Mapping Ground Stations

It’s a small world after all….

Thinking of all the people from all around the world I have met through this nerdy hobby, and all the various countries they come from, I decided to try and map them out, on a global basis. There are lots and lots of sites that allow you to create maps, but, as with most of them, there is a cost $$$, and that is something I try to avoid.

So… looking into the available ‘free’ versions of mapping I decided to use Leaflet map tiles, and then use open source map tiles from Open Map, ESRI and others.

Now, first I had to figure out the code… trial and error, more errors than I wanted, but I kept working on it till I had the base map. Then I had to figure out how to map the locations of users. I decided to use the same geoJSON type gis files that I used to map the Aqua and Terra Satellite VIIRS fire data to some of my satellite imagery. Instead of using a polygon-based feature class, I used a point-based feature class.

Getting the first map point was easy, I used my own geolocation. And after getting that first point to show up, I could then expand the geoJSON dataset. But, how to get the data, there is no publically accessible database of hobbyist satellite receiving stations. So, I then went to the Facebook group Geo-Stationary Weather Satellite Group and asked for members to fill out a form and submit some basic information. The response was pretty quick and soon I had quite a few locations to enter. What surprised me is that I had some research facilities send me their information! That required another script so I could differentiate the hobbyist from ‘the professional’

Adding your station

The result is at the top of this page. If you would like to add your station to the growing list, please go to the main map page which is here, Ground Station Map. There is a short form at the bottom to fill out.

Because this is the internet and all, I look at each submission before I add it to the list, so be patient.

Static Image of map

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