Building a NOAA Weather APT Satellite Antenna
I built this antenna specifically for NOAA weather APT satellites. At the time, there were three satellites in orbit: NOAA 15, NOAA 18, and NOAA 19. The antenna didn’t look as polished as some designs I’d seen online, but I figured looks didn’t matter as long as it worked.
Being new to satellite APT reception, I installed the antenna on my tower at about 45 feet and waited for the first flyby of a NOAA satellite. Unfortunately, the results were disappointing. Discouraged, I took it down and stored it away, losing interest for a while.
When I wanted to receive satellite images, I resorted to using my 2m/440 omni antenna mounted on the tower, which worked much better than the QFH antenna.
After about a year and a half, I decided to revisit the QFH antenna. Upon closer inspection, I discovered a short at the top where the coax connects to each leg—something I hadn’t noticed before. I’m not sure if this was the original issue, but I fixed it and took the opportunity to read up more on QFH antennas. Now, I believe it’s ready to go back up. This time, I plan to leave it up for a while and not give up after a single bad pass.
For reference, all the images on my weather satellite page were received using my 2m/440 omni antenna.
2024 Update: A New Attempt with Better Equipment
I’m revisiting this antenna again—it seems I can’t let it go! This time, I have better equipment, including an SDR and a Sawbird+NOAA LNA.
Building the Antenna
The process of making the antenna wasn’t too difficult, but it would have been easier if I had all the right parts. I’m not going to explain how to build one—you can find plenty of guides online. For my antenna, I used 3/8" copper pipe but didn’t have 3/8" 90-degree elbows. Instead, I used the next size up and filled the gaps with solder to make solid connections.
It took a friend and me about two hours to complete the build. Below are links to the online calculator I used and some pictures from the construction process.
