InstantTrack:
Frequently Asked Questions:
Update History

This document describes the changes that have been made to the InstantTrack Frequently-Asked Questions page since its initial publication.

Version 2.22 - September 22, 2007

Added a section on 64-bit Windows. InstantTrack won't run natively in these environments, but according to a report from VK6KCH it can be run successfully under DOSBox.

Version 2.21 - September 6, 2007

Added a section on Windows Vista. InstantTrack runs on Vista but special workarounds are required in order to use the map screens.

Version 2.20 - April 29, 2006

Added a section on the message Problem with map: can't open file and split that off from the section on insufficient memory to load the map. Moved both map answers up next to the section on map screen text garbage, and renamed that chapter "Map Problems". Removed obsolete references to the old AMSAT web site. Updated link for XT-CE. Updated AO-40 entry to reflect its demise. Removed N6NKF's email address, which is no longer valid.

Version 2.19 - August 17, 2005

Added a note to the answer on the Update Time via modem feature, pointing out the built-in Internet time feature of Windows XP.

Version 2.18 - August 15, 2005

Reworked the section on timezones to take into account the change in U.S. Daylight Saving Time rules that begins in 2007.

Version 2.17 - May 6, 2005

Added an item about true North versus magnetic North.

Version 2.16 - February 29, 2004

Added an item about Keplerian elements (not needed) for the Sun and moon.

Version 2.15 - February 24, 2004

Clarified that the version number at the top of the document is the version number of the document, not of InstantTrack itself.

Version 2.14 - January 24, 2004

Changed "new version expected in early 2001" to a reference to the latest beta test download, for the timezone_offset_seconds feature. Added a reference to the tutorial on Downloading Keplerian Elements for InstantTrack. Added a reference to the SAREX mailing list for ISS Keplerian elements. Corrected "Daylight Savings Time" to "Daylight Saving Time" throughout. Corrected numerous small HTML syntax errors. Added a caution about timekeeping in dosbox on the Macintosh. Changed text for Windows 98 to admit that Alt-Enter can return from full-screen mode to windowed mode.

Version 2.13 - January 8, 2004

Added information about running under the DOS emulator dosbox, updated the information about Virtual PC to reflect its purchase from Connectix by Microsoft, and removed the information about RealPC, which turned out to be permanent vaporware.

Version 2.12 - September 4, 2003

Updated references for Keplerian elements for Mir (no longer in orbit), the International Space Station (weekly bulletins might not be frequent enough), and AO-40 (separate elements updates no longer updated, use the weekly bulletins).

Version 2.11 - July 9, 2003

Documented the strange trick that Windows XP plays with real time when InstantTrack is minimized.

Version 2.10 - April 4, 2003

Updated the address for AMSAT-DL-Warenvertrieb.

Version 2.09 - March 8, 2002

Added a reference to rrdemo, a demonstration program showing how to interface with OrbitDRV to obtain range-rate (Doppler) information.

Version 2.08 - January 14, 2002

Added test results for Virtual PC 5.0 running on a Macintosh iBook under Mac OS X 10.1.2 -- it works! Also added a (negative) answer for Palm OS.

Version 2.07 - January 7, 2002

Corrected the answer about upcoming versions to reflect the fact that support for oddball timezones was fixed in version 1.51. Also reworded the answer about running on a Macintosh to reflect the fact that SoftPC is no longer a current product. Also noted that ITPASS is now available for free download.

Version 2.06 - January 5, 2002

Added Windows XP to the list of supported Windows versions.

Version 2.05 - August 19, 2001

Changed the formatting on example IT.INI entries in the section on "map screen text garbage" to avoid putting a quotation mark next to the digit. Somebody managed to interpret 1" as "one inch"!

Version 2.04 - August 18, 2001

Updated open beta listing to remove the exact number. Open betas may change faster than this FAQ! Also added some text to the section on AO-40 attitude entry to describe what version 1.51 and later do about that.

Version 2.03 - August 1, 2001

Added a mention of version 1.51 open beta.

Version 2.02 - December 8, 2000

Added some information about new kinds of problems with Keplerian element files that are commonly seen in this brave new world of Windows and the Internet. Also added questions and answers about Windows ME and Windows 2000, and added several links into the InstantTrack web pages created for the 1.50 release. Admitted to a bug in handling of Australian timezones (with non-integer hours difference from UTC) and promised a fix. Described the DOS-compatible filename trick under Windows for referring to files with long names or names with spaces in them. Added a question and answer about the attitude of AO-40. Added AMSAT-OZ to the list of distributing AMSAT organizations.

Version 2.01 - November 22, 2000

Updated the link to Dimension 4.

Version 2.00 - November 5, 2000

Revised many answers to reflect the release of InstantTrack 1.50.

Version 1.14 - May 2, 2000

Added the ATI "VESA BIOS Extension" TSR to the list of possible fixes for the Map Screen Text Garbage problem, thanks to the report from Marv Sherebrin, 4X1XS/VE3FHX.

Version 1.13 - January 11, 2000

Updated the release date for version 1.50 from "before 2000" to "soon". Also added a pointer to the Houston AMSAT Net site for the 2-line Keps file workaround program.

Version 1.12 - December 2, 1999

Updated the release date for version 1.50 from "mid-1999" to acknowledge that it isn't available yet.

Version 1.11 - May 30, 1999

Updated the URL for the Linux DOSEMU home page. Corrected a syntax error in a mailto URL.

Version 1.10 - April 18, 1999

Generalized the wording of the link to rotator driver programs, since more programs are now available.

Version 1.09 - April 11, 1999

Added some preliminary information about the mid-1999 version 1.50 minor update release of InstantTrack. Clarified that this release, and not a patch, will be the fix for Y2K problems in 1.00.

Version 1.08 - November 26, 1998

Added a suggestion to use an NTP client program to keep your clock set accurately, instead of struggling with InstantTrack's "Update Time (NBS via modem)" function.

Version 1.07 - October 10, 1998

Added a section on Keplerian elements files with invalid (under DOS) names. This includes names with spaces, and names longer than the 8.3 character DOS limit. Also noted the limit of 38 characters on the entire path.

Version 1.06 - August 17, 1998

Added a section on Windows CE, thanks to a tip from Jim Kelly, KK3K.

Version 1.05 - August 8, 1998

Added a section on Windows 98. Added some experimental results to the section on Linux.

Version 1.04 - March 28, 1998

Added AMSAT-DL to the list of AMSAT organizations supplying InstantTrack. Also corrected a mis-typed internal link.

Version 1.03 - February 15, 1998

Added a link to this history page.

Version 1.02 - February 15, 1998

Added a link to INTSPEC.TXT from ftp.amsat.org, instead of just referring to the file on the InstantTrack distribution disks.

Version 1.01 - February 15, 1998

Changed the recommendation on how to get printed reports to include a description of ITPASS from the InstantTrack Utility Disk. Thanks to Bert McClellan, N7TKO, for pointing this out.

Version 1.00 - February 14, 1998

Initial release.

Feedback to KB5MU.