EOSS Upcoming Flights
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04/27/2024 - 00:00 to 23:45
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05/04/2024 - 00:00 to 23:45
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05/18/2024 - 07:00 to 14:30
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08/03/2024 - 00:00 to 23:45
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10/19/2024 - 00:00 to 23:45
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11/02/2024 - 00:00 to 23:45
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11/09/2024 - 00:00 to 23:45
Map All Predictions
Balloon Track will export every prediction you make into a comma delimited (CSV) text file. If you have MapPoint installed on your system then, from the View menu on the main screen you can select "Map All Predictions". Balloon Track will open the CSV file and plot each landing prediction along with much of the information saved for each prediction in this file. This option may be useful in helping you gain confidence in a prediction if you see a closely clustered group of predictions, or conversely lose that confidence when you note widely scattered touchdown predictions.
When you select this option a file selection dialog box will open and should be pointing to the location where you save your log files as that is the location where the prediction history file is saved. Select a file and this control:
Along with a MapPoint window will open displaying the predicted touchdown points. What ever settings you make are sticky and should still be in effect next time you open this window with the exception of showing the footprint circle. The "Don't Map" checkboxes will remove that particular prediction from the map and consideration when generating the weighted averages for the central location and size of the hot spot footprint circle.
The footprint circle deserves a little explanation. It is really very simple. Latitudes and Longitudes of all touchdown points are averaged giving a central point about which all the predictions are arranged. The program then measures the distance from this "center" to each touchdown point. The average of all of these measurements is used as the radius to draw the footprint circle. You can select how much weighting you wish to give each prediction. An simple explanation of the weighting method is available on THIS PAGE.
The menu choice "Show All Information" is really pretty useless as the screen becomes cluttered with lots of information overwriting lots of other information. But, the short "Name" only tags are useful. They show the date and time the prediction was MADE, not the time of the expected flight. you can click on any one and get a slightly more profuse readout.
If things get too cluttered you might just click "Show No Labels" and you'll just see the dots below.
You can set which symbol will be displayed by entering it's numerical designation on the Setup Screen's Maps Tab. In the area for MapPoint setup there is now a "History Symbols" entry box. Enter any symbol number in there and it will be used from then on.
You can determine a symbol's numerical designator by opening MapPoint's help area. This may seem difficult but actually it isn't too bad:
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Click on Programming Information
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Next select "Microsoft MapPoint Visual Basic Reference"
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Then select Objects.
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Then Pushpin Object.
Look at the help for the Pushpin object and you'll see Properties. At the bottom of the list of properties is Symbol. Click on Symbol. There's a bunch of programming info at the top of the page you will link to but scroll down to the bottom of the page and there is the entire 256 symbol table (0-255). Select any symbol's number and place it in the Setup Screens entry for the history symbol and from then on, that symbol will appear for you.