Higher "Min elev" for satellite passes

🙋 If you want a new feature or a change to the software then add your request here.

If it's not here then it's not going to happen.
VE3HST
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 10:21 am

Higher "Min elev" for satellite passes

#1

Unread post by VE3HST »

Simon, as you requested in the Groups.IO forum:

Currently 20 degrees is the highest minimum elevation that can be selected for recording passes. A higher minimum elevation would be useful in several situations:

1. Low gain antennas or low sensitivity receivers may require higher minimum elevations.

2. Maybe only "almost overhead" passes might be desired, for example for weather satellites.

3. Maybe only a short bit of telemetry is required occasionally and it could be best done during short, high elevation passes.

4. Maybe storage size is limited and only a small number of high elevation passes can be stored or are desired..

5. Probably a change of "Min elev" would be very easy to implement, and it would have no detrimental effect on users who don't want or need a higher value.

So I suggest that the Min elev be increased from the current 20 degrees to 80 degrees.

Also, I notice that, even now with 20 degrees set as the minimum elevation for the next pass, the map display shows the next AOS based on the default 10 degrees elevation. The map AOS etc. for the next pass should show the same info as the Automatic Scheduler, based on the same minimum elevation.

... Phil VE3HST

User avatar
Simon G4ELI
Posts: 2134
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 7:27 am
Location: Mawnan Smith
Contact:

Re: Higher "Min elev" for satellite passes

#2

Unread post by Simon G4ELI »

Added, good idea, thanks.
Simon Brown :shock:
www.sdr-radio.com

Do not send me direct e-mail, thank-you!

VE3HST
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 10:21 am

Re: Higher "Min elev" for satellite passes

#3

Unread post by VE3HST »

I'm looking forward to 3.0.26 but I just noticed a problem that I just became aware of in 3.0.25. With the minimum elevation set to the current maximum value of 20 degrees, the Automatic Schedule shows only those passes with an elevation > 20 degrees. But all passes above 0 degrees elevation are recorded as I/Q files. That defeats the purpose of setting that minimum elevation. The schedule reflects the minimum elevation but the recorder ignores it. I'll attach an image of the Automatic Schedule which looks good, but all passes are being recorded.
Attachments
Automatic Schedule.jpg

VE3HST
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 10:21 am

Re: Higher "Min elev" for satellite passes

#4

Unread post by VE3HST »

The satellite Automatic Schedule seems to be ignoring something else. Sometimes it switches to the frequency defined for the satellite using Organise but usually it does not switch to that frequency. Since I am only recording the three NOAA satellites on 137.1, 137.9125 and 137.62 MHz, the 2 MHz bandwidth is wide enough to record any of them, but it is not switching to the satellite's frequency. So you don't see it in the spectrum and in the waterfall unless you manually scroll the display sideways. Likewise on Play, you have to search for the signal or move to the frequency, whereas it used to default to display the frequency that was set for that particular NOAA satellite. So it seems to be ignoring the satellite frequency that is set using Organise.

VE3HST
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 10:21 am

Re: Higher "Min elev" for satellite passes

#5

Unread post by VE3HST »

The problem of the wrong frequency in the Automatic Schedule occurred again this morning. When I turned on SDR Console, the waterfall and the spectrum came up centred on 137.6200 MHz (NOAA 15). The Automatic Schedule and the Enable Tracking were on by default. The next satellite pass was shown as NOAA 18 which is on 137.6125, but nothing switched over to 137.9125 for the pass. The 2 MHz bandwidth was wide enough to also record 137.9125. As soon as NOAA 18 passed, Automatic Scheduler switched over to NOAA 19 (137.100) and the display and the recording frequency switched over to 137.100, as it should. So it looks like the problem is just with the first pass after SDR Console is turned on. Perhaps, right after SDR Console is started, if the Automatic Schedule and Enable Tracking are disabled and re-enabled, the frequency and the display would switch to the correct frequency for the first available satellite pass. I'll check that out at the next opportunity. I am using Windows 10 and a HackRF.

User avatar
Simon G4ELI
Posts: 2134
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 7:27 am
Location: Mawnan Smith
Contact:

Re: Higher "Min elev" for satellite passes

#6

Unread post by Simon G4ELI »

VE3HST wrote: Mon Nov 16, 2020 3:25 pm The problem of the wrong frequency in the Automatic Schedule occurred again this morning. When I turned on SDR Console, the waterfall and the spectrum came up centred on 137.6200 MHz (NOAA 15). The Automatic Schedule and the Enable Tracking were on by default. The next satellite pass was shown as NOAA 18 which is on 137.6125, but nothing switched over to 137.9125 for the pass. The 2 MHz bandwidth was wide enough to also record 137.9125. As soon as NOAA 18 passed, Automatic Scheduler switched over to NOAA 19 (137.100) and the display and the recording frequency switched over to 137.100, as it should. So it looks like the problem is just with the first pass after SDR Console is turned on. Perhaps, right after SDR Console is started, if the Automatic Schedule and Enable Tracking are disabled and re-enabled, the frequency and the display would switch to the correct frequency for the first available satellite pass. I'll check that out at the next opportunity. I am using Windows 10 and a HackRF.
If you have a new bug *please* start a new thread!
Simon Brown :shock:
www.sdr-radio.com

Do not send me direct e-mail, thank-you!

VE3HST
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 10:21 am

Re: Higher "Min elev" for satellite passes

#7

Unread post by VE3HST »

Well, it looks like there has been a misunderstanding about the problem with minimum elevation settings for automatically scheduling satellite passes. The main advantage and usefulness of the suggested change was to greatly reduce the unwanted recordings for many low elevation passes by increasing the minimum elevation from 20 degrees to 80 degrees. In the new version 3.0.26, the min elev was increased from 20 to 80 in the Passes window so you can view only the passes that are above the min elev. But where it really counts, in the Automatic Scheduler window, the min elev is still at 20 degrees. So unless I am missing something, all passes above 20 degrees are still going to be recorded. Am I not correct that Passes min elev only affects what you see in the list of passes, but Automatic Scheduler min elev is what counts when you want to reduce the amount of unwanted recordings?

If that is the case, could I ask that Automatic Scheduler min elev be increased from 20 degrees to 80 degrees in the next version?

VE3HST
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 10:21 am

Re: Higher "Min elev" for satellite passes

#8

Unread post by VE3HST »

Is it planned that the Automatic Scheduler min elev be increased from 20 degrees to 80 degrees in the next version so that passes with a lower elevation than the min elev that is set can be excluded from being automatically recorded?

User avatar
PD3LK
Posts: 517
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 10:36 am

Re: Higher "Min elev" for satellite passes

#9

Unread post by PD3LK »

I´m afraid that nothing is going to happen until you make a new thread Phil

User avatar
Simon G4ELI
Posts: 2134
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 7:27 am
Location: Mawnan Smith
Contact:

Re: Higher "Min elev" for satellite passes

#10

Unread post by Simon G4ELI »

I'll look at this later today.
Simon Brown :shock:
www.sdr-radio.com

Do not send me direct e-mail, thank-you!

Post Reply