Re: Tracking satellites with Meade ETX-90 EC
Dave Mullenix (djmullen@facstaff.wisc.edu)
Fri, 26 Mar 1999 15:39:59 -0600
Philip Chien wrote:
>
> Dave Mullenix <djmullen@facstaff.wisc.edu> said:
>
> >Meade has a new telescope out, the ETX-90 EC.>
> The key question is whether or not you can update the elements yourself. I
> would be very concerned if the data was in a proprietary format which may
> or may not be supported in the future.
>
> The other question is what satellites are in the database. It's quite
> possible rocket bodies and debris may be left out as 'uninteresting'. More
> important is the satellites which may or may not exist where the elements
> don't come from OIG.
You should be able to select the satellites yourself, but the software
and connecting cables aren't available yet. The computer does come with
some satellites pre-loaded in its data base, but the elements probably
date to last January. I was wondering if anybody has been able to see
one of the satellites in the data base yet. Some of the GPS birds are
in it and they're in such high orbits that I would think that even
elements from last January would still be reasonably accurate for them.
My own attempts have been frustrated by clouds and cold weather.
Dave