Fabrication Lab: Designing & Printing HAM Radio Accessories

When I first began printing I was happy to download and print existing 3D models, but my ultimate goal was always to design my own. The problem was, I didn't have any idea what I wanted to design. But that changed this summer when my HAM radio station (KD9ZDY) started growing bigger and more sophisticated. Suddenly, I needed storage for radio equipment, brackets for radios, cable management devices, antenna structures, temperature management devices and other little things all unique to my own set-up. My two seemingly different hobbies began to merge and dovetailed to great effect!

For many HAM radio enthusiasts, part of the fun is designing and building rigs and kits; whether it's a mobile transceiver perfectly tucked under the dash of their car, a weather-proof travel box for POTA (Parks On The Air) excursions or the perfect low-profile antenna for a basement apartment with a stingy landlord, HAM operators are nothing if not creative and resourceful. I discovered my first opportunity for design work while looking for a mounting bracket online for my ICOM-2730 radio. The accessories available online were just too expensive, so I decided to design my own bracket to neatly connect the head and control panel to the radio body, and mount to put the radio neatly in place on my shelf.

Before this past year my only experience was using SelfCad Pro to add detailing to a mostly-created 3D image. The process was difficult and time consuming, and for the most part I didn't have many ideas for what to design on my own. Most of the things I enjoyed printing, ancient landmarks, Star Trek ships, car and aircraft models were already designed and available to print -often for free. So paying for SelfCad Pro at $14.99 per month just wasn't worth investment. Though the free trial was useful in learning a bit more about pre-slice design work. 

My design on Rhino 8

When I ventured back into CAD design, I decided rather than paying a monthly fee for SelfCad Pro, I wanted to go with software I could buy once and use forever. I settled on trying Rhinoceros' Rhino 8 software, since it had good reviews online from 3D print designers and offered a 90 day full trial with all features available. I watched some YouTube videos, and got started making my radio brackets. The multi-part Rhino Essentials videos are particularly helpful. While slow at first, they do a wonderful job explaining basic layout and terminology for someone with absolutely zero experience in CAD. After the end of video 2, I had basically all the knowledge I needed to make the basic shapes of my bracket and shelf, and printed my design. In total, from start to finish, it took about 4-6 hours measuring, watching and re-watching the 15-minute videos, and drafting the design on Rhino 8 to get the hang of the software. While I still had a lot to learn, this experience was enough to convince me to purchase the full license for Rhino 8. The free online learning content, and common CAD terminology offered by Rhino were also selling points. As a novice designer it was good to know I had a wealth of instructions as well as an interface that uses similar logic as other CAD programs. I felt Rhino 8 was worth the investment, should I need to use another program or even go into the design or manufacturing field professionally one day.  

So far, my investment has paid off. Not only do I have a bracket and mount for my ICOM radio, I also have a storage box perfectly sized for my NanoVNA network analyzer, a dummy load, and various coaxial adapters and a mini ARRL logbook -all must-have HAM accessories.  

Custom cooling tray in-use

Most notably, I created a cooling tray for my RTL-SDR USB dongle, featured in this article. This design serves two purposes: 1.) it keeps the dongle plugged into my laptop (because it always fell out), and 2.) I has a fan to cool it down (because it got so darn hot while running). Since the cooling tray design may be useful for others with the RTL-SDR or similar devices, I decided to make it my first publicly available print. You can find it today on Cults 3D or Creality Cloud. It's free, and available to all, to download or adapt as desired.  

As I continue with both my amateur radio and CAD/3D printing hobbies, I should have plenty more opportunities to design new and useful tools and devices. While I can always use more storage and cable management in the HAM shack, I may venture into mobile radio and take part in POTA events as well as field days in future, and I can already think of different shapes and designs that will help in packing equipment, and setting up a mobile HF station/antenna. HAM equipment is expensive as it is, and accessories, even for storage, can be an additional financial burden and may not fit my set-up exactly how I want it. So, I'll absolutely continue working with Rhino 8 and my Creality printers to create and test new equipment as the need arises. I may even create something others will find useful as well!

Fabrication Lab: An Honest Review of the Printers

In my last article, I mentioned that I would review my current and past printers: The Creality K1 Max, The Ender 3 and the Sermoon V1, all Creality brand printers. 3D printing is relatively new and it attracts a user-base of passionate individual hobbyists who spend their own hard-earned dough. So, there's a lot of controversy regarding which brands do what best. So, I wanted to provide the best consumer information based on my experiences. 

I initially got interested in 3D printing in 2021 when I saw some printers running at Kent State University's Design Innovation Hub where students and local residents can access public equipment. Later that year, I looked on Amazon for 3D printer prices and found that they were far less expensive than I thought. I decided, based on my income, I could afford something between 200 and 400 dollars, and with little experience, I settled on two possible options a Flashforge printer and Creality's Sermoon V1. The draw of both of these printers were that they were enclosed, they promoted being able to print multiple materials (beyond PLA plastic) and they promoted some level of "out-of-the-box" printing with auto-leveling, which was said to make the process easier. These two models were also marked down roughly 75 dollars during a temporary promotion. Ultimately, the choice was made for me when the Flashforge arrived either damaged or faulty, and I had it sent back. After I got my refund, I chose the Creality Sermoon V1 because it was still on sale while the Flashforge model was no longer available at the cheaper price. So basically, that's how I started out with a Creality printer. I'm sure, if I were to re-order a working version of the Flashforge, it would have been fine, but I never had the chance. I will say the return process for Flashforge was painless, and I had my refund in less than a week. 

Working with the Sermoon V1, I found that while it worked as well as I could hope, it also lacked in certain areas. First it was not at all a "print out-of-the box" printer, and it did not auto-level. What it do was allow you to micro-step each corner of the printing bed with a button on the controller display. So, it took just as long as hand-turning a tension knob to level the bed. Plus, being totally new to the hobby, I had not yet learned how to download files, slice them and use the appropriate settings to make sure over-hangs were properly supported and and my models were well-adhered to the build plate. For about two months, at least half of my model attempts were failing in some way or another -even the samples pre-programmed onto the operating system. Additionally, my first few attempts at printing in the more stable ABS plastic were not good. First off, the odor of the ABS plastic (at build temperature) easily permeated the Sermoon's enclosure; secondly the printer just didn't seem to handle ABS well at all. Even at the appropriate temperature, ABS caused problems with clogging in the nozzle. Eventually, I got the hang of using my Sermoon V1, but in hindsight it was clear that some some of the "extras" it advertised as a step-up from other printers weren't all that great. I continued to stick with the Sermoon for a good 3 years working mostly with PLA plastic, since I primarily made indoor models and toys, for which a better material was not necessary. With the benefit of experience, I became a lot more successful, but I also knew what to look for in a upgrade when the time came. 

In spite of my early troubles with the Creality Sermoon, I did choose to continue with the Creality brand when I bought a new printer. I was familiar with their slicing software, and they offer not only lots of models, but replacement parts. They also supported more third-party replacement parts than any other brand I was familiar with. So, things like nozzles, extruders, hot-ends and build plates could be replaced if they were to fail in the long-term. Ultimately, this was why I stuck with Creality. In a new industry, I was confident their products would continue to be made, and parts would continue to be made for them, either by Creality themself or a third-party manufacturer.

My next choice was the Creality K1 Max. It was about twice as expensive as my original Sermoon, but it advertised exactly what I wanted in a upgrade. A large 300x300 millimeter build space, true auto-leveling, an internal camera, WiFi-capable over-network printing, one of the highest varieties of supported printing materials, and really fast printing speed. When I purchased it, I was not at all disappointed. If there ever was a print out-of-the-box system, this was it. It came pretty much built; all I needed to do was set it down, add the filament and, boom, it was already printing one of it's pre-programmed models. It look me about 8-16 hours of following instructions, and making adjustments before I got my previous printer going, and the K1 Max was printing in minutes. On average, it prints at least three times faster than than the old one, with no loss in quality. Not to mention, it really does level itself! After about six months, I've had zero issues that were not due to my own mistakes in slicing.   

If there is one area where the K1 Max falls short, it may be its advertised "Artificial Intelligence," LiDAR detection. While I do engage the optional AI settings, I'm still not sure what benefit it brings over modelling without the AI. At best, it does a test pattern, makes the first level of your print, and scans the LiDAR over it to make sure it's not faulty in some way, before moving forward. If an issue is detected the printer pauses, and allows the user to fix and move ahead or cancel the print. But, I don't think that high-tech feature is any more effective than just watching the print and cancelling it, if it's bad for some reason. Honestly, I think Creality may be trying to capitalize a bit on the "Artificial Intelligence" craze, when in reality it's just offering the same machine logic used in manufacturing for decades. 

That said, the speed and build space alone make it worth the effort. Plus all the K1's offer a robust enclosure with 3 ventilation fans, and filtering material in the box fans that genuinely cut down on the odor from ABS plastic builds. For me, the K1 Max has met my expectations for a high-end printer. 

However, perhaps my most interesting diversion was not an upgrade at all but a downgrade, to the Creality Ender 3. At just around 160 bucks, I thought I'd give it a try. Needless to say, having started with a 400 dollar printer and moving to a nearly 1000 dollar printer, I did not have high expectations for the 160 dollar Ender 3. And, it definitely proved to be a demanding and difficult, if not enlightening, process getting started. The neat part about the Ender brand, is that it's parts are all open-source and standardized, meaning that while the starter printer is really in-expensive, you've got endless options to upgrade and customize it with multiple competing third-party vendors. While it's got an introductory price, it's not a printer for the inexperienced, but rather a base-model for experience printers who want to tinker and upgrade their set-up. (At least that's how I see it). The open-source nature of the product ensures cheap replacement parts will always be available as well. 

After making a few successful prints on the Ender 3, it was clear to me that this was more of a learning project than anything. The K1 Max was so dependable and fast that it would be pointless using the Ender 3 as anything other than an experimental unit -something I could use for learning. For my first "experiment" I replaced the stock extruder and filament feeder with a MicroSwiss REVO NG "Direct Drive" extruder, which was about 150 dollars. The MicroSwiss upgrade allows the Ender 3 to print more materials including ABS, replaces the clunky gear-catch filament feeder, and makes switching filaments a breeze. Replacing the existing extruder was a fun challenge, I had to be comfortable with cutting, stripping, soldering and crimping wires (a skill I initially learned setting up my first VHF/UHF radio station), and also be able to dis-assemble and re-assemble the machine. It worked great, and I felt like McGuyver playing with all those tools. Also, the MicroSwiss extruder was a huge benefit as well. My Ender 3 could now print multiple new materials types, but it also made replacing filaments so much easier, cutting out half of the re-loading process from the original set up. It also heats up faster as well, turning five to ten minutes of wait-time into about two. With a 150 dollar investment and some extra work, I turned a 160 dollar Ender 3 into a printer that rivals those in the 400 to 500 dollar range. Also, as an enthusiast in the hobby, I just enjoy seeing it run!

As I mentioned before, the hobby has it's share of controversy, and Creality take it's share of criticism. The major criticism is that their customer support and maintenance service is lacking. I don't disagree, it's a huge company based in China, so getting assistance from a human being in real-time is difficult, if not impossible. You notice this immediately when opening their products. Compared to well-known US-based consumer appliances, and even a lot of foreign brands, who typically provide a good amount of user literature, Creality basically just had a QR code, or instructions to find a website and look up the product you just bought for basic set-up instructions. With so many different product lines and brands, it can be difficult to find the correct model. Did I buy the "Creality CR-10," "CR-10 Smart" or "SR-10 SE," or did I get the "Ender 3" or" Ender 3 Version 3?" yes, those are all different actual printers. I've found that random Youtubers have created better tutorials in their garages, than Creality produces on its own. 

Another criticism is that Creality's quality control is inconsistent at best, allowing flawed broken products to be sent out far more often than established appliance brands would. Fortunately, I haven't had this problem with any of my Creality printers. And my experience with Flashforge suggests it may be an issue with 3D printers in-general, rather than something specific to Creality. However, while customer support may be lacking, you should always be able to send a new product back as Creality offers a 90 day no-questions-asked return policy through Amazon as well as other retailers. So, if you do get a flawed product, or are just unhappy with it, you can re-box it and send it back with no risk. This put my mind at easy after hearing some users reporting critical issues with some K1 Max models. While it may be difficult getting in touch with a person at Creality to ask a question, it is at least easy to send the whole product back if you're not happy with it. So, these are all things to consider if you're looking into one of Creality's printers.

In summary, I'm sure there are some brands to avoid when purchasing 3D printers, but Creality is an industry leader for a reason. In general, the lesson I learned with Creality 3D printers is that you don't pay for the quality of prints necessarily, you pay for faster, easier printing at the same quality level. In other words, a less expensive printer won't necessarily create bad prints, it will just take more time and effort to make the same product that a more expensive printer does. Additionally while Creality may lack in customer service and quality control, they offer a 90-day return policy, so be diligent in your first few weeks with a Creality. If it's not working properly, too much of a hassle to get working properly (or you just decide you don't want it) send it back for a refund.  

For more information on my printers and stories about my hobby, check out the "3D printing"and "Fab Lab" tabs to the right.

Introducing the Cubical Ruins Fabrication Lab!

Now that I'm up and running at my new "home-base," I thought I'd introduce the "Fabrication Lab," a new section for the CR blog. Inspired by the versatile "fabricator" from the Subnautica game, or the "replicators" of Star Trek, the Fabrication Lab will focus on my 3D printing hobby, and other ways to create things... from stuff.

If you've been reading The Ruins lately, you might think I'd put my 3D printing hobby on hold, since I've been focusing exclusively on amateur radio. But, not only have I still been printing, I've made some significant investments in my set-up. Seizing on the opportunity to work from home full time, I finally gave-up the lease on my city apartment of the past nine years -as much as I loved it- and moved to a more spacious home (station, outpost, lair etc). Here, I have a basement workshop to set-up my lab. And, I used the space to replace my old Sermoon V1 with two awesome, but very different, printers: The Creality K1 Max, the high-end workhorse, and The Creality Ender 3, a different thing entirely.

I cannot stress enough how different these two printers, the K1 Max on the higher-end of the newest crop of 3D printers, and the Ender 3 being one of the cheapest printers available, and rapidly becoming outdated. However, working with both of these machines, as well as engaging with the greater 3D printing community online, I've learned a lot and boosted my skill and expertise to the next level.

If you recall from my previous articles on 3D printing, I basically stuck to making toys and cool models, and doing very little with the slicing software other than scaling, splitting and adding details to existing models and .stl files. Yes, I could adjust the supports and adhesion when necessary, but I mostly stuck with the recommended factory settings. After I moved, and my Sermoon V1 broke down, I started browsing the Reddit 3D printing communities, and noticed just what a wide range of print-qualities, and styles, were actually out there. I had assumed things like layer-lines, seams, and bumpy or grainy prints were standard, but even the basic store-brand slicing software has a lot of options to mitigate, or even totally hide some of the tell-tale signs of 3D printing, making a model look like it was cut strait from marble. 

Leveling has always been important, as I first found out, but temperature, print speed, material selection, and even the texture and cleanliness of your build plate can have a drastic impact on the quality of your print. Having two printers, one of which prints up to 10 times faster than my old one, makes it much easier to test new settings. Seeing and tweaking the print settings on my models makes a difference between one test print and the next. Without going into everything, I'll detail the major aspects of what I learned below...

Printer Quality Simply put, the higher the quality of your printer, the better your models will look with less effort. That doesn't mean a less expensive printer won't create beautiful, professional quality models, just that the cheaper models require more work and time from the user to achieve the same result.

The Creality K1 Max, which retails for about $800 USD, is one of Creality's best printers, and it's light years ahead of my other printers. Of course, the trade-off is that it costs twice as much as the other two combined. It supports just about every material type for stereolithography (SLA) printing, and as long as the temperature settings are correct, it will produce quality-looking prints for each. This, compared to the Ender 3, which only supports PLA filament out-of-the-box, and my previous Sermoon V1, which supports PLA and ABS (but seemed to clog and fail repeatedly when using the more robust ABS plastic). Most notably the K1 Max prints way faster, with no loss in quality. It also offers LAN (over-network/WiFi) printing, and a built-in camera so you can monitor larger projects remotely, and easily pause or cancel them if something goes awry.  

Perhaps it's best feature is true auto-leveling. Unlike my other printers, which I level manually, continually making sure each corner of the printing surface is perfectly level -to a paper-thin threshold -with screw knobs, the K1 Max uses a laser beam fixed to the extruder to perfectly re-level itself before each print. 

Adhesion & Support This was obvious even as a novice printer. Without bed adhesion, glue, a textured build-plate or a brim around the bottom edges of your print, you could see corners of your print warping, or even the whole model slide off the surface. And, supports are often necessary with large over-hangs which will collapse if there's not a temporary support structure holding it in place. 

Basic slicing software, such as Creality Print and Cura UltiMaker, will alert you if there's a danger of an over-hang collapsing or an adhesion issue, then add the recommended accommodations, but often these standard recommended support and adhesion tools ruin the quality of the print itself. For example, an adhesive brim may not totally tear away after printing, leaving unsightly plastic burring from the bottom edges of your model, and some supports leave marks after being removed, or worse, are so stuck on the model, they break it when detached. Sometimes these safety features are so over-done, it's worth risking a failed or collapsed print just to go without them. 

However, with more experience on the slicing software, there are details I've become more accustomed to "fine-tuning." For example, you can adjust the spacing and perforation connecting the superfluous support and adhesion structures so they still hold the print safely, but remove easier with minimal scaring to the details of the actual model. After more time printing, I often dispense with the standard settings, and set my own preferences as I know more precisely how well my printers hold certain over-hangs, and how well certain sizes and shapes stick to the build plate. Often, zero or minimal superfluous structures are needed, but it took some time before I became confident abandoning the standard settings which are there for good reason. 

 

Cooling A good cooling fan, and well programed "slice" or .gcode file, which tells the printer how exactly to print your shape or model, are important parts of the process. Just about every SLA printer will have a model fan which cools the model and the extruder nozzle throughout the print. Using the advanced settings, you can choose when, during your print, to employ the fan for the best result. Basic settings will engage the fan once the nozzle gets to a certain temperature. But, when slicing, you can also choose to employ the fan at critical points such as when the print handles overhangs. This way unsupported filament gets "frozen" in place, rather than melting downward when there's nothing beneath it. You can also employ the fan after the first few layers of a print, so it holds in-place steadily before continuing onto subsequent layers.    

Ironing & Z-seam positioning One inescapable reality of 3D printing, is the noticeable texture of prints compared to conventional manufacturing. SLA printing is done in layers, leaving a visible, lined texture throughout most prints, and a seam where the printer stops one stream of filament and adds another. In many cases these tell-tale signs of a 3D print are subtle, and sometimes add character to the print, but when it's important for the product to have a smooth seamless surface, your slicer application has ironing and seam-hiding options to program into your model's gcode. 

Ironing, as the name suggests, is just like a clothing iron. It's essentially a finishing option where the heated nozzle will go over the top or all visible layers of the model one or more times without extruding filament in order to smooth the final product. The quality on the ironing job will depend on the quality of the printer as well as the material and color you're using. For example, a graded, silky color may not look as good flattened as it does printed naturally, and certain types of material, like darker ABS colors are prone to show signs of swirling, melt lines, where the ironing takes place. So like other advanced settings, it's best to try different tests with each print to get the best result.

Additionally, most slicers will allow you to position the Z-seam -the visible line along which the nozzle stops and reverses direction- on the back of a model or even at a natural angled corner so it's not as visible. You can also stagger the reverse positions on each layer, so there is no single seam. However, sometimes this stagger can result in bumps or blemishes as the seam starts and ends at various points along the print, rather than hidden along one edge. 

There is no perfect finish-type for all prints and models, and many people will still sand, paint and polish their models post-print to get it just right. 

Stay tuned for future editions of the Fabrication Lab where I'll cover more topics, including a review of the Creality K1 Max and Ender 3; an article on using third-party upgraded parts for the Ender 3, including an all new MicroSwiss replacement extruder, and a deep dive into CAD modeling on Rhinoceros software and creating a new stl file from scratch. I'll also post some of my very own 3D designs made with Rhino 8.  

APT and LRPT Image Tansmissions

After writing about my adventures receiving images from weather satellites, I wanted to take the opportunity to expand on the two systems that make this possible: Automatic Picture Transmission (APT) and Low-rate Picture Transmission (LRPT). 

Image and video transmissions, like WiFi and cellular signals, are basically just RF (radio) signals similar to what passes through the air to your car radio or walkie talkie. The signal is modulated, oscillated within a metal antenna or electromagnetic fields and propagated in one or many directions via waves in various frequencies. APT and LRPT signals are no different. They send a standard radio signal in VHF (very high frequency) range, then -in layman's terms, "fine-tune" their signal waves by modulating them so different streams of data can be heard on one frequency and decoded by the listening receiver. 

The two types of satellites I listened to, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites from The United States and the Meteor M2-X satellites from The Russian Federation each use basic frequencies in the VHF range, the same as the radio stations broadcasting your local sports guys and "morning zoo" radio hosts. Then, they modulate their signals in different ways to send data, rather than voice and sound. 

NOAA Satellites (APT)

Automatic Picture Transmission is the older and simpler system, and as a novice, I found it easier to connect to NOAA's APT feeds for two reasons. The first is that APT transmission uses only two modulation channels, telemetry and synchronization data, making it easier to receive a steady synchronized feed that generates a recognizable image without pointing my antenna at the approximate point of the satellite in the sky at any given time. The second is that there are three operational NOAA satellites, so there are more opportunities to listen to their APT signals each day. 

When I connect a NOAA satellite's signal with my radio receiver and demodulation software, three things indicate I'm successfully downloading an image. The first is a ticking or beeping sound, which pulses twice-per-section. The second, is that the de-modulator visualization window goes from a cloud of random data points, which is just the back-groud radiation (or radio fuzz) that occurs when no signal is present, to a unified vertical line. The third is that with each half-second pulse a new line of my live image of earth appears.  

The raw image I am left with after a NOAA satellite makes it's pass has two side-by-side images. Typically a visual spectrum image (a normal photograph) and an infrared image, with boarders on each side that indicate one minute of transmission time. 

A raw image from NOAA 19 with both channels

Due to the limitations of APT, NOAA images are always taken in black-and-white or grayscale. Additional software is used to add color, when necessary, once the images is downloaded on earth. 

Image from NOAA 19 with color added

Meteor M2-X Satellites (LRPT)

Low-rate picture transmission uses a newer, faster and more advanced method for modulating transmissions in the 137 Mhz frequencies as APT. It can transmit on 3, rather than 2, channels simultaneously, allowing for more data to be gathered in one pass. For example, a visual image, an infrared image, and another data stream depending on what the satellite's camera or sensor can capture. It uses compressed data packets to transmit more data on all channels in the same time frame as the the older APT system resulting is more detailed high-resolution images.

 

 

Partial Image from Meteor M2-3

Because of the increased data capacity of the LRPT transmissions, downloading images from the Meteor satellites was a bit more difficult. When my antenna would briefly lose the signal sync due to it being a more-conventional style stationary radio antenna or because of other atmospheric factors, the loss in image quality was significant. When my antenna re-gained it's sync, it also took a long time to re-establish the data feed providing the pixels in each image. Additionally, there are only 2 operating Meteor M2-X satellites, M2-4 and M2-3. M2-2 was struck and disabled by a meteor years ago, and M2-3 suffered an antenna malfunction after launch resulting in weaker transmission.  

Still I was able to sync to the M2-3 satellite and download a partial image, which means I should be be able to better connect to both satellite systems with a better antenna specific to receiving satellite signals and/or finding an un-obscured area outside and physically aiming a standard antenna toward the satellites position in the sky throughout it's pass. Two more thought-provoking science experiments to add to my increasing portfolio of hobby stuff! Or as one of my friends says, more opportunities to "tinker".

RTL-SDR: Photography from Satellites in Orbit

An image from NOAA 18 on June 11th

Now that I've successfully applied my RTL-SDR device toward aircraft tracking and digital radio reception, my next challenge was tuning in signals from space, like Jeff Goldblum's charcter in Independence Day. As sophisticated as this sounds to someone unfamiliar with radio, and electromagnetic signals, receiving and sending data to and from space is a pretty mundane thing these days. Use GPS on your phone or in the car? You're connected to a machine floating in space. And, satellite television services have been around for decades. But, I wanted to put my RTL-SDR device and rooftop antenna to use taking advantage of some weather satellites that pass over every populated country on earth at least once per day sending real-time pictures down to anyone who'd like to view them. In a way, I would be using government weather satellites from the United States and Russia to take very, very long-range selfies.    

NOAA 19 before its launch

These satellites, the NOAA 15, 18 and 19 (from the US) and the Meteor M2 3 and 4 (from Russia) are very similar in purpose and function, and orbit at similar distances about 500 miles above Earth. They circle around the globe (sorry flat-Earthers) on a north-south path crossing the north and south poles while the earth spins below them. That way, they're able to pass over and see most parts of the earth below during a given time window -think of painting a sculpture in an up-and-down motion as it spins on a pottery wheel. As the satellites orbit, they continually take photos and measurements, and transmit them back to earth at specific frequencies (137.62 MHz for NOAA 15 and 137.9 MHz for Meteor M2-3, for example). These frequencies are just below the VHF frequencies used for HAM radio in the United States, and can be heard with an SDR device, and a lot of store-bought radios for CB, HAM and other uses. But, you'll need software to de-modulate the APT transmission, otherwise it will simply sound like static or clicking to the naked ear.  

In spite of having an antenna, an SDR receiver and some software experience with air-band radio, and ADS-B airline tracking radio, reaching a satellite proved to be fairly difficult. For one, the satellites are always moving, and you can only retrieve their signal during a ten to fifteen-minute window while they pass sufficiently overhead. Secondly, the software used for amateurs like me to locate, track and decode the satellites' signals are always changing and often out-of-date, as many of these programs are created and supported by amateur enthusiasts, and not large institutions.

NOAA 19 on Satellite Tracker

My previously helpful guidebook, The Hobbyist's Guide to the RTL-SDR proved to be out-of-date with many of its recommendations for software. I tried all of the suggested ways of connecting to NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Agency) satellites as well as the Meteor M2 (Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos) satellites in the chapter on low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, and while helpful in explaining the general process, it gave some applications and programs that simply do not work well anymore. Certain PC satellite trackers, for example, no longer seemed to provide accurate tracking for my location, and SDR++ (a great software defined radio receiver) had no way to decode the satellite's modulated signals into valuable data or images. I ended up spending a lot of time recording audible fuzz, to demodulate it into visible TV snow, or listening for a satellite that wasn't there.

I finally found some reliable software by browsing the r/RTLSDR Subreddit, a surprisingly active and supportive community of digital radio enthusiasts with a wellspring of info on satellite communication. It was clear, Satdump was the go-to free application for tracking, hearing and demodulating satellite radio signals. Where my book was offering various programs to do each part of the process, Satdump does all three for a variety of different satellites and LEO objects, including the NOAA and Meteor M2 Satellites. Additionally, I used the Satellite Tracker app on my iPhone to track satellites, verify their actual position and path with Satdump, and find out when I needed to be at my computer to record the downlink. 

My initial set-up

I had my first success when I finally timed a NOAA 15 satellite pass correctly, and started recording the correct radio frequency (137.62 MHz) on Satdump when the satellite came into range. De-modulating a signal is a little difficult for a lay-person, but a Redditor had suggested I listen for "ticking" over the airwaves as the satellite passes. Sure enough, once NOAA 15 popped up in the tracking window as a little red dot, I heard a tick-tick-tick, like an old clock, as the mass of chaotic static in the de-modulator widow started to move together in unison. I was synced with the Satellite! Satdump would start downloading images and data from NOAA 15 onto my desktop. I was using a little handheld antenna indoors, and the satellite's pass was not perfectly overhead. It was just a convenient time for me to run to my computer and set-up, so the first pictures were not great. There was a lot of fuzz where my downlink faded, due to a small antenna with poor reception indoors, but what did come out was unmistakable: swirling clouds and storms over the eastern US and Canada, with the Great Lakes visible. It looks like the Satellite had been well to the east of my receiving range when I caught its signal, but it was clearly a photo of Earth from above!

My rooftop UHF/VHF antenna

Since then, I got a Daiwa coaxial switch for my rooftop antenna, so I could use it for both the RTL-SDR and HAM radio transceiver. Plus, learned a bit more about Satdump's tuning and de-modulating options. Now I'm not only pulling visual images, but data sets with land/sea temperature and precipitation info as well. Plus, I had the opportunity to wait for some very close satellite passes overhead where the signal was the best for the longest period of time. 

Having downloaded numerous images from each of the current NOAA satellites, my next challenge is connecting to the Russian Meteor M2 satellites. There are are only two of them, and one has been either been offline or not functioning for some time. But, I did manage to get a partial image from Meteor M2-3 as of June 11th, 2024 using Satdump, RTL-SDR and my HAM antenna. It's just a mater of waiting for M2-3 to pass-over at closer range. Other challenges will be to build some new antennas specific to this type of satellite communication, as my current set-up is optimized for terrestrial amateur radio, which is likely the cause of some of the static in my images.  

Stay tuned to Cubicalruins.com for an in-depth tutorial on using Satdump to demodulate and image APT signals, as well as updates on connecting to the new generation of NOAA GOES satellites, which are a whopping 22,000 miles away from Earth. Who knows, maybe we can prepare you to save the world one day. 

Image from NOAA 15

Image from NOAA 15 with borders and shorelines colored for reference

A raw NOAA 15 image super-imposed over a flat map of Earth for reference

The Thing(s): 86 Years of Watching the Skies

The major streaming services' suggestion algorithms already know too much. I knew this the moment I logged into Netflix and it had labelled "dark Scandinavian suspense thrillers" as one of my favorite genres -not only specific, but right on the money. It couldn't be anymore specific unless it had been, "dark science fiction thrillers that take place on remote polar research bases." If it's about Antarctica or sci-fi, I'm watching it; if it's got both, it's an instant favorite. And the best example of the genre is undoubtedly The Thing, or more appropriately, The Things since there have been at least three major cinematic adaptations of John W. Campbell's 1938 novella "Who Goes There?", where "The Thing" makes its first terrifying appearance in literature. 

Campbell's story, originally titled "Frozen Hell," follows the researchers and crew of an Antarctic research station who stumble upon a crashed alien spaceship frozen under the ice. They recover a presumably dead alien body from the craft. They take the frozen specimen back to base for an examination, as any curious scientist would, and terror ensues. As a piece of sci-fi literature, it was an early example of the Golden Era of Sci-fi, from the 1930's through the 1950's, which spawned a variety of famous sci-fi books, television series and radio shows, and often prompted UFO hysteria, both real and imagined. Some sci-fi works, like Star Trek focused on the wonders of the beyond, and the shining possibilities of a space-traveling future; others, like "Who Goes There?" fall into the category I like to call "don't go to space." 

The first film adaptation of Campbell's story premiered in 1951 as The Thing from Another World. It's kind of cheesy by today's standards, but is actually quite a bit more entertaining than a lot of the sci-fi films of the day. It combines snappy dialogue with a continuous level of suspense without a lot of unnecessary filler. Parts of the film, shot at Glacier National Park in Montana are visually beautiful even in black and white. They help to capture some of the isolated vastness Campbell may have been going for in "Who Goes There?".  

At first, The Thing from Another World follows the same premise of Campbell's story, except the research base in Antarctica is replaced by an Air Force base in northern Alaska. Aviators from the base are called out to investigate a crashed object. They find a frozen alien, just like in the book. Once they return back to base with the alien encased in a frozen ice block, the terror begins. This is where, I think, The Thing From Another World begins to fall short... 

The airmen, civilian scientists and one journalist, grab guns, form a posse, hunt down and kill the alien, which turns out to be a giant vegetable (seriously!). 

There are other non-plot related criticisms as well. The first is that the one thinking intellectual in the crew of macho-man-alien-hunters, Dr. Arthur Carrington played by Robert Cornthwaite is portrayed as an effeminate weirdo who wants to (gasp!) communicate and (double gasp!!) learn from the alien, before killing it. He tries to do so, and gets immediately crushed on queue, making way for the capable heroes of the US military to save the day. Also, the only female cast member (the scientist's assistant), played by Margaret Sheridan, has very few lines, the longest of which is to suggest that a vegetable can be killed "lots of ways," by broiling it, grilling it, steaming it, etc.

But let's not get too intellectual. This pulpy flick isn't meant to be a thought-provoking piece of weighty philosophy; it's about a SPACE MONSTER after all. The real fault in Thing From Another World isn't the 1950's sexism, or the thinly veiled, Cold War-era, anti-intellectual McCarthyism (all movies from that time had some of that, especially the sci-fi ones). It's that it took away The Thing's most terrifying feature, its ability to shape-shift into any human it comes in contact with, and hide in plane sight until it's time to kill.

The Thing, the second cinematic adaptation of "Who Goes There?," premiered in 1982. Directed by legendary horror and sci-fi director, John Carpenter, and starring a great cross-generational cast including Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Donald Moffat and Keith David, was neither a commercial success or failure, and it was panned by early critics as grotesque, nihilistic and boring. However, The Thing grew to be a cult classic, and in my opinion, a sci-fi horror on-par with Ridley Scott's Alien. 

The first scene capitalizes on the source material's setting with breathtaking areal shots of the white "Antarctic" wilderness (though the filming took place in Juneau, Alaska). A helicopter with "NORGE" (Norway) painted on it tracks a stray sled dog across the ice. We see one pilot manning the chopper, and another load a rifle and take aim from the aircraft as it approaches the galloping husky. A simple, but suspenseful monotone bass score, by composer Ennio Morricone, booms as the airborne hunters try once, and again to put the desperate dog down. The scene, with no dialogue and no prologue, brilliantly captures a “what-the-fuck is happening?” feel that entices viewers to stay seated to find out what is in store. Where-the-fuck are we? Who-the-fuck are they? and Why-the-fuck are they shooting at an innocent animal? Before the Norwegian hunters can stop their prey, it finds shelter at a structure, US Outpost 31.  

Conflict ensues when the American crew of Outpost 31 defends the seemingly innocent animal. The Norwegians, desperate to kill the dog, fire toward the American defenders. Gary (Moffat), the armed commander of the Americans fires from behind a window and kills the apparently crazed Norwegians. 

"First goddamn day of winter," says R.J. MacReady (Russell), the American chopper pilot for the station.

Not long after Outpost 31 loses contact with the outside world amidst an incoming blizzard (because of course), the crew finds out why these Norwegians did not want that dog to escape. It was no dog at all, but a creature, something horrendous. Once locked in the shelter with the other sled dogs, it reveals its gruesome form, digesting the terrified animals one-by-one with its array of tentacles. Members of the crew are there to witness the attack and kill the hideous thing before it can get away, but the danger remains... if The Thing can imitate a dog perfectly, it can imitate a human. The dog has been walking freely around the outpost since it was rescued; it could have eaten any member of the crew, and still be hiding among them. No one could be trusted. 

Just like in the original story, the Scientist, Blair (Brimley) is the first to crack from the terror. Or, maybe, he just saw the writing on the wall before anyone else did: The Thing could not be allowed to leave, and neither could anyone else. If it made it to a populated area, it will begin to eat and imitate everyone on earth, no one would be prepared, no one would see it coming. Before he's subdued by the rest or the crew, the frantic scientist destroys the radio equipment further isolating Outpost 31 from any rescue. From that point forward, with no way to tell who is real and who is an alien imposter, the crew's worst enemies are themselves. One after another, a crew mate deemed to be "infected", a talking, begging, desperate copy of someone who used to be friend, is shot to death or burned alive by the humans left on the station. The surviving crew's trust in one another fades as their fear rises. Soon, it's every man for himself, as no one really knows who the real Thing is anymore. "Frozen Hell" indeed. 

Carpenter's 1982 version of The Thing, has some dated special effects and admittedly has its dry spells, where suspense turns to boredom. But, for the most part, it really captures the vast loneliness of Antarctica with the intimate claustrophobic nature of the base. With nowhere to run, and no one to call for help, the crew of Outpost 31 may have well been on a spaceship, with an Alien crawling around in the ventilation shafts. It's sci-fi horror at it's finest. 

The Thing (1982) has certainly outlasted early criticism, remaining a pop-culture phenomenon to this day. A fairly good prequel based on Carpenter's 1982 film was released in 2011, staring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton. And, most notably, the online video game sensation Among Us, based on the premise of an alien imposter infiltrating a space crew debuted in 2018, and it soon had a cooped-up COVID-weary public on their phones, PC's and Nintendo Switches trying to guess which player was the "imposter", spacing many an innocent teammate in the process. In fact, The Thing is screened every year by the real-life crew of the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station at the beginning of Antarctic Winter. Scientists have weird sense of humor. 

John Carpenter clearly knew what he was doing when he picked up this screenplay adapted from that early Novella called "Who Goes There?". The themes of The Thing are timeless, they transcend the sci-fi gerne all together, eliciting even the classic transcendental literature of writers like Edgar Allen Poe and Henry James. It may say more about the dangers of humans, than any space monster. Like Poe's "Tell-Tale Heart," or the phantasm in James' "The Turn of The Screw," we could easily dismiss any survivor's account of coming in contact with The Thing as a paranoid delusion, an insane fantasy, the natural result of being cooped-up and isolated on a remote polar research base where the sun doesn't rise for a month. Furthermore, we could look at The Thing as a reflection of post-modern society. With misinformation filling the airwaves, claims of "fake news" being spewed out by all sides of the political spectrum, artificial intelligence mimicking human interaction, and sometimes even humans themselves, a shapeshifting demon seems like an apt metaphor for the times. Heck, if a malicious adversary wanted to create chaos, they need only convince their enemy that A Thing is among them, and watch as paranoia and fear tear them apart from within. Perhaps this has already been tried.

The 1951 film, The Thing From Another World, may have fallen short of the mark when compared to Carpenter's 1982 remake but it does have a memorable quote at the end. After the alien is defeated, the journalist, "Scotty" (played by Douglas Spencer), who witnessed the battle, addresses the public by radio... 

"And now before giving you the details of the battle, I bring you a warning: Everyone of you listening to my voice, tell the world, tell this to everybody wherever they are. Watch the skies. Everywhere. Keep looking. Keep watching the skies." Maybe he should have added, keep watching each other too. Anyone, anywhere could be The Thing.  

Campbell, John W.  "Who Goes There?" in Astounding Science Fiction Magazine. Street & Smith, Publications, Inc. 1938.

Nyby, Christian. The Thing From Another World. Winchester Pictures Corporation, Los Angeles, California. 1951. 

Carpenter, John. The Thing, Universal Pictures, Los, Angeles California. 1982.