README
1 =========================
2 PREDICT QUICK START GUIDE
3 =========================
4
5SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
6===================
7This program requires ncurses version 4.2 or higher. Earlier versions have
8been known to cause segmentation faults and/or odd display colors with this
9program. ncurses may be obtained via anonymous FTP at:
10
11 ftp://ftp.invisible-island.net/ncurses/
12
13or:
14 https://invisible-mirror.net/archives/ncurses/
15
16The Linux pthreads library is also required. Both of these libraries are
17usually available in modern Linux distributions.
18
19
20UNPACKING
21=========
22The PREDICT archive can be unpacked in any directory for which read access
23is provided for all system users (such as /usr/src or /usr/local/src for
24Slackware Linux). As root, move the tar file to such a directory and
25issue the command:
26
27 tar xvfz predict-2.2.7.tar.gz
28
29to unpack the file.
30
31
32COMPILATION
33===========
34PREDICT's compilation and installation procedure differs slightly from
35that of most software, but should easy enough to understand and follow.
36First, move (cd) into the predict directory and execute the included
37"configure" script by typing:
38
39 ./configure
40
41as root at your command prompt. This script compiles and runs the install
42program that configures the source code for PREDICT. It then compiles and
43installs PREDICT by creating symbolic links between the executables created
44in the installation directory and /usr/local/bin. If a destination directory
45other than /usr/local/bin is desired, invoke configure with the desired
46directory as an argument on the command line:
47
48 ./configure /usr/bin
49
50
51FIRST TIME USE
52==============
53First time users will be asked to enter their groundstation latitude and
54longitude in decimal degrees or in degree, minute, second (DMS) format.
55Normally, PREDICT handles longitudes in decimal degrees WEST (0-360
56degrees), and latitudes in decimal degrees NORTH. This behavior can be
57modified by passing the -east or -south command line switches to PREDICT
58when it is invoked. Your station's altitude in meters above mean sea
59level, a recent set of Keplerian orbital data for the satellites of
60interest, and an accurately set system clock are also required if
61successful real-time satellite tracking is also desired. Sources
62for such data include http://www.celestrak.com/,
63http://www.space-track.org, and http://www.amsat.org/.
64
65
66FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
67=======================
68Please consult the files under the "docs" subdirectory for more
69directions on the use and capabilities of PREDICT.
70
71The latest news and information regarding PREDICT software is
72available at: http://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/predict.html.
73
74
75Happy Tracking!
76
77--
78John, KD2BD
79kd2bd@amsat.org
80October 2020
81
82