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The PC-TRACK VERSION 3.0 USER GUIDE Simplified Satellite Tracking For IBM Compatible Computers Copyright 1989-1995 Thomas C. Johnson Johnson Scientific International Copyrights PC-Track is NOT a public domain program. It is a commercial product copyright 1989-1994 by Thomas C. Johnson of Johnson Scientific International. All rights reserved. The PC-Track software, data, reference manuals, and other documentation may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from Johnson Scientific, except as described in the files LICENSE.DOC, VENDOR.DOC, and SYSOP.DOC. License Statement The complete text of the license statement is provided in the file LICENSE.DOC. Disclaimer Of Warranty Although this software, data, and documentation have been thoroughly tested and reviewed, both are provided solely "as is" and without warranty of any kind. Johnson Scientific Intnl specifically disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to defects in the distribution media or method, documentation, software, and the license granted herein. In no event shall Johnson Scientific International or Thomas C. Johnson be liable for any loss of profit or any other damage, including but not limited to, special, incidental, commercial, consequential or other damages of any kind resulting from the use of this software, data or documentation. The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Typical Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Basic Concepts of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Satellites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Graphics Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Active Satellites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Primary Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Active Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Primary & Secondary Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Program Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Main Menu Option Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Main Menu Option : System (displayed as 3 parallel horizontal parallel lines at the left end of the menu line) . 10 System | About . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 System | Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Main Menu Option: File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 File | New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 File | Open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 File | Save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 File | Save As . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 File | Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 File | Import | Satellites . . . . . . . . . 11 File | Import | Satellites | NORAD . . . . . 11 File | Import | Satellites | AMSAT . . . . . 11 File | Import | Satellites | PC-TRACK . . . . 11 File | Import | Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 File | Import | Sites | PC-TRACK . . . . . . 12 File | Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Main Menu Option : Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Edit | Satellites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Edit | Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Edit | Graphics Colors . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Edit | Text Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 i The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Main Menu Option : View . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 View | Graphics Track . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 View | Text Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 View | Scan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Main Menu Option : Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Options | System Config . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Options | Page Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Options | Select Printer . . . . . . . . . . 14 Options | Printer Codes . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Satellites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Editing Satellite Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Edit Satellites Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Master Satellites List Box . . . . . . . . . 15 Primary Satellite Pickline: . . . . . . . . . 15 Edit Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Add Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Delete Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Active Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Done Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Edit Satellite Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Name Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Catalog Number Input Line . . . . . . . . . . 17 Epoch Year Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Epoch Day Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Decay Rate Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Inclination Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Rt Asc of Node Input Line . . . . . . . . . . 17 Eccentricity Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Arg Of Perigee Input Line . . . . . . . . . . 17 Mean Anomaly Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Mean Motion Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Revolution Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Frequency 1 Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Frequency 2 Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Done Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Cancel Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Select Active Satellites Dialog Box . . . . . . . 19 Master Satellites List Box . . . . . . . . . 19 Active Satellites List Box . . . . . . . . . 19 >> Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 << Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 < All Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Done Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Importing New Satellite Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 ii The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Editing Site Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Edit Sites Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Master Sites List Box . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Primary and Secondary Site Picklines . . . . . 21 Edit Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Add Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Delete Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Active Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Done Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Edit Site Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Name Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Latitude Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Longitude Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Height Input Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Minimum Elevation Input Line . . . . . . . . 23 Done Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Cancel Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Select Active Sites Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . 23 Master Sites List Box . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Active Sites List Box . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 >> Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 << Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 < All Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Done Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Importing New Site Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Graphics Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Graphics Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Main Track Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 F1 : Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 F2 : Realtime On/Off . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 F3 : Select Globe View . . . . . . . . . . . 27 F4 : Projection Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 F5 : Refresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 F6 : Ground Site View Enable/Disable . . . . 28 F7 : Pause Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 F8 : Edit Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 F9 : Edit Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Ground Site Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 AER Data Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Date / Time Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Left and Right Arrow Keys . . . . . . . . . . 31 Up and Down Arrow Keys . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Text Mode Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 iii The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Text Mode Tracking Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Track Date/Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Set Time Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Pause Checkbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Satellite Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Site Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Realtime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Printer Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Done Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Track Time Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Done Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Cancel Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Mutual Visibility Pass Scan Window . . . . . . . . . . 37 Start Date and Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Stop Date and Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Reset Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Status Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Pass Summary List Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Scan Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Display Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Delete Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Print Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Done Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Pass Point Display Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Pass Point List Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Print Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Done Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 System Configuration Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Image Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Distances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Time Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Date Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Time Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Done Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Cancel Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Selecting Printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Printer Selection List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Select Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 iv The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Cancel Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Changing the Printer Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 About Printer Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Printer Code Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Line Spacing Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Printer Code for Normal Line Spacing . . . . . 47 Lines Per Inch (Normal) . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Printer Code for Narrow Line Spacing . . . . . 48 Lines Per Inch (Narrow) . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Character Width Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Printer Code for Normal Character Printing . . 48 Characters Per Inch (Normal) . . . . . . . . . 48 Printer Code for Narrow Printing . . . . . . . 48 Characters Per Inch (Narrow) . . . . . . . . . 49 Other Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Printer Code To Turn On Bold Characters . . . 49 Printer Code To Turn Off Bold Characters . . . 50 Printer Code For Form Feed . . . . . . . . . . 50 Select IBM Box Character Set . . . . . . . . . 50 Done Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Cancel Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Page Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Line Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Character Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Page Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Page Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Top Margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Left Margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Bottom Margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Print To . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Form Advance Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 The User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Using The Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Double Clicking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Using the MENU system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 SHORTCUT KEYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 F10 KEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 MOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Working with windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 CLOSING WINDOWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 MOVING WINDOWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 RESIZING WINDOWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Working with Dialog Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 MOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 SHORTCUT KEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 v The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide TAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Input Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Static Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Scroll Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Pick Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 List Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Radio Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Check Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Other Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Message Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Program Status Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 File Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Name Input Box: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Files List Box: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 File Information Panel: . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Cancel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Path Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Directory Name Input Box . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Directory Tree List Box . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Select . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Chdir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Cancel Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Using the HELP system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Changing Screen Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Group List Box: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Item List Box: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Color Palettes: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Monochrome Palettes: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Sample Display: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Error Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Printed Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Online Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Usenet News Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 FTP Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Import File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Satellites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 vi The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide NORAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 AMSAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 PC-Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Comma Delimited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 PC-TRACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 vii The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Introduction History Ever since creation men have stood in awe of the vastness of space, the beauty of the stars, and the complexity of the universe. They have struggled to understand its operation and define the causes of its phenomena. Up until the 17th century, while crude predictions of some events were possible, efforts to explain the nature of the operation of the heavenly bodies proved futile and error prone at best. The observations and analysis work of brilliant men like Galileo, Copernicus, and Brahe opened the door to a more accurate understanding. Building on these observations, Johannes Kepler presented the first accurate laws of planetary motion. Later, the brilliant mind in Isaac Newton gave the world definitive explanations of the movements of mass in space, with precise mathematical formulas defining gravitation, inertia, and motion. Through the years, men have sought to refine these laws and equations, and find ways to solve them quicker and more efficiently. With the advent of the digital computer, the tool for doing such complicated mathematical analysis became available. As computer technology progressed, the speed of performing these calculations increased proportionately. As graphical display systems became more developed, the capability to not only compute the answers was present, but the ability to present them in an understandable pictorial form was also possible. Today incredible computational and display power is available on small desktop personal computers at very affordable prices. And now with the developement of PC-TRACK 3.0, inexpensive and easy-to-use software is available to take advantage of that power to provide a simple tool for the predicting and visualizing earth-orbiting objects, matching the tried and true 1 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide principals defined by Newton and Kepler with the power of the modern personal computer... Typical Uses PC-TRACK 3.0 makes use of the computational power and display capablities of late model personal computers to make orbital mechanics simple, understandable, and useful. This sophisticated but user-friendly package has a wide range of features. Some applications for which PC-TRACK is suitable are: * Teach and demonstrate astrodynamic principals. * Predict mutual visibility passes. * Track satellite positions in real time. * Display satellite visibility swaths. * Visualize Satellite Coverage Areas Capabilities PC-TRACK is a powerful tool, utilizing the latest in object-oriented technology and double-precision calculations to accurately compute required data. PC- TRACK is capable of computing: * Fields of view for any of the earth sites provided or any user-defined site. * Positions and velocities any or all of the satellites provided and any user-defined satellites. * Doppler shifted downlink frequencies * Viewing angles * Ranges and range rates. * Future mutually visible passes and associated data (including acquisition of signal time (AOS), loss of signal time (LOS), time in range (TIR), maximum elevation (MAX EL), and sun illumination. 2 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Graphics PC-TRACK takes advantage of the standard VGA 640x480 resolution mode for graphics displays. With any available mode PC-TRACK is capable of displaying: * Positions of any or all of the satellites provided or any user defined satellites simultaneously. * Positions of any or all of the sites provided or any user defined site. * Line of site lines from all active sites to all active satellites. * Altitude lines for all active satellites. * Visibility footprints for all active satellites. * Satellite space position (with or without trail) for all active satellites * Sub-satellite point position (with or without trail) for all active satellites * Earth Centered Fixed (ECF) 3D projections * Geographic features of the earth * Any combination of coasts, islands, countries, states, rivers and lakes (with MAPGEN, provide to registered users). * Latitude and longitude lines. * Mercator flat map projections. * Ground Site viewing angles * Current tracking date, time and interval as either UTC or Local time with 3 different date formats * Site and satellite names while tracking * Metric or English distances 3 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Features With PC-TRACK you have the latest in satellite tracking technology for your IBM compatible PC. PC-TRACK provides: * Runs in DOS protected mode to provide access to all available system memory (up to 16 MB). * Complete control over all display attributes (including those described above), colors, site and satellite selection to make displays as simple or detailed as necessary. * Simple update of orbital elements through direct import of data from: NASA/NORAD two-line element files AMSAT keplerian element files PC-TRACK 1.x & 2.x object data files * Multiple "personalities" through the use of user-defined parameter files which define display attributes, colors, current globe view, active sites, active satellites, etc. * User friendly menu driven windowed interface. System Requirements In order to use PC-Track most effectively, you should have a computer system that has the following features: CPU: Any 80x86 processor. (Math coprocessor is not required, but is HIGHLY recommended) RAM: 2 - 16 MB DISK: Requires at least 3 MB of disk space for program and data files. VIDEO: VGA DOS: MS-DOS 5.0 or later. DR-DOS 5.0 or later. MOUSE: A mouse will allow you to take advantage of many convenient features of PC-Track, and is 4 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide much easier to use if you have one, but you can get by without one. If you do wish to use a mouse, the following is required for proper operation: -Microsoft Mouse version 6.1 or later, or any mouse compatible with this. -Logitech Mouse version 3.4 or later. -Mouse Systems PC Mouse version 6.22 or later. -IMSI mouse version 6.11 or later. The mouse driver must be loaded before running PC-Track. KEYBOARD: A standard 101 key "AT" style keyboard (sometimes referred to as an "Extended" keyboard) is recommended. 5 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Basic Concepts of Operation PC-TRACK 3.0 utilizes two databases (sites and satellites) and a set of operational parameters to control program operation. All of the parameters and each of the databases are easily controlled and edited by the user, making the program extremely flexible and easily configured to operational needs. Each of the databases are easily edited and updated from within PC-TRACK using available main menu options and can be updated by direct import of new data in several different file formats. Databases PC-TRACK maintains two databases, one for satellites and one for sites. These databases contain all of the satellites and sites that PC-TRACK will work with. Each of the databases has a limit of 200 items. Satellites The satellite database contains data for all of the satellites that will be available to PC-TRACK. This database holds the keplerian elements for each satellite, as well as two downlink frequencies. The database also holds other operational information for each satellite, not visible to the user. The satellite database may be edited using the F5 key from the main menu (or selecting the Edit | Satellites option). This opens up the Edit Satellites dialog box which allows you to Add, Edit, and Delete individual satellites. Each of these options are described later. Sites The site database contains data for all of the sites that will be available to PC-TRACK. This database holds location for each site. The database also holds other operational information for each site, not visible to the user. The site database may be edited using the F6 key from the main menu (or selecting the Edit | Sites option). This opens up the Edit Sites dialog box which allows you to Add, Edit and Delete individual sites. Each of 6 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide these options are described later. Parameters "Parameters" is the term given to the collective group of program attributes and colors that determine program operation. Each parameter controls a specific aspect of the program such as operational properties, display characteristics, and colors. These parameters can be saved to and loaded from disk as separate text based data files using the Files option from the main menu. This gives you the ability to have several different "personality" files available for several different operational profiles. Parameters can be changed from various places within the program, depending on what portion of the program is operational at the time. There are two different categories of parameters used in PC-TRACK; attributes and colors, described as follows. Attributes Program attributes control how the program operates, what is to be computed, and what is to be displayed. Most of them in turn are grouped in several categories depending on which aspect of the program they control. Attributes associated with a particular graphics display mode may be edited while within that mode by pressing the F8 key. Other attributes exist that are considered program-wide attributes. These affect the time base (UTC or Local) and distances (Meters or English), date format and time zone. These may be edited in the Options | System Config main menu option (F8). Graphics Colors The other category of parameters used in PC-TRACK control the colors that will be used to display all of the various items displayed in graphics mode. This includes things like the color of the window frames, satellite names, line colors, etc. These color parameters are grouped in several categories. Most colors associated with the graphics tracking mode may also be edited while within that mode by pressing the F9 key. Pressing the F7 key from the main menu (or 7 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide selecting the Edit | Graphics Colors option) opens the Edit Graphics Colors dialog box which presents the frame, help window, and the track window colors for easy editing. NOTE: Text mode colors may be edited by pressing SHIFT-F7 from the main menu (or selecting the Edit | Text Colors option). These colors, however, are NOT saved in the Parameters file, but in a separate file on the disk. Active Satellites PC-TRACK maintains a list of what is considered "active satellites" for use in various modes. These active satellites are selected by the user from the satellite database and determine which of the satellites in the database will be used. These are the ones that will appear on the screen when in the graphics track mode. They are also used during the scan process, with each active satellite being scanned for the designated period of time to determine visibility times. Active satellites are selected by the user using the F5 key from the main menu (or selecting the Edit | Satellites main menu option). The names of each of the active satellites are stored in the parameter file along with the attributes and colors, allowing you to save complete operational packages under separate files for studying different groups of satellites with different display characteristics. Primary Satellite The text track process available with the F3 key (or by selecting the View | Text Track option) uses one satellite. This satellite is known as the Primary Satellite. This satellite can be selected from the satellite database by the user using the F5 key from the main menu (or selecting the Edit | Satellites option). The name of the primary satellite is stored in the parameter file. The primary satellite is also displayed in graphics track. 8 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Active Sites PC-TRACK also maintains a list of what is considered "active sites" for use in graphics tracking mode. These active sites are selected from the site database and determine which of the sites in the database will be used for tracking purposes. Active sites are selected by the user using the F6 key from the main screen (or selecting the Edit | Sites main menu option). The names of each of the active sites are stored in the parameter file along with the attributes and colors. Primary & Secondary Sites The graphics tracking mode utilizes one or two specially selected sites called the Primary and Secondary Sites. They are used for the ground site displays in graphics mode tracking, for text tracking, and for mutual visibilty scanning. The primary and secondary sites can be selected from the site database by the user using the F6 key from the main screen (or selecting the Edit | Sites main menu option). The names of the primary and secondary sites are stored in the parameter file. 9 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Program Organization This section will introduce you to the menu options available, how the main menu is organized, and briefly explain what all of the options will do for you. Main Menu Option Descriptions In the descriptions shown below, each main menu option will be given as "Main Menu Option: xxxxxxx", then each of the sub options will be shown with the entire path of option choices necessary to get to the option being described. For example, the Edit option would be shown as "Main Menu Option: Edit", followed by the description of that option. Then each of the options below that would be shown as "Edit | Satellites" or "File | Open", followed by the description of that option. Main Menu Option : System (displayed as 3 parallel horizontal parallel lines at the left end of the menu line) This menu item provides you with some background information on PC-Track, as well as a means to conveniently fill out and print your registration form. The options available from here are: System | About Shows PC-Track Title, version number, and copyright info and memory available. System | Register Provides an online registration form that you can use to fill out and print your registration. Main Menu Option: File 10 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide This main menu option provides menu options that allow you to create a new parameter set, load an existing one, save the current one, or save the current one with a different file name. Also available is an option that allows you to import site and satellite data from other sources, such as NORAD, AMSAT, and PC-TRACK version 1.x and 2.x format files. File | New This menu option allows you to reset all program parameters to their default conditions. The new parameter filename will be DEFAULT.PRM. File | Open This menu option allows you to open and load an existing parameter set. File | Save This menu option allows you to save the current parameter set with the current parameter filename. File | Save As This menu option allows you to save the current parameter set as a new file with a new parameter filename. File | Import This menu option allows you to import satellite and site data from other sources. File | Import | Satellites This menu option allows you to import satellite data from NORAD, AMSAT, and PC-TRACK files. File | Import | Satellites | NORAD This menu option allows you to import satellite data from NORAD two-line element text files. File | Import | Satellites | AMSAT This menu option allows you to import satellite data from element text files in the Amateur Satellite (AMSAT) file format. File | Import | Satellites | PC-TRACK This menu option allows you to import satellite data 11 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide from PC-TRACK data files. The OBJECTS.DAT files from any version of PC-TRACK are useable. File | Import | Sites This menu option allows you to import site data from other sources. File | Import | Sites | PC-TRACK This menu option allows you to import site data from PC-TRACK data files. The OBSERVER.DAT files from any version of PC-TRACK are useable. File | Exit This menu option terminates PC-Track and returns to DOS. Pressing ALT-X will do the same thing. Main Menu Option : Edit This main menu option provides menu options that allow you to edit satellite and site databases, change colors, and modify program attributes. Edit | Satellites This menu option allows you to enter and edit keplerian element data for individual satellites, select active satellites, and select the primary satellite. Edit | Sites This menu option allows you to enter and edit location and sensor data for individual sites, select active sites, and select the primary and secondary sites to be used in tracking and scanning. Edit | Graphics Colors This menu option allows you to edit some of the colors used in the various graphical displays available in PC-Track. Edit | Text Colors This menu option allows you to edit the colors used in the displays available in PC-Track while in text mode. Main Menu Option : View 12 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide This main menu option provides menu options that allow you to access the graphics track mode, text screen numerical track mode and the mutual visibility pass scan mode. View | Graphics Track This menu option activates the graphical tracking mode available in PC-Track. While in tracking mode, most program parameters are changeable to enable you to customize the display to your need. This mode is capable of displaying current satellite position for all active satellites, the line of site angles from all active sites, and ground site views for the primary and secondary sites, and current track time. Earth views are in a three dimensionally projected Earth Centered Fixed view frame, with the viewpoint from space being user selected, or in a mercator projection flat map of the world. Both can show satellite footprints and line of site lines for all active satellites and sites as well as many other items. View | Text Track This menu option activates the text tracking mode. This mode provides tracking capability without the use of graphics presentation. This mode is provided for situations where numerical presentations are desirable, and where hard copy predictions and logs are needed. The text tracking mode uses the primary and secondary sites designated in the Edit Sites dialog box (F6), and the primary satellite designated in the Edit Satellites dialog box (F5). Information available here includes satellite latitude, longitude, altitude, and orbit phase. For both sites the current view azimuth, elevation, and slant range are presented, as well as current range rate and doppler shifted downlink frequencies for the satellite. View | Scan This menu option activates the Mutual Visibility Scan Window. This option allows you to scan a particular time frame for satellite passes that are mutually visible between the Primary and Secondary sites defined in the Edit Sites dialog box. Every active satellite will be checked and the mutually visible passes will be 13 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide listed by date and time of AOS in the list box. When completed, the computed pass summaries will be able to be printed and displayed. Main Menu Option : Options This main menu option provides menu options that allow you to change system configuration settings (such as time base, distance units, date format, and timezone), select the appropriate printer driver, set up page layout, and customize specific printer codes for your printer driver. Options | System Config This menu option allows you to change certain parameters which affect the way time and distances are displayed, time zone, and to configure where globe views will be located. Options | Page Setup This menu option allows you to configure the layout of the printed page for use in text tracking and mutual visibility scan modes. Such items as margins, page size, line spacing, character size, and page advance method can be configured here. Options | Select Printer This menu option allows you to select from a list the appropriate printer driver for your printer. Options | Printer Codes This menu option allows you to edit the printer control codes used in the printer driver. This permits you to customize the default driver for special print formats you may have. 14 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Satellites Editing Satellite Data Edit Satellites Dialog Box This dialog box (selected with the F5 key or the Edit | Satellites main menu option) allows you to edit the master satellite database, active satellite database, and to select a primary Satellite. To facilitate this there is one list box, a pickline, and a number of buttons. Master Satellites List Box This list box contains the names of all of the Satellites in the master Satellites database. Double clicking on a satellite in the list box will bring up the satellite edit dialog box, allowing you to enter/change data for the satellite. This is the same as pressing the Edit button described below. Primary Satellite Pickline: The primary satellite pickline is where you can enter or select from the master satellite database a satellites to be used as the primary Satellite for text tracking purposes. You may directly enter a satellite name (a name so entered is NOT checked against the master satellite database, and therefore could be a satellite that is not [currently] in the database). You may also pick a satellite from the master satellite database by pressing the down arrow key while in the pickline, or by clicking the mouse on the down arrow to the right of the pickline. Doing this will bring up a satellite selection dialog box from which you may select the desired satellite. Edit Button Pressing this button will open the Edit satellite 15 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide dialog box which allow changing of satellite data for the satellite currently highlighted in the master satellite list box. See the section on the Edit Satellite Dialog Box below. NOTE: If an existing satellite's name is changed, that newly named satellite will be added to the database as a new satellite. The original satellite will NOT be deleted. Add Button Pressing this button will bring up the Edit satellite dialog box which allow entering satellite data for a new satellite to be added to the master satellite database. Delete Button Pressing the button will cause the currently highlighted satellite in master satellite list box to be removed from the master satellite database. You will be prompted to verify this action. Active Button Pressing this button will bring up the Select Active Satellites dialog box which will allow you to select the active Satellites to be used for tracking. See the section on the Select Active Satellites dialog box below. Done Button Pressing this button closes the dialog box and returns control to the main menu. Pressing the RETURN or ESC key is the same as pressing this button. Edit Satellite Dialog Box This dialog allows you to enter or edit data specific to a particular satellite. Here is where the name, keplerian elements, and frequencies for the satellite are defined. To facilitate this the dialog box contains several input lines and buttons described as follows: Name Input Line This text input line allows you to enter/edit the name 16 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide of the satellite. This is a text-only input line allowing up to 30 characters for the name. Catalog Number Input Line This text input line allows you to enter/edit the catalog number of the satellite. This is a text-only input line allowing up to 5 characters of input. Epoch Year Input Line This input line allows you to enter the year of the element set epoch. This should be an integer between 70 and 99. Epoch Day Input Line This input line allows you to enter the julian day/fraction of day floating point number representing the day of year and time of day of the element set epoch. The valid range for this input line is 0.0 to 366.9999999999. Decay Rate Input Line This input line allows you to enter the rate of decay of the orbital mean motion, which is the 2nd time derivative of mean motion. The valid range for this is - 99. 0 to 99. 0. The units of measure are Rev/Day/Day. Inclination Input Line This input line allows you to enter the orbital inclination in degrees. The valid range for this is 0.0 to 180.0. Rt Asc of Node Input Line This input line allows you to enter the right ascension angle in degrees for the ascending node of the orbit. The valid range for this is 0.0 to 360.0. Eccentricity Input Line This input line allows you to enter the eccentricity of the orbit. The valid range for this is 0.0 to 0.9999999999999. Arg Of Perigee Input Line This input line allows you to enter the argument of perigee which is the number of degrees in the orbital 17 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide plane measured from the right ascension of ascending node to periapsis. The valid range for this is 0.0 to 360.0. Mean Anomaly Input Line This input line allows you to enter the mean anomaly value in degrees for the epoch time of the given element set. The valid range for this is 0.0 to 360.0. Mean Motion Input Line This input line allows you to enter the mean motion value in Rev/Day for the orbit. The valid range for this is 0.1 to 22.0. ( Orbits with more than 16 rev/day would be impractical, but are allowed for experimental purposes). Revolution Input Line This input line allows you to enter the revolution number at epoch. The valid range for this is 0 to 999999. Frequency 1 Input Line This input line allows you to enter a downlink frequency value in MHZ for use in doppler shift calculations. The valid range for this is 0.0 to 999999.0. Frequency 2 Input Line This input line allows you to enter a second downlink frequency value in MHZ for use in doppler shift calculations. The valid range for this is 0.0 to 999999.0. Done Button Pressing this button closes the dialog box and saves all changes and entries made to the satellite. Pressing the RETURN key is the same as pressing this button. Cancel Button Pressing this button closes the dialog box and ignores all changes and entries made to the satellite. Pressing the ESC key is the same as pressing this button. 18 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Select Active Satellites Dialog Box This dialog box allows you to select and deselect active Satellites for use in tracking and scanning. To facilitate this, the dialog box contains two list boxes with a number of buttons, described as follows: Master Satellites List Box This list box shows all of the Satellites in the master Satellites database. Double clicking on a satellite in the list will cause it to be added to the Active Satellites List Box. Active Satellites List Box This list box shows all of the Satellites in the active Satellites database. Double clicking on a satellite in this list box will remove that satellite from the active Satellites database. >> Button This button will place the currently highlighted satellite in the master satellite list box into the active satellite list box. This does the same thing as double clicking on a satellite in the master satellite list box, thus activating that satellite. << Button This button removes the currently highlighted satellite in the active satellite list box from the list, thus deactivating that satellite. < All Button This button will remove all Satellites from the active satellite list box, and deactivate all Satellites. Done Button This button closes the Select Active Satellites Dialog Box and updates the active Satellites database. Pressing the RETURN or ESC key is the same as pressing this button. 19 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Importing New Satellite Data Importing data from other sources into the PC-Track simplifies the data update process when updating large numbers of satellites at a time. The PC-TRACK has the capability of importing satellite data directly from three different sources. NASA/NORAD two-line orbital element files, AMSAT keplerian element files, and PC-TRACK Version 1.x and 2.x object data files can all be directly read and inputted by the PC-TRACK. To import data select the Files | Import option from the main menu. This will open another list of menu options, from which you may select either satellite or site data to import. After selecting satellite to indicate importing of satellite data, select the appropriate option for the type of file you wish to import. All three import options work the same. Once the option is selected, the appropriate Import dialog box will open, with a file input/select line in it to enter or select the file desired. To select a file, press the down arrow key or click on the down arrow to the right of the input line. A file select dialog box will open to allow selection of the file. See the User Interface chapter for details on how to use a file selection dialog box. Once a file is selected or inputted, press the Done button to begin the import process. To cancel the import, press the Cancel button. NOTE: PC-TRACK attempts to determine if the file selected is of the proper format. If it determines that it is not, it will abort the process and return you to the main menu. 20 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Sites Editing Site Data Edit Sites Dialog Box This dialog box allows you to edit the master site database, active site database, and to select primary and secondary sites. To facilitate this there is one list box, two picklines, and a number of buttons. Master Sites List Box This list box contains the names of all of the sites in the master sites database. Double clicking on a site in the list box will bring up the site edit dialog box, allowing you to enter/change data for the site. This is the same as pressing the Edit button described below. Primary and Secondary Site Picklines The primary and secondary site picklines are where you can enter or select from the master site database sites to be used as the primary and secondary sites for tracking and scanning purposes. You may directly enter site names (the names so entered are NOT checked against the master site database, and therefore could be a site that is not [currently] in the database). You may also pick sites from the master site database by pressing the down arrow key while in the pickline, or by clicking the mouse on the down arrow to the right of the pickline. Doing this will bring up a site selector dialog box from which you may select the desired site. Edit Button Pressing this button will bring up the Edit Site dialog box which allow changing of site data for the site currently highlighted in the master site list box. See the section on the Edit Site dialog box below. NOTE: If an existing site's name is changed, that newly named site will be added to the 21 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide database as a new site. The original site will NOT be deleted. Add Button Pressing this button will bring up the Edit Site dialog box which allow entering site data for a new site to be added to the master site database. See the section on the Edit Site dialog box below. Delete Button Pressing this button will cause the currently highlighted site in master site list box to be removed from the master site database. You will be prompted to verify this action. Active Button Pressing this button will bring up the Select Active Sites dialog box which will allow you to select the active sites to be used for tracking. See the section on the Select Active Site dialog box below. Done Button Pressing this button closes the dialog box and returns control to the main menu. Pressing the RETURN or ESC key is the same as pressing this button. Edit Site Dialog Box This dialog allows you to enter or edit data specific to a particular site. Here is where the name, location, height, and minimum elevation of the site are defined. To facilitate this the dialog box contains several input lines and buttons described as follows: Name Input Line This text input line allows you to enter/edit the name of the site. This is a text-only input line allowing up to 30 characters for the name. Latitude Input Line This input lines accepts the geodetic north latitude value of the site. Valid entries range from -90.0 to 90.0. Positive is north. 22 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Longitude Input Line This input line accepts the east longitude value of the site. Valid entries range from -180.0 to 180.0. Positive is east. Height Input Line This input line accepts the height above Mean Sea Level value for the site. This may range between -500.0 and 30000.0. Depending on the system configuration, the values entered/ shown here will be either in Meters or Feet. Minimum Elevation Input Line This input line accepts the minimum elevation at which the site is capable of viewing satellites. A minimum elevation greater than 0.0 would be required if the site were surrounded by mountains. Valid entries in this field may be -10.0 to 90.0 degrees. Done Button Pressing this button closes the dialog box and saves all changes and entries made to the site. Pressing the RETURN key is the same as pressing this button. Cancel Button Pressing this button closes the dialog box and ignores all changes and entries made to the site. Pressing the ESC key is the same as pressing this button. Select Active Sites Dialog Box This dialog box allows you to select and deselect active sites for use in tracking and scanning. To facilitate this, the dialog box contains two list boxes with a number of buttons, described as follows: Master Sites List Box This list box shows all of the sites in the master sites database. Double clicking on a site in the list will cause it to be added to the Active Sites List Box. Active Sites List Box This list box shows all of the sites in the active sites database. Double clicking on a site in this list box will remove that site from the active sites 23 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide database. >> Button This button will place the currently highlighted site in the master site list box into the active site list box. This does the same thing as double clicking on a site in the master site list box, thus activating that site. << Button This button removes the currently highlighted site in the active site list box from the list, thus deactivating that site. < All Button This button will remove all sites from the active site list box, and deactivate all sites. Done Button This button closes the Select Active Sites Dialog Box and updates the active sites database. Pressing the RETURN or ESC key is the same as pressing this button. Importing New Site Data Importing data from other sources into PC-TRACK simplifies the data update process when updating or adding large numbers of sites at a time. PC-TRACK has the capability of importing site data directly from two different sources. A simple comma delimited text file, and PC-TRACK object data files can be directly read and inputted by PC-TRACK. To import data select the Files | Import option from the main menu. This will open another list of menu options, from which you may select either site or site data to import. After selecting site to indicate importing of site, select the appropriate option for the type of file you wish to import. Both import options work the same. Once the option is selected, the appropriate Import dialog box will open, with a file input/select line in it to enter or select the file desired. To select a file, press the down arrow key or click on the down arrow to the right of the input line. A file select dialog box will open to allow selection of the file. 24 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide See the User Interface chapter for details on selecting files with the file select dialog box. Once a file is selected or inputted, press the Done button to begin the import process. To cancel the import, press the Cancel button. NOTE: PC-TRACK attempts to determine if the file selected is of the proper format. If it determines that it is not, it will abort the process and return you to the main menu. 25 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Graphics Tracking PC-Track offers two track modes Graphics and Text. Each of these offer different capabilities, and are useful for different purposes. The Graphics mode is good for visually analyzing satellite positions and relationships, while the text mode provides more numerical data for definitive analysis. This chapter will deal with the graphics mode. Graphics Mode The graphics tracking mode in PC-Track provides the ability to track all active satellites in real time or non-real time with either a 3 dimensional perspective view from space or on a mercator projection world map. Also available are two ground site displays for the primary and secondary sites, and possibly an Azimuth-Elevation-Range (AER) data window. All items shown in the various graphics tracking mode windows can be enabled or disabled and can be displayed in any of 16 colors.The following is a description of each of the major display windows available in graphics tracking. Main Track Window This window takes up most of the screen, showing the earth in either a 3D perspective view or a mercator projection flat map view. Several Function keys provide user access to control commands that allow changes to be made to most of the visual aspects of the display. F1 : Help Pressing the F1 key opens a help window which shows all of the functions available while tracking. To close this window, press any key. F2 : Realtime On/Off Pressing the F2 key will toggle the tracking mode between realtime and non-realtime. Realtime will be 26 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide evident by the fact that most satellites will appear to stand still, and the date/time window will not have an Interval value showing. F3 : Select Globe View Pressing the F3 key will open the Globe Selection window in the middle of the screen. Within this window will be a list of available globe views. Press TAB and SHIFT-TAB to move up or down in the list. When Pressing RETURN will accept the new viewpoint and will redraw the main track window view to reflect the new viewpoint. Pressing ESC will ignore any changes to the globe view. F4 : Projection Mode Pressing this key will toggle the main track window projection mode between the 3D perspective and mercator projection. The mercator projection displays the entire world on a flat map. The 3D perspective shows the ECF view according to the current globeview. 3D Projection In 3D mode the earth is shown in an Earth Centered Fixed (ECF) view from a user determined viewpoint in space. The ECF view shows the earth as it would look high over a particular point on the earth. With this viewing method, the earth appears to remain fixed, with all the satellites moving around the earth. Satellites in orbit, while actually revolving through nearly the same orbital path in space, appear to spiral around the earth, due to the relative movement caused by the rotation of the earth. As described above, new globe views may be selected by pressing the F3 key. Mercator Projection In mercator projection mode the entire world (minus 5 degrees at the poles) is displayed on a flat map. This mode allows you to view the entire world at a glance and get an overall idea of satellite and site positioning. In mercator projection mode the altitude line display is not available. Space and ground points appear as the same point on the map. F5 : Refresh Pressing the F5 key will cause the main tracking window 27 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide and the ground site windows to be redrawn. F6 : Ground Site View Enable/Disable Pressing the F6 key will either enable or disable the ground site view windows. These windows display current antenna pointing angles from the primary and secondary sites. Disabling theses windows makes them disappear and the Main Track Window expands to use that screen space. NOTE: If there is neither a primary or secondary site selected, then this mode is inoperative, since the ground site view windows will be disabled. F7 : Pause Tracking Pressing the F7 key will pause tracking until the F7 key is again pressed. While paused, all functions are available and the display is kept current. The only thing that ceases is the updating of the track time. Of course, during pause the track time can be manually manipulated with the cursor keys as described below. F8 : Edit Attributes Pressing the F8 key will open the Attributes window which displays the current status of all available attributes. This window also allows you to change desired attributes to new states. To select an attribute press the TAB or SHIFT-TAB keys until the desired one is highlighted. To change the status of an attribute, press either the up or down arrow keys. Press RETURN to keep changes and exit the Attributes window. Press ESC to ignore any changes and exit. Some attributes will be either ON or OFF. When they are OFF, they will not appear on the screen. When they are ON, they will appear on the screen. Other attributes are a bit more sophisticated. They will have the following options: OFF : Attribute will not appear on the screen. SINGLE : Attribute will move with satellite motion, and will not leave a "trail." 28 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide CONT : Attribute will move with satellite motion,and will leave a "trail." SVIS : Attribute will only appear on screen when satellite is visible from primary or secondary site. It will not leave a "trail." CVIS : Attribute will only appear on screen when satellite is visible from primary or secondary site. It will leave a "trail." NOTE: The display of all attibutes in SVIS or CVIS states will be controlled by visibility from the primary and secondary sites, except for Line Of Site (LOS) line. This will be controlled by visibility from any active site. NOTE: Some attributes, when changed, will affect the displays immediately, while others will not take effect until the next screen refresh, caused either by a globe view change, or the press of the F5 key. The ones that require a screen refresh are marked by an asterisk (*). F9 : Edit Colors Pressing the F9 will open the Colors window which displays the currently selected colors for all of the available items displayed. To select a color item press the TAB or SHIFT-TAB keys until the desired item is highlighted. To change a color, press either the up or down arrow keys. Press RETURN to keep changes and exit the color window. Press ESC to ignore changes and exit. NOTE: Colors selected in the Edit Colors window are pure colors. Some colors displayed in the various tracking windows may be different due to the fact that several colors may be exclusive ored together. Exclusive oring (XOR) is a boolean function applied to the 29 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide various items drawn on the screen and is used to provide the animation effect. An unfortunate side effect of XORing is that colors get changed in the process. So some colors may have to be adjusted several times to get a satisfactory display. Color changes to some items will be seen immediately, while others will not be seen until the next screen refresh, caused either by a viewpoint change, or the press of the F5 key. The ones that require a screen refresh are marked by an asterisk (*). Ground Site Windows These windows display the primary and/or secondary sites, and display the relative viewing angles that are needed to track satellite passes. The window is comprised of a bullseye-like view circle in the middle of the window. This circle represents the entire viewing area from the site. The orientation of this display is such that straight up from the site would be the center of the circle. Azimuth (bearing) from the site is represented by the clockwise angle with 0 degrees being straight up from the center. Elevation from the horizon is represented by the distance from the center of the circle, with the horizon being represented by the outer edge of the circle. Also shown in the window is the view area for the site. This is represented by a filled circle that corresponds to the minimum elevation for the site. This circle is drawn in the color defined for the site, and will match the color of the site name in the title bar of the window, as well as the site name in the main tracking window. While tracking, the satellite pointing angle will be displayed by a dot in the view circle (if space points are enabled) and by the satellite name (if satellite names are enabled). If the satellite is visible from the site (meaning that it is above the minimum elevation), a line will be drawn from the center of the view circle to the satellite position dot (if LOS lines are enabled). 30 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide AER Data Window When there is either a primary and not a secondary or a secondary and not a primary site selected, the AER data window appears below the ground site window. This window displays the numeric values corresponding to the current Azimuth, Elevation, and Range of each of the satellites visible to the sensor of that site. Also shown in the AER data window is whether each satellite is rising or setting, denoted by a R or S. Date / Time Window This window displays the date and time with which all displayed satellite positions are computed. The time base used for the date and time is determined by the settings in the System Configuration dialog box (either UTC or LOCAL). The date format (order of the year, month, and day values) is also determined there. Also visible during non-realtime tracking is the current Interval, which is used to compute each succeeding track time. The interval is presented in Hours:Minutes:Seconds format. The +/- sign allows you to control whether tracking proceeds forward or backward in time. For example if the current track time is 12:04:34 and the interval is -00:00:15 then the next track time will be 12:04:19. During realtime tracking, the computer clock is accessed to obtain current track time. The computer clock is always assumed to be set to local time and if UTC time is used, it is computed by adding the time zone set in the System Configuration dialog box to the time read from the clock. Anytime during non-realtime tracking any element of the date, time, or interval may be changed by using the arrow keys as follows: Left and Right Arrow Keys The currently changeable time or date element is 31 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide highlighted with a different color, and may be selected by using the left and right arrow keys. Up and Down Arrow Keys The currently highlighted date or time element may be increased or decreased by using the up and down arrow keys. This allows you to change the date, time, and interval to the desired values. The all items being displayed in the main tracking window and the ground site windows are updated continuously to accurately reflect the positions for the current time. 32 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Text Mode Tracking Text Mode Tracking Window Text mode tracking provides tracking capability without the use of graphics presentation. This mode is provided for situations where numerical presentations are desirable, and where hard copy predictions and logs are needed. The text tracking mode uses the primary and secondary sites designated in the Edit Sites dialog box (F6), and the primary satellite designated in the Edit Satellites dialog box (F5). To facilitate tracking there are several components in this window. Track Date/Time At the upper left of the window the current track date, time, and interval are shown. The time base used (either UTC or LOCAL) is determined by settings in the System Configuration dialog box. The date format (year, month, day order) is also set in the System Configuration dialog box. Set Time Button Just to the right of the date/time/interval display is the Set Time button. Pressing this button opens the Track Time dialog box which allows you to set the date, time, and interval (for non-realtime tracking). See the section describing this dialog box below. Pause Checkbox To the right of the Set Time button are a check box and two buttons which allow you to pause tracking and to single-step through non-realtime tracking. The Pause checkbox will, when activated, halt tracking at the current time to allow analysis of data. Pressing the P key or ALT-P keys, tabbing to it and pressing the Space bar, or clicking with the mouse will active it. Doing the same again will deactivate it. If the track 33 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide mode is non-realtime (determined by the Realtime checkbox below) the -Step and +Step buttons allow you to step either forward and backward in time in increments equal to the current Interval value. This is good for close analysis of activity at a particular time. The + and - step buttons can be activated by pressing the buttons with the mouse, or by pressing the + or - keys on the keyboard. Satellite Data The current satellite position data is displayed below the track time and controls. Information displayed here include the current latitude, longitude, altitude (in KM or Miles depending on the settings in the System Configuration dialog box), phase, and whether or not the satellite is illuminated by the sun. Phase shows the current position of the satellite in terms of what portion of the current revolution the satellite has traversed, measured from perigee, normalized to 256. In other words, phase is mean anomaly represented in a domain of 0 to 255. Site Data The next two portions show the satellite relationship to both the Primary and Secondary sites. Shown for each site are site name, latitude and longitude, azimuth, elevation, slant range, and whether or not the site is illuminated by the sun. Slant range is shown in either KM or Miles depending on the settings in the System Configuration dialog box. Also shown for each site is the range rate (again, in KM/SEC or MI/SEC depending on system settings) and the doppler shifted satellite frequencies as received by the site. Range rate is derived from the instantaneous velocity computed for the current time. The frequencies displayed are derived from the frequencies defined for the satellite, adjusted for the doppler shift computed using the range rate. Realtime 34 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide In the lower left corner of the window is the Realtime checkbox, which controls the track mode. When activated, the program reads time from the computer system clock and uses that to determine satellite position. Note: The program always assumes that the computer clock is set to LOCAL time. If PC- TRACK is setup to track in UTC time, it adds the local timezone to the system time. For example, if the computer clock says it is 5:23:04, and the timezone is 5 (EST), then the computed UTC time will be 10:23:04, and that will be the time used to compute satellite position. Printer Control Printer control is provided by the Print Mode radiobutton. The three print modes available are Printer Off, Visible Only, and Continuous. Printer Off mode turns the printer off and no output is sent to the printer or disk file. Visible Only mode turns the printer on or opens a text file for output, and then outputs satellite positions that are visible from BOTH primary and secondary sites. This provides an automatic mutual visibility listing. Visibility is defined as a satellite position being above the minimum elevation defined for the sites. Continuous mode does the same, but continuously outputs satellite positions regardless of whether it is visible or not. If printing is currently off, then by pressing either the Visible Only or Continuous buttons opens the Printer Destination dialog box. Once the output destination is selected (assuming it is not canceled) printing begins, and continues until either the Text Track mode is terminated, or the Printer Off button is pressed. 35 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Done Button This button terminates Text Tracking mode and returns Pressing this button terminates tracking and returns control to the main menu. Track Time Dialog Box This dialog box allows you to set the current track date, time and interval. To facilitate this, the dialog box contains a number of input lines. To select the desired time, date, or interval element, you may use the TAB or SHIFT+TAB keys, or you may click on the desired element. Date The order of the date elements (year, month, day) is set in the System Configuration dialog box. Time The time shown will either be UTC or LOCAL depending on the setting in the System Configuration dialog box. Interval The interval is used for non-realtime tracking. Each successive track time is computed by adding the interval to the current track time. Tracking may be done either forward or backward in time, depending on the +/- sign to the left of the interval. Done Button Pressing this button closes the dialog box and saves all changes made. Pressing the RETURN key is the same as pressing this button. Cancel Button Pressing this button closes the dialog box and ignores all changes made. Pressing the ESC key is the same as pressing this button. 36 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Scanning Mutual Visibility Pass Scan Window This window (available from the View | Scan(Text) main menu option) allows you to scan a particular time frame for satellite passes that are mutually visible between the Primary and Secondary sites defined in the Edit Sites dialog box. Every active satellite will be checked and the mutually visible passes will be listed by date and time of AOS in the list box. When completed, the computed pass summaries will be able to be printed, and displayed. To facilitate this, the window includes the following items: Start Date and Time The upper left corner of the window contains a number of input lines which allow you to input the date and time the scanning will begin. The date format is determined by the settings in the System Configuration dialog box. The time base used will either be UTC or LOCAL depending on other settings in the System Configuration dialog box. Each element of the date and time may be accessed by either using the TAB and SHIFT-TAB keys, or by clicking on the desired element with the mouse. Stop Date and Time Just below the Start date and time is the stop date and time entry fields. These work just like the start, but specify the end of the scan period. Reset Button Pressing this button will reset the start date and time to the current computer clock time. If UTC time is being used, UTC time will be computed from the system time by adding the local time zone to it. The stop date and time will be set to 1.0 day later than the start date and time. 37 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Resolution These two input lines allow you to enter the time value in minutes and seconds that is between each point analyzed during a scan. The lower the resolution (greater time value), the fewer points per pass that will be recorded. This results in lower accuracy in determining AOS and LOS times, but shorter scan times. Higher resolutions (smaller time values) result in slower scans, but higher accuracy in determining AOS and LOS times. Status Line The status line shows the current status of the scan. Displayed here is the name of the satellite, the current date and time. If a particular point is mutually visible then a check mark will be visible to the right of the time. That point will be added to the pass point list. When a complete pass has been computed (from AOS to LOS or from start time to stop time) it will appear in the pass summary list box below. Pass Summary List Box This list box shows a summary of all of the mutually visible passes found during the scan. The items shown in the list box are: DIR : Shows the direction of the pass: NB = Northbound pass SB = Southbound pass * : At least one point in pass: -Has the vehicle in sunlight and -Has either the primary or secondary site in darkness. Satellite Name : Name of satellite for which visible pass was found. AOS Date : Date of Acquisition of Signal. This represents the date associated with the time when the satellite becomes visible to the sensors at BOTH the 38 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide primary and secondary site. AOS Time : Time of Acquisition of Signal. The accuracy of this time is a function of the resolution selected with the Resolution radio button. LOS Time : Time of Loss of Signal. This occurs at the first point that the satellite is no longer visible to the primary and secondary sites. T.I.R : Time in Range. Time difference between LOS and AOS. PRI: ME : Maximum elevation at the primary site. SEC: ME : Maximum elevation at the secondary site. NOTE: Maximum elevations may, and probably won't occur at the same times for both the primary and secondary sites in a particular pass. This can be seen when the pass is displayed with the Display button below. Maximum elevation accuracy is a function of the resolution selected with the Resolution radio button. The times of maximum elevation as displayed with the Display button will be within the time entered in the Resolution entry fields. Smaller resolution times will produce greater accuracy than larger ones. Scan Button Pressing this button begins the scanning process. The scan process may be terminated at any time by pressing the ESC key. Display Button Pressing this button opens the Pass Point display window. This window displays a list of each point found 39 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide in the pass currently highlighted in the Pass Summary List Box. The Pass Point display window is described below. Delete Button Pressing this button will delete the currently highlighted pass from the pass list. Print Button Pressing this button will cause the Pass Summary list shown in the Pass Summary list box to be sent to the device selected in the Output Destination dialog box which appears when the button is pressed. Done Button Pressing this button closes the Mutual Visibility Pass Scan window and returns to the main menu screen. Pass Point Display Window This window allows you to review the individual satellite position points for a particular selected pass from the Mutual Visibility Pass Scan window. The date of the first point of the pass as well as the name of the satellite is presented in the top title frame of the window. Each point in the pass is displayed in a list format for analysis. To facilitate this the following items are provided. Pass Point List Box This list box lists each point in the pass, with the following information presented for each point: Time : The time of the point given in either UTC or LOCAL time depending on the settings in the System Configuration dialog box. Latitude : Geodetic latitude in degrees. 40 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Longitude : Longitude in degrees. Altitude : Current satellite altitude given in either KM or Miles depending on the settings in the System Configuration dialog box. Illum : An asterisk (*) appears beside each point where the satellite is illuminated by the sun. Primary Site View Angle Azimuth : Current azimuth angle in degrees from true north. Elevation : Current elevation angle in degrees from the horizon. Distance : Current slant range to the satellite from the site in either KM or Miles depending on the settings in the System Configuration dialog box. Illum : An asterisk (*) appears beside each point where the site is illuminated by the sun. Secondary Site View Angle Same as Primary Site View Angle display. Print Button Pressing this button will cause the pass points to be sent to the device selected in the Output Destination dialog box which appears when the button is pressed. Done Button Pressing this button closes the pass point display window and returns to the mutual visibility pass scan window. 41 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Options System Configuration Dialog Box This dialog box (available through Options | System Config) allows you to configure the general system parameters that affect general time, date, and distance display, To facilitate this, there are several radio buttons, an input line and two buttons. Image Path This is a path input line which defines where the images used for graphics track are located. You may either directly enter a path, or you can press the down arrow key or click on the down arrow to the right of the input line to bring up a path selection dialog box. Any valid DOS path string is acceptable. NOTE: If no images can be found in the selected path, you will be notified with a message box. Distances This radio button allows you to select what measurement system will be used to define distances. Selecting "English" defines distances in Miles and Feet. Selecting "Metric" defines distances in Kilometers and Meters. Time Base This radio button allows you to select what time base will be used to compute satellite positions. Selecting "Local" defines time and date in local time. Selecting "UTC" defines time and date in Coordinated Universal Time. NOTE: The time and date read from the system clock in the computer is always interpreted 42 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide as LOCAL time. With Time Base set to "UTC" the computer system time will be corrected by the time zone figure below to arrive at the appropriate UTC time. Date Format This radio button allows you to select what format the date displays will use for presenting year, month, and day of month. Three options are available. Time Zone This input line allows you to enter the number of hours to ADD to your local time for the corresponding UTC time. For west longitudes, this will be POSITIVE. For East longitudes, this will be NEGATIVE. The valid range for this number is -12 to 12. Done Button Pressing this button closes the dialog box and saves all changes and entries made. Pressing the RETURN key is the same as pressing this button. Cancel Button Pressing this button closes the dialog box and ignores all changes and entries made. Pressing the ESC key is the same as pressing this button. Selecting Printers Selecting the Options | Select Printer main menu option will allow you to select the printer you wish to use for the various printouts available in PC-TRACK. Printer Selection List With the printer selection list you can select your printer. If you cannot find your printer in this list, then look for a printer that yours emulates (works like). If you can't find one of those, then select Options | Printer Codes and enter the codes for your 43 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide printer directly. If you need to enter printer codes, see the section below on how to do that. All of the information for printers used in PC-Track is contained in a file on the disk. When it is necessary to select a printer, a dialog box is used. This dialog box contains two buttons and a list box. The list box will show a portion of the list of names of the pre- defined printers in the file. The buttons on the right of the dialog box show what you can do with a highlighted common item. The two buttons that appear are described below. Select Button This button will select the highlighted printer for use in PC-Track. The proper printer codes will be loaded for use in the various printouts. Cancel Button This button allows you to exit from the selection dialog box without selecting a printer, and without changing the existing printer information elsewhere in the program. NOTE: If, when you select the Options | Select Printer option and do not get the above dialog box, but instead get a message saying "No Printer List!", then that is because PC- Track could not find the printer data file needed. Make sure that the PRINTERS.DAT file is in the PC-TRACK directory. If it isn't, you have a corrupted distribution copy and should contact Johnson Scientific Intnl for a clean copy. Changing the Printer Codes Selecting the Options | Printer Codes allows you to change the printer codes that PC-Track uses to control 44 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide your printer. You should only need to make changes/entries here if you wish to make PC-Track do special things, or if you have a printer that cannot be found in the list of printers supported by PC-Track. This option brings up a dialog box with an input line for each of the items necessary to properly set up the printer. This dialog box is titled "Configure Printer Codes." This dialog box allows you to change a number of features which are common to most of the various reports available. The features that you can configure are: Normal Characters Code Normal Characters Per Inch Narrow Characters Code Narrow Characters Per Inch Normal Line Spacing Code Normal Lines Per Inch Narrow Line Spacing Code Narrow Lines Per Inch Initialization Code Turn On Bold Characters Code Turn Off Bold Characters Code Form Feed Code Reset Code Enable IBM Box Characters About Printer Codes Before describing each of the items that require printer codes, it is important to understand what printer codes are and how they are entered into PC- Track. Printer codes are nothing more than characters that are sent to a printer to cause it to change the way it prints or to do something with the paper. Very often these characters are unprintable, and will not show up on the screen. Most of them cannot be directly typed in from the keyboard. Because of this, we have to use a 45 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide somewhat roundabout way to enter them by using characters which are printable and displayable and can be entered in with the keyboard. Each special character used as a print code is represented in the computer as a number. For example, the letter A is represented in the computer with the number 65. The ESC key is represented in the computer with the number 27. Knowing this, we can enter the special characters by typing in the number of the character, and let the computer convert that number into the special character required by the printer. The various input lines used by the program understand this relationship, and will accept as input the numbers that represent the various special characters required by the printer. For example, most Epson compatible printers use the ESC character followed by the @ character to reset. Since the ESC character is used by the program to control the windows and dialog boxes, it cannot be typed directly into the input line. Therefore, since the number 27 represents the ESC character and since the number 64 represents the @ character, these two numbers can be entered into the input line to tell the computer to send ESC @ when it needs to reset the printer. In addition to the numbers, we also need some type of separator character to tell PC-Track where one number ends and the other begins. This is done with the slash character: (/). This then would be the entry for the RESET code for this sample printer: /27/64 Where do you get the printer codes for your printer? This is where you will have to dig into your printer manuals and locate the "Printer Commands" or "Printer Control Codes" table. It may have some other title but it will be somewhere in your manual and will list all the different code sequences needed for the various 46 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide features for your printer. Some printer manuals list these both as decimal values or Hexadecimal values. Make sure you use the DECIMAL values. The Hexadecimal values can be recognized by the fact that they will, in many cases, include one or more of the letters A-F in the number. The printer code input lines will only accept the letters 0-9 and the slash (/) character. The input lines can accept up to 255 characters, so you can enter quit a long sequence of printer codes if necessary. Printer Code Dialog Box Notice that everything dealing with Line Spacing is organized at the top of the box. The codes and number of lines per inch for normal printing is on the left side, and those for narrow printing is on the right side. The printer code lines are the codes that are actually sent to the printer to do what is necessary. The Lines Per Inch input lines tell PC-Track what the code actually does so that it knows how to use it. For example, if you enter a code in the Normal Line Spacing Printer Code line that will tell the printer to print at 6 lines per inch, you need to tell PC-Track that by entering a 6 in the Lines Per Inch input line. Again, the printer code line is used to command the printer to print a certain way, the Lines Per Inch line tells PC-Track what that printer code means so it knows how to use it. The section below it for Character Width works the same way. Doing it this way makes it flexible for you if you wish to customize PC-Track to print in a special way. Descriptions of each of the entry lines follow: Line Spacing Setup Printer Code for Normal Line Spacing This input line allows you to enter the printer code necessary to cause the printer to print normal spaced lines. This is commonly 6 Lines Per Inch (LPI). Lines Per Inch (Normal) This input line allows you to enter a number which 47 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide defines the number of lines per inch that the code above it represents. For example, if you have entered the printer code for 6 LPI printing, then you would enter a 6 here. Think of it this way. The "Printer Code" line tells the PRINTER how many lines per inch to print, and the "Lines Per Inch" line tells PC-Track how many lines per inch the printer is printing. That way, PC-Track can know how to control the printer. Printer Code for Narrow Line Spacing This input line allows you to enter the printer code necessary to cause the printer to print narrow line spacing. This is commonly 8 Lines Per Inch (LPI). Lines Per Inch (Narrow) This input line allows you to enter a number which defines the number of characters per inch that the code above it represents. For example, if you have entered the printer code for 8 Lines Per Inch (LPI) printing, then you would enter an 8 here. Think of it this way. The "Printer Code" line tells the PRINTER how many lines per inch to print, and the "Lines Per Inch" line tells PC-Track how many lines per inch the printer is printing. That way, PC-Track can know how to control the printer. Character Width Setup Printer Code for Normal Character Printing This input line allows you to enter the printer code necessary to cause the printer to print normal sized letters. This is commonly 10 or 12 Characters Per Inch (CPI). Characters Per Inch (Normal) This input line allows you to enter a number which is the number of characters per inch that the code above it represents. For example, if you have entered the printer code for 10 CPI printing, then you would enter a 10 here. Printer Code for Narrow Printing 48 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide This input line allows you to enter the printer code necessary to cause the printer to print narrow letters, many times referred to as compressed print. This is commonly 16 or 17 CPI, but you may decide to enter a code which causes your printer to print smaller characters, such as 20 CPI. This would make your printouts more narrow. Characters Per Inch (Narrow) This input line allows you to enter a number which defines the number of characters per inch that the code above it represents. For example, if you have entered the printer code for 16 Characters Per Inch (CPI) printing, then you would enter 16 here. Other Codes Initialization Code This is a printer code which will initialize your printer to whatever mode you wish it to be in to print this form. This initialization code could set the printer up for a particular type style or perhaps set it to draft mode or letter quality mode. This is also where you could put the printer codes to tell the printer what size paper you have in the printer if it is not the standard 8 1/2" X 11" size. Printer Reset Code This input line allows you to enter the printer code used by the printer to reset itself to the initial power-on condition. This should reset all aspects of the printer, just as if you turned the printer off and then back on. Printer Code To Turn On Bold Characters This input line allows you to enter the printer code necessary to cause the printer to print bold characters, sometimes called enhanced characters. Although BOLD is specified, you could decide to enter codes which causes the printer to use some other feature, such as underlining. 49 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Printer Code To Turn Off Bold Characters This input line allows you to enter the printer code necessary to turn off the printer mode that was turned on with BOLD ON code. Printer Code For Form Feed This input line allows you to enter the printer code used by the printer to advance to the next page. This is typically called Formfeed. Select IBM Box Character Set This is a single Check Box which tells the program whether or not to send the IBM Box Characters to the printer. These are sometimes referred to as the extended ASCII character set. These characters include those that are used to form boxes and other items on the screen. Some printers can print these characters, some can not. The two buttons that appear in this dialog box are: Done Button Press this button when you are done editing. The new information will be saved in place of the old. Cancel Button Press this button when you are done editing, but you do not wish to keep the changes you have made to this item. The new information will NOT be saved in place of the old. Page Setup The options available under Options | Page Setup allow you to Line Spacing The line spacing radio button set allows you to select which type of line spacing to use in this form. Normal Line Spacing This radio button allows you to select the normal line spacing as defined in Lines Per Inch (Normal) 50 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide in the Options | Printer Codes. Narrow Line Spacing This radio button allows you to select the narrow line spacing as defined in Lines Per Inch (Narrow) in the Options | Printer Codes. Character Width The character width radio button set allows you to select which character width to use in this form. Normal Character Width This radio button allows you to select the normal character width as defined in Characters Per Inch (Normal) in the Options | Printer Codes. Narrow Character Width This radio button allows you to select the narrow character width as defined in Characters Per Inch (Narrow) in the Options | Printer Codes. Page Width This is an input line which allows you to enter the width of the page in inches. If you are using an 8 1/2" X 11" paper, then you would enter 8.5 here. Enter this either in a fractional form (3 1/2) or a decimal form (3.5) depending on how you have the system configured using the Utilities | Configure | Special Options main menu option. Page Length This is an input line which allows you to enter the length of the page in inches. If you are using an 8 1/2" X 11" paper, then you would enter 11.0 here. Enter this either in a fractional form (3 1/2) or a decimal form (3.5) depending on how you have the system configured using the Utilities | Configure | Special Options main menu option. Top Margin This is an input line which allows you to enter the number of inches that will be used for the top margin of the page. Enter this either in a fractional form (3 1/2) or a decimal form (3.5) depending on how you have the system configured using the Utilities | Configure | 51 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Special Options main menu option. Left Margin This is an input line which allows you to enter the number of inches that will be used for the left margin of the page. Enter this either in a fractional form (3 1/2) or a decimal form (3.5) depending on how you have the system configured using the Utilities | Configure | Special Options main menu option. Bottom Margin This is an input line which allows you to enter the number of inches that will be used for the bottom margin of the page. Enter this either in a fractional form (3 1/2) or a decimal form (3.5) depending on how you have the system configured using the Utilities | Configure | Special Options main menu option. Print To This is used to select where this report is to be sent (either to the printer itself or to a disk file). Print To: Printer Selecting this button will send the report directly to the printer (at the time you tell PC- Track to print). Print To: Disk File Selecting this button will send the report to the disk file specified in Disk File To Print To (at the time you tell PC-Track to print). Form Advance Type This radio button set allows you to tell PC-Track how to handle advancing the printer to the next page. In most cases, you will want to use the Form Feed Advance, since this is quicker and more accurate. It is also necessary if you have a page printer, such as a laser or HP Deskjet printer. In some cases, it will be necessary to move the paper to the next page with a series of line feeds. This button determines which will be used for this form. 52 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Form Feed Advance This tells PC-Track to send the Form Feed code to the printer to advance the paper to the next page. This will work for your printer if you have defined the paper size to be exactly what you have in the printer using the Initialization Code line. Line Feed Advance This tells PC-Track to compute and send a series of Line Feed codes to the printer to advance the paper to the next page. This is handy to use if you do not know how to setup your printer to work with a particular page size other than the standard 8.5" X 11" size. PC-Track will use the size defined in the Form Length lines above to compute how many line feeds are necessary to advance the paper to the next form. 53 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide The User Interface This program is built with many user features that make using them simple. These features are part of what is called the "user interface" because they work between you the user, and the program. In other words, it "interfaces" you with the program to allow information to flow. Among these user friendly features are: An uncomplicated pull down menuing system A "windows" based screen display Mouse Awareness Dialog Boxes Message Boxes A program Status Line A simple-to-use but informative HELP system Each of these features provide the means to get the information you need simply and to allow you to enter information efficiently and effortlessly. This part of the document will give you a brief introduction to each of these features and get you familiar with how to use them. Using The Mouse The user interface is made simple and powerful by the use of a mouse. The mouse provides the mechanism to rapidly point to something on the screen and tell the program to perform certain operations. When the mouse is available to use, (by having the proper mouse driver installed and the mouse connected properly) a rectangular square will be visible on the screen. This rectangle is called the "mouse cursor" and moves around on the screen as you move your mouse. Moving this mouse cursor to the points of interest on the screen is your way of telling the program what you are interested in. Pressing the left button on the mouse tells the program to do something, depending on what is visible on the screen and where the mouse 54 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide cursor is when you press the button. Other areas of the on-line help describe what will happen when you use the mouse in particular ways with particular things on the screen. (The middle and right mouse buttons are not used.) Throughout the program documentation and these help screens you will see references to the use of the mouse, but may not refer specifically to the mouse cursor or the buttons on the mouse. Instead, you will be told to " click on ...". This always means to position the mouse cursor to the position (whatever it is) on the screen by moving the mouse until it is on top of the item of interest, then press the LEFT mouse button. This is the major method of using the mouse to interact with the program. Double Clicking This is a way of using the mouse to indicate to the program that you wish to both select and activate whatever item it is on (if that item understands double clicks). This is done by rapidly pressing the left mouse button twice. Just what "rapidly" means depends on your computer and can be determined by experimentation. Double clicking works on some data entry lines (those that bring up selection list boxes and in the list boxes themselves). Using the MENU system. The menu system provides a convenient and simple way to get to each of the different options available. Please note that the menu system is only available when there's nothing else happening in the program. For example, If you are in the middle of editing recipes, the menu system won't work because there are no main menu options available to use while you are editing a recipe. You must be completed with any of the options available before selecting another one. There are a number of ways to access the options in the menu system. Let's explore them: SHORTCUT KEYS First of all, notice that each of the options at the 55 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide top of the screen has one of its letters displayed in a different color. That letter is known as the "shortcut" letter. This letter is kind of a "hot" letter which will access that particular option when you use the ALT key along with that shortcut letter. For example, to access the List option, you would press the ALT key at the same time you press the L key. This will open up the Edit sub-menu with all of its options. F10 KEY By pressing the F10 key, you gain access to all of the menu options shown on the top line of the screen. One of the options shown will become highlighted. To access that option, just press the RETURN key. You will then see the sub-menu options that are available from that option. If however, you desired to access one of the other options, you may use the left or right arrow keys to change the highlighted option. You may also press the shortcut key as described above. Once you have the sub-menu options displayed, you may again press the appropriate shortcut key to select the desired option. You may also use the up and down arrow keys to highlight the option and then press the RETURN key to select it. MOUSE Finally, you can simply click the left mouse button while the mouse cursor is on top of the desired option. Working with windows. All of the work done in the program is done in one form of "window" or another. Windows (not to be confused with Microsoft Windows (R)) have a few features in common which make them easy to work with. Most windows have the ability to be moved around on the screen and be closed. Some, such as the help window, are resizable. Windows are simply boxes on the screen which contain groups of related information. They have a double line 56 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide frame around them and usually show a shadow over any window or text beneath them. This gives a visual effect which is pleasing to the eye and organizes information into easy-to-use chunks. A typical window looks like this: Close Zoom box box │ │ V V ╔═[■]═════ Title Bar ════[|]═╗ ║ ▒ ║ ▒ ║ ▒ ║ ■ ║ ▒ ║ ▒<────┐ ║ ▒ │ ╚═▒▒■▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒══╝ │ ^ │ └─────────────────┤ │ Scroll Bars CLOSING WINDOWS Closing a window means to stop whatever the window was doing and make it disappear from the screen. Most windows can be closed by clicking on the little block positioned at the upper left corner of the window frame (seen as the " close box" in the above diagram). A window can also be closed by pressing the ESC key or one of the other buttons in the window ( such as the Done or Cancel buttons, as covered in more detail below). Some windows are designed not to be closeable since they have information which is important to remain displayed (such as the Print Manager message box). These will not have the close box displayed in the upper left hand corner of the window frame. MOVING WINDOWS Most windows are designed so that you can move them around on the screen. This is done with the mouse. To move a window, just position the mouse cursor somewhere along the top frame of the window (not on the close 57 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide block though) and press AND HOLD the left mouse button down. While holding it down, move the mouse. The window will move with the mouse. When it is in the desired position, release the left button. In most cases moving windows is not necessary, but there may be some situations where you wish to see what was underneath the window and this will enable you to do this. RESIZING WINDOWS Most of the windows used in this program are not resizable, since it would not make sense to do so. But at least in the case of the help window, resizing is sometimes helpful, since the help system is basically a text display system and some of the text displays are wider than the standard help window. You can tell if a window is resizable or not by looking for a little "up arrow" in the upper right corner of the window frame (seen as the "zoom box" in the above diagram). This is your clue that the window can be resized. You can make the window full screen size by clicking on that arrow. If you desire to again make it the original smaller size, just click on the double arrow which shows in the same spot. You can also resize it by positioning the mouse cursor on the very lower right corner of the window (─┘) and then pressing AND HOLDING the left mouse button. Then as you move the mouse, the window size will follow. When the window is the desired size, release the mouse button. Working with Dialog Boxes Dialog boxes are simply specialized types of windows used to display and input information. A dialog box consists of a variety of different parts(including those described above in windows) which make this possible. These parts include: Buttons Input lines Date Lines Pick Lines Static Text Labels Text Editor Scroll Bars 58 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide List Boxes Radio Buttons Check Boxes Each of these items, when used in a dialog box, can be selected for use by one of several methods. MOUSE One method is to click on the item with the left mouse button when the mouse cursor is positioned somewhere on the item. SHORTCUT KEY Each item shown in a dialog box has a label associated with it. You will notice that there is a different colored letter within the label. This is the shortcut letter. You can select a desired item by pressing either ALT and the shortcut letter or the letter alone. You will need to use the ALT key with a shortcut letter if you have something that is expecting regular letters to be input (such as an input line). TAB Finally, you can select different items in a dialog box by pressing the TAB key or the SHIFT and TAB keys. This will step the focus (item of interest) or the one that will operate with the RETURN key, from one item to the next in the dialog box. Once the item desired is highlighted by using one of these methods, you are ready to use that item. NOTE: You may be tempted to press the RETURN key when you are done entering information into an input line or using one of the other items in a dialog box. This will probably result in more than you expected. Not only will you be indicating to the program that you are done inputting this line, but you will also be indicating that you wish to take the default action defined by one of the buttons in the dialog box (the next section talks about the "default" button). In some cases, this may be to Edit whatever is selected. In other cases, 59 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide it will be to indicate that you are done with the dialog box and it will close on you because the default button was the DONE button. The bottom line is, don't press the RETURN key unless you want to perform the default action of the dialog box. This is probably the biggest difference between the way the windows and dialog boxes work and the way older programs worked. Below are descriptions of the major items used inside dialog boxes to assist you in your work: Buttons Buttons are used primarily to allow you to tell the program to do some preprogrammed action, such as Edit, Delete, Convert, or some such thing. Each button consists of a small box with a text label on it and a shadow around it. In each dialog box, there is usually one "default" button and other "normal" buttons. A default button is one which is automatically selected when you press the RETURN key if you have not selected some other button. Like the menu and other parts of the program, buttons can be selected (highlighted) by any of the three methods described above (shortcut key, TAB, or mouse). To "press" a button, you can press the ALT key along with the shortcut key shown on the button. You can press RETURN with the appropriate button selected. Finally, you can position the mouse cursor on the button and press the left mouse button. Notice that while using the mouse to press the button, if you press and hold the mouse button down, the button "shadow" goes away, along with the button position shifting to the right, giving the effect of having depressed the button. When the mouse button is released, the dialog box button action will take effect. If you have pressed a button and have not yet released the mouse button, and for some reason do not wish to continue with that action, you can move the mouse cursor off of the button BEFORE RELEASING THE MOUSE BUTTON. This will cancel the 60 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide button press. Input Lines Input lines are used to allow you to enter information directly from the keyboard. If an input line is selected and there is existing information, it will be displayed as "selected text". This means that if you press any key except the HOME, END, left arrow, or right arrow, the existing text will be deleted and you will be able to reenter new information from scratch. If, however, you wish to just edit what is there, just move the cursor with the arrow keys to the point you wish to edit. You will notice that the color changes to the normal text color and you can now add to or delete characters from what is there. In some cases, the length of the information you can enter into an input line will be longer than the box displayed on the screen. When this occurs, a triangle will appear at either end of the input box indicating the information in the box is longer than what is displayed. If you position the mouse cursor on that triangle and press the left mouse button, the text will scroll across the box. You may also use either the left or right arrow keys to position the cursor to the proper point in the text to continue editing. When you are done using an input line, you can move to the next item in the dialog box by one of the methods described above (shortcut keys, TAB, mouse, etc.). Static Text Static Text is simply text that does not have any "action" attached to it and is used to just display information in the dialog box. Labels Labels are used to make it possible to select the various items (except buttons) that may appear in a dialog box for use. They are "attached" to these items so that you can select them using the methods described 61 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide in the Dialog Box section. For example, Input Lines (described above) usually have a label associated with them. Within the label is the shortcut key which can be used to select the desired input line for use. The label can also be used to select the desired item with the other two selection methods (TAB key and the mouse). Scroll Bars Scroll bars are devices used to allow you to select or identify one item out of many. Sometimes it is used to change a value of some piece of information. A scroll bar is made up of three basic parts: the slider bar, the slider, and the direction arrows. They will look something like this: ▒▒▒■▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ │ │ │ Slider───┘ │ │ Slider Bar───────────┘ │ Direction Arrow─────────────────┘ The direction arrows are attached to each end of the slider bar, and the slider moves along the slider bar. There are several ways to move the slider (and thus control the item the scroll bar is attached to). One way is to use the arrow keys (up and down for vertical scroll bars, and left and right for horizontal scroll bars). Pressing either the PGUP or PGDN key will make the slider move in larger increments. You may also move the slider by positioning the mouse cursor on one of the direction arrows at the ends of the scroll bar and pressing the left mouse button. The slider will move in the direction selected (and will change the associated item). Release the mouse button when the slider and information are in the desired position. If you position the mouse cursor on the slider bar 62 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide (between the slider and the direction arrow) and press the left mouse button, the slider will move in greater increments (the same as pressing the CTRL and arrow keys). You may manually position the slider by positioning the mouse cursor on the slider and while PRESSING AND HOLDING the left mouse button, moving the mouse (and thus the slider) to the desired position. Pick Lines Pick lines are a special kind of input line. They look somewhat like an input line in that they contain text and have an associated label. Once selected and activated, (by pressing any key) however, an additional feature is revealed, which is a list box. (List Boxes are described below.) This list box contains all of the choices available to be placed into that associated input line. Instead of typing the information directly into the input line, you select from the list box. The list box closes when you select the desired item from the list or press ESC or click on the close box ( ═[■]═ ). List Boxes A list box is a box that contains a list of items, usually sorted, which are used to select one of the items within the list. The list box is "smart" and has several methods available to make it simple to select one of the items in the list. One of these methods is to use the scroll bar associated with the list. Moving the slider will change the selected item in the list. Another method is to use the up and down arrow keys or the HOME or END keys. HOME will select the top item in the list. END will select the last item in the list. You may also just type the letters in the item that you wish to find. For example, suppose the list is a list of food items, and contains the following items: 63 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Apples Bread Butter Eggs Milk Yogurt If you press the 'b' key (either upper or lower case, it doesn't matter) the 'Bread' entry will be highlighted. The cursor will be underneath the 'r' in 'Bread', indicating that it is waiting for the second letter to be pressed. If you press the 'u' key, the 'Butter' entry will be highlighted. So you can see that you can get to the desired item very quickly just by pressing a few keys. Once the desired item is highlighted, you can select it by pressing the Return key (or the appropriate dialog box button). This technique works for any item in the list, whether visible or not. Finally, you can select an item that is visible in the list box by moving the mouse cursor somewhere on the line that contains the desired item and double-clicking with the mouse. Radio Buttons Radio Buttons are devices organized as short lists of text items with parentheses () next to them. A group of radio buttons is known as a "cluster." They act together. Within one cluster of radio buttons, only one of the buttons can (and will) be selected. For example, suppose the following choices of ice cream were available: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and cherry. A radio button cluster with those choices would look like this: ( ) Vanilla ( ) Chocolate (∙) Strawberry ( ) Cherry Your choice of ice cream would be one of those. Your selection would be represented by a "∙" in one of the boxes. 64 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide If you change your mind, and select Chocolate, the (∙) by Strawberry would be removed and the (∙) would appear next to Chocolate. ( ) Vanilla (∙) Chocolate ( ) Strawberry ( ) Cherry To change selections, you can click on the desired choice with the mouse, or press the appropriate shortcut key. Remember that radio button clusters have a label associated with them which makes it possible to select it before working on it. Pressing the ALT key along with the shortcut key will also work. Check Boxes Check Boxes work exactly like radio buttons except that you may select any, all, or none of the items in the cluster. Check boxes look like this: [ ] Vanilla [X] Chocolate [X] Strawberry [ ] Cherry Other Items Other items you will see in this program will be: Message Boxes Message Boxes are used simply to advise you of some condition which needs attention or to inform you of some situation which has occurred and needs a decision made. Usually, a message box will have several simple buttons associated with it. Those buttons could be YES, NO, OK, or Cancel. These buttons are usually provided for your response to a question or "message" stated in the box. 65 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Program Status Line. The program status line is the bottom line of the screen and presents brief help messages or a few available hot keys. This is a method of providing just a bit more information to you as you are working in order to provide a good understanding of what is happening or where you are in the program. Hot keys may be used by either pressing the displayed key, or clicking on the item with the mouse, or using the shortcut key shown. File Dialog Box The file dialog box is used where it is necessary to enter or select a DOS file for use in the program. The File Select Box dialog box contains the following items to assist you in selecting files: ■ an input box with a history list ■ a list box to browse the directory ■ the standard Cancel button ■ Open action button ■ an information panel that describes the selected file You may exit the File Open command by pressing the ESC key or clicking the mouse on the CANCEL button. Name Input Box: ┌─ Name ──────────────────────────┐ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────┘ The Name input box is where you enter the name of the file to load, or the file-name mask to use as a filter for the Files list box (for example, *.*). If you are entering a filename, it must be entered as a valid MSDOS filename. A valid filename has 8 characters (case does not matter). The filename can be followed by an optional part called an "extension" separated by a period ".". Any letter or number may be used in filenames and extensions.. 66 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide WARNING: DO NOT USE THE FOLLOWING FILENAMES: CON AUX COM1 COM2 COM3 COM4 PRN LPT1 LPT2 LPT3 NUL CLOCK$ DO NOT USE THE FOLLOWING EXTENSIONS: .EXE .$$$ .BAK .BAS .BAT .COM .CPI .EXE .SYS DO NOT USE THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS IN FILENAMES OR EXTENSIONS: < > = , ; : . ? [ ] ( ) / \ + * If you enter *.*, then all files in the current directory will be shown in the Files List box. 67 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Files List Box: ┌ Files ──────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ FILENM01.DOC │ FILENM09.DOC │ │ FILENM02.DOC │ FILENM10.DOC │ │ FILENM03.DOC │ FILENM11.DOC │ │ FILENM04.DOC │ FILENM12.DOC │ │ FILENM05.DOC │ .. │ │ FILENM06.DOC │ \MOREFILE │ │ FILENM07.DOC │ \DATA │ │ FILENM08.DOC │ \DOCUMENT │ │ ▒▒▒■▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ │ └─────────────────────────────────┘ The Files List box lists the names of files in the current directory that match the file-name mask in the Name input box, plus the parent directory and all subdirectories. File Information Panel: ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ C:\SE\FILES\*.DOC │ │ HELLO.DOC 1432 Jan 11,1991 12:32pm │ └──────────────────────────────────────────┘ The File information panel shows the path name, file name, date, time, and size of the selected file. None of the items on this information panel are selectable. They are for information purposes only. The buttons available are: Open The Open button picks the highlighted file and places the full path and filename in the filename line. Cancel If you choose Cancel, nothing changes and no action occurs, and the dialog box is put away. (ESC always 68 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide cancels a dialog box, even if a Cancel button does not appear.) Messages Messages you may encounter when selecting and entering filenames are: "Too Many Files" This message box is telling you that there simply are too many files in the current directory to list in the list box. This will not harm anything, it's just telling you that the list box can't show you all the files that there are. "Invalid Drive or Directory" You have entered the name of a disk drive or a subdirectory that doesn't exist on the system. You will have to go back and enter a correct one. "Invalid File Name" You have entered the name of a file using characters that are not allowed in a file name or you have entered a path that does not exist on your system. You will have to go back and enter a correct one. Characters that are not allowed in DOS files are: ; , = + < > | " [ ] \ The space character is also not allowed. "Invalid Directory" You have entered the name of a subdirectory that doesn't exist on the system. You will have to go back and enter a correct one. Path Dialog Box The Select Path dialog box consists of an input box, a list box, the standard Select, Chdir, Revert, and Cancel buttons. It is used whenever it is necessary to select a DOS path for use in the program. 69 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Directory Name Input Box ┌ Directory Name ─────────────────────┐ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────┘ The Directory Name input box is where you type in the path of the new directory. Directory Tree List Box ┌ Directory Tree ─────────────────────┐ │ Drives │ │ └─┬C:\ │ │ └─┬DOS │ │ └──UTILITIES │ └─────────────────────────────────────┘ The Directory Tree list box enables you to navigate directories by using the selection bar and pressing Enter. Buttons available in the Select Path dialog box: Select The Select button exits the dialog box with the new path that is currently showing in the Directory Name input box. Chdir The Chdir button puts the path that is highlighted in the Directory Tree list box into the Directory Name input box. Cancel Button The Cancel button exits the dialog box without making any changes to the data path. 70 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Using the HELP system. The help system is designed to get you the help you need on whatever topic you wish. The help system takes you directly to the topic of interest just by pressing the F1 key from wherever you are in the program. If there are related topics which might be of interest to you, the help system provides the means to easily jump to that topic and see that information. To get help, just press the F1 key. Appropriate information will be given for the topic you are on. If there is no specific topic to be addressed (such as from the opening screen), the main Table of Contents will be presented, from which you may select any of the topics listed for further information. The help will appear in a window in the middle of the screen. Most of the text will wrap around in the window so all of it is visible. Some specially formatted text may be outside the window. In this case, just use the scroll bars at the bottom or right side of the help window to scroll the text until it is visible. You may also make the help screen appear full size by clicking the left mouse button while the mouse cursor is on the little up arrow positioned on the frame in the upper right hand corner of the help window. When you are done with the help, it can be removed by simply pressing the ESC key or clicking the mouse on the little block (═[■]═) positioned at the upper left of the window. To view the next highlighted topic in a help window (one that is a different color than the rest of the text) just press the TAB key or the SHIFT and TAB keys to make the desired topic highlighted. When it is, just press the RETURN key. You may also select a desired topic by double-clicking on it with the left mouse button. 71 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Changing Screen Colors The Colors dialog box (found in the Edit | Text Colors) consists of two list boxes, a text display area, the standard OK, Cancel, and Help buttons, and one of the following: On color and black-and-white systems, it also contains two color palettes. On monochrome systems, it contains a set of radio buttons instead of the palettes. This dialog box is where you can change the colors of different parts of this program. Group List Box: ┌─ Group ─────────────┐ │ Background │ │ Menus ■│ │ Editor ▒│ │ Dialogs ▒│ │ Help Window ▒│ │ ▒│ │ │ └─────────────────────┘ The Group list box contains the names of the different regions of the program that you can customize. Item List Box: ┌─ Item ──────────────┐ │ Color │ │ ■│ When you select a group from the Group list, the Item list box displays the names of the different views in that region. 72 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Color Palettes: ┌ Foreground ┐ ┌ Background ┐ │ ░▒▓░▒▓░▒▓░ │ │ ▓░▒▓░▒▓░▒▓ │ │ ▓░▒▓░▒▓░▒▓ │ │ ░▒▓░▒▓░▒▓░ │ │ ▒▓░▒▓░▒▓░▒ │ └────────────┘ └────────────┘ On color and black-and-white systems, you use the Foreground and Background palettes to modify colors. Monochrome Palettes: ┌ Colors ──────────────┐ │ (∙) Mono low │ │ ( ) Mono high │ │ ( ) Mono underscore │ │ ( ) Mono inverse │ └──────────────────────┘ On monochrome systems, you use the Colors set of radio buttons systems to modify the character attributes. Sample Display: ┌────────────────┐ │ Text Text Text │ │ Text Text Text │ └────────────────┘ On all systems, the display text (above the Help button) shows the current color or attribute settings. Changes do not take effect on the desktop until you close the Colors dialog box by choosing OK. 73 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Error Codes The following are error codes you (hopefully will never) see in PC-Track. Code Meaning ================================== 2 COULDN'T FIND THE FILE 3 COULDN'T FIND THE PATH 4 TOO MANY OPEN FILES 5 FILE ACCESS DENIED 6 INVALID FILE HANDLE 12 INVALID FILE ACCESS MODE 15 INVALID DRIVE NUMBER 16 CANNOT REMOVE CURRENT DIRECTORY 17 CANNOT RENAME ACROSS DRIVES 100 DISK READ ERROR (READ PAST END OF FILE) 101 DISK WRITE ERROR (USUALLY DISK FULL) 102 FILE NOT ASSIGNED 103 FILE NOT OPEN 104 FILE NOT OPEN FOR INPUT 105 FILE NOT OPEN FOR OUTPUT 106 INVALID NUMERIC FORMAT 150 DISK IS WRITE PROTECTED 151 UNKNOWN UNIT 152 PRINTER IS NOT READY 153 UNKNOWN COMMAND 154 CRC ERROR IN DATA 155 BAD DRIVE REQUEST STRUCTURE LENGTH 156 DISK SEEK ERROR 157 UNKNOWN MEDIA TYPE 158 SECTOR NOT FOUND 159 PRINTER OUT OF PAPER 160 PRINTER PROBLEM...CAN'T PRINT 161 DEVICE READ FAULT 162 HARDWARE FAILURE (REAL PROBLEMS) 200 DIVISION BY ZERO 201 RANGE CHECK 202 STACK OVERFLOW 203 HEAP OVERFLOW 204 INVALID POINTER OPERATION 205 FLOATING POINT OVERFLOW 74 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide 206 FLOATING POINT UNDERFLOW 207 INVALID FLOATING POINT OPERATION 208 OVERLAY MANAGER NOT INSTALLED 209 OVERLAY FILE READ ERROR 210 OBJECT NOT INITIALIZED 211 CALL TO ABSTRACT METHOD 212 STREAM REGISTRATION ERROR 213 COLLECTION OUT OF RANGE 214 COLLECTION OVERFLOW ERROR 75 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Data Sources PC-TRACK relies on up-to-date keplerian element data for accurate calculations of satellite positions. There are a number of sources from which to obtain this data. Sources vary from BBSs, to NASA itself. Below are a brief list of a few of these sources. Printed Sources The information required by PC-TRACK can be obtained by requesting the "NASA PREDICTION BULLETIN" or the "TWO LINE ORBITAL ELEMENTS" for each of the satellites desired, referenced by CATALOG NUMBER from: PROJECT OPERATIONS BRANCH (CODE 513) NASA/GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER GREENBELT, MD. 20771 You may also request a package of prediction bulletins for certain categories of satellites such as weather or amateur radio satellites rather than by individual CATALOG NUMBERS. If you do not know the CATALOG NUMBER of the satellites you wish to order data for, you can request the current "SATELLITE SITUATION REPORT". To the best of my knowledge, there is no charge for this document and it can be obtained from the above address. The Satellite Situation Report lists almost every satellite currently in orbit. Each satellite is cataloged by the International Designation and by Catalog number. It also lists the name, launch date, orbital period in minutes, inclination, apogee, perigee, and transmitting frequency. By using this document you can determine the catalog numbers of the satellites you wish to track with PC-TRACK. NOTE: For on-line access to the same data, see the information on the NASA RAID BBS below. 76 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Online Sources Several on-line sources exist depending on your connectivity and equipment available. For simple telephone BBS access, below are two excellent sources of satellite data: BBS Celestial BBS 513-253-9767 300-9600 BAUD NASA RAID BBS 301-262-6784 300-2400 BAUD NOTE: This is a free access BBS. There is a 20 min per day time limit. New users must first write to NASA to request access to the BBS. This may be done simply on a postcard, requesting access to the RAID BBS. Upon receipt of your request they will establish an account for you on the BBS, and sent you a package of materials including a BBS user guide and your user ID and initial password. You will then have access to the BBS and its data. The address to write for access to the RAID BBS is: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Project Operations Branch/513 Attn: Orbital Information Group Greenbelt, MD. 20771 Internet If you have access to the internet network, you have access to several sources of up-to-date satellite orbital elements. Several usenet news groups and several FTP sites maintain current orbital elements on 77 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide the internet network. They are listed below. Usenet News Groups Two-line orbital elements and AMSAT keplerian elements are frequently posted to the following usenet newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.space rec.radio.amateur.misc sci.space sci.space.news sci.astro FTP Sites The following FTP sites maintain current two-line elements: archive.afit.af.mil (129.92.1.66) /pub/space ftp.funet.fi (128.214.61.100) /pub/astro/pc/satel kilroy.jpl.nasa.gov (128.149.1.165) /pub/space/elements/nasa These sites allow anonymous logins. Just enter "anonymous" as the user name, and your valid home user ID (with host name) as the password. 78 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Import File Formats Satellites NORAD A sample of the NORAD/NASA two-line orbital element files is shown below: - Current Two-Line Element Sets #193 - Alouette 1 1 00424U 62 49 A 93133.51527345 .00000082 00000-0 92576-4 0 7184 2 00424 80.4641 319.3178 0024067 64.0697 296.2925 13.67767789527761 ATS 3 1 03029U 67111 A 93132.68443362 -.00000079 00000-0 99999-4 0 9439 2 03029 14.3601 11.5137 0010410 253.2872 106.5543 1.00272859 93420 Lines 1 and 2 are the standard Two-Line Orbital Element Set Format identical to that used by NORAD and NASA. The format description is: Line 1 Column Description 01-01 Line Number of Element Data 03-07 Satellite Number 10-11 International Designator (Last two digits of launch year) 12-14 International Designator (Launch number of the year) 15-17 International Designator (Piece of launch) 19-20 Epoch Year (Last two digits of year) 21-32 Epoch (Julian Day and fractional portion of the day) 34-43 First Time Derivative of the Mean Motion or Ballistic Coefficient (Depending on ephemeris type) 45-52 Second Time Derivative of Mean Motion (decimal point assumed; blank if N/A) 54-61 BSTAR drag term if GP4 general perturbation theory was used. Otherwise, radiation pressure coefficient. (Decimal point assumed) 63-63 Ephemeris type 65-68 Element number 69-69 Check Sum (Modulo 10) (Letters, blanks, periods, plus signs = 0; minus signs = 1) 79 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide Line 2 Column Description 01-01 Line Number of Element Data 03-07 Satellite Number 09-16 Inclination [Degrees] 18-25 Right Ascension of the Ascending Node [Degrees] 27-33 Eccentricity (decimal point assumed) 35-42 Argument of Perigee [Degrees] 44-51 Mean Anomaly [Degrees] 53-63 Mean Motion [Revs per day] 64-68 Revolution number at epoch [Revs] 69-69 Check Sum (Modulo 10) All other columns are blank or fixed. Notice that there is no decimal point printed for eccentricity. The decimal point goes in front of the number. For example, the eccentricity shown above for ATS 3 would be entered as .0010410. Two line element files received from the NASA RAID BBS are a bit different in format for the satellite names, and may contain other satellite information: SAT ID = 22314 Latest set = 1 22314U 93 3 B 93150.62186897 .00000155 00000-0 99999-4 0 533 2 22314 0.2649 64.9019 0001253 41.6048 215.1702 1.00266849 1496 SAT ID = 22319 Latest set = 1 22319U 93 5 A 93151.76998594 .00012358 00000-0 16051-3 0 1076 2 22319 51.6205 301.9186 0001168 13.8310 346.2595 15.59227960 19907 SAT ID not found . . . SAT ID not found . . . Either of these formats may be used for the NORAD data import option in the SVT. AMSAT The Amateur Satellite (AMSAT) format is very different from that of the NORAD files. The files is self documenting, as you can 80 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide see... SB KEPS @ AMSAT $ORBS-094.O Orbital Elements 094.OSCAR HR AMSAT ORBITAL ELEMENTS FOR OSCAR SATELLITES FROM N3FKV HEWITT, TX April 4, 1993 BID:$ORBS-094.O TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT Satellite: AO-10 Catalog number: 14129 Epoch time: 93086.54729714 Element set: 980 Inclination: 27.0769 deg RA of node: 33.3255 deg Eccentricity: 0.6013784 Arg of perigee: 68.5627 deg Mean anomaly: 343.3267 deg Mean motion: 2.05875703 rev/day Decay rate: 3.0e-07 rev/day^2 Epoch rev: 7358 Checksum: 317 PC-Track The PC-Track objects.dat file used by PC-Track ver 1.x - 2.x is an internal binary formatted file. Sites Comma Delimited The SVT has the capability of importing comma delimited files which contain data for updating site location and name data. A sample of such a file is: Moscow CIS ,55.750, 37.583 Mosul IRAQ,36.333, 43.133 Moulins FRANCE,46.566, 3.333 Moyale KENYA,3.516, 39.049 Mudanjiang CHINA,44.566, 129.599 Mukachevo CIS,48.449, 22.716 81 The PC-Track Ver 3.0 User Guide The format required is: Name : No more than 30 characters Latitude : Degrees -90.0 to 90.0 (+ North) Longitude : Degrees -180.0 to 180.0 (+ East) PC-TRACK The PC-Track observer.dat file used by PC-Track ver 1.x - 2.x is a internal binary formatted file. 82