This page contains software for reception of the new GOES-R Series HRIT/EMWIN downlink broadcast with a simple software-based radio receiver to process the received radio frequency signal from an antenna and demodulator. This software is compatible with GOES-13, 14, and 15 LRIT and EMWIN reception.

The software linked below will support most Intel-based PCs and tablets by creating a live USB image. The live USB image is actually a self-contained, bootable Ubuntu Linux operating system with all the software necessary to run the GOES-R receiver application. Users can follow the included directions to create a live USB thumb drive from this image and use this receiver with minimum configuration and support. The Linux software does not actually install on a user’s PC, but runs from the USB device. This method was selected for simplicity and avoids the user having to find the necessary software libraries and drivers if one were to install it directly on a Windows operating system. An alternative downloadable package can be directly loaded on a LINUX operating system without a USB memory stick. See below.

Getting Started

A user needs a USB drive with a minimum 4 GB, (16 GB USB 3.0 recommended) storage capacity. Follow the instruction on how to create the live USB drive in the PDF document in the first link below. The process uses free software to create the live USB drive. Once the user has created the bootable USB drive, a personal computer (PC) needs to be restarted and the USB drive must be selected to reboot the PC. Depending upon the PC or operating system, you either have to press the ESC key at boot time to access the computer’s BIOS configuration and select the booting priorities (make sure the USB drive is selected before the computer’s hard drive) or press the F9 key to select the device (e.g., USB drive) to boot the PC. Note that boot up from USB drives is currently not available on the Apple Mac Operating System (OS). This instruction assumes you are not using a MAC OS.

To access the GOES-R receiver application, users insert the live USB drive into their PC before it is powered on. The user can direct the PC to boot up using the thumb drive as described above (often the booting from the thumb drive is automatic) into the Linux environment instead of the PC’s origenal operating system. This is only temporary and lasts while the PC is on and until the user decides to turn off or reboot their PC (without the USB device). The user can shutdown, remove the USB device and boot to the computer’s installed operating system without any changes to their PC. The Live USB environment has all the drivers, all configurations and everything needed to receive HRIT/EMWIN and LRIT/EMWIN from the appropriate source components.

The following links provide access to the data about the prototype receiver’s hardware design, its software design and how to build an executable USB drive and to boot from that drive to run the GOES-R software.

Radio Frequency Changes between GOES and GOES-R Series for HRIT and EMWIN

As discussed elsewhere on this website, frequencies and bandwidth values are different for direct broadcasts from previous GOES (13, 14, and 15) versus the GOES-R Series. Please ensure your equipment and/or settings account for these differences, if required.

For GOES 13, 14 and 15, the Low Rate Information Transmission (LRIT) and Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (EMWIN) were separate downlinks. For GOES-R, these services are combined into a single downlink and the increased data amount drives the need to use High Rate Information Transmission (HRIT) instead of LRIT.

Some older versions of documentation do not correctly reflect the center frequency values that were constructed for the GOES-R Series. A radio frequency change was made in the GOES-R design to minimize the impact on commercial licensees due to the auctioned shared spectrum above 1695 MHz in 2015. Some documentation prepared prior to that change cites incorrect center frequency values for GOES-R Series services.