This is a follow-up to my previous post about using software-defined radio (SDR) to download real-time data from weather satellites. I wrapped up that post with "there are several other types of satellite antennas worth exploring -- the double-cross and Moxon turnstile antennas look like they may be an improvement on …

I use software-defined radio (SDR) to download real-time data from weather satellites. To generate the imagery from the data I use the excellent, but no longer maintained, wxtoimg program on Linux. It generates nice map overlays for the imagery, but to do this correctly, wxtoimg needs up-to-date information on satellite …

Many years ago, I used my father's radio every now and then to listen to the shortwave bands. I would slowly turn the dials, hunting around for something to listen to. When I landed on something audible and semi-intelligible, I'd try to figure out what language I was hearing and …

[UPDATE: Also check out my May 2023 post "Chasing weather satellites: the sequel" for further satellite adventures.]

No matter where you are on Earth, several weather satellites pass overhead at least twice a day, broadcasting real-time imagery of what they see below. The most well-known of these satellites, at least …

I have an Atomic Pi that I use as a NAS. Every now and then, I back up the on-board eMMC with dd. To do this, I boot from a live Debian image on a USB stick. This requires attaching a keyboard and monitor to the normally headless server, though …

Recently I had access to an Ibi to play around with. The Ibi is a networked media storage device from Sandisk, which is now part of Western Digital. Sandisk bills the Ibi as a "personal cloud for your photos and videos." However, you can only use it with their Ibi …

I have an old Dell E2014H 20" monitor that recently started having issues: when I turned it on, the power LED blinked on and off over and over, and the screen remained blank. So the monitor was getting power, but something was amiss somewhere.

Web searching indicated that certain Dell …

Recently I had to migrate several e-mail accounts from one server to another. Some of the accounts were quite large; one had over 20,000 messages in it. I tried a few IMAP migration tools, but they all had some issue or another -- one would hang after a few thousand …

I stopped using a mouse a few years ago and replaced it with a small USB touchpad. Still, I've always had an eye on getting rid of hand-based pointing devices completely. A few months back, I saw an article on Ars Technica about a coder who programmed a game entirely …

I have an old Philips clock radio that includes a standalone temperature sensor module:

The idea is that you place this sensor outdoors, where it periodically sends temperature updates to the clock radio inside. I wanted to capture those transmissions and use the data programmatically, instead of just seeing it …