Mike, About the Kep date in the Map header - the date would be "the last date the Kep data was upload" to the user PC not the most recent element data. This date would quickly inform the NOVA users as to how current/accurate (or not) the SAT tracks are and if Kep updating is needed!
What ever the Keps are they are from SpaceTrack.org we have no control as to how often the Keps SAT elements are updated. But we do have control as to how often and accurate our NOVA usage is with the Keps available. Displaying the "last Kep upload date" allows the user to create a confidence factor of the NOVA track integrity.
Actually this is an item missing from NOVA - a method of displaying each SELECTED SAT Kep track accuracy - based on age of Kep element data. An easy method would be in the SAT MAP data spreadsheet. Currently, you change the spreadsheet color from white to cyan when the SAT is in view. Color code the SAT "NAME" box. If the Kep element data is within 2 weeks it is colored light Green, 2-4 weeks color it Yellow, older than 4 weeks color it Red.
NOVA users have a paradox: turn-off the NOVA auto Kep updating, then forget when the last Kep update was done, risk displaying inaccurate SAT tracks; OR keep the NOVA auto Kep updating active and risk NOVA not working due to over-writing the Kep file with bad SpaceTrack data. And NOVA does not create back up files when over-writing user data files - we can undo what was done by NOVA.
N6JSX /8 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NLSA-NOVA NOVA & SAT Information user Group
"Michael R. Owen" [email protected] wrote: Dale -
Wouldn't bad Kep detection be a good feature to add into NOVA? Have NOVA detect zero or partial Kep-setd preventing NOVA from over-writing the user existing PC Kep file.
Yes, this makes plenty of sense. I'll put it on the to-do list. Thank you for the suggestion
Also it would be nice to ADD to the MAP View Window header bar the date of the current Keps being viewed! Plenty of usused room in this bar area especially on the most commonly used World map view.
This isn't feasible because some satellites in a View might have been updated at different times. For example, updating the Amateur group from Space-Track.org does not update all the amateur satellites. Only those elements which "consist of the most recent elset for every object in the specified group that has received an update within the past 30 days" are included.
Regards, MRO