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What is Gnome Predict?
======================
Gnome Predict is a real time satellite tracking program for Gnome, based on
the tracking engine of John Magliacane's excellent satellite tracker Predict
(http://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/predict.html). In the beginning (v. 0.1), Gnome
Predict was just a GUI client using Predict's socket interface but as of
version 0.2, the tracking code from Predict has been included directly into
Gnome Predict so the program doesn't need a running Predict server anymore.
This decision has been made due to performance problems using the socket
interface.
Gnome Predict aims to include the following features as we move towards
version 1.0:
* Be able to track a large number of satellites (only limited by
the physical memory of the computer)
* Track for several groundstations, not just one.
* Show the satellite data using various visualization modules
(lists, maps, sky, etc.)
* Predict upcomming passes for the satellites.
* Automatically update element sets when newer sets are available
* Control your receiver/transmitter and antenna rotor using the hamlib
libraries (http://sourceforge.net/projects/hamlib)
* Advanced schedule manager for unattended monitoring of satellites.
* Any desirable feature that is missing from other programs (feel
free to submit your ideas)
STATUS
======
At the present the following features are implemented:
* Tracking a large number of satellites (the limit is set to 500
but it can be changed by editing a single line in defaults.h)
The tracking code is FAST - tracking 50 satellites 10 times a
second gives a CPU load of about 5% on an ancient 120MHz Petium.
* Element sets can be updated automatically from the web.
* Displays the tracking data in lists or on maps. The lists can be
sorted in ascending or descending order by clicking on the column
titles and the satellites can be highlighted according to their
status. The maps can be saved to a file in any of the common graphic
formats (jpg, png, xpm ...) or printed using gnome-print. The map
modules can use different background maps.
* The lists and maps can edited after creation.
* You can have many lists and maps open at the same either in a
notebook or in their own windows.
* Show/Print/Save upcomming passes for satellites showing AOS and LOS
times.
* Show/Print/Save/Plot detailed information about an upcoming pass.
The polar plot can also be saved as an image.
* The user can configure many ground station locations and switch
between them at runtime. Ground station data can be entered manually
by specifying geographical coordinates or Mainhead locator squares or
by selecting from a list of more that 2000 known locations.
REQUIREMENTS
============
Gnome Predict is written using the Gtk+/Gnome widget set, so you will need
gnome-libs and gnomeui-libs v 1.4 installed on your system (they are usually
called development packages when you install Linux from a distribution). You
don't have to run Gnome as desktop manager, you only need the libraries
installed and configured properly. Furthermore, as of version 0.3, you will
also need GConf, gnome-vfs, gnome-print and the G Application Library (libgal)
and their respective development packages. They are all shipped with any modern
Linux distribution. Please refer to the INSTALL file for details.
USING GNOME PREDICT
===================
When you start Gnome Predict for the very first time, it will ask you to specify
your location (QTH). You will be given the possibility to select a city from a
list or to enter the lattitude and longitude or Mainhead locator square by yourself.
The information will be stored and you can edit this information at any later time
if you whish to correct your location. When done, the main window should pop up,
and you should be able to create new lists and maps from the shortcut bar on left
side of the main window.
UPGRADING FROM 0.3
==================
If you are using Gnome Predict 0.3.2 or earlier versions regularly, you should note
that Gnome Predict 0.4 uses different data files and is not compatible with earlier
versions. There should be no problems installing the new version but some bugs can
be expected. If you want to keep Gnome Predict 0.3.x to be on the safe side, you
should reaname the old binary /usr/local/bin/gpredict to something else like
/usr/local/bin/gpredict03. It is not possible to install Gnome Predict 0.4 into
a different location.
UPDATING ELEMENT SETS
=====================
As of version 0.4, it is possible to update the element sets from the web. The element
sets are stored in $HOME/.gpredict/tle and the files are identical to those that can
be found at Celestrak, http://www.celestrak.com, unless you have modified them. By
selecting the "Edit->Update TLE" menu item in the menu bar, you can update these files
automatically at runtime.
USER MAPS
=========
As of version 0.4 you can use different background maps. Gnome Predict comes bundled
with 5 different maps, but you can also use your own maps if you copy them to the
$HOME/.gpredict/maps/ directory. Unfortunately, the program can only use fixed sized
maps, thus the maps will be scaled to 800x400 pixels. You can however modify this
fixed size by editing the satmap.h file in the src/ subdirectory and recompiling the
program.
EXPERIMENTAL FEATURES
=====================
Saving and printing graphics (maps or track plots) is very experimental! To have
them work right, you must make sure, that no other windows are covering the area
of interest when you push the "Print" or "Save" buttons. This will hopefully be
changed in the future.
LICENSE AND WARRANTY
====================
Gnome Predict is released under the GNU General Public License and comes with
NO WARRANTY whatsoever (well, maybe except that it works for us). See the
COPYING file for details. If you have problems installing or using Gnome Predict,
feel free to ask for support. Comments and bugreports are also welcome. Please
refer to the project page at SourceForge:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/groundstation
Happy Tracking!
Alexandru Csete
OZ9AEC
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