Downloading Images From US Military Satellites

This is my first try at receiving data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). Designed in the 1960s & 70s, these supported spy planes and spy satellites by monitoring weather and cloud patterns around the world. Since early reconnaissance satellites used film, the government didn't want to waste any on overcast areas. The DMSP satellites were declassified in the 1970s, but the radio signals are still encrypted for most of their orbital path. They only switch to clear transmissions when over the poles and over the Northern part of North America.

I had mixed luck decoding some of these. In particular, I couldn't reliably receive DMSP when the satellites were passing Southbound over the US. I'm not sure if this is a quirk of my antenna hardware or just how the system operates. I had the best luck on Northbound passes, but the encryption only switched off above about 40 degrees North Latitude, so I could see the Great Lakes and points North.

I'm using a modified C-band TV dish, a fold-up model generously provided by a fellow ham radio operator. My feed is a loop of copper wire inside an old aluminum dish, tuned for 2.2GHz. (I've since learned that this might not be ideal for circular signals, as the loop actually has linear polarization)

I also tried a helical feed designed by @dereksgc, I had mixed luck with it but didn't realize until later that I was only receiving Northbound passes. You can find info on building helical feeds here:

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[SergiMorant]

Man hears chopper, man stops everything he's doing, looks up and then resumes whatever he was doing, man happy.

[Implicacean]

Sufficiently advanced jank is indistinguishable from wizardry

[TheOneAndOnlyNeuromod]

I don’t care if it’s just clouds and weather images - you downloaded coherent data from space - that’s awesome!

[longtoothevecruentusinvict]

Gentlemen, it's an honor and a privilege to be on the list with all of you.

[AntiMusicManV]

Remember guys, saveitforparts is not suicidal.

[crusaderanimation]

11:40 pulling green screen just to do simple overlay without keying is one of those youtuber f'yous i absolutely adore.

[SacredAssault]

The stranger the facial hair is, directly correlates to how much of a tech wizard they are. Great video man

[coreyhodgson]

This man is an HOA's worst nightmare....and I am here for it.

[Kutulu]

Black helicopters…. Zephram’s first warp flight…. This video has everything! Thank you for all of your hard work. It doesn’t go unnoticed.

[SakaiDylanH]

I work in media with lots of satellite engineers, and while I try to learn what I can on the job in my free time out of fun, I feel like this video was so helpful about piecing together so much info on satellites and connections, great explanations, and great pacing in the video! 10/10 would watch again

[PCMcGee]

Your attitude, even when everything is going wrong, is the most impressive part of all your videos.

[MMBVideoFiles]

I had no clue what he was talking about for about 87% of this video, but as a maker, I LOVED watching it. Definitely going to check out some more of his videos.

[arran]

Keep us updated if you get sent to jail

[adventureswithrusty]

It's not just a car, it's a Subaru! Man, your persistence is inspirational - hunting vintage military satellites with glue, wire and Alibaba unbranded electronics. Stellar!

[jackutley]

This video blew my mind. Nice job. The imagery you were able to capture is incredible. Your inventiveness and determination are tremendously inspiring.

[wysoft]

Pretty funny that as a kid in the 90s I'm pretty sure I met a guy who was doing exactly this. I was interested in computers from an early age. A family friend introduced me to a sort of crazy old dude who was an EE. He showed me his lab in his basement. He popped open a regular old PC and inside he had an ISA breadboard card where he had designed his own prototype for receiving satellite data from met satellites, had written his own application to receive and decode the data. He booted up the PC, ran the program, and I watched in amazement as an image of the current cloud condition over North America slowly started filling the screen. This was probably in 1991-1992. One of the coolest things anyone had ever demonstrated to me on a computer as a young kid.

[belly_nelly]

7:57 “There’s no prices listed which means you absolutely cannot afford it.” Too real😂

[QualityDoggo]

automatically toggling encryption on one satellite based on location is pretty amazing. very smart design since the domestic data is useful for a variety of agencies, and it's a lot cheaper than sending multiple separate satellites or signals!

[IronbornBTW]

I don’t know how I ended up here, but I watched the whole thing. Cool hobby dude, I admire your enthusiasm and tenacity!

[msdosfloppy]

I am not into radio and I don't understand much of what you're saying, but I love your videos because you love tinkering and messing around and just giving anything a try no matter how silly it seems. Thank you for giving old-school hackers everywhere some good entertainment :)