Carryout-Rotor-Update-1

README.md

@@ -1,160 +1,74 @@
-#Light-duty two-axis Az/El rotor using portable "Carryout" satellite antenna. 
-
-Gabe Emerson / Saveitforparts 2024. Email: gabe@saveitforparts.com
-
-Video demo: (in progress)
-
-**Introduction:**
-
-This code controls a portable satellite antenna over RS-485 using serial commands. 
-This is based roughly on my Carryout-Radio-Telescope project, adapted as a satellite
-tracking rotor. 
-
-The carryout_rotor.py program acts as an interface between a Winegard Carryout and
-Gpredict (or possibly other hamlib / rotctld compatible programs). Commands to get
-and set position are converted to Winegard firmware commands. Currently only "p", 
-"P <X Y>", and "S" are implemented. 
-
-Please note that the author is not an expert in Python, Linux, satellites, or 
-radio theory! This code is very experimental, amateur, and not optimized. It will
-likely void any warranty your Carryout antenna may have. There are probably better,
-faster, and more efficient ways	to do some of the functions and calculations in 
-the code. Please feel free to fix, improve, or add to anything (If you do, I'd
-love to hear what you did and how it worked!)    
-
-
-**Applications:**
-
-- Manually aiming a Winegard Carryout antenna at specific coordinates
-- Automatically tracking low-earth-orbit satellites with Gpredict
-- Tracking satellites on different frequencies (replace stock Ku-band hardware)
-- Tracking drones or aircraft (not tested)
-
-
-**Hardware Requirements:**
-
-This code has been developed and tested with a Winegard "Carryout" portable
-satellite antenna. Specifically, a 2003 version running HandEra HAL 1.00.065
-firmware. There are other variations and versions of this hardware, such as the
-Carryout G2 and G3. I have not tested it with all models, but the firmware and 
-commands are very similar across Winegard products. 
-
-You will need to remove the plastic radome from the top of the antenna to access
-the console port and change or modify the receiver feed.
-
-In addition to the antenna, you will need an RS-232 to RS-485 adapter, custom
-RJ-25 cable, and USB-to-Serial adapter. I used a "DTECH RS232 to RS485" converter
-that includes screw terminals. The DB9 end is connected to my USB serial cable,
-and the wiring terminals are connected to an RJ-25 cable (6-conductor phone cord)
-as follows:
-
-Looking at the bottom (pin side) of the RJ-25, with end of cable up, the wires
-from left to right are:
-
-Pin 1: GND
-Pin 2: T/R-
-Pin 3: T/R+
-Pin 4: RXD-
-Pin 5: RXD+
-Pin 6: Not connected
-
-(See cable1.jpb and cable2.jpg in the images folder)
-
-Thanks to Kyle from Kismet Emergency Communications for providing the RS-485 info! 
-
-You will also need a new antenna feed if you plan to use this system with anything
-other than Ku band. I removed the reflector and LNB and replaced them with a 3D-
-printed helicone antenna for L-band (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6436342).
-The helicone is connected to a Nooelec SAWbird+GOES LNA, powered via RTL-SDR 
-bias-tee. 
-
-The motors *might* be powerful enough to hold a small Yagi or other directional
-antenna, but I have not tested this. Adding too much weight or moving the center
-of balance too far from the mounting plate might damage the motors or gearing. 
-
-
-**Notes on power supply and auto-scan behavior**
-
-The Winegard Carryout used for testing had a proprietary 12v DC jack, I replaced 
-this with a standard barrel jack. The on-board DC could be stepped down to run an
-embedded system or SBC if desired. Power of at least 1A seems best. 
-
-When first powered on, the Carryout antenna goes through a series of calibration and
-automatic satellite search movements. This can take approximately 10-15 minutes
-to complete, depending on DIP switch settings on the control board. It may also 
-produce some alarming grinding sounds from the stepper motors and gearing. Winegard
-apparently did not bother to install limit switches, and uses motor stall to 
-determine drive limits. 
-
-Other users have reported that setting all DIP switches to "off" (up) disabled the 
-search mode, but that did not work for me. There may be a setting in the firmware to 
-disable the search, but I also have not found that (disabling tracking in the "nvs"
-firmware submenu also disables the position calibration, which we want to retain for 
-accurate aiming). 
-
-
-**Package Requirements:**
-
-carryout_rotor.py uses pyserial, regex, and socket.
-They can be installed individually or by running "pip install -r requirements.txt"
-
-
-**Setting up / testing Carryout console:**
-
-To connect to a Carryout antenna with RS-485, you will need the cable described above
-under Hardware Requirements. 
-
-To connect to the serial console on the antenna, run "screen /dev/ttyUSB0 57600" (or 
-appropriate port) on Linux, or use a Windows serial terminal to connect to the usb 
-device (typically com3 or similar). You will initially get a blank screen. Typing "?"
-should return a menu of available commands and submenus. Typing "q" exits the current
-submenu and returns to the root menu.
-
-Some submenus of interest include:
-target: send antenna to desired azimuth / elevation coordinates
-motor: manual motor movements and settings
-dvb: Get signal info from the stock LNB (if installed)
-os: List and quit running processes, etc
-
-You will probably want to increase the maximum elevation setting for use as a rotor.
-This can be found in the nvs submenu, index 102. Once in nvs, enter "e 102" to verify
-this is the max elevation setting. Then enter "e 102 90" to set the new max, and
-finally enter "s" to save. 
-
-Note that the console does not accept backspace, so if you make a mistake while typing,
-just hit enter to clear the console. If necessary, close the console or unplug the 
-dish to avoid a motor overrun. 
-
-
-**Positioning the antenna:**
-
-The Carryout antenna uses a 360-degree clockwise coordinate system, with the coax
-/ F connector at approximately 135 degrees. You may have to run some serial console
-commands like "target", "g 0 22" to find the 0 or North position. I marked mine
-with sharpie once I determined this. 
-
-Generally I place the antenna with the "0" position facing due North.
-
-
-**Using as an Az/El rotor:**
-
-NOTE: If your USB device is other than ttyUSB0, edit line 16 of carryout_rotor.py
-
-Once the dish is connected, powered, and ready on a serial port, run:
-"python3 carryout_rotor.py"
-
-The code will attempt to connect to the serial port and open a socket on localhost, 
-port 4533 (the default for Gpredict). 
-
-In Gpredict's rotor settings, you will want to create a new rotor at 127.0.0.1:4533,
-0->180->360, with minimum elevation 22 and maximum elevation 90 (the Carryout can't
-physically drop below about 22 degrees elevation, other models may have different
-limitations). See the note in the "Setting Up / Testing" section about increasing
-the Carryout's default max elevation. 
-
-Use Gpredict as normal to track a satellite and click "Engage" to connect to
-carryout_rotor.py. Clicking "engage" a second time to disengage will close the socket,
-the serial connection, and exit the python script (otherwise Gpredict crashes).  
-
-
+"""
+=================================================================
+SECTION 2: DOCUMENTATION AND INSTALLATION GUIDE
+=================================================================
+
+# Satellite Tracking Control System
+
+## Features
+- Full antenna control (azimuth/elevation)
+- Safety monitoring system
+- Web interface for status and control
+- Gpredict compatibility
+- REST API for remote control
+- Real-time position tracking
+
+## Installation
+
+### 1. System Requirements
+- Python 3.8 or higher
+- Linux/Unix system (tested on Ubuntu 20.04)
+- USB port for antenna connection
+
+### 2. Install Dependencies
+```bash
+# Create virtual environment
+python -m venv venv
+source venv/bin/activate
+
+# Install requirements
+pip install fastapi aiohttp pyserial pyyaml
+
+### 3. Hardware Setup
+Connect Winegard Carryout to USB port
+Note the USB device path (usually /dev/ttyUSB0)
+Ensure user has permission to access the USB port: sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER
+Running the System
+Save this file as satellite_tracker.py
+Run: python satellite_tracker.py
+Access web interface: http://localhost:8080
+Configure Gpredict to connect to localhost:4533
+Operation Guide
+System Start:
+
+Start program
+Wait for "System started successfully" message
+Verify web interface accessibility
+Manual Control:
+
+Use web interface for direct control
+Monitor safety parameters
+Use emergency stop if needed
+Gpredict Operation:
+
+Select satellite in Gpredict
+Enable rotator control
+System will automatically track
+Troubleshooting
+Common Issues:
+
+Connection Failed:
+
+Check USB permissions
+Verify correct port in settings
+Ensure no other program is using the port
+Movement Issues:
+
+Check safety status in web interface
+Verify position limits
+Check motor temperatures
+For additional support or feature requests:
+
+Submit issues on GitHub
+================================================================= """