Cool! Trakbox lives again!!!
73, Joe kk0sd
-----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Bruce Robertson Sent: Sunday, July 25, 2010 8:51 PM To: AMSAT-BB Subject: [amsat-bb] video: program to burn TLEs onto doppler-tuning microcontroller
Some of you know about my qrptracker project, which is aiming at a compact, microcontroller-based doppler tuning device for use in the field. My previous videos showed an FT-817 controlled by this device and using a small speaker and CW to announce the bird. I've just posted a video to YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/VE9QRP that demonstrates the program that is used to load TLEs into the microcontroller, sync the tracker, etc. It also shows the microcontroller tuning a TH-D7A handheld, and it shows a LCD display. My goal now is to make an altoids-tin-sized package that connects to a TH-D7A or an FT-817, has an LCD display and provides doppler tuning.
In further developments in this project, I've worked on porting the SGP4 algorithm to the ATMega644p. (Currently the project uses the Plan13 algorithm.)It's not an exact port, since the 'double' data type is not the same length, but with some careful hand-crafting, we're getting accuracies down to 1/10th of a degree lat and long. sub-satellite point.
73, Bruce VE9QRP