There has been some discussion on how to determine when a bird will be in view over an extended period of time. You really don't need a pocket computer or laptop to carry around to do this. Just simply print out the pass predictions using SatPC32 sold by AMSAT and written by DK1TB who has donated the program to AMSAT.
There are two accessory programs included in SatPC32. The first is called WinAOS and it will make predictions for multiple birds of your choosing over a 10+ day period of your choosing. Print out the results and keep them in your vehicle. You'll have AOS/LOS times and AOS/LOS azimuths plus max elevation and visible time. This is plenty of info to allow you to work a bird with a handheld antenna. Just watch the time and move the antenna accordingly.
WinAos QTH: -81.7/41.3 T#: 11616 Sat.: 5 [Standard] ---------------------------------------------------------- Day Object AOS (U) LOS Period maxEl AZ ---------------------------------------------------------- 21.10.2009 VO-52 00:18 00:23 05 02 076 - 024 21.10.2009 AO-07 00:36 00:57 21 39 187 - 338 21.10.2009 AO-51 00:41 00:48 07 04 244 - 310 21.10.2009 VO-52 01:50 02:02 12 39 147 - 355 21.10.2009 AO-07 02:37 02:45 08 02 259 - 306 21.10.2009 SO-50 03:06 03:14 08 05 140 - 066 21.10.2009 VO-52 03:27 03:38 11 17 208 - 333 21.10.2009 SO-50 04:43 04:57 14 57 201 - 037 21.10.2009 AO-27 06:02 06:09 07 04 053 - 118 21.10.2009 SO-50 06:25 06:38 13 21 251 - 026 21.10.2009 AO-27 07:39 07:53 14 51 018 - 182
The other program that comes with SatPC32 is WinListen. This program will give you satellite visibility at various intervals throughout the pass. It has a two-observer feature which allows you to enter two grids and find the mutual window on a particular satellite. Here's an example between Ohio and Scotland on AO-51 at 20 second intervals.
WinListen 8.0 [AO-51] T#:11616 QTH1: -81.7/41.3 QTH2: -8.4/52.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Time(U) Az1 El1 Az2 El2 MA Height Lon/Lat Orbit ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 21.10.2009 09:29:00 59 0 279 3 19.7 711 314 50 27911 21.10.2009 09:29:20 61 1 277 2 20.5 712 314 49 27911 21.10.2009 09:29:40 64 1 275 1 21.4 712 313 48 27911 21.10.2009 09:30:00 67 1 272 1 22.2 712 313 46 27911
I use this program to set up schedules when the likelihood of a "window" is remote.
These two programs are selected under the "Programs" link in the SatPC32 toolbar.
73, John K8YSE