[amsat-bb] Fw: HF-HF satellite (OSCAR LOCATOR?)

[E.Mike McCardel]

Bob

There is also a good description of the Oscarlocator in Martin Davidoff's K2UBC book The Satellite Experimentor's Handbook.
Copyright 1990.

EMike McCardel, AA8EM
Rotating Editor AMSAT News Service
Sent from my iPhone

On May 27, 2016, at 10:09 AM, Robert Bruninga <bruninga at usna.edu> wrote:

>> Sat tracking in the early days was with an AMSAT
>> OSCAR-LOCATOR (Rotating mylar discs over a global map!!).
> 
> I just googled and there is only one image of an OSCARLOCATOR I can find.
> I remember it well, but am confused by this image:
> http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/images/oscarlocator.jpg
> 
> I understand the curved trace.  It crosses near the pole at the latitude of
> the inclination of the orbit.  And I understand the circular plot which is
> angle and elevation from your QTH when placed over your house.  But I do
> not understand the straight line scale going nearly vertical and labeled
> RS?  WHy is there no curve to it?
> 
> And the only other one I found was this:
> http://www.studiorite.com/oldindex/images/OscarLocator1sm.jpg
> 
> Which looks like it has the orbits of three different satellites, one of
> them added on in green marker.  But this one is lacking the AZ/EL circle
> for the station.
> 
> Is there a better image anywhere that I can use to justify this "minimum
> satcom" experiment?
> 
> And is this how it worked?  You got the daily zero crossing of the
> equator.  Then for the next 24 hours you could just rotate the plastic
> overlay by the longitude increment?  ANd increment the time by the orbital
> period?
> 
> On a trip and without a smart phone, I'd rather do an OSCAR locator then
> fuss with a PC...
> 
> Bob, WB4APR
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