MATLAB-Based Decoding of NOAA Satellite Images Using V-Dipole Antenna and RTL-SDR

This paper present design and build a low-cost and portable ground station to receive NOAA satellite APT images. Many believe that building a ground station requires expensive and special equipment like large parabolic dish antennas and specialized radio receivers. This project shows that it can be done with cheaper and simpler tools. NOAA satellites are continuously transfer weather data that helps in meteorology and disaster management. These satellites transmit Automatic Picture Transmission (APT) signals with global weather images at about 137.5 MHz. Each satellite uses a different frequency. We used SDR technology with an RTL-SDR receiver and a homemade V-Dipole antenna. The ground station tracks NOAA satellites and receives their signals. We use SDRSharp for tuning the frequency and record the signals. MATLAB processes and decodes the recorded signals to turn audio into high-resolution APT pictures. Our V-Dipole antenna performed best at 137.5 MHz, with a VSWR of 1.036 and a resistance of 42.095 ohms. This setup provide an excellent signal reception. The system successfully received and processed images from NOAA 15, 18, and 19 satellites. It shows that a low-cost ground station can work well and be efficient.