Main Form

Description

This is PocketSat's main screen. It contains a table listing all of the satellite passes that have been calculated. The table consists of 5 columns: Date. The date of the pass. Time. The satellite's rise time. Name. The satellite name. A small clock icon if an alarm is set for this pass. Touch here in order to toggle the alarm on or off. Quality. How 'good' a pass is. For visible passes, it ranges from 0 (worst) to 9 (best) or D (daylight) or N (night, but satellite unlit and invisible.) If "All Passes" is selected in Preferences, this number is just a measure of the maximum pass altitude, and visibility is disregarded. There are 3 buttons on this form: Calc. Starts the calculation process for the selected set of satellites (see satellites form.) While calculating, this button reads 'Stop' and can be used to halt the process. Details. Brings up the Pass Details form for the selected pass. Plot. Brings up the Pass Plot form for the selected pass.

The Main form has the following menu items:

	Observer location. Used to tell PocketSat where you are.
	Preferences. Allows you to set various options.
	Colors. On Palms that support color, allows you to modify the display colors.
	Satellites. Brings up the Satellites form, where you can view, select, import or delete satellite orbital data.
	Clear Alarms. CLears all pending alarms.
	Help.
	About.

Calculating Passes

Pressing the 'Calc' button on the Main form brings up a series of dialogs allowing you to specify the start and end dates and times for the calculation. Passes will be calculated for the currently selected set of satellites (see Satellites form.) While calculation is in progress, PocketSat still responds to user input, but will seem very sluggish. You can view pass details or a pass plot without interrupting the calculation process (it will pause) but any other actions will stop it.

Alarms

In order to set an alarm that will alert you when a pass happens, touch in the space just to the left of the "Goodness" value for the pass. A dialog will appear to allow you to choose when the alarm should occur, up to 15 minutes before or after the rise time for the pass. A small clock icon will appear in the space to indicate the alarm has been set. To clear the alarm, just touch the clock icon. Alternatively, you can choose the "Clear Alarms" menu item to clear all alarms.

Pass Details

Pressing the 'Details' button on the Main form brings up this dialog, which displays the following information about the currently selected pass. A pass consists of a list of observations, one per row. Each row consists of the following columns: Date Time Elevation (degrees) Azimuth - or bearing (degrees from North) Status - either Daylight, Visible or Night (unlit) Pressing the 'Copy to Clipboard' button will cause the contents of this dialog to be copied into the PalmOS clipboard. You can then switch to any text handling application, like Memo Pad, and paste the data into a document.

Pass Plot

Pressing the 'Plot' button on the Main form brings up this form, which shows a plot of the sky including the satellite's path. At the upper left are the satellite name and the date on which the pass will occur. At the upper right are the current time and date.

The plot itself consists of three concentric circles representing the sky. The circles represent, from outer to inner, elevations of 0, 30, and 60 degrees above the horizon. The satellite's track is plotted on top of this as a solid line when it is visible and a dotted one when it isn't, along with the times for the satellite's rise, maximum altitude and set. If the satellite is currently above the horizon, it will be shown as a small blinking square. In addition, the satellite's current elevation and azimuth are displayed in the lower-right corner of the screen.

The idea is that you hold the Palm Pilot out in front of you, facing the direction indicated at the bottom of the plot. You can rotate the plot to the left and right, respectively with the 'Address Book' and 'To Do' buttons on the case until the desired direction is at the bottom. The plot then shows the current direction and elevation of the satellite. If you have trouble getting the concept, imagine holding the Palm Pilot directly overhead with the direction markings pointed the right way. The center of the plot represents straight up, and the outer ring represents the horizon.

While still in the Plot Form, you can also scroll to the previous or next pass by pressing the 'up' or 'down' button on the case.