[amsat-bb] Re: Help with SATPC32 (maybe groups) please

[Alan]

Burns,

Sounds good.  There are various ways to combine the source files, but they are all external to
SatPC32.  I have just gotten so used to using different groups that my fingers are already programmed
with that macro.  :)  

I like the description of groups as aliases!  I will steal that for future explanations.  

73s,

Alan
WA4SCA



 

<-----Original Message-----
<From: Burns Fisher [mailto:burns at fisher.cc] 
<Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2013 8:06 PM
<To: Alan Biddle
<Cc: AMSAT BB
<Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Help with SATPC32 (maybe groups) please
<
<Hi Alan,
<
<Ok, so let me play this back.  First, I understand the source 
<files.  And I think I understand now that in a sense "groups" 
<are aliases for the source files.  I can set it up so that 
<"Diverse" is kind of the same as tle.new if I wish.  I'm 
<really not sure what good that is, but ok.  And I do 
<understand that "standard" is the default group when you start it up.
<
<And short of manually mixing source files, there is no way to 
<assign the lower right letters to satellites in different files.
<
<Do I mostly have that right?
<
<By the way, it appears that AO-73 has already moved out of 
<tle-new.txt but it moved into cubesat.txt, not amateur.txt.  
<That's why I wanted to select one from cubesat and others from 
<amateur.  Maybe it will move again.  Somehow 'cubesat' seems 
<like an odd grouping.  The other Celestrak groups are by 
<function or source (NOAA, amateur, etc) but cubesat is by 
<form.  Anyway...
<
<Thanks for all the help and 73,
<
<Burns W2BFJ
<
<
<On Thu, Dec 26, 2013 at 8:10 PM, Alan <wa4sca at gmail.com> wrote:
<
<
<	Hi Burns,
<	
<	There are two issues here, groups and source files.  In 
<this case, the groups are a part of SatPC32.
<	They have names like Standard, Diverse, NOAA, etc.  The 
<newest version of SatPC32 allows you to create
<	your own group names.
<	
<	Then there are the source files from CelesTrak which 
<group satellites by function.  The CelesTrak
<	groupings are things like amateur.txt, cubesat.txt, 
<noaa.txt, and tle-new.txt for launches in the
<	preceding 30 days.  For instance, after launch AO-73 
<was in the tle-new file at first, and either has
<	or will soon be moved to the amateur.txt file.  Note 
<the amsat.all file is created by merging the data
<	from several source into ones which are of interest 
<specifically to hams.  In one sense, that is the
<	most convenient, but unlike the Trak files it is only 
<updated weekly.
<	
<	Now, in SatPC32 you can assign a source file to a 
<group.  For instance, amateur.txt to Standard,
<	tle-new.txt to Diverse, etc.  One and only one source, 
<though there are manual ways to merge them.
<	You only need to do this assignment once.  So assume 
<you have assigned the tle-new.txt to Diverse, and
<	then selected the satellites you want, including AO-73. 
< To get AO-73 you select Satellites, then
<	Groups, then Diverse and OK it, and you will then have 
<AO-73 and whatever other new satellites
<	displayed.  Since Diverse is not the default group, you 
<will need to select the group once each time
<	you start SatPC32, but not the source file.  Note that 
<when AO-73 moves to amateur.txt, it will
<	autmatically become available in the Standard list, 
<assuming you have assigned amateur.txt as the
<	Standard source file.
<	
<	73s,
<	
<	Alan
<	WA4SCA
<	
<
<
<	<-----Original Message-----
<	<From: amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org
<	<[mailto:amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org] On Behalf Of Burns Fisher
<	<Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2013 5:08 PM
<	
<	<To: AMSAT BB
<	<Subject: [amsat-bb] Help with SATPC32 (maybe groups) please
<	<
<	
<	<Hi Everyone,
<	<
<	<I've used SatPC32 for a number of years, but I have 
<been using it in
<	<"simpleton" mode, it would seem.  Now that AO-73 is in the
<	<"cubesat.txt"
<	<keps file rather than amateur, I apparently have to take the
<	<next step in
<	<my education about this program.
<	<
<	<Here the current general question:  How do "groups" work.  I
<	<have googled,
<	<and the term seems to be used both for Celestrak groups and
<	<for the groups
<	<in SatPC32 (e.g. Diverse, Standard, etc).  I mean the SatPC32
<	<groups.  What
<	<I want to do is to have a number of satellites selectable with
<	<the A,B,C...
<	<buttons in the lower right.  But right now, I have to 
<pull down the
<	<satellites menu and select "cubesat.txt" to get AO-73 and
<	<"amateur.txt" to
<	<get, say, VO-52 and SO-50.  And whenever I switch to a new
<	<keps file, all
<	<the satellites I have selected as current for the previous
<	<file disappear
<	<from the right column.
<	<
<	<Somehow, I suspect that 'groups' are the answer to this, but I
<	<can never
<	<get the "edit" function under groups to do anything terribly
<	<useful.  It
<	<looks like I can edit "standard", for example, so that if
<	<selected, it uses
<	<the satellites selected from amateur.txt or 
<cubesat.txt but not both.
<	<
<	<Ok, so when I get into a pickle like this, it is usually
<	<because I don't
<	<understand the concept or the model that the program is using.
<	< So rather
<	<than (or as well as) "click x, select y, edit xxx.txt" the
<	<kind of help I
<	<hope I can get would be include "how are groups supposed to be
<	<used?"  And
<	<by the way, I have read the manual, and it again seems 
<to assume that I
<	<know what groups are supposed to be.
<	<
<	<Thanks in advance,
<	<
<	<Burns, W2BFJ
<	
<	<_______________________________________________
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