Summary of DECODING RUSSIAN METEOR-M2 SATELLITE IMAGES IN REAL TIME
The Meteor-M N2 is a Russian polar-orbiting weather satellite launched in 2014, used for forecasting and climate monitoring. It broadcasts digital LRPT images at 137.1 MHz, receivable via RTL-SDR dongles. Unlike older analog NOAA signals, these digital transmissions offer significantly higher resolution and true color. A QPSK demodulator plugin for SDR# enables real-time decoding even with weak signals or suboptimal antennas.
Parts used in the Meteor-M N2 Reception Project:
- R820T RTL-SDR dongle
- 137 MHz antenna (V-Dipole or Quadrafilar Helix)
- 2m band ham radio antenna
- 2m/70 cm dual band ham radio antenna
- Linux computer running SDR# software
- Oleg Bekrenev QPSK demodulator plugin
The Meteor-M N2 is a polar orbiting Russian weather satellite that was launched on July 8, 2014. Its main missions are weather forecasting, climate change monitoring, sea water monitoring/forecasting and space weather analysis/prediction. Meteor-M N2 transmits images using the digital LRPT protocol at around 137.1 MHz with can be received with an RTL-SDR. The chipset of RTL dongles was created with the intention of doing DVB-T (digital TV) and DAB (digital radio) demodulation , however a curious linux developer named Antti Palosaari, discovered that these cheap TV adapters are actually Sofware Defined Radios (SDR)!
If you don’t have experience with SDR or SDR# software you can take a look at my RTL-SDR analog receiver tutorial. These receiver dongles used to sell for $20, but are now going for around $15, for most cases R820T unit is the better choice. You will need a 137 Mhz antenna check plan for the easy to produce V-Dipole by Adam-9A4QV or a DIY Quadrafilar Helix Antenna. But trust me this signal from space is powerful and almost any 2m band (144 Mhz) or 2m/70 cm dual band ham radio antenna will work good enough.
The satellite is currently active with a Low Resolution Picture Transmission (LRPT) signal which broadcasts live weather satellite images, similar to the 137 Mhz APT images produced by the US NOAA satellites. LRPT images are however much better as they are transmitted as a digital signal with an image resolution 12 times greater than the aging analog US NOAA APT signals. NOAA satellite images are grainy black and white and the color is artificial and added by the processing software. Thanks to the work of Oleg Bekrenev we now have a QPSK demodulator plugin for SDR# that allows the real time reception and decoding of Meteor-M2 LRPT images. The demodulator works very good even with weak signals, it’s capable of decode image with SNR > 5-6. Thanks to that you can receive satellite images with suboptimal antennas.
Read more: DECODING RUSSIAN METEOR-M2 SATELLITE IMAGES IN REAL TIME
- What frequency does the Meteor-M N2 transmit on?
The satellite transmits images using the digital LRPT protocol at around 137.1 MHz. - Can I use an old TV tuner adapter for this project?
Yes, cheap TV adapters like those with R820T chips function as Software Defined Radios (SDR) for this purpose. - Which antenna type is recommended for receiving the signal?
You can use a V-Dipole, DIY Quadrafilar Helix, or almost any 2m band ham radio antenna. - How does the image quality compare to US NOAA satellites?
Meteor-M N2 images are digital with 12 times greater resolution than aging analog US NOAA APT signals. - Does the system support real-time color imaging?
Yes, unlike the grainy black and white of NOAA signals, this system provides real-time reception with actual colors. - What software plugin allows decoding these images?
A QPSK demodulator plugin created by Oleg Bekrenev for SDR# allows real-time reception and decoding. - Is a high-quality antenna strictly required to decode images?
No, the demodulator works well even with weak signals and suboptimal antennas if the SNR is above 5-6. - What is the approximate cost of the necessary hardware?
RTL dongles used to sell for $20 but are now going for around $15.
