Satellite Tacking Help

The Satellite Tracking graphs give detailed information about the reception of each of the 32 possible active satellites. Three values are plotted in one graph and scaled for maximum resoloution.

The S/N ratio of the received signal is plotted in green, dark green if the satellite was usable at the time; this value is scaled by a factor of five for maximum resoloution. The azimuth, e.g. the bearing from the antenna location to the satellite is plotted in black at any time the satellite is considered visible from the receiver location. Horizontal lines are plotted at 90o, 180o and 270o representing East, South and West respecively. The elevation, i.e. the angle between the satellite and the horizon as seen from the antenna position is plotted in red. It is scaled by a factor of 4 in order to obtain the maximum resoloution.

In the example for PRN #1 above one can seen nicely again that the receiver is facing in an easterly direction and is also not seeing much of the sky above it. This particular satellite is received every   12 hours. The times it is seen “over the pole” the elevations are not high enough to produce a usable signal.

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The example for PRN #5 shows a satellite passing directly overhead. This is can be seen both from the elevation plot reaching 90o, but also by the sharp change in azimuth around the same time. Note again that the signal is not usable during the time of highest elevations., indicating that the antenna is masked from above.