FAQ

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FAQ and troubleshooting

The questions that come up most, and what to check first.

Passes and elements

The ISS is a few minutes off. Its elements are too old: the ISS brakes in the atmosphere and is reboosted, so elements a week old put it minutes off. Tap Refresh (⟳) on the main screen. Since 20.74, SatMe keeps the freshest elements for now from all sources (and never a prediction dated in the future), and also reads AMSAT's TLE bulletin, often fresher than its JSON one. The badge on a satellite page shows when elements get old (⚠ with the age). See Orbital elements.

AMSAT status is missing when I use CelesTrak or SatNOGS. Fixed in 20.74: the status is now matched by NORAD number through AMSAT's names, whatever the source calls the satellite ("OSCAR 7", "ISS (ZARYA)"). The table of names is downloaded once a week. Satellites also show the short AMSAT name. Check Settings › Orbital sources › Status source is not on SatNOGS only.

CelesTrak answers 403 / no elements from CelesTrak. CelesTrak blocks addresses that ask too often. Keep the SatMe GP server (default): phones no longer ask CelesTrak themselves.

USB, rig and audio

SatMe sees no USB device. The phone needs an OTG adapter (USB-C to USB-A), and the permission Android asks when the device is plugged in. With two rigs, use a hub. See Rig control.

Nothing is heard from the IC-9700. Choose the USB sound card source in Settings › Recording: the IC-9700 sends its audio down its USB cable. The microphone source only hears the room. See Audio recording.

The rig goes to USB on an FM satellite. Fixed in 20.74 for digital modes heard in FM (AFSK APRS, packet, SSTV…). Otherwise check the transponder chosen with ⚙ on the pass page.

APRS

The TH-D72 receives frames but nothing shows on the phone. The radio must be in KISS: without it, it decodes for itself and sends nothing over USB. Connect on the APRS page does it all (tuning, TNC, KISS). Do not press the radio's TNC key while connected: it stops KISS. If the strip says not in KISS, tap Switch back to KISS. See APRS.

My own messages are not in Messages. The Messages tab shows conversations with stations (messages to and from you). Every frame heard is in Packets.

The Transmit button stays grey. A callsign must be set (Settings › Station / QTH), and with a KISS radio its frequency must be known or confirmed. The FT3D cannot transmit from SatMe.

Automatic SSTV

Does it work with the screen off? Yes. Once ticked (with the app open), the recorder stays active with a notification between passes and starts each recording by itself, 10 s before AOS, until 5 s after LOS. If Android closes the app completely between passes, the planned recordings are lost: keep the notification. See SSTV.

Do I need to press "Listen and decode" too? No: the switch starts recording and SSTV decoding at each pass. Choose the audio source before ticking.

Still stuck?

Turn on Frame log in Settings › Rig (CAT) › Test bench for rig problems, and report what you see to F4IOZ through the project's issues.