gpredict/NEWS

Changes in version 2.5.2 (20 Jul 2026)

 - Fixed compilation error on Windows (MSYS64)
 - Added support for more recent versions of gpsd (#404)
 - Fixed second rig not connecting (#407)
 - Fix data race by reloading satellites in the main thread (#409)
 - Fix some warning messages at program exit


Changes in version 2.5.1 (22 March 2026)

- Speed up TLE update when updating from network
- Fix broken scroll wheel in radio and rotator controllers


Changes in version 2.5 (22 March 2026)

- Implemented drawing function using native GTK3/Cairo drawing
- Automatically detect macOS and set GDK_BACKEND to Quartz
- Updated Windows build files
- Fixed potential buffer overflow in transponder update function
- Updated bundled satellite data


Changes in version 2.4 (27 Dec 2025)

- Added option to show solar terminator on the map view
- Added option to hide satellite names, markers and footprints on map
- Added option to hide satellite names and marker on polar view
- Fixed bug that could prevent TLE update to work on Windows
- Fixed rotator error handling to prevent fake feedback
- Fixed rotator controller on Windows
- Fixed bug that limited altitude to 5000 feet
- Fixed timezone bug in Epoch string in the satellite info dialog
- Fixed crash when eccentricity of orbit is exactly 0
- Fixed bug that prevented changing the polar view background
- Fixed saving the sort order in the satellite list view
- Fixed several memory leaks in the map view
- Ensure Azimuth read from rotator is always between 0-360 degrees
- Ensure rotator limits are respected while tracking
- Ensure next events are in chronological order
- Ensure autotrack respects minimum elevation setting
- Use system font in graphical views
- Added operational status to list view
- Restore radio controller cycle time between sessions
- Restore rotator cycle time and threshold between sessions
- Require Glib 2.40 or later
- Support building with GooCanvas 3
- New module menu icon
- Updated bundled satellite data


Changes in version 2.2 (5 Jan 2018)

- New Monitor mode for antenna controller
- Improved satellite search field in module editor
- Finished migration to Gtk+ 3
- Fixed time controller jumping to January in manual mode when using local time
- Fixed crash when connecting to rotctld server that isn't running
- Fixed missing version number in Debian packages
- Avoid using gcc-specific language extensions
- Fixed some automake warnings
- Fixed "GtkDialog mapped without a transient parent..." messages
- Various internal bugfixes and improvements
- Updated translations
- Updated satellite data
- Updated windows build files


Changes in version 2.0 (10 Dec 2017)

- New logo
- Initial port to Gtk+ 3
- Import transponder data from Satnogs database https://db.satnogs.org/
- Support for multiple TLE sources
- Improved radio and antenna rotator controllers (no application freeze)
- Map can be centered around arbitrary longitude
- Natural sort function for satellite list in module configuration
- Select a satellite in all views
- AOS and LOS signalling in rigctl interface
- Autotrack satellites in a module
- Support for user defined end stops on Azimuth axis
- Experimental gpsd support
- Change frequency and antenna position using the mouse wheel
- Highlight satellites within range in the list view
- Improved handling of decayed satellites
- Fixed application freezing while talking to radios and rotators
- Fixed incorrect program name in desktop files
- Fixed 100% CPU load on manual time adjustment
- Fixed issue controlling Yaesu FT-847
- Fixed old log files not being saved
- Fixed track button in rotator controller having no effect
- Fixed operational status of satellites
- Fixed wrong icon in time controller
- Fixed missing ground track for new satellites
- Fixed show next pass shows the current pass
- Fixed problems with plotting footprints near the poles
- Fixed satellite nickname not escaped for Pango
- Updated translations


Changes in version 1.3 (1 Mar 2011)

- Feature request 2873824: Flip Passes.
- Feature Request 3022617: Malaysia's location.
- Automatically refresh the Sky at a glance view every minute.
- Added more checks with hamlib communications.
- List satellite as available or selected when configuring module.
- Fixed bug 2116691: Leave network connection open.
- Fixed bug 3099314: Rotator Thrashing.
- Fixed bug 2167508: problems in rotator controller.
- Update from local files won't work with files in UPPER case
- Fixed bug 3171615: Searching for satellites in the satellite selector
- Fixed bug 3113190: .desktop file error
- Address bug 2945538: Pass in polar display going outside the circle


Changes in version 1.2 (12 Oct 2010)

- New layout engine that allows any combination of views to be created
  in a grid
- Sky at a glance is now more interactive. Show pass summary when mouse
  hovers over pass and click on pass shows the details
- Added satellite tooltips in polar view showing current Az, El and time
  to LOS
- Added satellite tooltips in map view showing current SSP Lat, Lon, Az,
  El and time to AOS/LOS.
- Fixed bug 2877974: Incorrect uplink Doppler.
- Fixed bug 2918672: Trailing whitespace and newline in satellite names.
- Fixed bug 2914679: Unable to save Future passes.
- Fixed bug 2674626: Process 100% CPU load with one kepler element.
- Fixed bug 2792349: Segfault on certain satellites (Geo).
- Fixed bug 3050068: Unable to update TLE from local files.
- Fixed bugs 3057771 and 3058753: Crash if module file is empty.
- Fixed bug 3074990: Crash if directory does not exist
- Fixed bug 3080019: Corrupted hw file cause crash.
- Patch 2876485: Fix a memory leak in the rotator controller (AA1VS).
- Patch 2877878: Change Flag to Lock in tle-update (AA1VS).
- Patch 2877918: Fixes segfault in TLE updater (AA1VS).
- Patch 2881367: Updated Flags to Locks (AA1VS).
- Patch 2893617: Patches for fixing Windows build (Valentin Yakovenkov).
- Patch 2916646: Minor fixes to documentation (Paul Schulz).
- Patch 2929816: Fixes Bound Checking in gtk-rot-knob.c (AA1VS).
- Patch 2930342: Improved robustness of pass prediction (AA1VS).
- Patch 2933879: Check for AOS before burning computational resources (AA1VS).
- Patch 2943018: Potential Double Free in qth-data.c (AA1VS).
- Patch 2942658: Ground Tracks with Narrow Windows (AA1VS).
- Patch 2943024: Eliminate Segfault in gtk-sat-map.c (AA1VS).
- Patch 2943448: Remove Segfault from corrupted module (AA1VS).
- Patch 2945525: Sort list of modules in open module dialog (AA1VS).
- Patch 2947459: Make Module List Scrollable (AA1VS).
- Patch 2951724: Allow TX Doppler correction for FT-817, 857 and 897 (AA1VS).
- Patch 3002344: Remove Uninitialized Jump (AA1VS).
- Patch 3002345: Free catfilename (AA1VS).
- Patch 3002348: Option context never freed (AA1VS).
- Patch 3005548: Cut and Paste Error In print_pass.h (AA1VS).
- Patch 3009725: Delete Explicit Call to gtk_set_locale (AA1VS).
- Patch 3009727: Free satellite hash references (AA1VS).
- Patch 3050047: Improve sat search and prediction of upcoming passes (OE6PSE)
- Patch 3059022: Fix gpredict crashed with NULL pointer exception (AA1VS).
- Slightly improved UI for the single-satellite view.
- Command line options for cleaning user's TLE and transponder data,
  see --help.
- Satellite Map: Added shadow to satellite marker and label to enhance
  visual appearance over light background map regions.
- Fixed incorrect uplink and downlink frequencies for HO-68, mode V/U packet.
- Modules docked in the main window can be reordered by dragging the tabs.
- Updated translations for CS, DE, EN_GB, EN_US, FI, FR, IT, LT, RU and TH


Changes in version 1.1 (5 Oct 2009)

- New satellite selector in the module configuration dialog that makes
  it easier to locate and select satellites.
- User configuration on Unix is now stored in $HOME/.config/Gpredict/
  The old configuration is imported automatically and one can still use
  Gpredict 1.0 with the old configuration stored in $HOME/.gpredict2/
- Distribution now includes all satellites from CelesTrak.
- Added a slider control to the Time Controller.
- Added config option to automatically show the sky tracks on the polar view.
- In the multi pass window one can now double click on any pass to show the
  pass details. The right click pop-menu still works.
- Fixed bug 2116693: List view does not sort properly for all time formats.
- Fixed bug 2836265: Time controls should wrap around their limits.
- Fixed bug 2691499: Sky at glance crashes with empty module.
- Fixed bug 2836263: Setup translations in Launchpad.
- Include more maps from NASA Visible Earth: Blue Marble Next Generation.
- Binary packages for Ubuntu via PPA.


Changes in version 1.0 beta 5 (24 May 2005)

- Added new transponder files received from David VK5DG.
- Fixed some bugs that caused the Doppler shift to be calculated
  incorrectly in some cases.
- Fixed a bug that could cause the transponder frequency to "drift"
  away from the set frequencies.


Changes in version 1.0 beta 4 (13 May 2009)

- Fixed a bug that cause rig type to switch from DUPLEX -> RX
  (Thanks Thomas DL1JBE).
- Fixed bug 2691797: Potential array index out of range.
- Fixed bug 2691795: Potential array index out of range.
- Fixed bug 2691794: Potential array index out of range.
- Fixed bug 2691792: Potential array index out of range.
- Fixed other compile warnings (bugs 2691799, 2691787 and 2691790).


Changes in version 1.0 beta 3 (10 May 2009)

- Feature request 2691964: Full-duplex controller.
- Fixed a bug that caused long delays when opening or reconfiguring modules
  containing a polar view.


Changes in version 1.0 beta 2 (15 Apr 2009):

- Improved implementation of the radio controller to include uplink.
- Added transponder data management (GUI editor to be added in beta 3).
- Libcurl is now required to build.
- Feature request 2756021: Doppler tuning using two radios (duplex).
- Feature request 2691963: Doppler tuning on uplink (Simplex TRX).
- Feature request 2192404: Starting time for pass predictions.
- Feature request 2347471: Use system goocanvas.
- Feature request 2130940: Transponder info in gpredict.
- Fixed a bug that could cause gpredict to hang during pass predictions.
- Fixed bug 2139102: rigctld port.
- Fixed bug 2130912: Crash when no rig or no rotator are defined.
- Fixed bug 2130914: Gpredict doesn't handle PTT.
- Fixed bug 2170642: Small error in user manual.
- Fixed bug 2750119: Unable to set the time correctly in Time Controller.
- Updated PDF user manual.
- French translation.


Changes in version 1.0 beta 1 (21 Sep 2008):

- Radio doppler tuning via hamlibs rigctld.
- Antenna rotator control via hamlibs rotctld.
- User defined twilight threshold for predicting satellite visibility.
- Feature request 1705375: Restore main window position and size.
- Fixed bug 1752908: New satellites in TLE files.
- Fixed bug 1818144: No log file created at first execution.
- Fixed bug 1839140: Sky at a glance axis incorrectly labelled.
- Fixed bug 1848837: Typo in preferences dialogue.
- Fixed bug 1704133: Blank lines in config file.
- Fixed bug 1954664: Wrong overpass prediction.
- Fixed bug 1880815: Null pointer dereference causes crash on startup.
- Updated PDF user manual.


Changes in version 0.9.0 (29 Sep 2007):

- Save satellite pass predictions to text file.
- Fixed bug 1754801: Time Controller Window.
- Fixed bug 1752910: Modules have no window icon.
- Fixed bug 1752912: Module window title.
- Log messages are now saved to $HOME/.gpredict2/logs/gpredict.log
- Fixed bug 1752915: Pop-up menu in single satellite view.
- Fixed bug 1763356: Geo sats take a really long time to load.
- Fixed bug 1763321: Geo sats display very large hour value for AOS/LOS.
- Fixed bug 1650261: Cloned module only opens in one view.
- Fixed bug 1772454: Single pass prediction flags are reset to default.
- Fixed a problem that would prevent gpredcit to be compiled using Gtk+ 2.12.
- Other minor fixes and cleaning (bugs 1754255, 1752917, 1705238)
- Fixed bug that caused incorrect calculation of sky tracks in non-realtime
  cases.


Changes in version 0.8.0 (3 Jun 2007):

- Implemented simulated real-time and manual time control in addition to
  real-time control. Each module has now its own time controller.
- Sky at a glance pass prediction mode.
- Background map selector. Use either stock maps or own maps of any size.
- Adjust position of satellite names on the map in order to avoid clipping
  of the labels when the sat is close to the map border.
- Allow user to explicitly select DEFAULT ground station even after a new
  ground station is selected as default (bug #1656943).
- Allow users to specify ground station LAT and LON with up to four decimal
  digits.
- Fixed a bug that prohibited showing of satellite names in the single-sat
  view when the satellite name contained an '&' character (bug #1644926).
- Fixed a bug that prevented the "Enable rules hint in list views" setting
  to be disabled (bug #1728575).
- Fixed a bug in the pass prediction code that could cause crashes when
  there were no passes with max_el greater than the required elevation.
- Improved robustness of prediction code to avoid UI freeze when satellites
  have no passes in the near future.
- Fixed more memory leaks.


Changes in version 0.7.1 (20 Jan 2007):

- Windows build files are now included in the source tarball.
- Fixed a bug that prevented TLE to be updated under win32 (bug #1631803).
- Fixed some severe memory leaks (bug #1636429).
- Fixed a bug that caused an error message when creating modules with two
  views (bug #1570195).
- Fixed a bug with missing arrows on win32 (bug #1580012).


Changes in version 0.7.0 (3 Jan 2007):

- Automatic update of TLE elements from network or local files. Gpredict can
  either notify the user when TLEs are getting too old, or perform automatic
  update in the background. The network update requires libcurl.
- Added optional grid lines to the map view (30 deg resolution).
- Added possibility to show ground tracks on the map (feature request #557586)
- Added support for the optional operational status of satellites encoded into
  the satellite names in TLE coming from CelesTrak.
- Fixed wrong epoch day in the satellite info dialogue (bug #1586341).
- Polar and Az/El plots of passes in the single-pass dialogue.


Changes in version 0.6.1 (5 Sep 2006):

- Fixed bug that caused data to be installed into the wrong directory when using
  'make install DESTDIR=/foo' (patch #1552216 by Denis Leroy).
- Fixed bug that caused errors when user deleted the sample ground station while
  one or more modules were still using it (reported by Hamish Moffatt).


Changes in version 0.6.0 (4 Sep 2006):

- New module design: A module is no longer either a list or a map. A module can
  contain up to three views that can be any combination of map, list, polar and
  single satellite view.
- Each module can be configured individually (colours, views, location) or it
  can use the global default settings.
- Module have three states: Docked, Window and fullscreen.
- Improved map view quality and performance with possibility to highlight areas
  covered by satellites.
- List View is fully configurable with respect to which columns should be
  visible. Furthermore, the list view has a lots of new columns.
- The upcoming passes dialogs can show much more details like TCA, duration and
  maximum elevation.
- Context sensitive pop-up menus instead of buttons to access the most important
  functions.
- Geographical coordinates can be shown using N, S, E and W suffixes instead
  og sign. This should settle the debate on whether negative longitude is East
  or West of Greenwich (I know which one is the correct one ;-).
- Added support for imperial units (default is still the metric system).
- Added support for user specified time format strings.
- No upper limit on the number of satellites.
- Uses SGP4/SDP4 algorithms for element set propagation.
- Requires Gtk+ 2.8 or later and GNOME dependencies are gone for good!
- Gpredict is now much more robust against configuration errors. If something
  goes wrong you can simply delete all user configuration files and start from
  fresh. Besides that, gpredict only uses human readable configuration files,
  which can be edited using a text editor. It should, however, never be necessary
  to alter the configuration files manually.
- Draft User Manual and Design Document.


Changes in version 0.5.3 (19 Jan 2006):

- Fixed errors when compiling on NetBSD, thanks to Berndt VK5ABN. This patch
  actually fixes the i18n installation problems on the other platforms too.


Changes in version 0.5.2 (22 Dec 2005):

- Fixed errors when compiling without hamlib support.


Changes in version 0.5.1 (25 May 2005):

- Selecting local time instead of UTC will now show the correct time
  everywhere in the program, thanks to Thierry F4DWV.
- Show pass duration in minutes in the "Upcoming Passes" dialog.


Changes in version 0.5.0 (29 Jan 2005):

- It is now possible to specify a minimum elevation for upcoming passes.
  Passes with max elevation below this limit will be discaded from the list.
- Hamlib 1.2.0 support. If compiled with hamlib support, gpredict now
  requires version 1.2.0 or later and will not compile with earlier
  versions.
- Possibility for other map sizes. Gpredict will automatically detect
  the size of the map and scale the canvas accordingly.
- Improved map display showing QTH, time, upcoming satellite and brief info
  about a selected satellite. Added buttons for pass prediction for selected
  satellite.
- Satellite lists can be sorted automatically at regular intervals
  (preferences->lists->autosort). Disabled by default.
- Satmap-druid will now open a warning dialog if the number of
  selected satellites is greater than 10 (bug #555595).
- Fixed positioning and alignment errors in AOS prints. Added orbit
  number to detailed prints.
- We now use the standard Gnome data directories (incompatible with
  previous releases). This means, that the 'configure --prefix=...'
  and other directory switches should work now.
- Replaced obsolete ftime function with gettimeofday. The program should
  now compile on MacOS X and FreeBSD as well.
- Simple and detailed pass predictions can again be saved to text files
  (bug #839373).
- Show rise/set times in Sun and Moon frames.


Changes in version 0.4.0 (17 Apr 2003):

- TLE files are now stored in user's home directory in
  $HOME/.gpredict/tle and can be updated automatically at run time.
  The supplied files are identicale to those at celestrak.com except
  that the extensions have been changed from .txt to .tle
- The tracked satellites are organized in a tree when presented to
  the user, rather than a flat list.
- Updated locations database with more than 2000 known locations
  with altitude and weather station info. The known locations
  are now organized in a tree structure. If Hamlib 1.1.3 is available
  locator squares are calculated as well.
- Possibility to have many locations configured and switch between
  them at runtime.
- Possibility to use other maps. Gnome Predict comes bundled with 5
  different maps, but the user can add and use his/her own maps by
  copying the images into the $HOME/.gpredict/maps/ directory. The maps
  will automatically be scaled to 800x400 pixels.
- Notebook tabs/labels are only shown if there are at least
  two modules in the notebook (the user can override it though).
- Module names can be up to 50 characters long.
- Modules can be deleted and edited after creation (right-click in the
  iconbar).
- Program is safe if a satellite somehow disappears from the database.
- Fixed bugs #636186 and #633886.


Changes in version 0.3.2 (24 Jun 2002):

- No more crash when trying to open a deleted map file
  (bug #554785).
- Number of satellites in the lists is displayed when
  the user creates a new module (bug #555595).
- Updated gpredict.tle
- Updated gpredict.pot
- Updated da.po (new strings not translated though).


Changes in version 0.3.1 (6 May 2002):

- Added danish translation.
- Fixed bug #551224.


Changes in version 0.3.0 (13 Apr 2002):

- Configuration is stored using GConf instead of gnome-config.
- Default prefix is no longer /usr/local/groundstation
- User configuration files are stored in ~/.gpredict/
  (previously ~/.groundstation/)
- Longitude is in the range of -180 to 180 negative being East of
  Greenwich.
- Get detailed information about any of the upcoming passes. The plot
  showing a satellite pass can be saved as an image or printed.
- New earth map module with the possibility to save and print the map
  as an image.
- Anti aliased graphics giving much better quality. The user can disable
  this feature if the performance is very poor.
- New shortcut bar.
- Have as many modules open as your computer can handle.
- Disabled the possibility to change the TLE file at runtime
  (obsolete feature).


Changes in version 0.2.2 (23 Oct 2001):

- Program can read custom TLE files even at runtime.
- New, very flexible functions to predict upcoming passes.
- Show/Save/Print/Plot detailed info about the upcoming pass.
- Plot the upcoming pass in polar form (Az/El).
- Show/Save/Print AOS/LOS times for upcoming passes.
- Satellites in the satlist can have different colors for practically
  any state a satellite can have.
- More options in the preferences box.


Changes in version 0.2.1:

- Just added a sentence to INSTALL about not to
  use ~ in --prefix=...


Changes in version 0.2.0 (4 Aug 2001):

- Abandoned client/server interface and included tracking code from Predict
  directly into the program
- Can track a large number of satellites (current limit is at 200, but can be
  chaged by editing the 'defaults.h' file)
- Predict AOS and LOS times for upcoming passes
- The user can change the text colors in the satellite list
- The user can change the time between satellite list updates