Configuration
Before r2cloud start receiving satellite data, it needs to be configured. There are several mandatory parameters required: latitude and longitude. They should contain base station location. r2cloud will use them to calculate satellite passes.
Optionally coordinates can be taken from the browser. Just click on "Detect" link.
Automatic updates are not required, but highly recommended. New satellites are constantly launched and added to r2cloud. Old satellites decay and burn in the atmosphere. Automatic updates will bring new functionality as long as new satellites.
General configuration can be accessed via "Configuration -> General" menu in the top right corner.
This configuration contains some reasonable defaults, that can be changed.
Latitude, Longitude - base station coordinates. Configured on the very first startup.
"PPM type" and PPM control RTL-SDR "ppm" parameter. This parameter is used to compensate internal oscillator frequency drift. Some of new RTL-SDR dongles have very good oscillator and 0 or 1 is enough. Some old sticks might require either manual configuration or auto. Note: auto configuration is not really precise, so better find out PPM of your dongle and configure it manually.
It is possible to completely disable auto updates. Or re-enable them back.
"Minimum elevation" and "Guaranteed elevation" parameters are used for finding relevant satellite observations. Defined in degrees. Some locations are not suitable for tracking satellites with a very low elevations. Or the signal might be too weak. Changing "Guaranteed elevation" to something bigger could improve reception rate. Of course total number of satellite passes will be much smaller.
"Minimum elevation" controls degree at which satellite will be tracked by r2cloud.
"RTL-SDR gain" controls gain for RTL-SDR
"Bias-t enabled" enable bias-t before each observation and disable after each observation. This will allow connecting LNA or BPF hardware in front of RTL-SDR and power them up via RTL-SDR.
See more detailed rotator configuration section.
Web UI has some basic configuration parameters. For advanced configuration, a special ~/.r2cloud file should be manually edited. It contains user-specific overrides for system parameters, which can be found at r2cloud/etc/config-prod.properties.
r2cloud supports several custom I/Q data sources:
- rtl-sdr
- PlutoSDR
- rtl-sdr via sdr-server
- LoRa
- SpyServer
LoRa receiver can work in parallel with RTL-SDR or PlutoSDR.
r2cloud supports 2 types of demodulators: