SatTrack Users Manual ===================== ====================================================================== Copyright --------- SatTrack is keyware. SatTrack may be freely redistributed without change or modification. It may be freely copied and distributed as long as there is no charge above a nominal fee for media and copying. SatTrack program and program files may not be modified or changed for personal use. Please upload SatTrack, along with all files, to your favorite BBS. No guarantee of any kind is given that the program(s) described in this document are 100% reliable. You are using this material on your own risk. SatTrack should not be modified. SatTrack is provided as key-ware, user registration is available. ====================================================================== Reference Manual ---------------- This reference section provides information on all the menus, windows and files associated with the SatTrack program. The information is ordered by the menu, window and file. Much of the instructional information within this section is repeated. This is done to assist the user in understanding the full effect of the command and how to control the SatTrack program in the most efficient manner possible. ====================================================================== Menus ----- The Menus are standard Amiga Menus. They can be viewed by pushing and holding down the right mouse button. Most menu functions also have keyboard hot-keys which are listed to the right of each menu function item. The hot key is listed below along with the menu item. All hot keys are used at the same time as the Right-Amiga-Key (RAK) as listed below. ====================================================================== PROJECT ------- The PROJECT MENU provides control of all file input and output as well as system controls Save Display (RAK-G Graph) ---------------------------- Selection of this menu option tells SatTrack you wish to save to a file the current display as an IFF image. Upon selection of this menu, SatTrack presents the File Selection Window. Through this window you are able to select the file name that SatTrack will write out the display. Selection of either NEW or ADD will result in saving of the graphic display to the file specified. The colors saved with the file are specified in the IFF file "SAVE_COLOR.IFF" See the SAVE_COLOR.IFF file reference for more information on the colors used in the SAVE DISPLAY command. Selection of the printer device will not cause the graphics to be printed, you must use a paint program or the Commodore DUMPGRAPHICS program. Save Keps DB (RAK-S Save) --------------------------- Execution of this menu option causes SatTrack to save all satellite information stored within its memory to a SatTrack Data base file. Selection of this option causes SatTrack to open a File Selection Window. Using this window you are able to select the file where you wish the SatTrack memory information to be saved. After selecting a file name you select either NEW or ADD. NEW causes any information within the Data base file to be written over by current data within SatTrack. Selection of ADD tells SatTrack to append the information. Be careful that you don't result in a data base that contains more that 300 satellites. This is the maximum that SatTrack can handle. SatTrack Data bases contain extra information that raw data files don't contain. Data bases contain all the information seen in the kep edit window display. Load Keps DB (RAK-L Load) --------------------------- Selection of the menu option informs SatTrack that the you wish to load a previously saved kep data file. The Load Keps menu item allow the user to select a previously saved kep data base file and have it loaded into SatTrack. (See FILE SELECTION) The user may select either NEW or ADD to cause the database to be loaded. Selecting NEW causes SatTrack to remove any previously existing satellites to be removed before the data base file is loaded into memory. Selection of ADD causes SatTrack to append the database information, leaving any existing satellite information in memory. ADD allows for merging of databases. Remember that data stored in memory is not written to file unless you do a Save Keps DB. Input Keps (RAK-I Input) ------------------------ Most satellite information that you will be able to find will be on computer bulletin boards or other external sources that result in a file. This file can be read directly into SatTrack using the Input Keps command. Valid file requester selections are NEW and ADD. NEW causes any keps already in SatTrack memory to be delete before the file requested is loaded, ADD causes SatTrack to append the file information to any existing information in SatTrack memory. There are two formats of satellite data that you will find from kep sources. One is called "NASA two line" format, the other is know as the "ARRL format". SatTrack is able to read both of these formats. SatTrack allows these formats to be mixed so if you happen to capture information in both formats, you need not separate them. Most capture sessions also contain information text that is not related to the satellite information. (e.g. login information) SatTrack filters your file, ignoring all extraneous information. Much effort went into making SatTrack understand the difference between satellite information and other information, but if SatTrack gets confused, you may need to edit out some of the non satellite information. Print Keps (RAK-P Print) ------------------------ The print keps menu option allow you to dump all the satellite information to a human readable format. The execution of this command begins with a File Requester Window requests the user to select the file name where the keps should be written. The format of this file is compatible to the Input Keps function. This command can be used to verify, backup or transfer your database to PC based tracking programs. About ----- The about function displays information about the version and name and address of the author of SatTrack. Quit ---- The Quit menu option causes SatTrack to exit. SatTrack will not prevent you from quitting before saving kep information. The QTH file will be written out if you changed the QTH via the QTH menu option. ====================================================================== EDIT ---- The sub items under the EDIT item allows for user editing of the particular date item. See the windows section of this manual for specific information on the sub-item. QTH (RAK-Q QTH) --------------- The QTH is an amateur radio term for home. The QTH window allows you to enter your location in the world. Your location in terms of Latitude and Longitude and Altitude and your time-zone as a difference from GMT. See the QTH window section for more information. Time (RAK-T Time) ----------------- The Time window allows you to control the two tracking methods. The real-time tracking may be selected and a desired rate of satellite update may be selected. For simulation tracking you can select the start and stop time as well as the update cycle. See the Time Window section for more information. Keps (RAK-K Kep Satellite Edit) ------------------------------- The Keps sub-item menu function causes SatTrack to enter the Satellite editing window. Satellite editing allows for viewing, adding, modifying or deleting any of the satellites currently in SatTrack memory. See the Kep Editing Window for more information. ====================================================================== GLOBAL ------ Each Satellite can be control independently of all other satellites in SatTrack memory. This set of menu items allow for global control of all "radio-buttons" and their operations. These radio-button can be reviewed in the Kep Edit Window function. Sometimes the desire to change all the options of one type is required. These menu sub-items allow for the specified operation to be done to all satellites in SatTrack memory. The alternative is to run EDIT KEPS and manually change each one. Graph All On ------------ Graph indicates that a particular satellite have its position plotted on the world map display. Selection of this sub-menu item causes all of the satellite in SatTrack memory to plot on the world map display. Graph All Off ------------- This item is the exact opposite of the Graph All On sub-item menu function. It causes all satellites in SatTrack memory to not plot on the world map display. Print All On ------------ Only satellites that have the Print indicator turned on will print to the output file when that option is requested. This sub-item causes all satellites in SatTrack memory to be set to be printed when printing is enabled. Print All Off ------------- This item is the opposite of Print All On sub-item menu function. It causes all satellites in SatTrack memory to not be printed if and when printing is enabled. Display All On -------------- The display indicator allows for display of all SatTrack satellites in memory. The Display option control the text printout on the screen for a satellite. Display All Off --------------- This option is the opposite of the Display All On. It will turn display of all satellites in SatTrack memory off. Visible All On -------------- This option sets the visible option on for all satellites. The visible option has several functions depending on the state of other menu options and the position of the satellite. Visible All Off --------------- This is the opposite of the Visible All On function. Selection of this sub-menu item will result in all satellites' visible option being turned off. ====================================================================== DISPLAY ------- The DISPLAY menu item has sub-items which control the world map display. SatTrack can display the world map in three different center points. The center can be placed at either 0,90 East or 90 West degrees. This allows hemisphere of the user to be centered in the display. Selection of any of there items causes history tracking to be erased. Redraw ------ Redraw will simply redisplay the current selected map file, erasing all satellite history points. 0 Longitude (RAK-0 0 longitude) ------------------------------- The 0 Longitude selection cause the map to be centered on the Prime meridian. 90E Longitude (RAK-E East longitude) ----------------------------------- The 90E longitude selection causes SatTrack to select the European to Asian section of the Earth. The display is centered on 90E longitude. 90W Longitude (RAK-W West longitude) ------------------------------------ The 90W longitude selection causes SatTrack to select the Americas The display is centered on 90W longitude. OVERHEAD (RAK-U UP) ------------------------------------ The OVERHEAD selection causes SatTrack to select a round display which is centered on the location entered in the QTH. This display allows for easier visual viewing of satellites. The circumference of the circle is the azmuth of the satellite. The radius is the elevation of the satellite. ====================================================================== ALARM beep (RAK-B Beep) flash (RAK-F Flash) ------------------- The Alarm sub-menu items interact with the Visible Options selection for each satellite. If a satellite is within line-of-sight of the location stored in QTH, the satellite is said to be "visible". When a visible satellite has its Visible option turned on the display will flash or a two tone sound will alarm. The user can select from either of these options with the FLASH and BEEP sub-menu item. FLASH will cause a screen flash and BEEP will cause the generation of sound in the left and right speaker channels. ====================================================================== PRINT Visible Only (RAK-V Visible Options) Print File (RAK-O Output Printfile) ------------------------------------- The PRINT menu option is for control of the ASCII output. Two sub- items exist for the PRINT menu. The Visible Only file is linked with the satellite VISIBLE OPTIONS variable for each satellite. Visible Only and the VISIBLE OPTIONS will print or not print the information about the satellite. Files or devices selected for printing will not be closed or delete until this menu selection is UN-checked. An uncheck indicates that the user wishes to cause SatTrack to stop printing to the file. SatTrack has extensive control of when a satellite should be controlled. The control is via the PRINT FILE, VISIBLE ONLY and a Satellite's PRINT SATELLITE and VISIBLE OPTIONS values. Satellite information will only be printed to a file, or printer when PRINT FILE has been selected and a valid file has been selected. Upon selection of PRINT FILE, the standard file requester window will be displayed. From this window you can select the file or AmigaDOS device which to sent the ASCII information. SatTrack uses the VISIBLE ONLY and each satellite's PRINT SATELLITE and VISIBLE OPTIONS to determine when to print. A table of this logical state is as follows: VISIBLE | A Satellite's | Positive | Print ONLY | PRINT VISIBLE | Elevation | Satellite | SATELLITE OPTION | | ?? ================================================================== * OFF * * N OFF ON * * Y ON ON ON Y Y ON ON ON N N ON ON OFF N N In English, print the satellite if a print file is open, and the satellites PRINT SATELLITE is on and either the VISIBLE ONLY is on, or the VISIBLE OPTION is on and the satellite is positive. ====================================================================== SCREEN To Back ------- The SCREEN menu has only one sub-menu item, TO BACK. Selection of this sub-item causes the SatTrack screen to become the rear-most Amiga screen. All of SatTrack's editing can be performed using standard Amiga windows. ====================================================================== License Window -------------- The first window you will encounter is the License WINDOW. If you have not registered and installed your personal SatTrack keys, the License WINDOW provides information about how to register. Once you have registered, the License WINDOW will present your information; that is, your name, address and phone number. To clear this window, move the mouse pointer into the window and press the left mouse button. The window will disappear and you will now be in the running SatTrack environment. ====================================================================== QTH Window Call Sign (or Name) Altitude UTC Offset Latitude East and West Radio Buttons Longitude North and South Radio Buttons ----------------------------- Using the Right-Amiga-Key along with the Q key, you can select the QTH window. QTH is an amateur radio term for home-location. Using the QTH window you can enter information such as your HAM call sign (or your first name if you are not a HAM). More importantly you need to enter your location on the earth. This location is described with longitude,latitude, altitude and the offset from GMT. Longitude and Latitude descriptions must also include a direction on the compass. If you live above the equator, simple enter your Latitude as a positive value. If you happen to live below the equator you can either enter the Latitude as a negative number or enter it as a positive number and select the SOUTH radio button. If you choose to enter a negative value, SatTrack will change the value to positive and select the SOUTH radio button. Therefore after you enter your value you can check your information by viewing the positive number along with the SOUTH or NORTH radio button SatTrack is "positive east", this means that Longitudes are entered as positive values for the "Eastern" hemisphere and negative for the "Western" hemisphere. If you live in the United States you should enter either a positive value or make sure that the EAST radio button is selected. If you live on the other side the prime meridian you should enter the value as negative or positive and select the WEST radio button The UTC OFFSET is the final piece of information required to completely describe your location on earth. The UTC OFFSET should be entered as the number of hours difference between your time-zone and Universal Coordinate Time (UTC). The times for some selected times are: EST:5, EDT:6, CST:6, CDT:7, MST:7, MDT:8, PST:8, PDT:9. If you live east of latitude zero you should select a negative value. A value of zero will cause SatTrack to display all values for UTC time. The final item in the QTH window is ALTITUDE. The ALTITUDE is your distance above "sea level" in meters. SatTrack will save these values when you exit, therefore unless you need to change these values, you need not use the QTH window again. Remember, however, make sure that you change the UTC OFFSET in the event of daylight savings time. ====================================================================== Time Edit Menu Time Selection Radio Buttons Use Clock In Month/Day In Julian Update Rate Simulation Cycle Time Simulation Start MM/DD/YY HOUR MINUTE YEAR DECIMAL DAYS Simulation End MM/DD/YY HOUR MINUTE YEAR DECIMAL DAYS Window Close ------------ The Time Edit window allows many of the time controls within SatTrack. SatTrack usually operates in real-time mode, where the Amiga time clock is read and uses for tracking. This is selected using the USE CLOCK radio button. SatTrack also has a "simulation" mode where you can select a starting and ending time other than that of the clock. This allows you to run tracking information at some time in the future. This is helpful for determining when the satellite you are interested is visible. Add this feature with other SatTrack features such as the SAVE DISPLAY or PRINT FILE and you can generate and save tracking information of future events. To simulate SatTrack tracking, there are two methods of entering simulation times; one is using a standard day, month, year and hour, minute time; the other is by using a year and Julian time. Julian time is a real number that represents the number of days since the beginning of the year. The fractional portion of the Julian time is the hour, minute and seconds of the day. For example, one second into January first is 1.0000115, noon on Jan 1 would be 1.50000. This along with a year describe the START or STOP time. Use the YEAR DECIMAL DAYS gadgets of the START DATE AND TIME to select a start time and the same gadget title under the END DATE AND TIME for selection of the stop time. Usually you would know the JULIAN star and stop date that you wished to run. You can also run a simulation using the more standard date and time format. Select the IN MONTH/DAY radio button to indicate that you wish to run in simulation mode using the MM/DD/YY HOUR MINUTE start and stop time. MM represents the numerical representation for the month, January=1; February=2, etc. The hour is entered as a number from 0 to 23, minutes from 0 to 59. Enter the START DATE AND TIME as well as the END DATE AND TIME. SatTrack will validate each gadget for valid values. A single invalid value will cause SatTrack to flash the display and clear out the offending gadget. Once all values are selected, click the close gadget to start the simulation. SatTrack will validate the completed time and if it finds an error it will flash the screen again. You will have to re-enter the TIME WINDOW to correct your values, upon entry to the TIME WINDOW, the mode will be reset to real-time as indicated by the selected USE CLOCK radio gadget. Two other gadgets exist on the TIME WINDOW. These gadgets control the rate at which SatTrack updates the satellite data. The UPDATE RATE gadget controls the approximate time for all satellites that you have requested to be updated. If you have only one satellite selected and a UPDATE RATE of 3 seconds, SatTrack will attempt to update the satellite once every 3 seconds. If you have 3 satellites and have the UPDATE RATE value set at 3, SatTrack will attempt to update one satellite every second. Different Amiga processor will update at different rates. A 68030 w/ 68882 will fully update 60 to 80 satellites a second. A value of 0 for UPDATE RATE will causes SatTrack to attempt to operate at the fastest possible rate. This is usually preferred for simulation mode since the faster result is usually desired. For real-time mode, a value of zero will cause SatTrack to update satellites as fast as possible, however the time will not increment any faster than the Amiga clock time. The final gadget on the TIME WINDOW is the SIMULATION CYCLE TIME. This gadget allows you to select the time increment for simulation. After the completed cycle of all operable satellites, the value specified in SIMULATION CYCLE TIME will be added to the current simulation time for the next interation. ====================================================================== Kep Edit Menu Satellite Specific Information Satellite Name Catalog Number Epoch Time Element Set Epoch Rev Inclination R. A. of Node Eccentricity Arg of Perigee Mean Anomaly Mean Motion Decay Rate Satellite Brush File Frequency Graph Color DB Entry # Display Satellite Visible Options Print Satellite Graph Satellite Selection Slide Bar Satellite Delete Find New ---------------------- The most commonly used window in SatTrack is the KEP EDIT WINDOW. This window is used to enter, delete or modify the information that describes the orbit of a satellite. The orbital values are listed below with a short description for your interest: Satellite Name: This is the name of the orbiting object, any name less than 15 characters is acceptable. Catalog Number: This is a number assigned to the specific orbiting object. This number will always be the same for the same object. Epoch Time: This it the time that the other information was created for the orbiting object. The time is in modified julian in the format YYDDD.ddddddddddd where YY is the year, DDD is the day of the year and ddddddddddd is the number of hours, minutes, etc. Element Set: a text string that describes the time that this kep set was generated. For example, for shuttles the first set of information is JSC-001 for Johnson Space Center #1. JSC released the information. The element set is used to help you determine the difference between different measurements of the satellite. Any text can be used here. Epoch Rev: Rev for revolution. This the the orbit number, or the number of time the satellite circled the earth. Inclination: the angle between the orbit and equatorial planes measured in a plane perpendicular to a line defining the respective intersection. R. A. of Node: Right Ascension, The angle measured in the plane of the equator from a fixed inertial axis in space (vernal equinox), to a plane normal to the equator (meridian) which contains the object. Eccentricity: angle measured in the fundamental plane from the principal axis to a meridian which contains at its remote base point the outward projection (normal to principle axis) of the orbital object that circumscribes the actual ellipse of motion. Arg of Perigee: Argument of prefocus, The angel measured in the orbit plane from the line defined by the longitude of the ascending node to another line in the orbit plane, which contains the focus and passes through perifocus. Mean Anomaly: mean motion times the ephemeris time minus the time of perifocal passage. Mean Motion: Gravitational constant times the square root of latitude of the orbital object divided by semi-major axis raised to the 3/2 power. Decay Rate: or Drag; the effect of the drag on the satellite. Frequency: The frequency of the radio transmitter or receiver on the satellite. This values is used to calculate the doppler effect causes by the movement of you and the satellite. Some satellite information is not related to keplarian math. These items are for use of the SatTrack program and its features. GRAPH COLOR: is a color from 1 to 14 for the satellite to display for the history point and the text display. See the COLOR FILE for more information. DB Entry #: a non editable display of the numerical location of the satellite in the database. Display Satellite: When this radio button is selected, SatTrack will write the Satellites information on the screen as text at the bottom of the display. Visible Options: This radio button controls special functions that operate based on whether the satellite is visible from your QTH (location). If the option is selected and the satellite is visible it will cause the BEEP and FLASH functions to sound or flash the screen at each update. See the BEEP and FLASH menu items. This button also controls special print functions. See the PRINT menu option for more information. Print Satellite: Selection of this radio button will cause SatTrack to include this satellite in any printing activity. This button is used in conjunction with the PRINT menu items. See the PRINT menu sub-items VISIBLE OPTION and PRINT FILE. Graph Satellite: This radio button controls this graphing of the satellite position on the world map. Selection of this item will cause SatTrack to graph the satellite on the map. NEW Satellite: This button causes SatTrack to open a new location in memory for you to enter manual satellite information. DELETE Satellite: This button causes SatTrack to remove the currently displayed satellite from memory. The next satellite in FIND Satellite: This button allows for easier searching of satellites in the database. Selection of this button causes most gadgets in the edit window display to be disabled. The SAT NAME gadget is enabled to allow the user to enter a regular expression for searching. The find will be performed from the current edited satellite. The search is circluar so when the FIND reaches the end of the database, it will start again at the first record. This function scans the satellite names to find a specified pattern. You can use the following wildcard characters to specify a pattern: Pattern Matches ------- ------- ? any single character c* zero or more occurrences of character c c+ one or more occurences of character c \? a question mark (?) \* an asterisk (*) \+ a plus sign (+) ====================================================================== File Selection Quick device and Directory Selection Extension Drawer < File/Directory List File/Directory List Slide Bar File Selection NEW ADD DELETE CANCEL ------------------------------------- All submenu items that read or write to files (or printer) start execution by displaying the FILE SELECTION window. This window contains many gadgets that allow for easy selection of file or printer. At the top of the window is the QUICK DEVICE AND DIRECTORY SELECTION. These gadgets contain the text DF0:, SAT: and DH0:. DF0: causes SatTrack to select the floppy device. Selection of SAT: causes selection of a user preselected AmigaDOS assign statement. DH0: allows for selection of a hard disk. The EXT gadget defines the default file type. Each SatTrack FILE SELECTION window has a preselected default file extension. If you wish to select another file extension, simply move the mouse to this gadget and click the left mouse button. Change the file extension to your choice. If you wish to see all files change the file extension to blanks. The DRAWER gadget is another way to select a directory or sub-directory. A DRAWER can be entered by either selection of a directory in the FILE/DIRECTORY LIST gadget or by selecting the DRAWER gadget and typing your choice of directory. The FILE/DIRECTORY LIST gadget is centered on the FILE SELECTION window. It contains a list of the files that are contained in the specified DRAWER and match the EXT text. The FILE Selection gadget allows for entry of the particular file to be processed. The NEW, ADD gadgets allow for execution of the file selection you have already made. Except for the SAVE DISPLAY sub-menu item, the NEW and ADD gadgets have different functions. ADD will cause an existing file to be appended to by the information to be written. The NEW function will remove any existing information from the file before the file is written. Submenu items such as the LOAD KEPS or INPUT KEPS that load a file into SatTrack memory will append to that memory information with a ADD and delete old memory information with the NEW gadget. The DELETE gadget allows for deleting the file listed in the FILE SELECTION gadget. The CANCEL gadget will abort the execution of the command you selected. This is similar to the CLOSE WINDOW gadget. ====================================================================== Screen Display The SatTrack screen contains text information about the current satellite. The time is display at the bottom of the display. This time is either the real-time as in real-time mode or the simulation time if SatTrack is operating in simulation mode. The satellite specific information include the Satellites Name, the orbit based on the displayed time. Also displayed is AZ for azmuth; this is the direction. (North equals 0, East equals 90 degrees, South equals 180 degrees and West equals 270 degrees). EL is the elevation of the satellite to you, a positive value means the satellite is above the horizon to you. Elevation is from zero at the horizon to 90 degrees if the satellite is directly above you. Range is the distance from you to the satellite in Kmeters. Height is the satellites altitude from the ground below the satellite to the satellite, the units is also Kmeters. Lat and Long is the position of the satellite, This is displayed using a number and the letters (N,S,E and W) SatTrack does not display negative values, The letter is used to eliminate any confusion about which hemisphere is negative. The United States is mostly W for west and N for north. Doppler is the offshift of the satellites frequency (as entered in the KEP EDIT Window) This off shift is measured in a difference from the frequency in KHertz. The phase is the relative to the satellite. ====================================================================== Graphics Files 00M.iff 90E.iff 90W.iff OVH.iff display_color.iff (wrong name) save_colors.iff ---------------- Several files are required for SatTrack to operate properly. These file must be stored in the same directory as the SatTrack program. The files 00M.iff, 90E.iff 90W.iff and OVH.iff are Amiga IFF formatted graphics files. These three files contain the world map displays seen with the DISPLAY menu commands. If you wish you can edit these files to add any graphics that you wish, however do not move the location of the map information. Movement of the map information will cause SatTrack to track improperly. The display color.iff file and save_colors.iff files are used by SatTrack to allow you to define the colors uses for display and the SAVE DISPLAY sub-item menu command. The colors in the 00M, 90E and 90W are not used by SatTrack. The purpose of the display_color.iff file is to define the screen display colors. The IFF file can be edited by using your regular paint program. The file contains color boxes and text explaining the use of this color. Through your paint program you can change the colors that SatTrack will use for display. The save_colors.iff file is similar to the display_color.iff file except the colors defined in this file is used when saving the display to a file using the SAVE DISPLAY command. NOTE: Default colors selected for SatTrack were generated for minimal flicker for Amiga displays without video-enhancers. ====================================================================== Program Files SatTrack SatTrack.info -------------- The SatTrack and SatTrack.info files are a standard program and program execute file for SatTrack. ====================================================================== SatTrack.lic ------------ The SatTrack.lic file is a special file, specifically defined for each user. You need this special file configured with your name and phone number to prevent SatTrack form ceasing to operate at some time in the future when the DEMO license file expires. The DEMO license file also causes SatTrack to operate slightly off track of the actual satellite location. Registration as a user will get you the keys you need to 1) Have unlimited upgrades to SatTrack when they become available. 2) Never have SatTrack expire. 3) Cause Sattrack to be completely accurate. See the registration information in this document. ====================================================================== iff.library ----------- The iff.library a public domain library created by Christian A. Weber of Zurich/Switzerland. Iff.library is provided to you along with all the documentation information provided in the original release. Copy the iff.library file to your LIBS: directory before using SatTrack.