README.TXT                  WinOrbit 2.8              1 Dec 95

An artificial earth-satellite tracking and display program for 
Windows 3.1, OS/2 or Win95.

Installation
------------
Make sure you got all the files when you unzip'ed the package.  
Put them all in one subdirectory.  Start the program with "Run" 
from Program Manager or File Manager (or double-click the 
filename in File Manager.  See below for VBRUN300.DLL.

Documentation
-------------
In addition to the files README.*, which should get you started,
there is a very extensive Windows Help file (WinOrbit.Hlp).  
Read it!  Choose "Help:Help", and start by reading the 
instructions in "Setting up the Program".  In case of trouble, 
see the hints below.

Upgrade installation - customization files
------------------------------------------
If you have previously edited the .QTH files, be sure to save 
them (or answer NO to the unzip question about duplicate 
files).  The .INI file will be automatically updated when you 
Save Settings.

A note about SVGA displays
--------------------------
WinOrbit presents a lot of information on the screen.  Some older 
displays may not have enough resolution to fit it all in.  Every 
attempt has been made to make it usable on a minimum display of 
640x480 at 15 twips/inch. Choose "Help:System Info" to find out 
what your display resolution is.  If you cannot see all the 
features on the maps, try "Setup:Colors..."

The program works fine on 16, 256, and 16-million-color displays. 
There seems to be a problem with the maps on 32k and 64k-color 
displays.  Try changing the colors to see if that helps.  If it 
does, let me know.  (The ocean is supposed to be blue and the 
landmass an olive-green, in the default color settings.)


A note about date and time formats
----------------------------------
Windows allows the user to customize the date and time format (for
example 12 vs. 24 hour time, or European vs. American date order).
Unfortunately, this makes the programmer's job a bit harder.  I 
haven't tested every combination of formats.  However, the 
following should work:
     12 or 24 hour time (with or without AM/PM annotation)
     Short Date formats "DMY" and "MDY"
If you find a particular format that fails, please let me know.

I also can't predict what might happen after Jan 1, 2000 - I'll 
worry about that later.

To change date and time formats, use the "International" Control 
Panel that is part of Windows.

International users (including Canadians)
-----------------------------------------
Please read the above about date/time formats.  Also, please note
that the Number Format in the International Control Panel must
use a decimal separator of ".", not ",".
VERSION 2.4: I think the above problem is fixed.  Please report
any strange occurrences (numbers rounded or truncated, for 
example). Thanks.  
If you have difficulty with the program, I'd appreciate hearing
the specifics - what went wrong, what the Control Panel settings
were, and what (if anything) you changed to fix it.

Getting updates
---------------
I will try to post updated versions to oak.oakland.edu and 
ftp.amsat.org.  Look for WINORBxx.ZIP, where xx is the version
number (e.g. version 2.3 --> WINORB23.ZIP).

In case of trouble
------------------
1) if the program ran once, but won't run now, delete the file
       C:\WINDOWS\WINORBIT.INI (or rename it) and try again
2) read the help file (WINORBIT.HLP) using Windows Help:
       -Start Help by choosing Help in Notepad, FileManager
         or Program Manager, [or WinOrbit if it is running].
       -Choose the "File:Open" menu item and select "winorbit.hlp"
       -Read about "Setup" and "Troubleshooting"
3) contact the author (as described in the help file).


Files included in distribution (WINORB28.ZIP)
---------------------------------------------
WINORBIT.EXE - the program
WINORBIT.HLP - the help file (manual)
LATLONG.QTH  - sample observer location database
LAUNCH.QTH   - Worldwide satellite launch points (for map)
README.TXT   - this file
READMExx.TXT - update file (e.g. README21.TXT)
CMDIALOG.VBX - Visual Basic library file

AO-10.ATT    - Attitude file for Oscar 10
AO-13.ATT    - Attitude file for Oscar 13
DO-17.SKD    - Automation schedule file for DO-17 (sample)
MIR.SKD      - Automation schedule file for MIR (sample)

ORBS-xxx.KEP - sample satellite data file in AMSAT format
ORBS-xxx.2LI - sample satellite data file in NASA format
STS73.VEC    - sample data file in Vector and AMSAT formats

Additional file *** REQUIRED ***
--------------------------------
VBRUN300.DLL - Visual Basic library file 
     This is a big file, so I left it out of the program archive,
     but it is available from many places (as VBRUN30x.EXE,
     self-extracting archive file).  
     For example: ftp.amsat.org: /amsat/software/windows/
                  oak.oakland.edu: /pub3/simtel-win3/dll/
     If you get the program from me on a floppy, it will 
     be included. 

WARNING
-------
This program is free.  There is an old adage: "you get what you 
pay for".  Do NOT assume that the orbital calculations are 
correct.  Always check the results of this (or any program) 
before making any critical decisions.  I make absolutely no 
guarantees of any sort.  Commercial use is prohibited.


Copyrights and stuff
--------------------
The program and associated files are copyrighted by the
author.  You have permission to use these files non-
commercially.

Visual Basic and Windows 3.1 are products of Microsoft.  The 
author of this program has licensed copies of both products.  

VBRUN300.DLL and CMDIALOG.VBX are products of Microsoft.  They 
are provided free of charge to users of WinOrbit by the author, 
under the terms of the Microsoft license.

This package was archived with the Info-Zip program Zip 2.0. 
Info-ZIP's software (Zip, UnZip and related utilities) is
     free and can be obtained as source code or executables 
     from various anonymous-ftp sites, including: 
	ftp.uu.net:/pub/archiving/zip/*, and
	oak.oakland.edu:/pub/msdos/zip/*

