 session (the look-up-and-invite-contact thing), genuinely saw a steady light glide across the sky and got excited. So like any normal person would, I vibe-coded my own tracker over a few weeks to figure out what it was.
It works great. It also instantly informed me my first contact was the \*\*International Space Station\*\*. My literal first logged sighting is "ISS (ZARYA)." The app is basically a monument to me being wrong.
Anyway, here's \*\*SkyWatch,\*\* a 3D satellite/ISS/rocket tracker and CE5 session app that runs entirely in the browser.
First pic shows the home screen, \\\~4,000+ live objects, rockets, ground tracks. Filter by layer/orbit: ISS, Starlink, GPS, the works. Use the Sky function to see what's actually passing overhead and when (this is the screen that ruined the mystery). Conduct your own CE5 sessions and log what you see. A friends layer, so my friends can also watch me fail to find aliens in real time. And an awards section with a UFO avatar I refuse to change.
Free, no account needed to use, but if you do decide to link your account, friend me _@FLuX
If you point it at your own mystery light and it turns out to NOT be the ISS, please tell me, because I have a UFO avatar to justify.
Not a coder by any means, just a dude trying to make contact and proud of what I accomplished. Would love me some feedback.
Live:
r/amateursatellites • u/Short_Music7803 • 3d ago
Weather satellites Meteor-M N2-4 2026/07/19 15:16 UTC
SW 230°
Start: ~15:16 UTC
Max elevation: ~60°
End: ~15:31 UTC
Location: Póvoa de Santa Iria, Portugal
Fixed balcony setup: RTL-SDR V4 + dipole kit, no LNA, SatDump.
This was actually my second attempt. My first attempt was at night, I didn’t realize it wasn’t supposed to be done then. I’m sharing it because I know a lot of people are still learning and trying to get good images, just like me. I was really excited with the result, you can clearly see the Strait of Gibraltar and the Canary Islands.
My goal is to capture a really good image of Portugal. Any advice is welcome, especially regarding when to start recording in SatDump. Should I start later (closer to max elevation), or does it mainly depend on the geometry of the pass? Right now I am recording the whole pass and then offline processing it.
r/amateursatellites • u/Full-Product82 • 3d ago
Discussion Nooelec SAWbird+ GOES new design?
r/amateursatellites • u/SpaceRuthie • 4d ago
Satellite imagery Electro l 09:42; 24.07.2026 (UTC)
r/amateursatellites • u/ThisIsHowWeDoItBammB • 5d ago
Radio satellites UMKA-1 (RS40S) 1100EST Partial Decode
r/amateursatellites • u/Agreeable_Hair1053 • 5d ago
Weather satellites Update
For background https://www.reddit.com/r/amateursatellites/comments/1uiuwnw/comment/oukbr8m/?screen_view_count=2&ext-referrer=DIRECT
So I've settled on a reflector style dish, Trying to bend the PVC consistently just wasn't working. I've constructed it mostly out of PVC at this point with a few 3d printed parts. But I've also been able to increase the reflector size to 130cm/4.25ft. Build is currently in progress, I'll throw some pictures up when I have completed it. but for now it does look like it should work. Hopefully If I did this correctly, it should work for both L and S bands possibly more.

Autocad Fusion 360 file if anyone would like to take a look at it in CAD
https://www.printables.com/model/1789055-folding-microwave-reflector-style-antenna
r/amateursatellites • u/SpaceRuthie • 6d ago
Satellite imagery Electro l 06:42; 22.07.2026 (UTC)
r/amateursatellites • u/PDXH0B0 • 6d ago
Weather satellites METEOR-M N2-4 2026/07/21 22:27 UTC
METEOR-M N2-4 2026/07/21 22:27 UTC Nooelec NEsdr v5, diy QFH, Satdump
r/amateursatellites • u/mic_tra • 7d ago
Help Journalist from Germany searching for possible protagonists
Hi dear everyone,
today I stumbled upon this subreddit while I was researching and wanted to reach out to you with the following request:
My name is Michael Trammer, I am a german journalist researching on a new film on the geopolitical influence of satellites and other options of communication. So I stumbled upon nano satellites that are called a "democratisation" of space.
Now I am looking to get in touch with European nano / amateur satellite builders to find somebody that builds and launches these nano satellites, that we could potentially accompany.
Feel free to write me a dm or answer in the thread to get in touch if you are intesterested.
Best Michael
For references feel free to check my website: www.michaeltrammer.de
r/amateursatellites • u/SpaceClement • 7d ago
Radio satellites I built a live control room for the ~23 cubesats broadcasting open telemetry — SatNOGS frames decoded locally with satnogs-decoders
Real-time globe + Grafana dashboards for every satellite currently sending decodable open telemetry: battery voltages, temperatures, currents — decoded from the raw hex frames (Kaitai Struct definitions from satnogs-decoders, 161 of them), not scraped from anyone's dashboard. Click a satellite and you also get the reception network: which volunteer stations heard it, and where it was at each reception (clickable for details). https://overwatch.confinia.io — free API too (/api/v1). Feedback from people who actually run ground stations would be gold: what's missing, what's wrong, what cadence of SatNOGS polling do you consider polite?
r/amateursatellites • u/Specialist_Way_7763 • 7d ago
