UniClOGS Pass Commander

This software controls the local functions of a UniClOGS for sending commands to the OreSat0 and OreSat0.5 CubeSats.

Major functions

• Tracks satellites using the excellent ephem module
  • Fetches fresh TLEs from celestrak.org
  • Alternatively uses TLEs from a local Gpredict install
  • Calibrates for atmospheric refraction with local temperature and pressure, fetched via API from OpenWeather
• Adapts tracking information to suit az/el rotator limits
• Interacts with Hamlib rotctld to command the antenna rotator
• Interacts with stationd to control amplifiers and station RF path
• Interacts with the OreSat GNURadio flowgraph to manage Doppler shifting and to send command packets

Installing

git clone https://github.com/uniclogs/uniclogs-pass_commander.git
sudo apt install python3-pip python3-hamlib python3-pydbus
pip3 install -r uniclogs-pass_commander/requirements.txt

Running python3 uniclogs-pass_commander/ --template will generate a template configuration file. You should receive instructions for editing it. Go do that now (see below for detailed description).

When your config is all set up, run with python3 uniclogs-pass_commander/. See the --help flag for more options.

Testing without rotctld, stationd and a running radio flowgraph is partially supported. See the --mock flag, especially -m all.

Config file

It's TOML. There are four primary sections, each with a set of mandatory configuration keys:

[Main]

General operation settings.

• satellite (String, optional) - Default satellite ID, either index into TleCache or NORAD ID.
• owmid (String, optional) - An API key from OpenWeatherMap API
• edl_port (int, optional) - Port to listen for EDL commands. Only open during a pass. Consult oresat-c3-software for more.
• txgain (Integer) - Gain for transmitting. Usually between 0 and 100.

[Hosts]

IP addresses for external components.

• radio (String) - IP address or hostname of the flowgraph.
• station (String) - IP address or hostname of stationd.
• rotator (String) - IP address or hostname of rotctld.

[Observer]

Physical properties of the ground station.

• lat (Float or Integer) - Station latitude in decimal notation. For best results use 3 - 4 decimal points. See here for more.
• lon (Float or Integer) - Station longitude in decimal notation.
• alt (Integer) - Station altitude in meters.
• name (String) - station name or callsign.

[TleCache]

Optional local cache of TLEs. Currently only 3 line TLEs are supported. Format is:

<name>: [
    "<Satellite name>",
    "<TLE line 1>",
    "<TLE line 2>",
]

TLE cache entries may be repeated as long as <name> is unique. Select which entry is active by passing <name> to the --satellite flag.