Satellite Software.

# 3. Satellite Software.

Contents of this section

The following software is for use in experimentation with Satellite communication.

## 3.1 MicroSat Ground Station Software

Author

  John Melton, G0ORX/N6LYT, g0orx@amsat.org and Jonathan Naylor G4KLX, g4klx@amsat.org

Description

  Microsat Ground Station software.

Status

  BETA. Version 0.9-Xaw released.

System requirements

  Alan Cox's kernel based AX.25 support ver 1.1.12 or better. X-Windows. The programs make use of the Athena Widgets and look much better with the 3D libraries.

Detail

  This software allows you to use of a KISS tnc to directly communicate with the Microsat series of satellites. It provides an Athena Widgets based X-Windows interface, and allows you a comprehensive range of means of interacting with the satellite. The software should work with any window manager.

  The software provides the following programs:

  xpb:

    broadcast monitor

  xpg:

    ftl0 file upload program, message upload program

  xtlm:

    telemetry display program

  downloaded:

    downloaded file list viewer

  directory:

    directory list viewer

  message:

    message preparation application

  viewtext:

    uncompressed ASCII text file viewer

  viewlog:

    display the contents of some log files

  xweber:

    special program for downloading webersat images

  phs:

    general purpose PACSAT header stripper

Where and How to obtain it.

  John's software is available from: ftp.ucsd.edu or ftp.funet.fi . Please check for new versions.

Licensing/Copyright

  GNU Public License. Freely redistributable, No warranty.

Contributed by:

  John Melton, G0ORX/N6LYT, Alan Cox, GW4PTS, Jonathon Naylor, G4KLX

## 3.2 SatTrack - Satellite tracking program

Name

  SatTrack

Author

  Manfred Bester, DL5KR, manfred@ssl.berkeley.edu, (510) 849-9922

Description

  Satellite realtime tracking and orbit prediction program with X11 color graphics.

Status

  Version 3.1 has been released.

System requirements

  A vt100 terminal and or X11 server. A Maths Coprocessor is useful, but not essential, for good performance.

Detail

  SatTrack is a satellite tracking program that has been written in 'C' language on a UNIX workstation. It provides two different live displays, for single or multiple satellites, and two different orbit prediction facilities. Cursor controls used in both live displays are compatible with the VT100 standard, which allows the program to be run basically from any terminal. An optional X Window graphics display shows the typical world map tracking chart. The orbit prediction can be run either interactively or in a batch mode. In the latter case all necessary parameters are specified on the command line. The program uses the NORAD/NASA two-line Keplerian element (TLE) sets directly.

  The current version of SatTrack can track a single satellite and/or display multiple satellites for a single ground station. It also can control suitable ground station hardware, like antennas and radio equipment, and has an autotrack mode in which it switches automatically between a number of specified satellites. For calibration purposes tracking of the Sun and the Moon are also provided. Future releases will provide more options. SatTrack requires about 5 MB of disk space in the full distribution with eight different world maps (2 styles, with 4 different sizes each, to fit everyone's screen and taste) and less than 1.5 MB of memory at run time. More information can be obtained from the SatTrack WWW Home Page

  Compiling the software under Linux is quite straightforward. Manfred has designed the Makefile to compile the software directly under your home directory, this is easy to change.

  The steps I took were:

  > `

  >     # cd /usr/src
  >     # export HOME=/usr/src
  >     # gzip -dc sattrack.V3.1.tar.gz | tar xvf -
  >     # cd SatTrack/src
  >     # vi Makefile
  >       {Comment SUN4 compile options}
  >       {Uncomment the linux options}
  >       {Select the options you want}
  >     # make

  > `

Where and How to obtain it.

  SatTrack can be found at: ftp.amsat.org or ftp.jvnc.net or the SatTrack WWW Home Page

Licensing/Copyright

  The software is Copyright of Manfred Bester. It can be used without special permission for non-profit, non-commercial use. For commercial applications a license from the author is required.

Contributed by:

  Manfred Bester, DL5KR

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