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Getting to know Gpredict Software

Installing Gpredict Software​

Special software Gpredict developed by Alexandru Csete is used to control the rotary device of the directional antenna 430-440 MHz.

The latest version of Gpredict software (Picture 1) can be downloaded from [page](https://sourceforge.net/projects/gpredict/files/Gpredict / "Latest version of Gpredict software").

BY Gpredict

Picture 1. BY Gpredict

Unzip the archive with the program to the root of the C drive:

Run the executable file gpredict.exe - the main program window opens.

Gpredict Software Interface (Picture 2)​

Gpredict program interface

Picture 2. The interface of the Gpredict program

  1. The map shows the current position of the satellite in orbit, the projections of the orbits on the surface, the satellite's visibility zone above the horizon and the location of the receiving station.
  2. The radar displays the current position of the satellite in the sky. The Zenith is in the center. The cardinal directions are indicated by the letters N - north, S - south, W - west, E - east.
  3. The orbit parameters window displays the main parameters of the orbit, the time of the nearest event and Doppler corrections.
  4. In the program settings, you can add satellites and change the appearance settings of the program.
  5. In the menu, you can update the parameters of satellite orbits and change the settings of the radio transmitter program and the rotary system.

Setting the position of the ground station​

At the first launch of the program, the ground station was installed in Copenhagen, where the Gpredict software developer Alexandru Csete lives.

For the program to work correctly, you need to specify your exact geographical location in the settings.

In the Edit menu, select Preferences (Picture 3):

Edit menu

Picture 3. The "Edit" menu

Go to the Ground Stations section and click on the Add new button (Picture 4):

"Add new" button

Picture 4. The "Add new" button

In the new window, in the Name field, write the name of the ground station and click on the Select button (Picture 5):

Editing the ground station

Picture 5. Editing a ground station

Then select the continent Europe, the country Russia and your city, for example, Moscow / Vnukovo. All parameters of the ground station will be downloaded from the directory (Picture 6):

Location setting

Picture 6. Setting the location

Close the window with the OK button and your ground station will appear in the list (Picture 7):

List of ground stations

Picture 7. List of ground stations

TLE Update​

The first time you start the program, the program will automatically prompt you to update the TLE.

To update the TLE, select Update TLE data from network (Picture 8) in the Edit menu section:

Updating TLE data

Picture 8. Updating TLE data

It is recommended to update TLE daily when the program starts. For automatic background updates, set the switch to Perform automatic update in the background (Picture 9):

Auto-update

Picture 9. Auto-update