A hobbyist in San Francisco received weather satellite images from Meteor M2-4, a Russian polar-orbiting satellite launched in February 2024, using a simple V-shaped antenna, software-defined radio receiver, and decoding software to capture infrared and visible-light observations during a 12-minute orbital pass.
Mauricio Molano, a Spanish radio enthusiast, used software-defined radios to receive FM broadcasts from the Carolinas across the Atlantic via sporadic-E propagation in July 2026, a feat made possible by atmospheric conditions and advanced equipment. He identified four U.S. stations including WQSL(FM) in Jacksonville, North Carolina, more than 3,700 miles away, by recording and analyzing the spectrum visually.