For Flashback Friday, AMSAT is releasing disk images of QUIKTRAK for both the Commodore 64 and Apple II. These disk images should work in any emulator for the platforms, such as VICE for the Commodore 64 and AppleWin or LinApple for the Apple II. They can also be imaged to floppy disk or used with a floppy emulator on real vintage hardware. These disk images have AMSAT’s club call, W3ZM, and Washington, DC set as the default callsign and QTH. Current Keplerian elements for AO-7 (as of September 13, 2019) are included. These programs provide a fun look back at the state of the art in satellite tracking in the mid-1980s.
QUIKTRAK.D64 (Commodore 64/128)
QUIKTRAK was written by Bob McGwier, N4HY, utilizing tracking routines originally developed by Tom Clark, W3IWI (now K3IO). While the Commodore 64 version is in compiled BASIC (Blitz), the AppleSoft BASIC source code for the Apple II version is included on the disk image and can be LISTed.
Additionally, Paul Williamson, KB5MU, recently made the InstantTrack program for the IBM PCs and PC compatibles freely available on his website.
If anyone has any copies of additional historic tracking programs, please email n8hm at amsat.org to arrange preserving this portion of AMSAT’s history.
