KC8LPZ

PocketSat+ Installed

So here's an example of one of the fairly uncommon times I bother to boot into Windows: stuff with my Palm Zire 72. While the Zire 72 might be considered little aged in the age of consumer frenzy every time Apple releases yet another crippled portable product, it gets the job done, so I see no reason to replace it. I'm not exactly a heavy user, though - I mostly just read books on it with Plucker, and now, I hope, use it to track satellites with PocketSat+.

I had previously tried getting PocketSat to work, but I have a habit of letting the Zire run out of battery power to the point where the main memory clears, so I tend to just run software off of the SD card, since that doesn't mind a lack of power. But, this doesn't always work, or when it does, it can be tricky since some libraries have to be installed in main memory. In this case, a MathLib had to be, and I always seemed to have problems with the map files, too.

So today I finally just booted Windows and tried installing it, and whatever problems I was having before seemed to not be a problem now. This is good - I can use it "in the field" to see where the satellite is without having to take a full-size laptop out with me. One step closer to working some VHF/UHF satellites. It wasn't exactly a show-stopper before, but it sure makes things a little nicer.

So, I've got my triband (144/220/440) HT, the Arrow 144/440 handheld antenna, PocketSat on the Zire, Orbitron on the laptop... The only thing left to do is get out and wave the antenna in the air a bit and see what I can do. I haven't checked yet, but depending on if I'm otherwise busy or not, maybe even do it this weekend. Might be a nice thing to do right after Saturday's club breakfast and Field Day meeting.