In order to optimally receive NOAA weather satellite images a special satellite antenna tuned for 137 MHz should to be built. Generally either a QFH or turnstile antenna is recommended as these receive signals coming from the sky very well. If you are interested in receiving weather satellite images from NOAA satellites with an RTL-SDR dongle then we have a tutorial available here.
While QFH and turnstile antennas are not difficult or expensive to build, they still do require a small amount of electrical and construction skills. Over on YouTube user Wanderlinse shows us a possible alternative NOAA antenna that is simply made out of an old umbrella (the video is narrated in German, but it is easy to understand from the visuals). He uses a short BNC cable with crocodile clips, and connects one clip to the spines of the umbrella, and the other to the central metal shaft. For some reason this seems to create a good antenna that receives NOAA APT signals very well. To prevent wind issues he also cuts out some holes in the umbrella fabric.
Wanderlinse also shows that he can receive other signals with this umbrella antenna too, such as long wave, medium wave, shortwave, aircraft radio and ham radio.
The post Building a simple NOAA APT Antenna out of an Umbrella appeared first on rtl-sdr.com.