Hardware
A small sample of some of the receivers and antennas best suited to
weather satellite reception. WXtoImg will work with just about any
receiver capable of reception in the 137-138MHz FM band (but for best results
requires a 30kHz - 50kHz bandwidth). It is not advisable to purchase
just any scanner (most of which only support 15kHz or 230kHz bandwidths)
if you intend to use it for weather satellite reception. However if you
already have one available it is certainly worth trying. A good,
special-purpose antenna is needed no matter what receiver you choose.
You do not need a tone decoder, hardware demodulator, or PC interface
to use WXtoImg. These items are generally expensive, unnecessary, and
produce inferior results. WXtoImg uses the 16-bit decoding capabilities
of your computers soundcard and the power of modern processors to produce
better results.
You need only a receiver, an antenna (and cable), and a cable to connect the receiver line/audio out to your computer's soundcard. A pre-amplifier is generally unnecessary but may help when used with general purpose communication receivers and scanners.
- Receivers
- Dedicated weather satellite receivers:
- WeSaCom APT-06 fully assembled dedicated weather satellite receiver with computer control and high-Q helical filters,
- Hamtronics R139 (an excellent performing, dedicated weather satellite receiver), and
- EMGO RX134141MHZ (kit and fully assembled weather satellite receivers with LCD display and computer control),
- R2FX/R2ZX fully asembled, computer controlled weather satellite receiver (R2ZX with strong filtering),
- Scanners with a bandwidth setting (30-50kHz) for weather satellites:
- ICOM PCR1500 (general purpose PC based scanner suitable for satellite reception where interference is not a problem, has built-in PC control),
- AOR AR3000A+ (PLUS) (general purpose communications receiver suitable for satellite reception, has built-in PC control), and
- AOR AR5000 (general purpose communications receiver suitable for satellite reception, has built-in PC control).
- ICOM PCR1000 / PCR1000 (general purpose PC based scanner suitable for satellite reception where interference is not a problem, has built-in PC control, no longer available),
- Antennas
- Quadrafilar Helix (QFH, QFHA, QHA): the best performing antenna:
- Dartcom QFH high-quality, pre-built, stainless QFH antenna,
- PHQFH (popular, excellent performing, home-built antenna with outstanding instructions, may be able to be purchased completed),
- Tall Narrow QHA (easy-to-build, excellent reception to the horizon),
- RQHA (outstandingly researched, best performing antenna design -- instructions for building yourself),
- The Bill Sykes and Bob Cobey QFH (Taming the Quadrifilar Helical Antenna: detailed instructions for building a QFH antenna from G2HCG and G0HPO), and
- Chris van Lind portable QFH (portable, easy to build QFH from coax and PVC conduit).
- Turnstile: good performing antennas which are generally less expensive:
- Antenna Rotor Contollers (optional): when used with a large 137MHz yagi, WXtoImg can control azimuth-elevation antenna rotors to give unprecedented reception. Upgraded versions of WXtoImg can currently control the following rotor controllers:
Copyright 2001-2008 WXtoImg Software. All rights reserved.
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