Quick start

Before the pass

1. Station position — Open Settings → Station. Check latitude, longitude, and grid square. Wrong coordinates mean wrong pass times and wrong azimuth/elevation. If you rove with a USB GPS, configure Settings → Integrations → GPS and apply a fix or enable auto-update.
2. Pick satellites — Satellites → Select satellites. Enable only what you plan to work (fewer satellites = clearer map).
3. Fresh TLEs — Satellites → Refresh TLEs. Do this at least once per day of operating, or enable automatic updates under Settings → TLE. Use Settings → TLE if you need a custom URL or local file instead of tle.oscarwatch.org.
4. Radio and rotator — If you use them, set serial ports under Settings → Radio and Settings → Rotator. The rig and rotator must use different ports. On Linux, pick a stable by-id or udev alias — Linux serial ports.
5. Pass recording: If you want audio archives of your QSOs, open Settings → Recording, pick your radio line-in or USB audio device, choose WAV or MP3, set start/stop elevation, and run a 5 s test clip. For MP3, install ffmpeg first (install guide).
6. Leave Standby. In the sidebar, press Resume tracking when you are ready to track for real. While Standby is on, the heading says Standby instead of Live, and that button is highlighted.

Five to ten minutes before AOS

• Find the pass in Upcoming Passes on the right, or use Passes → Pass planner for a longer view.
• Click the satellite name to select it. The map centres on that spacecraft.
• Open the frequency panel on the map (drag it by the title bar if it is in the way).
• Choose the correct transponder mode (e.g. Mode B, FM). For linear SSB, pick Voice or CW in the panel title bar if you are not on phone.
• Set any RX or TX offsets you normally use on that satellite (use the toggle beside the spinner to switch legs). Press Store offset for each leg you want OscarWatch to remember. On linear SSB, Voice and CW can each have their own stored offsets — set and store each while that style is selected.
• If you are working someone at another grid, click the orange diamond on the map, enter their Maidenhead square, and watch Az / El (their sky) in the DX station panel (Map & sidebar).

During the pass

• Watch Azimuth and Elevation in the Live panel — these are where to point your antenna.
• If rotator control is enabled, OscarWatch sends az/el when the satellite is above your track-start elevation (set in Settings → Rotator).
• If CAT is enabled, uplink and downlink frequencies update for Doppler. You can still tune the radio; OscarWatch follows according to your rig type.
• If pass recording is enabled, a red REC badge appears on the pass row while audio is saved. Files land in %AppData%\OscarWatch\recordings\ by default.
• Use the sky plot to see the satellite path relative to your horizon.

After the pass

• Press Park on the rotator panel if you want the beam parked.
• Or press Standby to park the rotator and pause CAT while you browse other passes.

Just browsing?

Press Standby. The heading changes from Live to Standby, and an amber note explains that the rotator is parked and CAT is paused. No accidental tracking while you click around the map.

Need to move the beam for a quick contact without resuming tracking? While in Standby, open Rotator from the menu bar, enter az/el, and press Rotate. See Rotators for Stop and Park.