Manual in English - Standard Procedure

RadarView Feeder Configuration Guide

This guide provides instructions on how to set up and configure the RadarView feeder on your system.

Prerequisites

• Git: You will need Git installed to clone the repository for the standard setup.
• Root Access: You must run the setup script with root privileges (e.g., using sudo).
• Python: Python 3 or Python 2 must be installed on your system. The script will attempt to detect the correct version.
• Systemd: The scripts are designed for systems using systemd for service management.
• Internet Connection: Required for cloning the repository, downloading necessary files (e.g., dump1090-fa if not installed, or radarview.py if it's fetched by the script directly in some cases).
• RadarView Token: You will need a RadarView token in the format ADS-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. You can obtain your token by registering an account on the RadarView website. Please note that Feeder Account activation and for the feeder to show as online can take up to 5 minutes after the setup is complete and the service is running.

This method involves cloning the RadarView repository from GitHub, which contains the radarview_setup.sh script and the radarview.py feeder script.

Steps:

1. Clone the Repository: Open a terminal and clone the repository:

   
   

   
   

   git clone https://github.com/br3jski/radarview.git
   

2. Navigate to Script Directory: Change to the directory created by cloning:

   
   

   
   

   cd radarview
   

   (The radarview_setup.sh and radarview.py scripts should be in this directory).

3. Make the Setup Script Executable:

   
   

   
   

   chmod +x radarview_setup.sh
   

4. Run the Setup Script: Execute the script with root privileges:

   
   

   
   

   sudo ./radarview_setup.sh
   

5. Enter Your RadarView Token: When prompted, enter your RadarView token. The script will validate its format.

   
   

   
   

   Please enter your RadarView token (format: ADS-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX): YOUR_TOKEN_HERE
   

6. Dump1090 Installation (if needed): The script will check if dump1090-fa, dump1090-mutability, dump1090, or readsb is installed.

   • If none are found, it will ask if you want to install dump1090-fa:
     
     

     
     

     Dump1090 / reADSB are not installed. Do you want to install it now? (y/n)
     

     Press y and Enter to install it. If you choose n, the setup will exit.

7. Configuration and Service Creation: The script will then perform the following actions:

   • It will use the radarview.py from the current (cloned) directory. If, for some reason, radarview.py is missing from the directory but radarview_setup.sh is run, the setup script itself might attempt to download it as a fallback (as per its internal logic: if [ ! -f radarview.py ]; then wget ...; fi).
   • Copy radarview.py to /opt/radarview.py and make it executable.
   • Update /opt/radarview.py with your provided USER_TOKEN.
   • Create a systemd service file at /etc/systemd/system/radarview.service to manage the feeder.
   • The service will be configured to run /opt/radarview.py using the detected Python command.
   • Reload the systemd daemon, start the radarview service, and enable it to start on boot.

8. Completion: Once these steps are complete, you'll see a message:

   
   

   
   

   RadarView setup completed successfully.
   

What the script does:

• Validates and stores your RadarView token.
• Ensures radarview.py is in /opt/ and configured with your token.
• Sets up a systemd service named radarview to run the feeder automatically.
• Optionally installs dump1090-fa if no ADS-B decoder is found.

Post-Installation Checks

After the installation, you can verify that the service is running correctly:

1. Check Service Status:

   
   

   
   

   sudo systemctl status radarview.service
   

   You should see output indicating the service is active (running). Remember, it might take up to 5 minutes for your feeder to appear as online in your RadarView account.

2. View Logs (if needed): If you encounter issues, you can check the logs for the service:

   
   

   
   

   sudo journalctl -u radarview.service -f
   

   This will show the live logs. Press Ctrl+C to exit.

Feeder Script Overview (radarview.py)

The radarview.py script is responsible for:

• Connecting to a local data source (typically dump1090 or a similar ADS-B decoder) at 127.0.0.1:30003.
• Receiving ADS-B data from this local source.
• Preparing a token message using your USER_TOKEN.
• Forwarding each line of ADS-B data, prefixed by the token message, to the RadarView server at feed.ads-b.pro:48581.
• If the connection drops, it will attempt to reconnect after a short delay.

Troubleshooting

• "Python not found": Ensure Python (version 2 or 3) is installed and available in your system's PATH.
• "Failed to download radarview.py": Check your internet connection and that wget is installed. Ensure the URL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/br3jski/radarview/main/radarview.py is accessible.
• "Failed to update radarview.py with token": This might indicate a permissions issue or an unexpected format of the /opt/radarview.py file. Check the file manually.
• Service not starting: Use sudo journalctl -u radarview.service to check for errors. Common issues could be incorrect Python path in the service file, dump10090 not running or not providing data on port 30003, or network connectivity issues to feed.ads-b.pro.
• Token Format Error: Double-check that you are entering the token exactly as provided, in the format ADS- followed by 32 hexadecimal characters.
• No additional functionalities available: Allow up to 5 minutes after the service starts for the feeder to register and show as online in our system. Ensure dump1090 (or equivalent) is running and outputting data on port 30003 locally.

If you continue to experience issues after checking these steps, please send an email to [email protected]. Kindly include your RadarView Feeder Token in your email for faster investigation.