Typhoon Surigae | The SWLing Post

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:

Technology considered obsolete, the fax, or better, radiofax (transmitted by radio) continues to be used by several meteorological agencies around the world, which broadcast weather charts to vessels on the high seas. These two images were transmitted today by the Japan Meteorological Agency and received at 19h10 and 19h50 (UTC) in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

The first image is a photo from the Japanese satellite Himawari 8. Even with noise, due to the shortwave propagation, you can see clearly the “eye” of typhoon Surigae.

The second image is a typhoon alert, indicating on the map that Surigae has changed course and is now en route to the Pacific.

These two images were transmitted today by the Japan Meteorological Agency, on the frequency of 7795 kHz

Thank you for sharing this, Carlos. It’s amazing, the amount of information you can receive over the air even with modest equipment by today’s standards. With a modest portable radio and a little decoding software, anyone can grab images like this.

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:

Even with the latest communications technology available in the world today, radio remains indispensable.

Japan, a country known for its state-of-the-art technology, has a network of coastal radios to communicate with fishing vessels, transmitting in medium and shortwaves. In this audio I made, the Okinawa coastal station broadcasts weather reports and an alert for typhoon category 5 Surigae, which is currently heading south in Japan.

The signal was listened yesterday in Porto Alegre, Brazil, at 9 am (UTC).

You’ve a very good point, Carlos. Even though there are advanced satellite systems that help maritime traffic with weather, they still rely on real-time reports over the air when systems fail, and when cloud cover or stormy seas might interfere with sat comms.

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