


                    FODTRACK Satellite Tracking System
                    ==================================

                               Version 3.0xp



                               User Manual
                               ===========



Introduction:
=============


FodTrack is a simple, straightforward program intended to control an azimuth-
elevation rotator like the Yaesu-Kenpro 5400/5500/5600, and a transceiver, for any
kind of satellite orbits. Best efforts have been made to provide state of the
art tracking accuracy, within the limitations imposed by commonly available
orbital data.  

FodTrack runs in foreground, continuously displays what it is doing, uses no
special system resources, and is so simple to use that you should not have any
trouble trying to figure out what is going wrong when the silly satellites seem
to go in another direction than your antenna...

FodTrack is a DOS-based program. It can be run in a DOS window under several
flavors of the Windows operating system, including XP, as long as Windows is 
configured to give the program access to the computer hardware, specifically
the serial and parallel ports to be used. More about this later!

The rotator can be connected to any parallel port using an interface built 
according to the schematic provided with the program. LPT2 is a good candidate, as 
it is often present and seldom used. It can also be controlled via any serial
port, using the Yaesu GS-232 or the RC-2800 interface. Nonstandard ports are 
welcome, just you need to know the address. No IRQ is needed. External rotator 
drivers can be used too; in this case, FodTrack writes the realtime rotator position
to a disk file.

The radio can be connected to any serial port. Just the same as for the 
rotator port, only the address needs to be known to be able to use any port.
The radio can be combined with converters for any satellite band from 145 MHz 
to 24 GHz. 

FodTrack supports an NMEA talker device like a GPS receiver, for automatic
setting of the time and location. It can be connected to any serial port at any
address. It does need an IRQ line. All possible IRQs are supported (2, 3, 4, 5,
7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15).

FodTrack is best suited for those setups where a single PC runs a multitasking
environment, like DESQview or Windows, with the satellite software in one window,
a BBS in another, and your favorite game in the third. Just open a fourth window
and put FodTrack there, it will be happy. It works with WISP under Windows too,
but it has not been specially written as a Windows-based program. Despite this, 
it has been used by many people on computers running all the different flavors of
Windows, and also on Linux (via DOSEMU).
You can use an independent computer for FodTrack, if you prefer. But you cannot 
run it in background under DOS. If you want background operation, there are other
programs available for you.

FodTrack implements antenna flipping, so the satellites will not run against 
your rotator's end stop. Rotator stop position can be south or north.

The FodTrack rotator interface cannot drive the rotator against its stop 
position. The limits are set in hardware, so even if your computer goes crazy,
locks up, or whatever, your rotator will not be damaged by being driven against
a mechanical end stop.

It can run under manual or automatic control. In automatic mode, a scheduler 
like WA2N's SatSked or my FodSked can provide the commands. Two modes for 
automatization are provided: In the preferred one, FodTrack runs continuously 
and is controlled via a command file; in the alternative one, FodTrack is called
for a specific satellite, and aborts after one pass.

You can use FodTrack to control only your rotator, only your radio, or both.
Control for AOR AR-5000, Yaesu FT736, FT847, FT857, Kenwood TS790 and several 
Icom radios is implemented.
IK3NWV tested it on a TS790, while IK0XBQ made the Icom test with an IC820. 
PD0SBC made the AR-5000 tests, and both he and PA0AER tested it with the FT847.
Thanks to them for the beta testing. On the FT736 I tested it, and I'm using it 
permanently with that radio.
Probably it will run with other Kenwood radios, and perhaps also with other 
Yaesu radios, but this has not yet been tested.
If someone wants to use a nonsupported radio, he can use a homemade driver
for it. FodTrack writes the frequencies to disk in that case.

On the Yaesu radios only (for now), FodTrack can set subtones to key the 
satellites that require them.

Copyright:
==========

FodTrack is free for noncommercial use. If you want to reward me somehow, write
a piece of useful software and put it in the public domain!


Disclaimer:
===========

FodTrack is provided without any guarantee that it will really do anything of 
all the nice stuff this document says. But please, if you find a bug, tell me,
so I can fix it for the next version.



Setting it up:
==============

This is VERY easy. Copy the FODTRACK files to a directory of your choice. You 
can also maintain the kepfile there, but if you prefer you can use a kepfile at
some other place.

Edit the FODTRACK.CFG file to reflect conditions at your station. The file
explains itself. If you don't understand the use of some parameter, leave it at
its default value.

Edit the FODTRACK.FRC file according to the satellites, frequencies, modes and
subtones you want to use. Do not include those birds for which you don't want
automatic transceiver control. It's good enough to put the nominal frequencies
into this file. Later you can fine-tune the frequencies from inside the program.
If you want to track a satellite on several different frequencies or modes, you
can define several data blocks for that sat, differentiating them by a tilde 
character (~) and any designator you like, after the sat name. For example, 
you could define AO-16 with the normal mode-J frequencies, plus AO-16~S with
the frequency of the S-band beacon. In both cases the program will use the keps
for AO-16.

You can define a "pseudo-satellite" in this file, called PARK. This will send
your Icom or Kenwood radios to the parking frequencies and modes specified 
there. Yaesu radios return to the frequency they were on before the start of 
the pass, regardless of any PARK data specified here, if you leave the SAT 
switch in OFF position.

If you will run the program from somewhere else, you need a path to the 
FodTrack directory.

The Keplerian data file must be in 2-line format, with the satellite name
appearing above each 2-line block. Title lines are no problem. They are not
needed, but they do not disturb.

FodTrack and Windows XP:
========================

Windows XP (and the other Windows versions after 98) does not allow user programs
like FodTrack to write directly to the hardware of the input/output ports. But
FodTrack needs to do this! So the rotator hardware on the parallel port won't
work, and maybe there can be problems with some of the serial port functions too.
The solution to these problems is downloading and installing a small driver 
called UserPort.sys. The default configuration allows FodTrack to write to all
standard and some nonstandard ports. If you have ports at even weirder addresses,
you can tell UserPort so at installation time, and these too will work with
FodTrack!  

Running it:
===========

Execute FODTRACK.EXE. The program will come up, read its configuration file, the
flipping state the rotator was left last pass, and then it will read the command
file (FODTRACK.CMD). The default command file says "NONE", so the program will 
stay idling. That's a good time to look around the screen:

You will see a status display, which says what the program is doing. It can be
idling, waiting for a satellite, tracking it, calculating AOS and LOS while 
guessing if it is convenient to flip the antenna over, calibrating the 
rotator, or accepting your incremental tuning input.
There is a nice clock, ticking away your valuable seconds; also there is a line
telling you that the satellite selection is automatic, and several windows
without any data in them. They will come to life when you select a satellite.
There's also a small reminder for the commands you have available. Please note
that the commands in the box are only available while in manual mode.
During AOS-LOS calculation and GPS reading the keyboard is dead.


Now let's play a bit: Type the letter m to get the program into manual mode, 
then t to start tracking a satellite. The program will ask you which satellite 
you want. Enter its name exactly as it appears in the kepfile, otherwise 
FodTrack will be very unhappy with you. For example, type KO-23.

The program reads the kepfile, and tells you the age of KO-23's keps in the 
proper window. It will also tell you if you can get good tracking precision
with those keps, or if you should get new ones.
Then it calculates AOS and LOS times (for the novice: AOS means Acquisition
Of Signal and LOS is Loss Of Signal) If you haven't disabled flipping, FodTrack
also looks into its crystal ball, to see if the bird will run against your 
rotator stop on the next pass. If so, it will tell you after a while that the 
antenna will be "flipped" over. If not, it will be on the "normal" side. If you
chose to park your antennas in the configuration file, then the "Flipped" or
"Normal" display will be overrun by the word "Parked". For geosynchronous sats
this calculation is not done, because there may be no AOS or LOS at all!

After flipping determination is complete, the program will start tracking the
bird. Every second the position is updated. If the AOS time is more than 2
minutes away, no data is sent to the rotator nor to the radio.

When the great moment arrives, two minutes before AOS, the program will start 
sending target position data to your rotator, indicating so in the rotator 
status display. The two-minute allowance assures that the rotator has enough 
time left to point at the satellite before it comes over the horizon. At this 
time, the program will also start controlling your radio, and showing the 
Doppler-corrected frequencies. If the FODTRACK.FRC file does not contain data 
for the selected satellite, then the program will not access the radio, and 
will display Doppler correction in PPM (parts per million). This is useful as 
a help for manual tuning of satellites.

You may notice that the last figure of the frequency does not change at the 
same time on your radio display and on the FodTrack indication. This happens 
because most radios truncate the frequency, while FodTrack rounds it off. So,
435175.478 kHz would be displayed as 435175.5 by FodTrack, while most radios
would display it as 435175.4.
 
If the rotator is not flipped, azimuth and elevation on the rotator are the 
real ones. If the program had to flip the antennas, azimuth is 180 degrees 
shifted and elevation starts backwards from 180 degrees.

If you selected a stepsize of zero degrees in the configuration file, then the
program will send the rotator position to the interface at a rate of up to once
every second. In this case, the rotator will move in fine steps, their size 
being given by the dead-band in the interface and the stepsize of the D/A 
converter (256 steps). If you selected a bigger stepsize, FodTrack will freeze 
the rotator until the position error is half as big as your selected stepsize. 
Then it will move the rotator a full step in the proper direction. If your 
antennas have fairly broad lobes, you can use this feature to reduce wear and 
noise. The recommended stepsize is about half of your antenna beamwidth.

When the satellite goes below the horizon, the rotator output is frozen, the 
program stops controlling the radio, and calculates flipping for the next pass,
then starts waiting for the bird to come up again. 
If you selected parking, the antennas will then be parked. Otherwise, they will
stay in the position the satellite left them, until the next pass is about to
start.
If you have an Icom or Kenwood radio, and you specified parking frequencies and
modes in the FODTRACK.FRC file, then your radio will be parked too. The FT736 
will return to whatever frequency it was on before the start of the pass, if
you leave the SAT switch in OFF position.

At any time except during AOS-LOS calculation or GPS reading, you can stop 
tracking a bird using the s command, or quit using q. If you press a, the 
program will go back into automatic mode, reading the command file and doing 
whatever it tells.



Tuning:
=======

While you are tracking a satellite in manual mode, you can enter the manual 
incremental tuning mode. FodTrack will use the bottom bar on the screen to 
display the theoretical frequencies at the satellite, the tuning mode selected,
and a list of available commands. 
You can use the cursor keys to increment and decrement the frequencies. The
up/down keys change the frequencies in large steps, while the left/right keys
do the fine tuning. The size of these steps is definable in the FODTRACK.CFG 
file.
There are four tuning modes: In RX mode, the receiving frequency is tuned. In 
TX, it's the transmission frequency (sounds obvious, doesn't it...?). In DIRECT
mode both frequencies are tuned in step, which is useful for operating linear 
transponders that don't invert the passband. Finally, INVERSE mode tunes the 
RX and TX frequencies in opposing sense, for inverting transponder operation 
like that on AO-10 and FO-20.
When entering tuning mode, it defaults to RX tuning.
The SAVE command saves the modified frequencies into the FODTRACK.FRC file.
The EXIT command exits the tuning mode.

During manual incremental tuning the orbital calculation and everything else
continues. The theoretical frequencies are changed as you touch the proper 
keys. Every second, the Doppler shift affecting these frequencies is 
calculated, and while the sat is above the horizon, the corrected frequencies 
are sent to the radio. So although the theoretical sat frequencies can be tuned
quickly, the frequencies in the radio are updated only once a second. This is
done because most radios don't support a much quicker update rate through their
control ports.

When you are first setting up FodTrack, you will need to fine tune the 
frequencies, specially the RX frequencies of the PSK sats. You can tune them 
until the data is being properly decoded and the signal is in the center of the
modem's working range, then SAVE them. You should not need to retouch this 
tuning again for considerable time. Do this adjustment while using reasonably 
fresh keps, the PC clock accurate to the second, and preferably near the start
or the end of pass of a LEO, or near apogee for a phase-3 satellite, which is
when the Doppler shift variation speed is minimal. This same kind of tuning can
be done for the FSK sats, using the FM discriminator center meter, but tuning
is far less critical on FSK.

The manual incremental tuning mode is also extremely useful on the analog 
satellites. You can tune the RX frequency to some clear spot, then tune
your TX to the corresponding uplink frequency, then fine-tune it while 
transmitting and receiving your own echo. After doing this, you can save the
frequencies, and from then on always use the INVERSE or DIRECT tuning modes.
Reagardless of Doppler shift and position inside the sat's passband, your 
uplink and downlink will now always agree!  This allows for completely 
hands-free operation, even on fast-drifting sats like FO-29... provided the 
station you are talking too is also keeping his frequency on the sat constant!



Radio specifics:
================

The Kenwood TS790 is notorious for an unwelcome "feature": It will shortly mute
the receiver everytime it is commanded to update the frequency! So every 
frequency update causes one or several packets to be lost. To reduce the 
impact of this, FodTrack can be configured to send a frequency update only 
when the frequency error is more than a specified value. But the only real 
solution for this problem is to modify the radio, eliminating this muting.

The AR-5000 scanner has this same problem. 

The Yaesu FT-736 also has its quirks: It is impossible to switch bands in sat 
mode via the CAT control, unless you have an optional band module (or a dummy 
module), and even in that case the procedure is a bit tricky. If you have at 
least one band module or dummy, you can tell FodTrack about this good news in 
the CFG file. FodTrack will then take care of the bandchanging.

If you don't have such a band module or dummy, then if the radio is in mode B, 
FodTrack cannot put it into mode J. A simple workaround is to manually set
mode J into SAT VFO A, and mode B into SAT VFO B. If you want to track a mode B
sat, you then just have to press the VFO B button before FodTrack switches the 
CAT on, and press the VFO A button for mode J passes.
Fortunately this is not too bad, as presently there are no satellites that require
fully automatic tracking in mode B.

There are some special situations in which both TX and RX are on the same band.
The MIR station was one example of this. The FT-736 cannot set TX and RX to the 
same band in SAT mode. FodTrack gets around this problem by setting the radio 
in normal (nonSAT) mode, tuning RX directly, and using the programmable offset
to tune the TX frequency. No special setup is required, just program the 
correct frequencies in the FODTRACK.FRC file.  Please be aware that in this 
operating configuration the FT-736 cannot use separate modes for TX and RX, but
this is usually not required anyway. 

The FT-857 is not full-duplex capable. So FodTrack tries to make best use of its 
SPLIT mode. It sets the nominal transmit frequency and mode into one VFO, then 
leaves it alone during the pass and Doppler-corrects only the RX frequency in 
the other VFO. 

If you want to use a radio that is not directly supported by FodTrack, you can
write your own driver for it. In that case FodTrack will write the frequencies
and modes into a file called RADIO.DAT, updating it every second during a pass.
Your driver should read this file and send the data to your radio in the proper 
format.



Using converters:
=================

When using converters for the bands not covered by your radio, there are 
several aspects to be considered. The most common converters ADD a fixed 
frequency to your radio's output, in order to reach the operating frequency.
In this case, all that FodTrack must do is calculating the Doppler shift for 
the operating frequency, then subtract the converter's local oscillator 
frequency and send the result to the radio. 

On the other hand, some converters use a higher oscillator frequency and 
SUBTRACT your radio's frequency to reach the destination. In this case, the 
tracking on the radio must be inverted, and also the MODE (if it is SSB) must
be inverted! FodTrack takes care of these issues, so you must simply do the 
following to use converters:
  
In the .CFG file, for each band you will operate through a converter, you must
specify the converter's local oscillator frequency. After this, you can set up
the .FRC file with the real frequencies and modes. As simple as that! FodTrack
will display the real frequencies during tracking and tuning, while sending
the converted ones to the radio. 

Easy, isn't it?

I hope this scheme is flexible enough to accomodate most (or hopefully all)
needs. If you have some suggestion, don't hesitate to contact me.




The FodTrack Rotator Interface:
===============================

The program generates target position data as 8 bits for each azimuth and
elevation, using one of the printer control lines (pin 14) to tell if azimuth 
or elevation is meant. 0 is az, 1 is el.

The schematic diagram of the interface is provided as a PCX file. This format
was chosen because in this particular case it gave the smallest file size among
all common formats, when compressed with PKZIP. The image is about 1700 x 1100
pixels; this seems to be the best compromise between file size and quality.

Please refer to the schematic in ROTORINT.PCX for this explanation:

A dual D/A converter (TLC7528 or similiar) is directly connected to the parallel 
port. The port's strobe output is wired to the D/A's chip select input, pin 14 
to the output select pin, and the 8 data bits to inputs 0 to 7.
The D/A converter is used in a reversed fashion, with the reference applied to
the outputs, and the output taken from the reference terminals. This allows 
using a low-cost current-mode DAC in voltage-mode. 

The analog outputs are compared to the rotator position output using 
differential amplifiers, the output of this comparison beeing fed to two window
comparators driving the motors. The value of the (presently) 1M resistors 
defines the rotator's dead range, so you can adjust it by modifying these 
values. Lower resistance values cause the dead range to be  bigger, reducing 
wear and tear, but worsening pointing accuracy. If you have stability problems 
(oscillations), lower these resistances.

A switch is provided which allows disabling the FodTrack interface. When this
switch is ON, the interface will not allow you to move the rotator with the 
pushbuttons on the controller. It will always hold the rotator to the position
stored in the interface. If you move the switch to the OFF position, you will
have full manual control over your rotator, while the interface still listens
to the PC and updates the D/A's internal registers.


As you can see, the loop is closed outside the PC, in hardware. This reduces
the processing load for FodTrack, and eliminates the possibility that a 
computer crash may drive your rotator against its end stop. 

The program has no means to check if a rotator interface is connected, so you 
can start it up without one. 

The interface can be mounted in a small box. It is connected to the rotator
controller's 8-pin DIN connector, from which also the power is taken.

Please note that there are two standards in common use for the pinout of this
connector. The schematic diagram includes a picture of the proper pinout.

On popular demand I'm now including the printed circuit board design for the 
FodTrack interface. This is exactly the same design used for the interfaces 
built and sold by AMSAT-CE. The design is provided in two PCX files: One for 
the copper side and one for the component overlay. Just print them out and 
make your board, or have it made by some specialized company. Be careful, 
because some traces are very close together. You need accurate etching to avoid
shorts between those traces.

If you have any trouble getting it running, the voltages indicated on the 
schematic may help you find the problem. But be aware that most of these 
voltages are valid ONLY while the rotator is being properly controlled by the 
interface, at the positions noted on the top of the schematic.
 

The program provides a calibration function which allows you to adjust your 
rotator pots for correct ranging.

This sequence is valid for my interface circuits, and a Yaesu 5400, 5500 or 
5600 rotator:

- Assemble the interface, set everything up, load the program.
- Calibrate the rotator's full scale adjustments according to its manual.
- Type c to get into the calibration routine.
- Enter 255 for both azimuth and elevation.
- Calibrate the rotator's output voltage adjustments to such positions that the
  rotator stays just before its end stops (or limit switches) in both axes.
- Enter 0 for both azimuth and elevation.
- Check that the rotator turns around completely in both axes, without running
  against the limits. If it does run against a limit, something is wrong...
- Play around entering values of your choice, and make sure the rotator reacts
  correctly (compare the meters to what FodTrack says).



Using the GS-232 or the RC-2800:
================================

Instead of the FodTrack rotator interface, you may use the Yaesu GS-232 or the 
RC-2800. This allows to use FodTrack with ready made hardware for those who 
don't want to build things. But of course the cost is much higher!

To use one of these interfaces, you simply set up the configuration file 
accordingly (details are commented in that file), and connect the interface to 
the selected serial port. FodTrack uses only the Wxxx yyy command of the GS-232
and the A and E commands for the RC-2800. It does not expect any answer, so you
can use a very simple 2-line connection!

With these interfaces, the calibration function can send azimuth and elevation
values, directly in degrees, to the hardware. 



Using external rotator drivers:
===============================

Setting the rotator interface parameter to 3, FodTrack will write realtime rotator 
position data to a disk file named ROT.DAT. The file contains a single line in 
the format AZxxx ELyyy. You can write your own driver to read this file and send 
the position to whatever rotator interface you fancy to use.



Radio Interface:
================

Some radios (the FT847 is one example) can accept the computer's RS232 output 
directly. But most older radios run their serial ports at TTL levels, so they
need some interface to convert RS232 to TTL.

You can use the original RS232 interfaces, but these are costly. You can as 
well use a simple level converter mounted inside a plug. Several firms offer 
them at a much lower cost than the original ones, but it is still much cheaper
to build your own...

You really don't need a fancy MAX232 here. A simple CMOS chip, powered from 5 
Volts, will do the job. Put a 100K resistor between the RS232 output and the 
chip's input; that resistor together with the chip's clamping diodes will make
a very nice RS232 to TTL converter!

You can power the CMOS chip from a 78L05 regulator, fed through a few diodes
and a capacitor from the RS232 handshaking lines. FodTrack will "switch them 
on" for you! You can put all these parts into an RS232 connector (even a 9-pin
shell is big enough, if you are careful...), to get a very nice and cheap 
control interface.

Some radios use TRUE polarity, others need the RS232 signal inverted. Check the
docs of the radio, and use one or two gates of your 74HC04 accordingly.

Remember that for FodTrack you don't need data FROM the radio TO the PC, but if
you want this for some other program, just put the TTL signal into the PC's
RS232 input. I have never seen any port that does NOT work that way!

I'm providing the schematics of the adapters I use in my station. RS232Y.PCX 
is the version for Yaesu, which I use on my FT736, while RS232K.PCX is for 
Kenwood radios. I use that one for my TS450, and I hope it will run also on 
the TS790, but I have not tested this.
  
I'm also providing a schematic for an interface which perhaps could get the 
Guinness record for simplicity: just three components! This circuit does not
provide a "reply" connection for the radio, and it can be used only with radios
that have an input with pull-up, and use inverted signals. It works perfectly
well with FodTrack and the Yaesu FT736R, and will probably also work with 
Icom radios (using another plug, of course...).
This circuit is in RS232SIM.PCX.



Ready made interfaces:
======================

For those who don't want to assemble their own interfaces, AMSAT-CE can provide
the circuits in ROTORINT.PCX and RS232SIM.PCX assembled and tested, ready for 
"plug and play". Any funds collected go to our CESAR-1 project, a 9600 baud 
Pacsat. If you are interested in this deal, write to Carlos Godoy, CE2HI, via 
any of the following ways: 

Mail:    AMSAT-CE
         P.O.BOX 803
         VINA DEL MAR
         CHILE

e-mail:  ce2hi@ce2hi.cl  or  ce2hi@vtr.net

Fax:     +56 32 88 4073

Cost, for the combination of the two interfaces, including shipping via 
registered airmail, is about US$ 110. Unfortunately AMSAT-CE cannot charge
credit cards. The two interfaces can be provided separately. 



GPS support:
============

If you have a GPS receiver or another device that can output NMEA-0183 
datagrams, you can connect it to a serial port of your PC and use FodTrack to
keep the PC's clock accurately set. Optionally you may enable a function that
gets the location from the GPS. This should be very attractive for maritime 
mobile stations and for anyone who moves his station around a lot!
But even if you operate a typical fixed station, the time setting feature 
alone may warrant the purchase of a GPS receiver for many of you.

What the GPS feature in FodTrack does is this:

- Whenever the program is sent to a satellite, or if you press the "G" key, 
  FodTrack will read the specified serial port and wait for up to 6 seconds
  for the arrival of two consecutive datagrams of the same type bearing 
  different time stamps. It will then assume that the latter time stamp is 
  reasonably fresh, and will set the PC clock to this time plus a small offset 
  which is there to compensate for the time interval between the instant the 
  GPS fixed the position, and the moment the datagram actually arrived at the 
  PC. You can specify this offset in the CFG file. The proper value depends on 
  your specific GPS receiver, but will typically be about 1 to 3 seconds.

- If the position feature is enabled, then FodTrack will also set the new
  geographic coordinates, and it will write the datagram to a file called
  FODTRACK.GPS, in order to allow other programs to make use of this data.

- During the first and last minute of each day the GPS access is inhibited.
  I did this because the NMEA datagrams sent by most low-cost GPS receivers 
  do not provide the date. So, by inhibiting GPS timesetting near the date 
  switch I hope to avoid setting today's date with tomorrow's time!

I would very much like to use an NMEA datagram that contains valid UTC time and
date, not just the position fix timestamp, but it seems that many low-cost GPS 
receivers don't support such datagrams. 

FodTrack presently understands the GLL, GGA and RMC datagrams. This should 
provide compatibility with almost any GPS receiver. If your's doesn't give 
any of these, please tell me which one it produces, so I can add support for
it. The serial port is initialized to 4800 baud, which is the standard speed for 
NMEA devices.

I tested the GPS function using my Magellan Trailblazer, and I have heard of 
several people using it with Garmins.



Automation:
===========

There are two different ways for automatic tracking of multiple satellites.

The preferred mode is this:

Configure your scheduling program in such a way that it writes a FODTRACK.CMD 
file into the FodTrack directory, containing the name of the satellite to 
be tracked, exactly as it appears in the kep file. This CMD file should be 
written two or three minutes before the start of the pass, to give FodTrack 
enough time to do the crystal ball business and preset the antennas. The 
easiest way to write these command files is simply to copy them from somewhere
elso into the FodTrack directory, using a COPY command inside the a batch file 
you run at the start of a pass. For example, you can have a FODTRACK.CMD file
in your KO-23 directory, containing the text "KO-23" (without the quotes, of 
course...). Into the BAT file you run at the start, you put the command
COPY C:\SAT\KO-23\FODTRACK.CMD C:\SAT\FODTRACK\FODTRACK.CMD
 
After the pass, the scheduling system should write a CMD file saying NONE, so
FodTrack stops.
Now you load FodTrack inside your multitasker. When your satellite scheduler
decides to run a pass, it calls the BAT file, which copies the proper 
FODTRACK.CMD into the FODTRACK directory. When FodTrack reads the file within 
the next second, it starts tracking the specified sat. After the pass, the 
CMD file contents is changed to "NONE", and FodTrack goes to idle, waiting for
the next pass. 

FodTrack checks the CMD file continuously, so it is mandatory to have a disk
caching program like SMARTDRIVE, or some hardware cache. Otherwise your hard
disk will complain. But anyway, nobody should be working without a cache these
days!

The alternative mode for automatization is simpler: 

It consists just in configuring FodTrack for automatic exit after a pass (in 
the CFG file), and calling it before each pass specifying the satellite on the
command line. For example, you use the command FODTRACK KO-23.
FodTrack will start up, wait for the specified sat, track it until the end of
the pass, and then quit. The command file is not read in this mode. 

If you switch to manual mode after starting FodTrack with a sat on the 
command line, it will then work in the normal way. If you then switch into 
automatic mode, it starts reading the command file. But if you switch directly
from command line mode into automatic mode, the program will abort, because it
considers the pass finished.

If you use WISP, you can tell the event scheduler in GSC to do the command 
file business via batch files, as described above. There is also a program 
available, called FOD-INIT and written by CN8HB, which does the glueing job
between WISP and FodTrack. I'm not using WISP myself, so I cannot give detailed
instructions on this setup. For any question about FOD-INIT, refer directly to
its author.

  

In case of trouble:
===================

If you have any trouble with FodTrack, tell me, so I can fix the bugs for the 
next version. Also I will do my best to act upon any suggestion for 
improvement, if reasonable and possible to implement. 

You can try to contact me on the digital sats, but be patient because I operate only 
when I'm at home, and that isn't so very often nowadays. You can instead resort to 
e-mail. Look up my current address on my web site, and if even that doesn't work, 
make a web search for my name or callsign. If I don't answer immediately, be patient,
sometimes I'm away for several weeks. Don't send large attachments without advising 
first, as my mail server is set up to delete such large mails.

Of course you are welcome to visit my hobby homepage, not only for looking up my 
address! There are several electronic projects, my ham history, and lots of text 
and photos about my other hobbies. The hopefully permanent address is:

http://ludens.cl

I also still have a subset of this at 

http://www.qsl.net/xq2fod

but this might not be kept much longer because of the overload experienced so often by 
this very popular ham server! 


A last word:
============

I'm not a professional programmer, so you are allowed to smile about my program
and me...
