Configuration

Configuration

Overview

Pi-Sat uses one main configuration file:

• pi-sat-controller.conf

This file controls:

• server behavior
• station location
• TLE sources
• tracked satellites
• RX and TX device settings
• rotator settings
• automation selections
• advanced control and timing behavior

Section Breakdown

[server]

Controls how the web app is served.

Important settings:

• host
• port
• gui_resources_caching

gui_resources_caching controls browser caching behavior for GUI assets and is intentionally hidden from the settings page.

[station]

Defines the ground-station location used for pass prediction and live geometry.

Important settings typically include:

• station name
• location fields used by the backend for orbital calculations
• elevation

The operator-facing GUI workflow may use a grid-based entry path even though the backend ultimately works from resolved location values.

[tle]

Controls TLE download behavior.

Important settings:

• source_url
• cache_dir
• stale_after_hours

source_url can contain multiple TLE URLs. Pi-Sat downloads all configured sources, merges them, and keeps the newest TLE when duplicates exist for the same NORAD ID.

[profiles]

Controls where satellite and transponder profile data is stored.

Important settings:

• satellites_file

[my_satellites]

Stores the operator's tracked satellite list and pass threshold behavior.

Important settings:

• min_pass_elevation_deg
• autotrack_next_pass
• satellite_<norad_id> = name

[rx] and [tx]

Define radio control paths for downlink and uplink control.

Important settings:

• enabled
• connectivity
• host
• port
• serial_port
• baud
• model_id
• target_vfo
• write_enabled
• timeout_s

connectivity determines whether Pi-Sat uses:

• an existing network Hamlib daemon
• or a locally managed serial Hamlib daemon

write_enabled still exists in config, but it is not treated as a normal operator-facing GUI control.

[rotator]

Defines rotator control behavior.

Important settings:

• enabled
• connectivity
• host
• port
• serial_port
• baud
• model_id
• write_enabled
• timeout_s
• min_elevation_deg
• return_home_after_pass

The current home position behavior is centered around the home target used by the backend rotator logic.

[automation]

This section stores optional AOS and LOS script selections used by the automation feature.

Typical behavior:

• None means no script is selected
• selected scripts are discovered from the local scripts/ directory
• runtime execution details are visible through the monitor page logs

[safety]

Controls TX, retry, and update behavior.

Important settings:

• tx_inhibit_below_horizon
• tx_inhibit_on_cat_loss
• tx_inhibit_without_valid_pass
• frequency_deadband_hz
• cat_rate_limit_hz
• tracking_update_interval_ms
• device-failure threshold behavior if supported by the current build

Settings Page vs Config File

Not every config key is exposed in the web settings page. Some values are intentionally local-only or hidden because they are deployment details or backend controls rather than routine operator settings.

Examples include:

• GUI asset caching behavior
• cache paths
• some local-only file references
• config-level write_enabled behavior

The runtime top-bar toggles in the dashboard are separate from config-level write permissions.

Recommended Practice

• Keep one config file per Pi
• Back up the config before major changes
• Prefer stable serial paths such as /dev/serial/by-id/... where possible
• Treat station location as critical configuration, not cosmetic metadata