Configuration update required for rotator stations with satnogs-client 1.1

SatNOGS Software
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Since 2020-02-28, satnogs-client 1.1 is distributed to stable ground stations (satnogs-client-ansible@5c9661a).

In satnogs-client version 1.1 the possibility to access the rotator without running a rotctld instance was added (see commit satnogs-client@74d8eec). The configuration variables SATNOGS_ROT_IP and SATNOGS_ROT_PORT in their original meaning of an IP address & port were removed, and the new variables SATNOGS_ROT_MODEL, SATNOGS_ROT_BAUD and SATNOGS_ROT_PORT were added. Thus changing your configuration is required.

Migration guide

completed by @azisi

SatNOGS as exclusive rotator user

If you are using your rotator exclusively with SatNOGS, it’s now possible to let the SatNOGS Client talk directly to the rotator without running a rotctld service. For this, you have to set the following variables:

Variable Description
SATNOGS_ROT_MODEL The Hamlib rotator macro name for your rotator model. Choose your model from this list of rotator models in Hamlib
SATNOGS_ROT_BAUD The Baud rate for the rotator serial port (e.g. 19200)
SATNOGS_ROT_PORT The Serial port your rotator is attached to (e.g. /dev/ttyUSB0)
~~HAMLIB_UTILS_ROT_ENABLED False (default, i.e. not required anymore) ~~

You can also find these new configuration options with short explanatory text on the SatNOGS Client Setup wiki page.

“co-hosted” SatNOGS

If you want to continue to let rotctld manage your rotator (e.g. because other software is using it sometimes, or the rotator is controlled by a different machine in your network), you can continue to let satnogs-client access the rotator through the TCP socket. Use the following variables:

Variable Description
SATNOGS_ROT_MODEL ROT_MODEL_NETROTCTL
SATNOGS_ROT_BAUD 0 or leave it with default value
SATNOGS_ROT_PORT IP:PORT, e.g. localhost:4540
~~HAMLIB_UTILS_ROT_ENABLED False (default, i.e. not required anymore) ~~

In case of questions or problems, please open a thread here in the forum or via chat on the Matrix room #satnogs:matrix.org.

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Hamlib rotor interface not working
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Thanks, @kerel!

If you like to have a dedicated controller hardware (e.g. a separate RasPi where your rotator control box is connected to) you need to run a rotctld service on this device. You may want to start it something like this:

rotctld -m 602 -r /dev/LVBTracker -s 9600 0.0.0.0:4355

You can add -vvvvv to get full verbose debug output on a commandline. Once you‘re satisfied with your configuration add rotctld as a service started on system boot.

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