Rotor

The Rotor panel in the Rig window: the antenna direction, turning to an entered azimuth, with the ± buttons or by clicking the compass, STOP, parking and tracking the satellite of the SAT panel. The rotor is connected through Hamlib rotctld or PstRotator. You open the panel in the Rig window: Menu → Rotor - the window grows downwards. The same menu item hides the panel.

The Rotor panel under the buttons of the Rig window (a rotor with elevation; the antenna is moving - the Az position in red). A rotor without elevation - no El row, a lower panel. It may look slightly different in your version.

#	What it is	What it does
1	≡	A small window: connection (rotctld / PstRotator / none), Rotor configuration, Reconnect, help.
2	State	The connection (e.g. Hamlib 127.0.0.1:4540), an error in red (no connection, the rotor does not answer, a position outside the rotor range) or the satellite tracking state in green.
3	− position +	Between the buttons - the antenna direction read from the rotor (every second), in red while the rotor is moving; “-” - no reading. Tooltip: the position in the rotor coordinates (e.g. 390° with overlap) and the range of movement. − / + turn the antenna at once by 1°; hold - faster (after 2 s by 5°), the target at most 15° ahead of the antenna, so it stops close after you release. The target field of that row is cleared then.
4	Target and →	Azimuth (Az row) and elevation (El row), Enter in a field or either → - turns the antenna to both angles; an empty El field - elevation unchanged. The Az field also takes “azimuth elevation” (e.g. 200 30). The field is cleared when the antenna gets there (it stays after STOP). A suggestion from the log - the azimuth to the station (described below).
5	STOP	Stops the rotor at once and ends tracking.
6	Park	The park position from the rotor configuration.
7	Track	The antenna follows the satellite chosen in the SAT panel (LED). Described below.
8	Compass	Green needle - the antenna, orange dot - the target of the last command, red marks - the rotor stops, yellow dot - the tracked satellite. A click turns the antenna to that azimuth.
9	SP / LP	Short / long path switch (LP in orange): the suggestion from the log and the azimuth in the target field turned by 180°. The antenna moves only after → or Enter.
10	Elevation indicator	A quarter 0...90° (horizon - zenith): green needle - the antenna, orange dot - the target, yellow dot - the tracked satellite. A click sets that elevation.

A rotor without elevation (rotor configuration - Elevation (Az / El rotor) unticked): there is no El row, the panel is lower and the Rig window shorter by that row.

Connection

Hamlib rotctld

rotctld is the Hamlib server for rotors (like rigctld for radios) - it is in the Hamlib folder (bin\rotctld.exe). It supports most controllers: Yaesu GS-232A / GS-232B, SPID Rot2Prog, EasyComm, ERC, Green Heron and many others. Start it with the model and the COM port of the controller, e.g. for Yaesu GS-232B on COM5:

rotctld -m 603 -r COM5 -s 9600 -t 4540

Model numbers: rotctl -l (e.g. 601 GS-232A, 603 GS-232B, 901 SPID Rot2Prog, 202 EasyComm II). -t 4540 is the TCP port on which the program connects to rotctld - 4540 by default, not 4533 as in Hamlib, because ports 4532...4536 are used by the rigctld of HamlibStarter. In the ≡ window of the panel choose rotctld; you change the address and port in the rotor configuration (it does not accept a rigctld port). When something other than rotctld answers on the port (e.g. the rigctld of another program), the panel shows not rotctld (rigctld?) - change the port and sends no command. After connecting, the program reads the range of movement of the model from rotctld (e.g. -180...450°) and never sends a position outside it.

rotctld started by the program

Instead of starting rotctld by hand, tick Start rotctld when it is not running in the rotor configuration and click rotctld settings.... You choose the parameters from lists, without typing:

Hamlib library - the program does not include Hamlib. Point to rotctld.exe in the bin folder of the downloaded library (the same one as for HamlibStarter - the window suggests it). Download Hamlib opens the page with the library.
Model - the models of that library (alphabetically, with the number). Below the list the model data: a serial port with its default speed and the azimuth and elevation range - read without opening any port.
COM port - the ports with device names. Radio ports are marked ⚠ and not allowed: the ports of the Rigs of HamlibStarter and OmniRig, the CW key port of the program and radio ports recognised by name (Yaesu - CP2105, Icom - IC-...). Opening a radio port could key the transmitter (DTR / RTS lines). A network rotor - address:port instead of the port.
Speed - the speed of the model by default (e.g. 9600 for GS-232B, 600 for SPID Rot2Prog). Extra parameters - rotctld options for advanced users (e.g. --set-conf=...). Command shows how the program will start rotctld.
Check - a single position readout (rotctl ... p), the rotor does not move. rotctld started by the program is closed for that time (it holds the COM port) and then started again with the saved settings.

The program starts rotctld in the background when the Rotor panel starts, if nobody listens on the port (rotctld started by hand stays as it is). Hiding the Rig window (also with the cross) does not close it - the connection stays, only satellite tracking switches off (like Doppler), and when the window is shown again the rotor is ready at once. Leaving the program or switching the panel off (Menu → Rotor) closes only the rotctld the program started itself. When rotctld ends right away (e.g. the COM port is busy), the panel shows its last message and the next attempt is after 30 s. The program starts rotctld only on this computer (address 127.0.0.1).

PstRotator

If you use PstRotator: in it Communication → UDP Control Port (12000 by default) and Setup → UDP Control (on). In the ≡ window choose PstRotator. The program sends commands to that port and receives the position answers on port + 1 (12001). Move commands switch off PstRotator's own tracking - RigAndLog controls the rotor then. Overlap and stops are handled by PstRotator according to its own settings.

Other programs compatible with PstRotator (e.g. CatRotator) accept the same messages - choose PstRotator for them too. Moving always works; the position is shown only if that program answers the azimuth query on port + 1. If no answer has come since the start, the panel shows a grey commands only - no position readout (no answer on port 12001): the rotor moves, but without the azimuth readout. When answers came and then stopped, the text is red: no position readout - rotator program does not answer on port 12001. The readout is enabled in that program's UDP settings (answers / port).

Suggestion from the log

When the log has the locator of the other station (typed or from QRZ) and your locator, the Rotor panel puts the azimuth to that station into the target field and shows it for a moment in the top line, e.g. SP9ABC → 123° SP (LP 303°). The antenna moves only after → or Enter - the program never turns the antenna by itself (someone may be working at the antenna). Your own entry in the target field is not overwritten, and the suggestion disappears when the log form is cleared. While tracking a satellite (Track) there is no suggestion - the antenna follows the satellite then.

LP (long path) is the azimuth + 180°: on HF the signal sometimes arrives the longer way around the Earth (e.g. VK / ZL from Europe in the morning). The usual azimuth is SP (short path). The SP / LP switch next to the compass turns the suggestion and the number in the target field by 180° (e.g. 123° → 303°) and stays so until switched back or the program is closed - the next suggestions use the long path too (SP9ABC → 303° LP (SP 123°)). The antenna still moves only after → or Enter.

Rotor configuration

Setting	Meaning
Elevation (Az / El rotor)	A rotor with elevation (e.g. Yaesu G-5500): the El row in the panel. Unticked - azimuth only, the panel without the El row.
Azimuth from ... to	The range of movement in the rotor coordinates. Typical: 0...360° (stop at the north), -180...180° (at the south), 0...450° (overlap). Set it according to your rotor - the program does not know its mechanics.
Elevation from ... to	Usually 0...90°. 0...180° - the antenna goes “over the zenith” (flip), if the rotor can do it.
Park	The position for the Park button (and after a pass - an option).
Move when the satellite moves away by [°]	Tracking: the rotor moves only when the satellite moves away from the last command by that many degrees (e.g. 5°). Fewer moves - less wear; a wide antenna beam allows more.
Commands not more often than every [s]	Tracking: the shortest interval of move commands.
Set to the start of the pass before AOS [min]	Tracking: that many minutes before the satellite rises the antenna is set to the start of the pass.
Pause when the direction changes [s]	The rotor is moving one way and a command wants the other: first STOP, a pause, only then the move (gears, brake).
Park after the pass	After LOS the antenna goes back to the park position. Unticked - it stays at LOS (less movement).

Satellite tracking

Show the SAT panel, choose a satellite and click Track (LED). The program takes the next pass and plans the antenna movement:

without passing through a stop during the pass - with an overlap rotor (450°) the program chooses the position from which the pass can be followed in one movement; a rotor with elevation up to 180° can follow the pass in the inverted form (flip: azimuth + 180°, elevation 180° - El), also an overhead pass without a 180° turn;
before AOS the antenna is set to the start of the pass; during the pass it follows the satellite in steps (threshold, interval);
after LOS - the next pass of that satellite (parking - an option); a geostationary satellite (QO-100) - one setting;
when passing through a stop cannot be avoided (e.g. a 0...360° rotor without flip, a pass across the north) - the message turn through the stop during the pass!: in the middle of the pass the rotor makes an almost full turn.

Tracking switches off: with the Track button, STOP, a manual move (target, ±, compass, park), when another satellite is chosen, when the SAT panel, the Rotor panel or the Rig window is hidden. It never switches on by itself.

Wrong control can damage the rotor or the antenna. That is why the program sends positions only within the range from the configuration (and from rotctld), stops the rotor first when the direction changes, moves during tracking only after the threshold and not more often than every few seconds, and moves the rotor only on your command. Check the azimuth and elevation range against your rotor, leave enough cable for the whole range (with overlap) and keep STOP at hand - also on the rotor controller.

Without a rotor (test)

The Hamlib dummy rotor: rotctld -m 1 (in the rotctld settings window the model Hamlib Dummy (1), no port) - it moves like a real rotor (about 6°/s) but turns nothing. Good for learning the panel and checking the pass plan before the first run with a real rotor.

More about the SAT panel: Satellites. The Rig window: Rig window.