Register 21 on file
Log. Every capture, success or failure.
The full operational record of this instrument. Failures are kept on file with the same provenance as successful decodes — the register is honest about what didn’t work.
- 07 Decoded CADU written, image produced.
- 01 Partial Lock intermittent, CADU thin.
- 11 No lock Viterbi never synced.
- 02 Skipped IQ on file, decode deferred.
May 2026
21 entries| No. | Captured | Satellite | Outcome | Band | Frequency | SNR | CADU | Pipeline / Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 2026-05-19 · 02:10Z | GEO-KOMPSAT-2A | Decoded | L | 1692.140 | 12.7 | 4772 KiB | SatDump v2.0.0-alpha · Sanchez v1.0.26.1 |
| 20 | 2026-05-19 · 01:30Z | GEO-KOMPSAT-2A | Decoded | L | 1692.140 | 12.1 | 4651 KiB | SatDump v2.0.0-alpha · Sanchez v1.0.26.1 |
| 19 | 2026-05-18 · 17:19Z | GEO-KOMPSAT-2A | No lock | L | 1692.140 | — | 0 KiB | 5-second test capture from Pi. No CADU output, deframer NOSYNC, viterbi NOSYNC. Short duration likely insufficient for lock. |
| 18 | 2026-05-18 · 14:39Z | GEO-KOMPSAT-2A | No lock | L | 1692.140 | — | 0 KiB | FREQUENCY ERROR: tuned 1691.000 MHz but GK-2A requires 1692.140 MHz (1.14 MHz low). Good signal quality at wrong freq, Viterbi locked but deframer failed. Pi script needs frequency correction. |
| 17 | 2026-05-18 · 13:30Z | GEO-KOMPSAT-2A | Decoded | L | 1692.140 | 12.5 | 4718 KiB | SatDump v2.0.0-alpha · Sanchez v1.0.26.1 |
| 16 | 2026-05-18 · 13:20Z | GEO-KOMPSAT-2A | Decoded | L | 1692.140 | 12.4 | 4714 KiB | SatDump v2.0.0-alpha · Sanchez v1.0.26.1 (blue underlay, haze 0.6) |
| 15 | 2026-05-18 · 13:20Z | GEO-KOMPSAT-2A | Decoded | L | 1692.140 | 12.4 | 4714 KiB | SatDump v2.0.0-alpha (no post) |
| 14 | 2026-05-18 · 12:10Z | GEO-KOMPSAT-2A | Decoded | L | 1692.140 | 12.0 | 4689 KiB | SatDump v2.0.0-alpha · Sanchez (red-blue gradient) |
| 13 | 2026-05-18 · 02:41Z | GEO-KOMPSAT-2A | No lock | L | 1692.140 | — | 0 KiB | 15-min capture (timeout 900, ~14.7 min recorded). Canonical decode (no dc_block) Peak SNR 1.53 dB, viterbi BER mean 0.24, deframer 100% NOSYNC, 0 CADU. Cross-check decode with --dc_block=true gave 13 KB CADU / 13 ASMs (all real GK-2A: SCID 195, mix of VCID 0+63). Link margin ~158x worse deframer yield than 2026-05-17 first-light at same flags. Positioning change did not help. Same ~1.5 dB Peak SNR ceiling as 2026-05-17. SD card moved physically to NAS (wifi too slow). IQ retained for re-decode. |
| 12 | 2026-05-17 · 15:31Z | GEO-KOMPSAT-2A | Partial | L | 1692.140 | — | 2055 KiB | SatDump gk2a_lrit baseband, cu8 @ 2.4 Msps, gain 25.4, dc_block=true. Viterbi SYNCED continuously, deframer never locked. 2.1 MB CADU written but 31 LRIT CRC fails / zero valid LRIT packets / no images. SatDump Peak SNR plateau 0.982 dB. FFT band-power confirms real GK-2A signal centered exactly at 1692.14 MHz (BPSK-shaped ±100 kHz envelope, stable through full 20 min) but only +3.6 dB above edge band-avg / ~+5 dB above noise at peak bin — below lock threshold. Diagnosis: link budget shortfall (likely pointing alignment / polarization sense / coax loss), NOT decoder config. IQ pulled from Pi SD card mounted at /mnt/pi-sd. IQ moved to needs-review. |
| 11 | 2026-05-17 · 06:39Z | ELEKTRO-L3 | No lock | L | 1691.000 | — | 0 KiB | SD-card transfer (Pi powered off post-capture). 600s @ 1691.0 MHz, 2.4 Msps, gain 40, cu8. SatDump elektro_lrit pipeline (BPSK 294 ksps, conv+concat, dc_block=true): viterbi NOSYNC + BER ~0.43 throughout, 0 CADU. FFT band-power probe (band_power_probe.txt in pass dir): LRIT band vs far-edge gap 0.2-0.4 dB at t=60/300/540s -> no LRIT signal in IQ. L5 retry skipped: elektro_lrit pipeline is identical for L3/L5; no satellite-id distinction at modem layer. Lone -503 kHz narrow spur near end of capture, unrelated. IQ -> needs-review/ for 7-day retention. Suspected causes upstream of decoder (chain/pointing/LNA/no-broadcast-slot); not investigated this session. |
| 10 | 2026-05-17 · 06:39Z | ELEKTRO-L5 | No lock | L | 1691.000 | — | 0 KiB | SatDump v2.0.0-alpha (elektro_lrit, dc_block=true) |
| 09 | 2026-05-14 · 22:27Z | METEOR-M N2-4 | No lock | VHF | 137.900 | — | 0 KiB | M2-4 LRPT, --lna --gain 25 (pole, V-dipole). SatDump v2.0.0-alpha-8ce9d5b, --dc_block=true. Peak SNR 2.2 dB, real SNR 0 dB, 0 CADU. FFT verification: LRPT band -54.83 dB, edge -55.3 dB → +0.5 dB above edge (noise only). Tests May 14 plan (--lna --gain 25 to recover from front-end compression); plan did NOT recover signal. IQ in needs-review for re-decode/analysis. |
| 08 | 2026-05-14 · 20:47Z | METEOR-M N2-4 | No lock | VHF | 137.900 | — | 0 KiB | M2-4 LRPT, --lna --gain 25 (pole, V-dipole). SatDump v2.0.0-alpha-8ce9d5b, --dc_block=true. Peak SNR 3.6 dB, real SNR 0 dB, 0 CADU. FFT verification: LRPT band -51.44 dB, edge -55.7 dB → +4.3 dB above edge (CLAUDE.md threshold ≥5 dB). Borderline noise, no decode. Tests May 14 plan (--lna --gain 25 to recover from front-end compression); plan did NOT recover signal. IQ in needs-review for re-decode/analysis. |
| 07 | 2026-05-14 · 15:41Z | METEOR-M N2-3 | No lock | VHF | 137.900 | — | 0 KiB | Pole-mounted V-dipole + --lna --gain 25 (noise-floor experiment from 2026-05-14 plan). SatDump --dc_block=true. 0 viterbi locks, BER stuck ~0.41. IQ moved to needs-review for 7-day retention. dataset.json mis-IDed as METEOR-M1 (expected when no frames decode). Pi REPORT.md claimed 44.2 dB SNR / polarization mismatch — DC-spike artifact per CLAUDE.md memory. |
| 06 | 2026-05-14 · 06:18Z | METEOR-M N2-4 | Skipped | VHF | 137.900 | — | 0 KiB | DIAGNOSTIC capture (not a pass): 60s baseline noise at 137.900 MHz, gain=25 (no LNA), V-dipole E-W at POLE position (~3.6m). Part of noise-floor experiment 2026-05-14. Noise floor (edge 300-500 kHz): 46.16 dB — 7.5 dB QUIETER than stool at same gain. Overturns prior hypothesis that pole-height move raised the floor. See /satellite/_diagnostics/2026-05-14_noise-floor-experiment/REPORT.md |
| 05 | 2026-05-14 · 06:14Z | METEOR-M N2-4 | Skipped | VHF | 137.900 | — | 0 KiB | DIAGNOSTIC capture (not a pass): 60s baseline noise at 137.900 MHz, gain=25 (no LNA), V-dipole E-W at ORIGINAL STOOL position (~1.2m). Part of noise-floor experiment 2026-05-14 to disentangle gain/height/environment. Noise floor (edge 300-500 kHz): 53.63 dB (matches May 12 baseline within 0.4 dB). See /satellite/_diagnostics/2026-05-14_noise-floor-experiment/REPORT.md |
| 04 | 2026-05-13 · 21:09Z | METEOR-M N2-4 | No lock | VHF | 137.900 | — | 0 KiB | 17.9 min capture, no Viterbi lock (0/34), CADU 0 B. CORRECTED DIAGNOSIS: NOT polarization mismatch. FFT shows noise floor at ~76 dB across whole 1 MHz baseband; May 12 IQ at same SDR/freq had 54 dB floor (delta +21 dB). Pi REPORT 'avg SNR 19.7 dB' is DC-spike artifact (cu8 zero-bias, fixed 88-dB single-bin at f=0) mistaken for signal — same misread documented for 2026-05-13 entry. Probable primary cause: tuner gain 44.5 dB drives R828D front-end into compression on horizon-level interferers newly visible to 12-ft antenna; lowering gain to ~25 dB is the first thing to try. Re-decode of preserved May 12 IQ through current SatDump yielded 2.2 MB CADU (vs 179 KB original) — processing is verified fine. Image data at /satellite/meteor-m2-4/2026-05-12_1435/_redecode_2026-05-14/MSU-MR/. |
| 03 | 2026-05-13 · 08:44Z | METEOR-M N2-4 | No lock | VHF | 137.900 | — | 0 KiB | V-dipole N-S orientation (single-variable change from 2026-05-12_1435 E-W partial baseline). Pass cut short at 14:30 IST (≈16 min real signal + 2 min noise tail) due to IMD lightning warning; antenna retrieved early. Peak SNR 4.3 dB, Viterbi BER ~0.41 throughout (no lock), deframer NOSYNC entire pass. Pi-side REPORT.md monitor SNR (26.7 dB avg) is DC-spike-dominated and misleading; lock%=0 is truer. Pi setup.txt was unedited template (known template-leakthrough issue) — N-S orientation note exists only in operator message. SatDump auto-ID says METEOR-M1 in dataset.json which is a fallback on no decoded channels; pipeline run was meteor_m2-x_lrpt (no _72k variant exists in this build). 2026-05-14: re-decoded with 4 SatDump flag combos (--dc_block on/off × --iq_swap on/off, plus --rs_usecheck + --fill_missing). Best result was --dc_block=false --iq_swap=true: 8 brief Viterbi locks with BER ~0.03 but 0 deframer locks → 0 CADU. No images possible. Retry artefacts at /satellite/meteor-m2-4/2026-05-13_1414/_retry_2026-05-14_no_dc_block_iq_swap/. IQ moved to needs-review for 7d retention. |
| 02 | 2026-05-12 · 14:54Z | METEOR-M N2-3 | No lock | VHF | 137.900 | — | 0 KiB | polarization mismatch per REPORT.md (V-dipole vs RHCP); IQ never transferred to NAS; AOS from REPORT.md |
| 01 | 2026-05-12 · 09:05Z | METEOR-M N2-4 | Decoded | VHF | 137.900 | 7.5 | 2176 KiB | SatDump v2.0.0-alpha (--dc_block=true) |