Weather Photos On Students’ Receiver

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31007, 12 March 1966, Page 20

Weather Photos On Students’ Receiver

(From Our Own Reporter)

WELLINGTON, March 11.

Pictures transmitted by a weather satellite sent into space early last week by the United States Weather Bureau have been received by an electronic receiving station built by engineering students at Canterbury University.

The director of the Meteorological Service (Dr. J. F. Gabites) said today that the signals had given details of cloud formation and the information had been put to limited use by local forecasters.

He said the satellite was Still in the experimental stage

but it was expected the “bugs” would soon be corrected. Some of the signals had also been received by a receiving station run by officers of Operation Deep Freeze at Christchurch. These had also been used by forecasters. Dr. Gabites said it might be some time before the receiving equipment made by the students was ready for constant use.

The pictures transmitted by the satellite had given the students their first opportunity for a practical test of their equipment. It was intended, when the equipment was perfected, to make further receiving sets which could be placed at various points in New Zealand and possibly on islands in the Pacific.