VK3UM EME Planner. Table of Contents

Transcription

1 Table of Contents Introduction Program Options Main Opening Screen. VK3UM DXCC Data Base EME Planner Calculator Global Spatial offset Sources and Planet Display Sources and Planet Planner Sky Noise Map Distance Calculator Month Data Home Set Up Author Page 1

2 Introduction Background My first introduction to computers was in 1968 when I was involved in the installation and Commissioning of the Radio Complex on Cox Peninsula near Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia (VK8). The Collins 821A2 250 kw transmitters were the first in the World to be auto controlled by a computer. They were fully auto tuned and frequency sythensized to cover from 3.9 MHz to 26.9 MHz. Moreover frequency hopping between the extremes could take place in less than 12 seconds! The software was written in machine code, tape transport, and a water cooled ferrite core memory consisting of a staggering 16 kb. Mind you this very system landed the first Astronauts on the Moon and returned them safely. During those years we had close associations with the guys using the same modules flying the recovery planes through Darwin and shared our mutual problems and fixes.. but that c ould be a book in its self! From there I 'graduated' to my own computer. This was a South West Tec hnical Products (SWTP) kit that had a 6800 and 6809 proc essors. We programmed initially in machine code but the 'break through' came when Borland Pascal (and C) hit the scene in the early/mid eighties. The very first VK3UM EME Planner was written in Borland Pascal and ran under DOS in The program evolved over the years and was first demonstrated at the 3rd International EME Conference at Thorn, The Netherlands, in The whole concept was developed from what I wanted when I first became active in EME and has further been added to from suggestions by others who have said..' it would be nice if..' and the if's c ontinue to be added and refined! An Auto Track addition was added in 1989 and in association with Graham ZL3AAD we developed an interface board that produced one of the first (if not the first) Am ateur EME Auto tracking systems. Over 120 tracking boards were produced and distributed through out the World. The first Public demonstration of this Auto Track System was given at the 4 th International Convention at Trenton, New Jersey, USA in August I was to learn later that this software was being used behind the 'Iron Curtain' for many years prior the re-establishment of normal diplomatic relations. To hear this first hand at the 5 th International EME Conference in Thorn in 1992 from the very first UA boys to attend a Conference was personally most satisfying. The spirit of Am ateur Radio was maintained through out these 'dark' years and the software was most beneficial to those that were striving to become EMErs'. The first Windows version of the VK3UM Planner was released in 1995 and development has continued ever since. This EME Planner has been revised considerably to the first 2008 Version. I have rem oved the Auto tracking option as I feel there are many other systems available to users and c andidly I have decided not to support all the new interfaces available. Its too tim e consuming and never ending and for me it is best left to others who are m ore competent and willing to spend the time (and money) developing their systems. The VK3UM Planner is just that, an EME Planner, and supports the following func tions (and many more). a large viewing screen with large easily visible numbers for manual tracking. incorporation of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) DXCC listing as a VK3UM DXCC Data Base of locations and an additional user storage section that can be added to at will and edited by the user. Planner screen with multiple options that allows you to determ ine your mutual window Page 2

3 with another Station and print the display if required. Horizon selectable Azimuth / Elevation and Polar mount Right ascension /Declination are provided. A Global Spatial offset screen where selected areas of the World have been chosen so that you can determine what offset is required. A Sources and Planet display screen that provides you with the coordinates of the Sun, Moon, Quiet and Noise Sources, as well as the Planets and an optional user input. A Sources and Planet Planner that provides the ability where the user may select either a Planet or a Noise or Quiet source and display its Azimuth and Elevation (or RA Dec if Polar) along with the Moon and Sun positions, if visible, at the tim e. Pprinting the display is an additional option if required. A Sky Noise Map that provides the Sky Noise Temperature behind the Source chosen, Park position indication and Mouse Az/El tracking across the screen based on your location at that specific time. The time may be shifted to observe future or past situations on Sky noise temperature. an accurate Distance Calculator is provided and integrated with the VK3UM Data Base. Home data Set up screen for ease of configuring your location and parameters. accurate Moon Distance, additional path loss, diameter, Libration, illumination, phase, Moon quarter and phase angle. the displayed accuracy has been enhanced significantly in a joint co-operation effort with John VK5DJ, and his use of extensive calculation routines. the Month of Moon data option can be best described as a snap shot of a Month of Moon Data and allows you to plan ahead (or look back) on aspects of the Moon parameters that provide the best operating conditions for your location and or that of your QSO partner. I wish to thank and acknowledge all the Amateurs (and others) through out the World that have provided suggestions and comments over the years. Many of the options have been the result of 'wouldn't it be nice if..' could be added. The project is never finished, nor is a program ever 'bug free', so if you have any suggestions please do not hesitate to contact me. Page 3

4 Program Options The opening Screen provides the following options that may be selected by clicking on the required option. Main Planner Spatial Sources Sky Noise Display Distant Calculator Home Set Up Month Data Hint setup Help About Exit Each of these options will be explained in the respective sections of this Help file. Page 4

5 Main Opening Screen. The Top panel of the Main Screen provides the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) day and date, the UTC time in large numerals and current Moon data. Clicking on the Moon label will change the Source from the Moon to the Sun (and vice versa). Distance - distance from your location to the surface of the Moon (topocentric distance) Added loss - the added path loss over relative to perigee. (closest distance). Diameter - relative visual size of the Moon in degrees. Libration - Moons libration (wobble effect that causes frequency spreading) at the frequency chosen. Illumination - the amount of the Moon illuminated by the Sun Phase - the phase of the Moon Quarter - the current quarter of the Moon (1-4). Phase angle - angle of the progression of the Moons phase where 0 is New m oon 180 is Full Moon and 360 is New Moon again. The Home Station Data is loaded on start up. (your default data) The Location, Call Sign, Grid Square and Height above Sea level is shown in their respec tive boxes. In addition Refraction can be turned off (default) or turned on by clicking on that panel. The Local date and time as well as the Home Azimuth and Home elevation of the selec ted source (default source is the Moon). Page 5

6 The date and time will reflect if it is Daylight savings or Standard time depending on your computer setting. Should the display show Daylight savings time when it is not correct click on the display and it will revert to Standard time. The same option is provided for the Dx Station The Dx Station may be selected from the VK3UM Data base or be entered as a grid square or individually in the boxes provided from the Distance Calculator option. (refer that section) Home Doppler. Doppler Shift that the Home Station will experience with his returned signal off the Moon. Dx as received at Home. The Doppler off-set of the Dx Station as received by the Home Station, providing both are transmitting on the same frequency. Dx Doppler. Doppler Shift that the Dx Station will experience with his returned signal off the Moon. Spatial offset. This is the off set angle that is produced when both Stations transm it a similarly polarized signal and is caused by their relative positions on the Earths surface. The angle is independent of Faraday rotation and should be aligned at either end of the path. It can be seen from this that polarisation rotation or c ircular polarisation is highly desirable on the EME path. Distance and Bearing. This is the distance and bearing between the Home and the Dx Station over the Great Circle Page 6

7 short path. Note the bearing is not reciprocal. The Dx Station Call Sign, Location, Grid Square and Height above Sea Level (ASL) is displayed commensurate with the Station Selected. The Local Date and time as well as the Azimuth and Elevation at the Dx Station is given in the following panels. Frequency and Noise Source Data. As shown in the above panel, the frequency of operation may be selected and will determine the Doppler Shift and Sky temperatures relative to the band selec ted. The values of Source Declination (Dec) Right Ascension (R.A.) and Greenwich Hour Angle (GHA) are provided in their associated panels. Sky Temperature (Sky). This is the Sky Temperature as seen behind the Source or the source itself. Additional information may also be derived from the 400 MHz Sky Noise Display Option. The Data Base panel is described in detail under that Section. Hint setup This will reveal the following panel You may select what ever options suits for the time the hint displays on the various screens. Yellow panel with black writing Help - this file About - program file information Page 7

8 Exit - close the program. Page 8

9 VK3UM DXCC Data Base The VK3UM Dx Data Base has been updated and refined. Additions and corrections reflecting the ARRL DXCC listings of 2014 have been included. Clicking on DXCC find button will reveal this panel Enter a prefix. location or call sign and end with a carriage return In this example W6 was entered and this will be revealed as seen below, highlighting California (W6) Then choose Dx or Home selection above the database and the display will show your selected location on the Main sc reen and be available for the Planner screen. In addition to the ARRL DXCC list, separate sections for Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and the USA Call Areas have been provided. Page 9

10 A further section is provided to input and store your own additional locations. A facility has also been provided where the user can directly input a grid square and store it in the User Data base from the Distance calculator screen. The VK3UM DXCC Database is provided to enable the user to choose a Dx Station (or for a Home Station) for calculations by simply scrolling down, clicking on it, and then selecting it as Dx Selection or Home Selection as desired or using the DXCC database fast find option as described above.. Page 10

11 The user may add, edit or delete data in the User Data Base area of the VK3UM DXCC Data base and such changes may be stored permanently by clicking on Save Data Base. The main area of the VK3UM Data base cannot be changed. Should you find any error or omission in this data it would be appreciated that it be brought to the attention of the Author. Page 11

12 EME Planner Calculator The Planner Option provides the ability to determine the Local and UTC Time, Azimuth, Elevation, Declination and Home to Home Doppler for a home Station and, when a Dx Station is selected, similar values of that location as well the common viability between the Stations. Home QTH Panel This panel shows the parametres of the Home Station used in the c alculation. Home Station Limit Panel. The first two options (Min and Max Home and Min and Max Dx Elevation) provide the user with the ability to define the Home Station and Dx Station Elevation minimum visible limits. (blockages where Moon is not visible). To c hange between minimum and maximum selection double click on the associated panel. (only the Max Dx Elevation option shown). In the second example calculations will display only common data when the Moon is above 5 degrees at the Home Station and above 10 degrees at the Dx Station. The Minimum Spatial offset angle may be chosen to find the most optimum time of mutual communication when alignment is suitable. This is benefic ial when Stations do not have the ability to vary their polarisation to overcome the Spatial Off-Set. The default setting of 90 degrees allows viewing of the total common window periods available irrespective of Spatial offset. Dx QTH Panel This panel shows the parametres of the Dx Station used in the c alculation. In addition the user has the ability to select from the VK3UM Data Base a location to be used for the calculation of Common visible Windows. This Dx Station may be cleared to perform single Home Station calculations. U.T.C Date Panel Page 12

13 This panel allows the user to select the start and end dates of the calculation. By clicking on the respective down arrows provides a Month display panel as shown below. The user can then select the respective start and end dates as required. Calculation Interval The user may change the calculation interval as desired by using the up/down arrows and then perform the calculation with the Calculation button. The bottom panel (Calculate the Moon only when above the Horizon [default]) provides the option of performing the calculation even when the Moon is below the horizon at the Hom e Station. Note this option is only available when the Home station is selected. (not both) The Calculation Display This display provides all the calculations as described earlier for a single Home Station or for Home and Dx Station combinations. It may be printed by selecting the option below. Note. The Local Times shown result from the conventual Northern and Southern Hemisphere and Time Zone day light or non day light saving times at the time of the calculation. The user should be aware that local times may not always agree due to the partic ular Country decision (eg Australia) not to follow conventual Day Light Saving conventions. They may be changed as described in the Main section on this Help file. In the following example Faeroe Island (OY) has been chosen as an total eclipse occurred on 20th March Decrease the calculation period to 1 minute and the time of total eclipse will be shown. Page 13

14 The columns for the Sun provide separation in degrees between the Moon and Sun (M/S Sep ) warning (Sun/Eclipse), and Eclipse % (Ecl %). Moon to Sun separation is indicated when they are within 12 degrees. Save and Print displayed data. The above panel allows for the Saving of Home Data (you may have changed the calculation interval) and the printing of the calculated data. The Close [Esc] button is common to all Screens in the VK3UM EME Planner and exits from the Current Screen back to the Main Screen. The Print routine option provides the following print set up options. Page 14

15 Page 15

16 Global Spatial offset Global Spatial. This is the difference in angle between two points on the surface of the Earth when each Station is transmitting the same polarity when viewed from the Moon and reflected back to Earth. Its use is very helpful to align polarity and m inimize losses from cross polarisation for Stations that cannot change their polarisation. The conventional definition of the Spatial offset value is defined by looking from the back of the array (reflector end) towards the Moon (along the boom towards the last director). A positive value of Spatial offset angle requires the antennae to be rotated clockwise whilst a negative value means the antennae should be rotated counterclockwise to align polarity. This Global Spatial offset option allows the user to see at a glance the Spatial offset between your Home QTH and 48 other locations across the World as well as that of a Dx Station of your choice. You may also step forward or backwards in time and observe the change in the Spatial offset angle. Page 16

17 Sources and Planet Display Moon, Sun, Stellar Noise, Quiet sources, and Planets Screen This Sources Screen option provides the real time position of the Moon. Sun, Noise Sourc es, Quiet Sources, a user definable Right Ascension (RA) and Declination (Dec) as well as the position of the Planets, distances path losses and delays. Each Source is colour coded for ease of display and the parametres of that Source grayed out when below the horizon. (not visible) Further option panels allow you to:= Save the User RA/Dec. Note... To change the RA/Dec position the cursor over the RA and Dec column and enter your new value. Select decimal or HH.MM.SS display for RA Dec and GHA. Select Planet distance or kms to Astronomical Units (AU). (1 AU = kilometres) Select Return Loss (reflection loss Earth-Planet-Earth or Path Loss (Planet-Earth or Earth-Planet) calculations. Select Echo delay or Light delay calculations. Page 17

18 Sources and Planet Planner Planets and Noise Sources Planner As previously explained in the Planner Calculator the functions available here are used in a similar manner. (Date, Calculation interval and Print options) The user may select either a Planet or a Noise or Quiet source and display its Azimuth and Elevation (or RA Dec if Polar) along with the Moon and Sun positions, if visible, at the time. Azimuth / Elevation or a Polar mount display will be output as selected from the Home Data screen Page 18

19 Sky Noise Map 400 MHz Sky Noise Map The 400 MHz Sky Noise Map displays the background Sky Temperatures in degrees Kelvin (at 400 MHz) of the Moon Sun, Planets and other Sources in real time and off set times the user may select. The Map has been included as a guide to understanding the bac kground Sky temperatures that will effect Source Y Factor measurements. The user may change the time and follow the path of the object and see the bac kground temperature at any instant. In the above example the Moon is displayed as a round white dot at a Right Asc ension (RA) of 23 Hrs 25 min 43 secs and at a Declination of The background temperature (behind the Moon) was 25 K (400 MHz) at the tim e. The Sun is nearby (red dot)at RA of 14 hrs 33 mins 03 secs and at a Declination of having just passed New Moon. The panels to the right of the map provide the current (or time off set) parametres of the selected object commensurate to your Home data as set in the Source Position Screen. You may change the time of the display to predict the background temperature noting that it represents 400 MHz but is representative of other frequencies relative the frequency selected. Page 19

20 Moon parametres Distance - distance from your location to the surface of the Moon (topocentric distance) Added loss - the added path loss over relative to perigee. (closest distance). Diameter - relative visual size of the Moon in degrees. Libration - Moons libration (wobble effect that causes frequency spreading) at the frequency chosen. Illumination - the amount of the Moon illuminated by the Sun Phase - the phase of the Moon Quarter - the current quarter of the Moon (1-4). Phase angle - angle of the progression of the Moons phase where 0 is New m oon 180 is Full Moon and 360 is New Moon again. The Moon temperature has been based Monstein 2.77 cm graph of Moon temperature respective to phase angle. (see below). The actual Moon temperature is further enhanced by using D.A Guidice paper "The Use of Extraterrestrial Radio Sources in the Measurement of Antenna Parameters" table VI, page 229, "The Moon as a Radio Sourc e". Finally measurements by Mr Peter Blair G3LTF and the Author have further refined the end result for frequenc ies from 23cm to 5.2cm. The final figure is believed to be accurate to 2K. Sources All the Planets and a range of Stellar Noise and Quiet Sources are provided as well as the Mon and Sun and the Sun separately. Selecting either of these provides the relative position of the bodies at that time, noting you can step forward or backward in time as desired. Page 20

21 Park Position Selecting this enables you to see the field of view that your antennae will be seeing at that particular time or as above you may change the time to suit. You will notice a Park elevation panel appears enabling you change the position of the Elevation of the antennae. The default 'bird bath' position is 90 and this value is not stored. The azimuth should remain at 0 degrees for the Southern Hemisphere and 180 for those in the Northern Hemisphere when moving from 90 elevation. Mouse Position Selecting this option provides the ability to move around the Sky map (the cursor changes to a cross) and it will display in the right hand panels the Azim uth and elevation of that point on the map relative to your antennae at that time as well as the sky temperature. User RA/Dec You may input (and save) another Right Ascension and Declination as desired. The values shall be entered from the Sources Display menu option. Sky Noise Plot [Chart] Option As can be seen in the full screen display a dotted white line can be seen at a declination of This is the declination of the users home location declination. The plot line can be varied as desired with the up/down arrows and will display a view of that 24 hour Sky Noise declination. The buttons have the following purpose. Plot. Plots that sky slice at the declination selected. (Plot Declination) Parked Elevation. Indicates the elevation of the parked antennae that may be changed by the option on the Sky Map screen. You can then plot the actual Sky Nose where the antennae is pointing. Create Text file. When selected it will create a c omma delimited text file designated 'SkyMapxxx.txt' in the installed program directory. The xxx is the declination of the plot and the format will comprise of 750 values of the noise temperature of the full screen. (12h h or the 24 hour Right Ascension period) Clear. Clears the plot area. Default scale. This provides a Y axis of 0-260K. (the full variation of the bac kground Sky Noise at 400 MHz) Auto Scale. This allows the Y axis to determine and set the display the greatest value of the Sky Noise found in the plot. This will include Celestial noise sources Line / Fill. This provide a line display or a filled in (solid) display. Colour option will provide plot colours in the colour selected. Print. Provides a full size print of the Sky Noise display. Page 21

22 Page 22

23 Distance Calculator Home Station. Enter your Home Station data by filling in the individual boxes for Latitude and Longitude, or type in the Latitude and Longitude in dec imal degrees, or enter your grid square. Dx Station. As with the Home Station above, enter your Dx Station data by filling in the individual boxes for Latitude and Longitude, or type in the Latitude and Longitude in dec imal degrees, or enter your grid square. The other options available Select a Dx Station from the DXCC data base and use this in either the Hom e or Dx Station Note to delete a station from the Users DXCC data base section of the data base highlight it here first. Exit this screen and return direct to the Main Planner sc reen you may add the Dx Station that you have entered directly into the user section of the DXCC data base. you may delete the station entry in the DXCC users section of the data base.. highlight first as per above. Page 23

24 The above panel calculates the short path distance (Great Circle distance) between the two Stations. You may also change the value from kilometres to Miles with the green button provided. Page 24

25 Month Data This option can be best described as a snap shop of a Month of Moon Data and allows you to plan ahead (or look back) on aspects of the Moon parameters that provide the best operating conditions for your location or that of your QSO partner. The calendar allows you to select the Month you wish to observe and the following options may be selected to provide that Months data. A blue line indicated the current date. Declination Path loss (referenced to perigee.. closest to earth) Distance Moon Rise Azimuth Moon Set Azimuth Libration Illumination Rise and set times (UTC and Local) Sky Noise temperature behind the Moon Sun/Moon. Moon to Sun separation. and a Composite display of the all the above options (except Moon to Sun separation) that may be selected individually or collectively as desired by tic king or un-ticking the options. The frequency selection option provides the correct relative values for Libration and Sky Noise at the frequency chosen. The Home Station / Dx Station option provides an instantaneous comparison between the stations and the difference is most when Northern and Southern Hemispheres are selected. The small difference in Declination that may be seen between stations relates to the time difference between stations. Note. You may select a Dx Station from the Home or Planner screen. The following display is an example of the Composite display with all options selected. The relative values (Y axis) relate the respective data but the absolute values are approximate to fit the scree. The true values are obtained by selecting that partic ular option. Page 25

26 Page 26

27 Home Set Up Home Data Set Up.. enter data. Enter all your Home Data Latitude and Longitude either by filling in all the boxes for DD.MM.SS or enter in the single decimal degrees box. Enter your Call Sign, Location, UTC Time Zone and Height above Sea Level in metres. Select the Frequency of your preferred operation with the up/down arrows. This is used for the Doppler calculations. Enter your 3 db beam width. (Used for noise and ec lipse calculations.) Select either your Azimuth / Elevation or a Polar Display (GHA / Declination) commensurate with your antennae mount. Choose your preferred display resolution. This will be displayed in the selec ted format on the Main screen and in the Planner printout. Finally Save your Home Data. The Get Home Data allows the input and saving of multiple Home Station Locations. Note.. the Home Data default file is named EMEPlanner.dat Page 27

28 Author This program is written by Doug Mc Arthur (VK3UM) TIKALUNA 26 Old Murrindindi Rd, Glenburn. Victoria AUSTRALIA. Updated... April 2015 Author Doug McArthur and 28 ft Kennedy High Performance dish (12 petal version) Page 28

29 with dual 23 and 70 cm feeds, shack and working platform. This dish is mounted on a Centurion Tank mount with speed proportional c ontrolled Azimuth Motor (24 85 A) and Elevation c onsisting of 2 x 12 ton hydraulic rams. Tracking by VK3UM Auto track with US Digital Absolute encoders providing 0.1 degree absolute resolution. Weight in excess of 2 ton with 18 cm of concrete foundations. Designed to with stand winds of > 160 kph (and has!). Situated on a ridge line 15 metres wide sloping at 60 degrees for 200 metres. Two degree bloc kage on Moon rise and zero degrees on Moon set. (Hills in background are to the South) Page 29

30 Later pictures may be found on my web site Page 30