The NOAA-GEOSAT software has been specifically tailored to the transmissions of meteorological satellites. Transmissions are always at 120 rpm using an IOC of 576. In contrast to short-wave stations which use frequency modulation, satellite weather images are transmitted using amplitude modulation.

The software is started in free-run mode by enabling the mode. Because this mode has no synchronization sequence the correct display of the image is controlled by using the Phase function in the Options menu.

The special items AM-Gain and AM-Offset are placed in the Demodulator menu. Centering of the signal deviations on the bar graph is controlled by adjusting AM-Offset. In addition maximum deviation is required on the bar graph. This is done by adjusting AM-Gain. It should be noted that these two adjustments are influenced by each other.

The orbiting satellites may be received with an active antenna and a high quality VHF-UHF receiver. An optimal receiving station allows reception for approximately 20 minutes before the satellite has moved below the horizon. The AF output of the receiver may be fed directly into the decoder, which converts it into a weather image viewing station providing excellent image quality.

Polarization problems occur with orbiting satellites resulting in reception gaps of up to 2 minutes. A special antenna may alleviate this problem.

Due to the Doppler effect the frequency of the received signal may change as much as 1000 Hz during the reception period. The receiver should therefore have a built-in automatic frequency control (AFC) capability.