Table of Contents

Setting Up Telemetry Decoding

These settings control the optional outputs of the built-in telemetry decoder used by the Telemetry panel — saving decoded frames to a file, sharing them over a KISS server, and uploading them to the SatNOGS database.

Decoder Settings

Telemetry Settings

The outputs are configured on the Telemetry page of the Settings window (Tools / Settings):

  • Save to File — when enabled, every decoded frame is appended to a daily log file in the TelemetryDecodes subfolder of the data folder. The file contains the same information that is shown in the panel: the time, satellite, transmitter, frame length and address, the decoded telemetry, and the ASCII, HEX and META views of the frame.

  • KISS Server — makes the decoded frames available to other telemetry software over a KISS-over-TCP server:

    • Enabled — turns the server on;
    • TCP Port — the TCP port to listen on (8100 by default).

    Point any program that reads KISS frames over TCP — for example a satellite telemetry decoder or a custom logging script — at localhost and this port to receive the frames as SkyRoof decodes them.

  • SatNOGS Upload — forwards each decoded frame to the SatNOGS DB, contributing your telemetry to the community database:

    • Enabled — turns uploading on;
    • API Key — your personal SatNOGS DB API key (see below).

Uploading to SatNOGS

The SatNOGS DB is a community database of satellite telemetry. To contribute the frames that SkyRoof decodes:

  1. Create an account. Go to db.satnogs.org, click Login, and register (the SatNOGS network uses a single account across all of its sites). Confirm your e-mail address and log in.

  2. Copy your API key. Open your account page (your callsign or name in the top-right corner) and go to Settings. Your API Key is shown there as a long string of letters and digits. Copy it.

  3. Configure SkyRoof. In Tools / Settings:

    • on the User page, fill in your Callsign and your Maidenhead Grid Square — both are required, because each uploaded frame is tagged with the observer's call and location;
    • on the Telemetry page, expand SatNOGS Upload, set Enabled to true, and paste the API key into the API Key field.

  4. Decode some frames. Open the Telemetry panel and decode a pass of a supported satellite. Each frame that passes its integrity (CRC) check is uploaded automatically; frames that fail the check are not sent.

  5. Verify on the server. Confirm that your frames arrived, either way:

    • Web: open the satellite's page on db.satnogs.org (for example, by clicking on the SatNOGS link in the Satellite Details panel), click on Data and see if you are listed under Most Recent Observers.

    • API: query the telemetry endpoint for that satellite and look for your callsign in the source field of the most recent frames, for example:

      curl -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY" "https://db.satnogs.org/api/telemetry/?satellite=NORAD_ID"

      Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your key and NORAD_ID with the satellite's NORAD catalog number.

See Also