Originally Posted by
Art-Deco
As there are a minor group of dx:ers active on the L-band (microwave band), it could have been possible that additional data could have been recieved and stored on a hard drive at a l-band fan amatuer, as amatuers always are on the edge of possible receiving limits-settings.
The only way I can see to receive the L-band transmissions from the aircraft would be either to have a satellite in orbit close to the one being used for the transmission, or for the antenna to have been way off so it's not pointing towards the satellite at all. Otherwise you'd need a large C-band antenna to pick up the downlink from the satellite; I don't know how many amateurs have that capability and are listening for ACARS data.
Also in mind, these array-antennas has a specific radiaton pattern, and when accessing satellites, usually the NOC keeps an record on time-signalstrength etc for tech-monitoring and billing purposes.
Carrier to noise, error rates and power levels could certainly provide useful information about how accurately the antenna was pointed: I'd presume that information will have been given to the investigators along with the messages.