[amsat-bb] Fw: Re: Predict 2.2.3 for Linux
Snyderb
snyderb at cox.net
Mon Mar 17 18:16:50 PST 2008
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Robertson" <ve9qrp at gmail.com>
To: <w8iss at wideopenwest.com>
Cc: "AMSAT-BB" <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 9:25 PM
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Predict 2.2.3 for Linux
> On Mon, Mar 17, 2008 at 9:44 PM, <w8iss at wideopenwest.com> wrote:
>> Bruce,
>>
>> Do you have Gnome Predict installed also? I have found the same problem
>> after
>> installing Gpredict, but it will do it still even after uninstalling
>> gpredict.
>>
>> James W8ISS
>
> I just checked my Ubuntu 7.10 and, no, I did not have the gpredict
> package installed. In a private letter to KD2BD, I noted two other
> things: first, if I uninstalled the package and built predict from
> source the result was a properly-functioning copy of predict;
> secondly, the 'broken' copies could be fixed by putting a predict.tle
> and predict.db file from a working copy in the ~/.predict directory.
> It must be something about the routines that create those files for
> the first time in ~/.predict; however, permissions are an obvious
> problem because the predict.qth file makes it just fine.
>
> 73, Bruce
> VE9QRP
>
>>
>> ---------- Original Message -----------
>> From: "Bruce Robertson" <ve9qrp at gmail.com>
>> To: "John Heaton" <john at manchester.ac.uk>
>> Cc: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
>> Sent: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:23:58 -0300
>> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Predict 2.2.3 for Linux
>>
>> > On Sun, Mar 16, 2008 at 7:37 AM, John Heaton <john at manchester.ac.uk>
>> > wrote:
>> > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>> > > Hash: SHA1
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > On 16 Mar 2008, at 05:50, Bruce Robertson wrote:
>> > > > Your Predict is possibly dying for a lack of a TLE file. Point to
>> one
>> > > > with the -t command-line parameter. Ensure also that a qth file
>> is
>> > > > being created in ~/.predict and that you as user can read it
>> with,
>> > > > e.g. 'cat'. I believe predict is supposed to find a tle file in
>> that
>> > > > same directory, but I think I've had troubles with that option.
>> > >
>> > > Predict will run without a TLE file - you won't see any predictions
>> >
>> > I just double-checked this, and I still find that if there is no tle
>> > file and none pointed to with a -t switch, it will die as Kent
>> > described below. Namely, it will send you to the new user screen and
>> > then exit when the info is entered. (Unfortunately, it exits with the
>> > terminal in a funny state.) In my experience, it does this on a fresh
>> > install with apt-get on Ubuntu, or with a build install (using root).
>> > This is a frustrating loop for the user, since he or she can
>> > reasonably expect that the data is entered after the first attempt,
>> > and furthermore the qth file can be found in the ~/.predict
>> >
>> > I've taken a screenshot and posted it at
>> > http://heml.mta.ca/Amsat/predict-fail.png
>> >
>> > If, however, you use -t to point it to a tle file it can't parse, it
>> > will do as you, John, describe above. More specifically, you can
>> > select the [P] option from the main menu, but this results in a blank
>> > list of satellites from which to choose.
>> >
>> > For instance, the following command will produce this effect:
>> > brucerob at heml:~$ touch foo
>> > brucerob at heml:~$ predict -t foo
>> >
>> > I get the exact same effect if I use the documented nasa tle files.
>> > For example:
>> >
>> > brucerob at heml:~$ wget
>> http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/nasa.all
>> > brucerob at heml:~$ predict -t nasa.all
>> >
>> > Fails the same as my 'foo' file above. However if I edit out the
>> > comments in the file describing the file format so that the first
>> > line begins with 'AO-07', predict operates normally.
>> >
>> > > > Finally, make sure that your tle file does not have any comments
>> at
>> > > > its top before the actual elements. For instance, the commonly
>> used
>> > > > nasa.tle files have a set of comments describing the tle format.
>> > > > Predict dies on these.
>> > >
>> > > Predict ignores data in the TLE file before the TLE data, so if you
>> > > get your TLE as a meil message you don't need to remove the headers
>> >
>> > Perhaps predict is written to ignore the headers of a mail message,
>> > but not the comments that appear in the nasa file?
>> >
>> > I hope it is understood that I'm documenting this because I like
>> > predict and consider it a wonderful arrow in AMSAT's quiver. Indeed,
>> > since it might be a potential AMSAT'er's first encounter with pass
>> > prediction -- given that it is part of the debian world -- I think we
>> > should ensure that it is very easy to use. Furthermore it
>> > cross-compiles like a dream: as I've said elsewhere it works
>> > identically on a Nokia N800; and another member of this list got it
>> > to run on the gumstix platform.
>> >
>> > 73, Bruce
>> > VE9QRP
>> >
>> > >
>> > > >
>> > > > On Sun, Mar 16, 2008 at 12:59 AM, Kent R. Frazier
>> <k5knt at amsat.org>
>> > > > wrote:
>> > > >> I just installed Ubuntu Linux 7.10 and Predict 2.2.3 on my
>> > > >> notebook. When I
>> > > >> start Predict I get the "new user" screen where I enter the
>> required
>> > > >> information. After pressing the "enter" key on the last entry I
>> > > >> get a
>> > > >> command prompt. I can not seem to get to the main menu.
>> > > >>
>> > > >> Is anyone using this software that could offer some
>> suggestions?
>> > > >> Or maybe
>> > > >> another alternative to run under Linux?
>> > >
>>
>> > _______________________________________________
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>> ------- End of Original Message -------
>>
>>
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