GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) is a low-cost, user-friendly information dissemination service that distributes satellite-based data to diverse communities in the Western Hemisphere. The service aims to provide global information as a basis for sound decision-making in a number of critical areas, including biodiversity, disaster resilience, energy, food security, infrastructure, public health, sustainable urban development, and water resources management.
GNC-A is part of the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS) and is led by NOAA in the Western Hemisphere. The service went operational in early 2008 and today has easy to-use, low-cost receiving stations throughout North, Central, and South America as well as stations in Europe.
This user-driven, user-friendly and low-cost information dissemination service aims to provide global information as a basis for sound decision-making in a number of critical areas, including Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sustainability; Disaster Resilience; Energy and Mineral Resources Management; Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture; Infrastructure and Transportation Management; Public Health Surveillance; Sustainable Urban Development and Water Resources Management.. Accessing and sharing such a range of vital data will yield societal benefits through improved human health and well-being, environment management and economic growth
GNC-A uses the commercial Intelsat-21 satellite to broadcast environmental and other observation data to an area covering most of North, Central, and South America.
The current list of GNC-A data providers is found below:
- CIRA: Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (USA)
- CIMSS: Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (USA)
- CONAE: National Space Activities Commission (Argentina)
- EUMETSAT: European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
- INPE: National Institute for Space Research (Brazil)
- IMN: National Meteorologial Institute (Costa Rica)
- MARN: Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (El Salvador)
- NOAA-NESDIS: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA)
- NWS: National Weather Service (USA)
GEONETCast-Americas Receive Station Basic Components
In order to assembly a GEONETCast-Americas station you need basically five components:
- Antenna
- LNB
- DVB-S2 Receiver
- Ingestion Software (KenCast FAZZT Professional Client)*
- Computer
*Note that the open-source software SatDump now has a built-in ingestor that utilizes the same protocols as HimawariCast and EumetCast and can decode GEONETCast as well.
Receiving GEONETCast:
As for setup, there is a plethora of information and resources on this site, https://geonetcast.wordpress.com/ which is the homepage of all things GEONETCast.
The Current version of Satdump, will now decode GEONETCast without the need to purchase the expensive KenCast FAZZT Professional Client.