Footprint


Circle of Visibility
Mutual Visibility
A circular area on the ground, centered under the satellite. Points inside the circle have the satellite above their local horizon. The footprint does not look like a circle on the map when the satellite is near the poles, due to the distorted map projection. Footprints may be displayed by selecting "Show Footprints" in the Main:Setup menu. Any two ground stations inside the footprint have a mutual visibility window and can communicate via the satellite.

WinOrbit can display mutual visibility information in three ways: On the Map (as described above); in the Report Window (via the Show DX in the Map Window - every station listed in the report has mutual visibility with all the others at the time the report is generated); and in ephemeris printouts (complete mutual visibility window listing from the observer to selected DX sites over a period of time). The latter report requires setting up the SPECIAL.QTH file.