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Configuration File Changelog

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Mark Jessop edited this page Nov 9, 2024 · 34 revisions

This page attempts to keep a log of additions / changes to the station.cfg file, so that users can add/modify the relevant settings instead of having to re-do their configuration from scratch.

Version 1.8.0

  • Added an azimuth_only option in the [rotator] section, defaulted to False. If set to True, all elevation data will be clamped to 0 before commanding a rotator. Hopefully useful for azimuth-only rotators.
  • Added the ozi_host and payload_summary_host options in the [oziplotter] section, defaulting to <broadcast>. These allow directing the UDP payload summary and ozimux packets to a specific host, if required by a particular network configuration.

Version 1.7.1

  • Added save_cal_data option in [logging] section, defaulted to False. If set to True, this enables saving out Vaisala RS41 'subframe' (calibration) data to the log directory, as a binary file. Currently we don't make use of this within auto_rx, but it may be useful for those interested in looking into RS41 calibration parameters, or figuring out what mainboard version is in use.

Version 1.7.0

  • Added wideband_sondes option in [advanced] section. This is intended for situations where an auto_rx user is expecting to only see 'wideband' radiosondes, such as the Weathex WxR-301D, and the wideband version of the iMet-1/4 radiosondes. The following behavioural changes occur when enabling this:
    • Detection is performed with a 64 kHz detection bandwidth instead of the usual 20 kHz. This should assist in detecting wideband iMet-1/4 and Weathex WxR-301D radiosondes, however the scanners peak detection algorithm will likely have some issues. I recommend adding always_scan frequencies for your known launch sites. This will degrade detection performance of other radiosonde types - be warned!
    • iMet-1/4 radiosondes will be decoded using a 96 kHz sample rate instead of the usual 48 kHz. Narrowband iMet sondes may still be decoded with this setting, but I expect receive performance to be degraded.

Version 1.6.2

  • Added encrypted_sonde_notifications option in [email] section, defaulting to True if not present.
# Send e-mails when an encrypted radiosonde is detected.
encrypted_sonde_notifications = True

Version 1.6.0

# always_decode - Always-running decoders. Only possible in a multi-SDR (or network-based SDR) system.
# List must be in the form: [[401.5,"RS41"], [402.5,"DFM"], [400.5,"M10"], [400.5,"IMET"]]
# Valid sonde types: RS41, RS92, DFM, M10, M20, IMET, IMET5, MK2LMS, LMS6, MEISEI, MRZ, MTS01
always_decode = []
  • Added to [logging] section:
# Enable logging of system-level logs to disk. 
# This is the equivalent of starting auto_rx with the --systemlog option, but only takes effect after the config file is read.
# These logs will end up in the log directory.
save_system_log = False

# Enable logging of debug messages. 
# This is the equivalent of starting auto_rx with the -v option, but only takes effect after the config file is read.
# This setting, in combination with save_system_log (above), can help provide detailed information when debugging
# auto_rx operational issues.
enable_debug_logging = False
  • Added to [advanced] section:
# Paths to SpyServer client (https://github.com/miweber67/spyserver_client) utilities, for experimental SpyServer Client support
# At the moment we assume these are in the auto_rx directory.
ss_iq_path = ./ss_iq
ss_power_path = ./ss_power

Version 1.5.5

  • It is highly recommended that users modify their aprs_custom_comment setting to include the 'uncompressed' radiosonde serial number. This involves adding ser=<id> into the comment string. I recommend using the following:
aprs_custom_comment = Clb=<vel_v> t=<temp> h=<humidity> p=<pressure> <freq> Type=<type> ser=<id> Radiosonde
  • Added an option for an experimental LMS6-1680 decode chain, in the Demodulator / Decoder Tweaks section:
# LMS6-1680 Decoder options:
# False = Less CPU, possibly worse weak-signal performance.
# True = Higher CPU (Pushing a RPi 3 to its limits), possibly better weak-signal performance.
lms6-1680_experimental = False
  • Remove aprs_position_report option from configuration file. By common convention radiosonde positions are uploaded as APRS objects, not as position reports, and using both can cause issues.

Version 1.5.4

  • Added to [debugging] section (defaults to disabled if not present):
# Save raw hexadecimal radiosonde frame data. This is useful to provide data for telemetry analysis.
# Raw hex data is saved to the logging directory with a filename of format YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS_<type>_<freq>.raw
# Saving raw data is currently only supported for: RS41, LMS6-1680, LMS6-400, M10, M20, IMET-4
save_raw_hex = False

Version 1.5.2

  • Removed some Habitat-specific settings, as Habitat uploading is now deprecated.
  • Re-named the frequency lists:
    • whitelist -> only_scan
    • greylist -> always_scan
    • blacklist -> never_scan
  • Added a new entry to the [web] section:
# Enable control over the scanner, and starting/stopping decoders from the web interface.
# A password must also be set (below).
# USERS ENABLE THIS AT THEIR OWN RISK!!
web_control = False

# Password for controls on the web interface. The main interface will still be publicly available.
# Note that as the web interface is HTTP-only, this password will be sent over the internet in the clear,
# so don't re-use passwords!
web_password = none

Version 1.5.1

  • Added a new entry to the [sondehub] section:
# An optional contact e-mail address.
# This e-mail address will *only* be available to the Sondehub admins, and will *only*
# be used to contact you if there is an obvious issue with your station.
# We recommend that you join the radiosonde_auto_rx mailing list to receive updates:
# https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/radiosonde_auto_rx
sondehub_contact_email = none@none.com
  • Added a new entry to the [filtering] section:
# Reported Time Threshold
# Discard positions if the sonde's reported time is more than X hours from the system time.
# This helps catch glitches around 00Z UTC from iMet & LMS6 sondes, and bad CRC checks from
# DFM sondes.
sonde_time_threshold = 3

Version 1.5.0

  • Added a new [sondehub] section, for the SondeHub v2 Uploader
[sondehub]

# Enable uploading to Sondehub v2 - please leave this enabled!
sondehub_enabled = True

# How often to push data to the SondeHub Database. (seconds)
# All received positions are cached and uploaded every X seconds. 
# Uploads are gzip compressed, so don't require much data transfer.
sondehub_upload_rate = 15
  • In [web] section, added kml_refresh_rate setting, which adjusts how often the live-KML data (http://localhost:5000/rs.kml) is updated.
  • Added new entries in the Demodulator / Decoder Tweaks area for iMet-54 and MRZ sondes:
imet54_experimental = True

# MRZ sondes have not yet been tested with the fsk_demod flowgraph in the wild.
# If someone can confirm that this works, I'll set it to True by default!
mrz_experimental = False

Version 1.4.0

  • Added the following new fields in [aprs]
# Confirmation of the above setting (custom aprs_object_id)
# Set to True to confirm use of the custom object ID set above.
# Please read the notes above before setting this to True.
aprs_use_custom_object_id = False

# APRS-IS Port Number to upload to.
# When using radiosondy.info:
#   Port 14590 - Packets stay within radiosondy.info. Non-licensed operators can use this.
#   Port 14580 - Packets are forwarded out to the wider APRS-IS network. Only licensed amateur radio operators should use this!!
# For all other APRS-IS servers (licensed amateur radio operators only!), use port 14580.
aprs_port = 14590
  • Added fields for aprs_custom_comment and changed the default setting:
# The APRS-IS beacon comment. The following fields can be included:
# <freq> - Sonde Frequency, e.g. 401.520 MHz
# <type> - Sonde Type (e.g. RS41-SG, DFM09, etc....)
# <id> - Sonde Serial Number (i.e. M1234567)
# <vel_v> - Sonde Vertical Velocity (i.e. -5.1m/s)
# <temp> - Sonde reported temperature. If no temp data available, this will report -273 degC. 
# <humidity> - Sonde reported humidity.
# <pressure> - Sonde reported pressure
# <batt> - Battery Voltage (e.g. 3.1V)
# The default comment (below) is compatible with radiosondy.info's parsers, and should only be modified
# if absolutely necessary.
aprs_custom_comment = Clb=<vel_v> t=<temp> h=<humidity> p=<pressure> <freq> Type=<type> Radiosonde
  • Added into [email]
# Send an e-mail for each new radiosonde observed.
launch_notifications = True

# Send e-mails when a radiosonde is detected descending near your station location
landing_notifications = True

# Range threshold for Landing notifications (km)
landing_range_threshold = 30

# Altitude threshold for Landing Notifications (metres)
# Notifications will only occur for sondes which have been observed descending (>2m/s descent rate) below this altitude
# for at least 10 observations
landing_altitude_threshold = 1000

# Enable sending critical error notifications via email.
# WARNING: If an error is persistent and you are running as a systemd service, this could result
# in many e-mails being sent!
error_notifications = False
  • Added into [web]
# KML refresh rate
kml_refresh_rate = 10

Version 1.3.2

  • Modified / Added the following fields to the filtering section, at the bottom of the config file:
max_radius_km = 1000
min_radius_km = 0

# Temporarily block the frequency of sondes which report a position outside of the above limits.
# WARNING: This may cause sondes which sometimes report glitchy positions (RS92, DFM) to be blocked.
# (True or False)
radius_temporary_block = False

These settings allow temporarily blocking radiosonde outside or inside a specified radius limit. For example, you may want to focus your station on sondes launching from an airport near, you, in which case you might set:

max_radius_km = 300
min_radius_km = 0
radius_temporary_block = True

Conversely, you may be interested in only sondes that are far away from you, in which case you might set:

max_radius_km = 3000
min_radius_km = 300
radius_temporary_block = True

Version 1.1.3

[station]

# Station Position from GPSD
# If your station is likely to move, then you may wish to have your station position updated from GPSD.
# NOTE: This feature is intended to make life slightly easier when using an auto_rx station in a portable
# capacity, in particular when using a rotator. For the web interface to start up correctly, a lat/lon still
# needs to be entered above.
# For balloon chasing, chasemapper is much better suited: https://github.com/projecthorus/chasemapper
gpsd_enabled = False
gpsd_hostname = localhost
gpsd_port = 2947

[email]

  • Numerous changes to add support for SSL/TLS. Highly recommend copying out the new email settings block from the latest station.cfg.example and configuring as appropriate.

[web]

  • Renamed web_debug option to web_control. This option enables a few 'hidden' endpoints on the web interface, which will eventually be used to allow manual control over the scan / decode loops. Do not enable this on a web-facing instance of auto_rx!!!

[advanced]

  • Added lms6-400_experimental option into the list of experimental decoders. This is enabled by default as the 400 MHz LMS6 radiosondes are known to drift quite badly, and I've had more success decoding them using the fsk_demod decoder than with a FM Demod.

  • Added ngp_tweak option, which sets a narrower FM demodulator bandwidth when scanning for sondes on the 1680 MHz band. Set this to True if you are only expecting RS92-NGP radiosondes in your area. If you are expecting 1680 MHz LMS6 radiosondes (which use a much wider transmit bandwidth) then set this to False. Note that detection of RS92-NGP sondes may be significantly degraded when this option is set to False.

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