Documentation
Guides and tutorial videos for OscarWatch Tracker and oscarwatch.org.
New to OscarWatch Tracker? Start here
- 1 Introduction What the desktop app does, five-minute setup, a map of every help topic, and where your files are stored.
- 2 Quick start A typical pass, from cold start to QSO.
- 3 Radio and rotator Connect your station: start here before picking your rig or rotator.
- 4 Troubleshooting Common fixes for operators: serial ports, recording, GPS, macOS and more.
Tutorial videos
Short walkthroughs. Click a video to play it here.
OscarWatch FT4: finding your transmit signal
OscarWatch Tracker
The desktop app: setup, the main screen, connecting your radio and rotator, and the built-in FT4, SSTV, Terminal and Logbook tools.
Getting started
Introduction
What the desktop app does, five-minute setup, a map of every help topic, and where your files are stored.
Quick start
A typical pass, from cold start to QSO.
macOS install
Download, extract and approve the first run of OscarWatch Tracker on a Mac.
Main screen and planning
Map and sidebar
The main screen at a glance: map, sky plot, pass timeline, DX station monitor and status bar.
Frequencies panel
Modes, Doppler, offsets and CTCSS on the map.
Satellites and TLEs
Choosing what to track, keeping orbits accurate, and the transponder database.
Pass planning
Looking ahead, finding mutual passes and sharing schedules.
Connect your station
Radio and rotator
Connect your station: start here before picking your rig or rotator.
ICOM radios
IC-910, IC-9700, IC-9100, IC-821H, and dual IC-705 / IC-7300 / IC-905 / IC-7100 / IC-706.
Yaesu radios
FT-847 and dual FT-817 / FT-818 / FT-857 / FT-991 / FTX-1.
Kenwood radios
TS-2000 SATL (Beta) and dual TH-D74 / TH-D75.
FlexRadio
Full-duplex satellite tracking over the SmartSDR TCP/IP API.
SDR downlink (dual radio)
SDR++ or SDR Connect for receive, with a conventional radio for transmit.
Rotators
Beam steering, park, keyhole avoidance and high-elevation passes.
Linux serial ports
Stable device paths for radio, rotator and GPS.
Tuning and Doppler
RX and TX offsets
When to nudge listen and transmit frequencies.
Doppler tuning
How often the radio updates, and optional extras for sharp passes.
Doppler pass insights
Plain-language tuning advice for Adaptive threshold and Lead Doppler CAT settings.
Built-in tools
OscarWatch Logbook
Fast satellite logging during a pass, with ADIF export.
OscarWatch FT4
A plain guide to FT4 contacts through a linear satellite.
OscarWatch SSTV
Receive slow-scan television pictures from space.
OscarWatch Terminal
Typed packet contacts through satellites such as the ISS.
Satellite link
Broadcast focused satellite data to logging applications over WebSocket.
Reference
On oscarwatch.org
Plain-language guides to UHM, satellite status and spots on this website.
UHM (You Heard Me)
How UHM reduces QRM on packet digipeater satellites — what it is, why it matters, and how to use it on a busy pass.
Satellite status
Report and view whether catalogue transponders are On, Off, or Telemetry only.
Satellite spots
The FT4 reception map: who heard you, on which satellite, plus pass statistics PSK Reporter cannot show.