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Satellite Antenna Rotator Controller and Tracker - SARCNET

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SARCTRAC Earth - Satellite Antenna Rotator Controller and TRACker Software - New for 2026. Now supports OMM data format!
This free project is part of a satellite communications system. It can be used to listen to, or communicate through, Earth-orbiting satellites, including the International Space Station! Of course you will need some directional VHF/UHF antennas and an AZ-EL antenna rotator. Then you will need a conventional or SDR receiver to listen to the signal. But even that wouldn't be enough: The problem is that satellites are moving all over the sky, as they orbit the Earth, and often at tremendous speeds. You have to know exactly where the satellite is so you can point your antenna at it. Then you have to know what frequency to use for the uplink (to the satellite) and the downlink (from the satellite). That is tricky because when an object moves while it is transmitting a signal, the frequency of that signal at the receiving site varies considerably - higher if it is coming towards you, lower if it is moving away. Just like a train whistle changes as it goes past you at the level crossing. This is called the Doppler effect and it is critical to accurately tuning in your satellite receiving system.

SARCTRAC Earth is a little computer app that automatically steers your antenna rotator and adjusts the frequency of your transceiver as the satellite passes overhead. It downloads orbital elements for the satellites from Celestrak and the satellite frequencies from SatNOGS. It runs the SGP4 orbital perturbation model to calculate the the satellite's position and speed. It uses the satellite's position to control the position of your antenna rotator. It uses the satellite's speed together with the known satellite's uplink and downlink frequencies to calculate the Doppler-frequency offset and then control the frequencies of your transceiver. The transceiver can be either an SDR app running on your computer or a conventional transceiver connected via USB cable.

History: SARCTRAC Mk1 and Mk2 used to have their own integrated web servers and tracker applications. By popular demand, SARCTRAC Mk3 was able to use any third-party, external tracker. However, for SARCTRAC Mk4, we decided to build a completely new tracker, from scratch, in Python. We just needed a 6-hour satellite prediction display with pass selection, rotator AZ/EL control, rig frequency/mode control. Of great importance to us was to be able to quickly find and select the active frequencies and modes needed for a selected satellite. Previously this involved a lot of Internet searching. SARCTRAC Earth now makes the whole operation very easy! In July 2026 the format of the orbital element sets provided by Celestrak.org was changed from TLE to OMM. The old the Two Line Element (TLE) set format was deprecated and replaced with the new Orbit Mean-Element Message (OMM) format. SARCTRAC Earth Version 4.4 onwards supports this new format.


SARCTRAC Earth - Including SkyPlot, SatInfo and MapPlot Windows
Software Installation
Download SARCTRAC Earth
  1. Connect your PC to the Internet.
  2. Request a copy of the SARCTRAC Earth application here.
  3. Follow the instruction in the email to download and install the SARCTRAC Earth application.
  4. The sarctrac_earth.zip file will usually be downloaded to your Downloads folder.
  5. Go to the Downloads folder and right-click on the zip file. Select Extract All... This will create a sarctrac_earth folder.
  6. Move the sarctrac_earth folder to your program files folder (C:\Program Files). Note you may need to provide Administrator privileges.
  7. Right click on the sarctrac_earth.exe file and select Pin to Start. There will now be a shortcut to it in your Start menu.
  8. Note: Some application configuration may be required prior to operation. See below.
Operation
  1. System set up:
    1. First ensure you have a working Internet connection on your computer.
    2. Start an SDR transceiver app on your computer or connect an external transceiver to your computer, via a USB cable or a USB Rig Interface.
    3. If you are using an SDR transceiver app on your computer, you will also need to install a serial port reflector like com0com.
    4. If you are using separate receivers and transmitters or separate antenna rotators we suggest you run multiple instances of the SARCTRAC Earth application from separate installation folders.
    5. Connect antennas to your transceiver. This will typically be a VHF and/or UHF yagi antenna. The antenna should be compatible with the satellite uplink and downlink frequencies.
    6. Attach the antenna to your antenna rotator. Discussion of the types of antennas and feed systems is beyond the scope of this project. We hope to publish a separate DIY project in the future covering these items.  
    7. Connect your antenna rotator to your computer via a USB cable. See our Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator project for a suitable antenna rotator.
    8. Warning: This app may cause the antenna to move without notice. A software malfunction may cause damage to the antenna or injure bystanders. You must install limit switches (interlocks) to prevent antenna damage, cable windup damage and a safety cut-off switch to disable the entire system. Keep clear of the antenna at all times. Safe operation of this equipment is your responsibility.
  2. Start the SARCTRAC Earth application
    1. The last used configuration settings will be restored. Note: They are automatically saved on exit.
    2. If the SARCTRAC Earth application window is too small or large:
      1. Close the application, then
      2. Edit the scaling, font_size and row_height items in the sarctrac_earth_configuration.txt file in the installation folder
      3. Restart the application
    3. Wait for the status indicator in the Library frame to say Ready.
    4. Note: This may take some time when the application is started for the first time or if there are lots of satellites in the selected category or user library, as follows:
      1. Satellite orbital element files have to be downloaded when the application is started for the first time.
      2. Thereafter, satellite orbital element files are only downloaded once per day, as they they do not change more frequently.
      3. Some satellite categories have lots of satellites e.g. Active Satellites has > 14,000 satellites!
      4. A user library may have lots of satellites, and their orbital element files have to be downloaded individually.
    5. The status indicator in the Library frame will cycle through the start up process steps:
      1. Starting... SARCTRAC Earth is initializing the station location and other items  
      2. Loading satellite categories... SARCTRAC Earth is downloading the satellite categories from Celestrak.
      3. Loading satellites... SARCTRAC Earth is downloading the satellite library files from Celestrak.  
      4. Loading satellite information... SARCTRAC Earth is downloading satellite information from SatNOGS.  
      5. Loading active satellites... SARCTRAC Earth is matching Celestrak satellites to SatNOGS transmitters.  
      6. Loading predictions...  SARCTRAC Earth is running pass predictions on all active satellites plus the selected satellite.
      7. Ready SARCTRAC Earth is ready to track satellites.
  3. In the Location frame:
    1. Here you can create and use multiple locations for your satellite receiving station.
    2. Select an existing location.
    3. Add a new location:
      1. Enter the name for a new location.
      2. Enter the new station Latitude, Longitude and Altitude.
      3. Note: Longitude and Latitude are in decimal degrees. Altitude is in metres. Both are referenced to the WGS-84 datum. Get it from your GPS, or Google maps.
      4. Press Add. This location will be saved for future selection.
    4. Delete an existing location:
      1. Press Delete. This location will be deleted. Note: You can't delete the last location in the list. Enter a new one first.
  4. In the Library frame:
    1. Here you can create and use libraries of your favourite satellites. Note: There are thousands of satellites in dozens of categories. Creating your own libraries will help organise satellites into useful groups.
    2. Select an existing library.
    3. Add a new library:
      1. Enter the name of a new library
      2. Press Add. This library will be saved for future selection.
    4. Delete an existing library:
      1. Press Delete. This library will be deleted. Note: You can't delete the last library in the list. Enter a new one first.
  5. In the satellite frame:
    1. Select a category of satellites of interest. The current categories are: "100 (or so) Brightest, ARGOS Data Collection System, Active Geosynchronous, Active Satellites, Amateur Radio, Analyst Satellites, Beidou, COSMOS 2251 Debris, Chinese ASAT Test Debris (FENGYUN 1C), CubeSats, Disaster Monitoring, Earth Resources, Education, Engineering, Eutelsat, Experimental Comm, GLONASS Operational, GNSS, GOES, GPS Operational, Galileo, Geodetic, Globalstar, Hulianwag Digui, IRIDIUM 33 Debris, Intelsat, Iridium NEXT, Last 30 Days' Launches, Miscellaneous Military, NOAA, Navy Navigation Satellite System (NNSS), OneWeb, Orbcomm, Other Comm, Other Satellites, Planet, Qianfan, Radar Calibration, Russian ASAT Test Debris (COSMOS 1408), Russian LEO Navigation, SES, SatNOGS, Satellite-Based Augmentation System (WAAS/EGNOS/MSAS), Search & Rescue (SARSAT), Space & Earth Science, Space Stations, Spire, Starlink, Telesat, Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), Weather".
    2. Note: These categories are provided by Celestrak and may change from time to time!
    3. Note: Active satellites are defined as all satellites in a Celestrak category, or a user-defined library, with usable frequencies from the SatNOGS transmitters database.
    4. Whenever a category is selected the Satellite dropdown is populated with all satellites in the category, sorted in alphabetical order.
    5. Active satellite pass predictions for all active satellites in the selected category will be displayed.
    6. The first satellite in the category will be automatically selected.
    7. Select the name of a satellite of interest in the selected category:
      1. You can scroll through the list (which can be very long); or use speed-search.  
      2. To use speed-search: Highlight a satellite name and then start typing the name of a new satellite.
      3. Since the selected satellite may change several times while using speed-search, we recommend disabling the Tracker first.
    8. The satellite will be shown in the Active satellite pass predictions window or added if it is not active.
    9. The selected satellite information will be displayed, if any exists.
  6. In the Active satellite pass predictions window:
    1. All active satellite passes, within the next 6 hours, will be displayed.
    2. However, if the selected satellite is not an active satellite it will be added and it's passes will also be displayed.
    3. The following pass information is displayed:
      1. AOS - The Acquisition Of Signal time displayed as Hours:Minutes:Seconds in local time format.
      2. LOS - The Loss Of Signal time displayed as Hours:Minutes:Seconds in local time format.
      3. The satellite name.
      4. The pass duration displayed as Minutes:Seconds.
      5. The maximum elevation of the pass in degrees.
    4. The row will be displayed in bold if the satellite is currently above the local horizon.
    5. The row will be removed when the satellite sets below the local horizon.
    6. The 6-hour prediction list will be updated every 10 minutes.
    7. To search for complete satellite passes in a 6-hour period, the predictor:
      1. Starts 2 hours prior to the current time to find the AOS of visible satellites; and
      2. Finishes 8 hours post the current time to find the LOS of any satellites with an AOS in 6 hours.
      3. Searches for complete passes over a total period of 10 hours.
      4. Displays any complete passes where an AOS or LOS is included in the 6 hour period.
      5. Note: Passes with a duration longer than 2 hours may be omitted.
      6. The prediction hours, pre-prediction hours and post-prediction hours are configurable.
    8. Scroll the display with the mouse wheel.
    9. Select a satellite by clicking on a satellite pass or select a satellite by name from the list.
    10. The SARCTRAC Earth SkyPlot window will be opened to the top right of the SARCTRAC Earth window.
    11. The SARCTRAC Earth SatInfo window will be opened to the top right of the SARCTRAC Earth SkyPlot window.
    12. If you enable the Tracker, additional real-time information will also be shown on the SatInfo and  MapPlot window.
  7. In the SARCTRAC Earth SkyPlot window:
    1. The SARCTRAC Earth Skyplot window:
      1. is shown whenever a satellite is selected in the Active satellite pass predictions window;
      2. is initially opened to the top right of the SARCTRAC Earth window; and
      3. can be repositioned or closed;
      4. is automatically closed when a new satellite is selected, instead of a satellite pass.
      5. displays a SkyPlot diagram and 4 frames of useful information.
    2. The name of the satellite being tracked is shown at the top left of the window in blue.
    3. A polar plot of the whole sky above the station is displayed:
      1. North is at the top. South is at the bottom. East to the right. West to the left.
      2. Zenith (directly above the station) is shown at the centre.
      3. The horizon is shown at the circumference of the plot.
      4. Rings indicate the elevation scale.
    4. The selected pass of the satellite is shown as a red, dashed line.
    5. The points of Acquisition Of Signal (AOS) and Loss Of Signal (LOS) are shown where the pass meets the horizon.
    6. The closer the pass comes to the centre of the plot the higher the satellite elevation will be.
    7. If the Tracker is enabled and if the satellite is visible, its current azimuth and elevation will be shown as a blue dot.
    8. The position of the satellite on the sky plot will be updated every second.
    9. A visible satellite is usually shown travelling along the red line, except where the AOS was more than 1 hour ago, in which case the AOS point and the satellite pass are not displayed correctly.
    10. The Acquisition Of Signal (AOS) frame shows information about the start of the currently selected pass.
      1. The name of the currently selected satellite pass is shown.
      2. The AOS time is when the satellite rises above the horizon at the AOS azimuth. Additional information is shown when the Tracker is enabled.
      3. The satellite signals may not actually be acquired until the satellite rises further above the horizon due to local obstructions.
    11. The Closest Point of Approach (CPA) frame shows information about the culmination of the currently selected pass.
      1. The CPA time is when the satellite is at its maximum elevation and minimum range with respect to the observer's location. Additional information is shown when the Tracker is enabled.
      2. The culmination of the satellite pass occurs at the CPA azimuth and CPA elevation.
    12. The Loss Of Signal (LOS) frame shows information about the end of the currently selected pass.
      1. The LOS time is when the satellite sets below the horizon at the LOS azimuth. Additional information is shown when the Tracker is enabled.
      2. The satellite signals may actually be lost prior to the satellite setting below the horizon due to local obstructions.
    13. The Current Position, Altitude and Range frame shows real-time information about the satellite when the Tracker is enabled.
      1. The latitude and longitude are the geographic coordinates of the subpoint of the satellite.
      2. The altitude is the perpendicular distance in kilometres between the satellite and the WGS84 datum ellipsoid: Which is not the precisely the satellite's height above ground or mean sea level, but it is close enough.
      3. The range is slant distance in kilometres between the satellite and the observer's location.
      4. The range rate is the rate of change of the range in metres per second. A positive range rate indicates the satellite is receding from the observer's location. A negative range rate indicates the satellite is closing on the observer's location. The range rate is used to calculate the Doppler effect on frequency.
  8. In the SARCTRAC Earth MapPlot window:
    1. The SARCTRAC Earth MapPlot window:
      1. Will be opened, whenever the Tracker is enabled and closed whenever the Tracker is disabled;
      2. is initially opened to the top right of the SARCTRAC Earth window, but under the SkyPlot window; and
      3. can be repositioned or closed.
    2. A natural map of the Earth, in equirectangular projection, centred on 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude, is displayed.
    3. The station's location is shown as a yellow dot.
    4. The selected satellite's ground track position is shown as a cyan dot.
    5. The selected satellite's name is shown in black.
    6. The selected satellite's radio-horizon (footprint) is shown as a red circle (often distorted by the equirectangular projection)
    7. The position of the satellite on the map plot will be updated every second.
  9. In the selected Satellite information window:
    1. Satellite data will be displayed, if it is available from SatNOGS.
    2. Click on a single frequency to select it; or
    3. Click on a frequency range to select the mid point. e.g. 435.3065~435.3235 will select 435.315.
    4. Uplink and downlink modes and satellite information is displayed, if available.
    5. Note: There may be duplicate or inconsistent data, as it is crowd sourced.
    6. Selected uplink or downlink frequencies will be automatically inserted into the appropriate TX Freq and RX Freq below.
    7. Scroll the display with the mouse wheel.
  10. TX and RX Local Oscillator (LO) frequencies:
    1. If you are using a transverter or downconverter, select the corresponding TX and RX Local Oscillator (LO) frequencies. It will be subtracted from the TX or RX frequencies when calculating the TX Doppler or RX Doppler frequencies.
    2. Select an existing frequency; or
    3. Enter a new frequency - It will be saved when the Tracker button is pressed or on exit; or
    4. Click on the blue label next to the entry to delete it. Note: You can't delete the last frequency in the list.
  11. TX Freq and RX Freq:
    1. Enter or edit the TX Freq and RX Freq, if required.
    2. They are normally populated by clicking on uplink or downlink frequencies in the Selected satellite information window.
    3. Important: if using a single receiver or transmitter only, please leave the unused TX Freq or RX Freq blank.
    4. For example: If using SDR Console as a receiver, the TX Freq must be blank or an error message will be displayed on SDR Console as it does not have a transmitter.  
  12. TX offset or RX offset:
    1. Use the spin-dials to provide a TX offset or RX offset. This provides transmitter and receiver independent tuning. aka XIT and RIT.
    2. The value in Hertz will be directly applied to the TX Doppler or RX Doppler frequencies.
    3. Simply hover over the digit and spin the mouse wheel to increment or decrement it. Note that carry and borrow is enabled.
    4. Click the +/- symbol to invert the offset.
    5. The TX offset and RX offset are automatically reset to zero when a new satellite is selected.
  13. TX Mode and RX Mode:
    1. Select the TX Mode and RX Mode from 'LSB', 'USB', 'CW', 'AM' or 'FM'
  14. In the Rotator Configuration frame:
    1. Select the Driver: NATIVE or HAMLIB
    2. For the NATIVE Driver select the Protocol: SARCTRAC and the Address: 0 - 9, these are reserved for future use.
    3. For the HAMLIB Driver select the Type: See the list of HAMLIB compatible rotators.
    4. Select the rotator mode: -180..+180 or 0..360
    5. Select the rotator Port: COM1 - COM25. Only active ports are shown.
    6. Select the rotator Rate: See the list of supported baud rates.
  15. In the Receiver Configuration frame:
    1. Select the Driver: NATIVE or HAMLIB
    2. For the NATIVE Driver select the Protocol: ICOM CI-V or KENWOOD TS-2000 and the Address: See list of ICOM compatible receivers.
    3. For the HAMLIB Driver select the Type
    4. Select the receiver Mode: Main/Sub or Split
    5. Select the receiver Port: COM1 - COM25. Only active ports shown.
    6. Select the receiver Rate: See list of supported baud rates.
  16. In the Control frame:
    1. Enable Rotator and/or Receiver control by pressing the Rotator or Receiver buttons: They will toggle between disabled (red) and enabled (green).
    2. Press the Tracker button to start tracking. It will toggle from disabled (red) to enabled (green).
      1. The current satellite configuration data will be saved.
      2. If the Rotator is enabled (green) the antenna will be steered to point at the satellite.
      3. If the Receiver is enabled (green) the receiver will be tuned to the Doppler-corrected receive frequency of the satellite.
      4. The tracker update rate will be 10 Hz if only NATIVE drives are used for both the rotator and transceiver.
      5. The tracker update rate will be 1 Hz if any HAMLIB drivers are used for either the rotator or transceiver.
    3. The Status indicator below the Tracker button will show the current tracker state:
        1. Stopped (The Tracker thread is stopped)  
        2. Starting... (The Tracker thread is starting, please wait)
        3. Started (The Tracker thread has started)
        4. Stopping... (The Tracker thread is stopping, please wait)
    4. The Status indicator will also show the next Acquisition Of Signal (AOS) time and the next Loss Of Signal (LOS) time for the selected satellite.
      1. Note: If the satellite is currently visible, the next AOS time may be after the next LOS time.
      2. If there are no AOS or LOS events in the next 6 hours, that will be indicated.  
    5. While the tracker is enabled and if sounds are enabled in the sarctrac_earth_configuration.txt file, the application will play a sound on AOS and another sound on LOS. The specific sounds are configurable by replacing the aos.wav and los.wav files.
    6. The satellite Azimuth and Elevation indicators will show the pointing angles in decimal degrees.
      1. The azimuth angle can also be pre-set to: 0.0°, 45.0°, 90.0°, 135.0°, 180.0°, 225.0°, 270.0° or 315.0°
      2. The elevation angle can also be pre-set to: 0.0°, 30.0°, 45.0°, 60.0° and 90.0°
      3. Pre-setting azimuth and elevation angles is useful for testing and stowing the antenna rotator.
    7. Check that the antenna is pointing in the right direction.
    8. Check that the receiver frequency is following the controller frequency.
    9. Press the Tracker button to stop tracking. It will toggle from enabled (green) to disabled (red).
      1. The Azimuth, Elevation TX Doppler and RX Doppler indicators will be cleared.
  17. The Version label:
    1. Displays the current application version number and release date
    2. Click on the version label to open this website in your browser and to check on-line for updates to the application. See: Updates.
Configuration
The operation of SARCTRAC Earth is configurable by editing the sarctrac_earth_configuration.txt file in the installation folder. To change the configuration, simply close the application first, edit the configuration file and then re-start the application. An example configuration file is shown below with added comments for each item shown in bold.  

[GUI] #The Graphical User Interface configuration section
location = Oakleigh #The name of the currently selected location
library = My Library 1 #The name of the currently selected library, if any
libraries = My Library 1,My Library 2 #The names of the available libraries, if any
category = Amateur Radio #The name of the currently selected category
satellite = ISS (ZARYA) #The name of the currently selected satellite
sounds = True #AOS and LOS wav files will be played if set to True, or not if set to False
scaling = 1.9 #The overall window size scaling value
font_size = 10 #The font size within the window. Note: This also affects the window size
row_height = 30 #Satellite Pass Predictions and Satellite Information Window row height (spacing)
el_min = 10.0 #The minimum satellite elevation to be considered as a valid pass
prediction_hours = 6 #The satellite pass prediction time covers complete passes in this period starting from now
pre_prediction_hours = 2 #The satellite pass prediction starts looking for AOS events for this period earlier
post_prediction_hours = 2 #The satellite pass prediction continues looking for LOS events for this period after
rot_driver = NATIVE #The rotator driver type: NATIVE or HAMLIB
rot_protocol = SARCTRAC #The rotator NATIVE driver protocol: Only SARCTRAC at present
rot_address = 0 #The rotator NATIVE driver address for use with multiple rotators
rot_type = Hamlib EasycommII #The rotator HAMLIB driver type (see list below)
rot_mode = -180..+180 #The rotator rotation mode endpoints: -180..+180 or 0..360
rot_port = COM5 #The rotator serial COM port
rot_rate = 9600 #The rotator serial baud rate
rig_driver = NATIVE #The rig driver type: NATIVE or HAMLIB
rig_protocol = ICOM CI-V #The rig NATIVE driver protocol: Only ICOM CI-V and Kenwood TS-2000 at present
rig_address = IC-910: 60 #The rig NATIVE driver address: Only for ICOM CI-V NATIVE protocol
rig_type = Icom IC-910 #The rig HAMLIB driver type (see list below)
rig_mode = Main/Sub #The rig VFO mode: Main/Sub or Split
rig_port = COM8 #The rig serial COM port
rig_rate = 19200 #The rig serial baud rate
rig_tx_lo_freqs = 0,1000,2000 #The TX Local Oscillator frequencies, if any
rig_tx_lo_freq = 0 #The currently selected TX Local Oscillator frequency, if any
rig_rx_lo_freqs = 0,1000,2000,1000.0 #The TX Local Oscillator frequencies, if any
rig_rx_lo_freq = 0 #The currently selected TX Local Oscillator frequency, if any
rig_tx_freq = 145.99 #The currently selected TX frequency
rig_rx_freq = 437.8 #The currently selected RX frequency
rig_tx_mode = FM #The currently selected TX mode: LSB, USB, AM ,CW, FM
rig_rx_mode = FM #The currently selected RX mode: LSB, USB, AM ,CW, FM

[Oakleigh] #The location name section: Possibly one of many
latitude = -37.907581 #The location's latitude in decimal degrees
longitude = 145.09235683 #The location's longitude in decimal degrees
altitude = 77.8 #The location's altitude in metres


Updates
This software is under constant development. Check from time-to-time to see if there is an update to the SARCTRAC Earth application. To do this using the SARCTRAC Earth app:
  1. Click on the Version label.
  2. Click Yes to Confirmation: Do you want to open the website in your browser and check on-line for updates to the application?
  3. If prompted click OK to Information: You are currently using the latest versions of the application.
  4. If prompted click Yes to Confirmation: There is a new application. Do you want to download it?
  5. If prompted click OK to Information: A new application has been download to {your Downloads folder}. Right-click on it and select "Extract All", then "Select a Destination" to create a new application folder.
  6. To preserve your settings and libraries created in an earlier version of SARCTRAC Earth:
    1. Copy your sarctrac_earth_configuration.txt file to the new application folder.
    2. Copy your Celestrak folder to the new application folder.
    3. Create a new shortcut to sarctrac_earth.exe.
Supported Rotator Types
The following rotator types are supported (however not all rotators are suitable for satellite communications):

AMSAT IF-100, AMSAT LVB, BG5DIW GRBLTRK, CNCTRK CNCTRK, Celestron NexStar, DF9GR ERC, DG9OAA Ether6, EA4TX ARS, F1TE GS232/F1TE, FoxDelta GS232/ST2, Green Heron, Hamlib Dummy, Hamlib EasycommI, Hamlib EasycommII, Hamlib EasycommIII, Hamlib NET, Heathkit HD, Hy-Gain DCU-1/DCU-1X, Hy-Gain DCU2/DCU3/YRC-1, Idiom Press, LA7LKA ts7400, M2 RC2800, M2 RC2800_EARLY_AZ, M2 RC2800_EARLY_AZEL, Meade LX200/Autostar, Prosistel Combi-Track, Prosistel D, Radant AZ-1/AZV-1, SARtek SARtek-1, SPID MD-01/02, SPID Rot1Prog, SPID Rot2Prog, SatEL SatEL, Various GS-232, WA6UFQ PcRotor, XQ2FOD Fodtrack, Yaesu GS-232A, Yaesu GS-232B, Yaesu/Kenpro GS-23, Yaesu/Kenpro GS-232, iOptron iOptron
Supported Rig Types
The following rig types are supported (however not all rigs are suitable for satellite communications):

ADAT www.adat.ch, AE9RB Si570, AMSAT-UK FUNcube, AOR AR2700, AOR AR3000A, AOR AR3030, AOR AR5000, AOR AR5000A, AOR AR7030, AOR AR8000, AOR AR8200, AOR AR8600, AOR SR2200, Alinco DX-77, Alinco DX-SR8, AmQRP DDS-60, Barrett 2050, Barrett 4050, Barrett 950, CODAN Envoy, CODAN NGT, Coding Technologies, DTTS Microwave, Dorji DRA818U, Dorji DRA818V, Drake R-8A, Drake R-8B, ELAD FDM-DUO, Elecraft K2, Elecraft K3, Elecraft K3S, Elecraft K4, Elecraft KX2, Elecraft KX3, Elecraft XG3, Elektor Elektor, FLRig FLRig, FiFi FiFi-SDR, Flex-radio SDR-1000, FlexRadio 6xxx, FlexRadio/ANAN PowerSDR/Thetis, Funkamateur FA-SDR, GOMSPACE GS100, Hamlib Dummy, Hamlib NET, Hilberling PT-8000A, HobbyPCB RS-HFIQ, Icom IC, Icom IC-1275, Icom IC-271, Icom IC-2730, Icom IC-275, Icom IC-375, Icom IC-471, Icom IC-475, Icom IC-575, Icom IC-7000, Icom IC-703, Icom IC-705, Icom IC-706, Icom IC-706MkII, Icom IC-706MkIIG, Icom IC-707, Icom IC-7100, Icom IC-718, Icom IC-7200, Icom IC-725, Icom IC-726, Icom IC-728, Icom IC-729, Icom IC-7300, Icom IC-735, Icom IC-736, Icom IC-737, Icom IC-738, Icom IC-7410, Icom IC-746, Icom IC-746PRO, Icom IC-751, Icom IC-756, Icom IC-756PRO, Icom IC-756PROII, Icom IC-756PROIII, Icom IC-7600, Icom IC-761, Icom IC-7610, Icom IC-765, Icom IC-7700, Icom IC-775, Icom IC-78, Icom IC-7800, Icom IC-781, Icom IC-7850/7851, Icom IC-820H, Icom IC-821H, Icom IC-910, Icom IC-9100, Icom IC-92D, Icom IC-970, Icom IC-9700, Icom IC-F8101, Icom IC-M700PRO, Icom IC-M710, Icom IC-M802, Icom IC-M803, Icom IC-PCR100, Icom IC-PCR1000, Icom IC-PCR1500, Icom IC-PCR2500, Icom IC-R10, Icom IC-R20, Icom IC-R30, Icom IC-R6, Icom IC-R7000, Icom IC-R71, Icom IC-R7100, Icom IC-R72, Icom IC-R75, Icom IC-R8600, Icom IC-R9000, Icom IC-R9500, Icom IC-RX7, Icom ICR-8500, Icom ID-31, Icom ID-4100, Icom ID-51, Icom ID-5100, JRC JST-145, JRC JST-245, JRC NRD-525, JRC NRD-535D, JRC NRD-545, KTH-SDR kit, Kachina 505DSP, Kenwood R-5000, Kenwood TH-D72A, Kenwood TH-D74, Kenwood TH-D7A, Kenwood TH-F6A, Kenwood TH-F7E, Kenwood TH-G71, Kenwood TM-D700, Kenwood TM-D710(G), Kenwood TM-V7, Kenwood TM-V71(A), Kenwood TRC-80, Kenwood TS-140S, Kenwood TS-2000, Kenwood TS-440S, Kenwood TS-450S, Kenwood TS-480, Kenwood TS-50S, Kenwood TS-570D, Kenwood TS-570S, Kenwood TS-590S, Kenwood TS-590SG, Kenwood TS-680S, Kenwood TS-690S, Kenwood TS-711, Kenwood TS-790, Kenwood TS-811, Kenwood TS-850, Kenwood TS-870S, Kenwood TS-890S, Kenwood TS-930, Kenwood TS-940S, Kenwood TS-950S, Kenwood TS-950SDX, Kenwood TS-990S, Lab599 TX-500, Lowe HF-235, M0NKA mcHF, Malachite DSP, Microtelecom Perseus, N2ADR HiQSDR, OpenHPSDR PiHPSDR, Optoelectronics OptoScan456, Optoelectronics OptoScan535, Philips/Simoco PRM8060, QRPLabs QCX/QDX, RFT EKD-500, Racal RA3702, Racal RA6790/GM, Radio Shack, Rohde&Schwarz EB200, Rohde&Schwarz EK895/6, Rohde&Schwarz ESMC, Rohde&Schwarz XK2100, SAT-Schneider DRT1, SDRPlay SDRUno, SigFox Transfox, Skanti TRP, Skanti TRP8000, SoftRock Si570, TAPR DSP-10, TRXManager TRXManager, Ten-Tec Delta, Ten-Tec Omni, Ten-Tec RX-320, Ten-Tec RX-331, Ten-Tec RX-340, Ten-Tec RX-350, Ten-Tec TT-516, Ten-Tec TT-538, Ten-Tec TT-550, Ten-Tec TT-565, Ten-Tec TT-585, Ten-Tec TT-588, Ten-Tec TT-599, Uniden BC245xlt, Uniden BC250D, Uniden BC780xlt, Uniden BC895xlt, Uniden BC898T, Uniden BCD-396T, Uniden BCD-996T, Vertex Standard, Watkins-Johnson WJ-8888, Winradio WR-G313, Xiegu G90, Xiegu X108G, Xiegu X5105, Xiegu X6100, Yaesu FRG-100, Yaesu FRG-8800, Yaesu FRG-9600, Yaesu FT-100, Yaesu FT-1000D, Yaesu FT-1000MP, Yaesu FT-2000, Yaesu FT-450, Yaesu FT-450D, Yaesu FT-600, Yaesu FT-650, Yaesu FT-710, Yaesu FT-736R, Yaesu FT-747GX, Yaesu FT-757GX, Yaesu FT-757GXII, Yaesu FT-767GX, Yaesu FT-817, Yaesu FT-818, Yaesu FT-840, Yaesu FT-847, Yaesu FT-847UNI, Yaesu FT-857, Yaesu FT-890, Yaesu FT-891, Yaesu FT-897, Yaesu FT-897D, Yaesu FT-900, Yaesu FT-920, Yaesu FT-950, Yaesu FT-980, Yaesu FT-990, Yaesu FT-991, Yaesu FTDX-10, Yaesu FTDX-101D, Yaesu FTDX-101MP, Yaesu FTDX-1200, Yaesu FTDX-3000, Yaesu FTDX-5000, Yaesu FTDX-9000, Yaesu MARK-V, Yaesu VR-5000, mRS miniVNA
Acknowledgements
We have actually been building our own satellite trackers, originally from first principles, since 1983. In 1988 we converted the SGP4 orbit perturbation model, by Dr. T.S. Kelso et al, from Fortran IV to Turbo Pascal 3, running it on a home-built, Z-80, CP/M computer into a couple of TV antenna rotators. Before the Internet existed, we used to download the NORAD, two line orbital element sets with a 300 baud modem connected via the phone lines to the the Celestial BBS. Working with satellites is fun and you can learn a lot. We would like to thank all of those who have helped us along the way.

Written in: Python 3.14.

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Celestrak - By Dr. T.S. Kelso. Satellite orbital elements since 1985.
TKinter - By John Ousterhout. The standard Python interface.
Skyfield - By Brandon Rhodes - Elegant Astronomy for Python.
HAMLIB - Ham radio control library.
SatNOGS DB - Satellite frequency database.
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