scott wilson wrote:
Many thanks to all who responded. I received some great ideas on how to improve on what's available, a couple of good references to papers, and some references to existing code.
I just wanted to follow up. I've managed to release an initial version of the software. Windows users may note that it's the only open source windows native satellite tracking app (That I know of). Linux users may want to note that it's a true universal binary written on .NET/mono.
It does implement the 'one true tuning' method for linear modes, but I still haven't managed a successful linear contact.
I've attempted to keep the learning curve as shallow as possible for those who may be interested in experimenting with the code. I'm working on an article which focuses on the architecture of it, and how I imagine that it can promote a little more experimentation at the software level.
I currently only support Icom radios and the GS-232B (since that's all I own), but will add any hardware that someone can offer to beta test. Even if it doesn't support your hardware, try it out. I welcome your feedback - and bug reports!
Unfortunately the installer doesn't include the two dependencies, so most likely, you'll need two other downloads before it'll work...
The installation instructions are:
http://code.google.com/p/satcontroller/wiki/Installation
and the downloads are linked to from the home page:
http://code.google.com/p/satcontroller/
Thanks,
Scott NW2S