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On October 1st 1958 President

Eisenhower created NASA and declared

“that it is the policy of the United States

that activities in space should be

devoted to peaceful purposes for the

benefit of mankind”

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In August 1960 the National Geographic magazine carried a story “Our Earth as a Satellite Sees It” a story about Tiros 1 launched on April 1st 1960

 By now America had said that

“Weather Satellites are free for all

mankind”

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What is a Private Individual User ? • A weather enthusiast• A golfer• Someone with a small private plane• A yachtsman• Some one interested in the

technology for self training

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The ‘Remote Imaging Group’ is largely dormant but has 1,600 members, the biggest group of its type.

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What might a PIU expect from the World’s governments?

• Encouragement in line with the original ethos in 1960

• Free use of the data• Easy transitions between satellites

and systems• Continuity

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The data a PIU might reasonably expect to receive

 • Frequent local images• Preferably from a geostationary

satellite• Resolution isn’t that important• Animation is important

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How does a PIU use this data?•  Usually by leaving a computer on and

looking at an animation sequence or the latest image

• Determining if bad weather is coming towards them.

• Deciding to take a boat out for the day• Whether to go and play golf• To get extra confidence

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Life in 2004!•  WEFAX was operational• Small antennas in use (smaller than a

domestic cat)

• Everyone happy!

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Changes since the 2004 conference

• There were an estimated 10,000 private individual users of weather satellites in Europe, now maybe just 2,000?

• There were an estimated 5,000 private individual users of weather satellites in the USA, now maybe just 1,000?

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Changes since the 2004 conference• WEFAX no longer available (except over

India)• No small antenna systems• Equipment so difficult that only computer

boffs can get it to work• Last year the Meteosat internet group had

2,624 messages from people• Reliance on the internet that isn’t really up

to it• No real future at all?

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How Third World Countries and disaster zones benefit from the PIU community

• Easy to set up systems using amateur based technology

• Access to amateur user groups• Low cost amateur systems

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The aspirations and needs of the PIU community

 • Some sort of low cost system• An easy to use system• A system that can use a small antenna• A system that is broadly analogue

based and does not require any specialised technology

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The future of the PIU community

 • Is it bleak?

• Or could the world’s satellite operators consider re-introducing a WEFAX type service?

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