- [Updating your location with GPSD](#updating-your-location-with-gpsd)
- [Basic Installation and Configuration of your GPS hardware and `gpsd` drivers](#basic-installation-and-configuration-of-your-gps-hardware-and-gpsd-drivers)
- [Optional parameters regulating the restart of `mlat-client` when the location changes](#optional-parameters-regulating-the-restart-of-mlat-client-when-the-location-changes)
Once you have [installed Docker](https://github.com/sdr-enthusiasts/docker-install), you can follow these lines of code to get up and running in very little time:
Some common ports are as follows (which may or may not be in use depending on your configuration). You can override the port mappings with the parameters shown in the [Optional Networking Parameters section](#optional-networking-parameters).
The general principle behind the port numbering, is:
Any of these ports can be made available to the host system by using the `ports:` directive in your `docker-compose.yml`. The container's web interface is rendered to port `80` in the container. This can be mapped to a port on the host using the docker-compose `ports` directive. In the example [`docker-compose.yml`](docker-compose.yml) file, the container's Tar1090 interface is mapped to `8080` on the host system, and ports `9273-9274` are exposed as-is:
- outputs an aircraft object for every new position received for an aircraft. The following parameters (which can be added with `READSB_EXTRA_ARGS`) control this output:
-`--net-json-port-interval` Set minimum interval between outputs per aircraft for TCP json output, default: 0.0 (every position)
-`--net-json-port-include-noposition` TCP json position output: include aircraft without position (state is sent for aircraft for every DF11 with CRC if the aircraft hasn't sent a position in the last 10 seconds and interval allowing)
The sections below describe how to configure each part of the container functionality. Each section describes what's needed to come up with a minimally viable configuration, followed by additional / optional parameters that can also be set.
- to enable a parameter, you can set it to any of `1`, `true`, `on`, `enabled`, `enable`, `yes`, or `y`. In the table below, we'll simply use `true` for convenience.
- to disable a parameter, you can set it to anything else or simply leave it undefined.
You need to make sure that the USB device can be accessed by the container. The best way to do so, is by adding the following to your `docker-compose.yml` file:
The advantage of doing this (over simply adding a `device:` directive pointing at the USB port) is that the construction above will automatically recover if you "hot plug" your dongle. ⚠️This feature requires a recent version of docker-compose (version >=2.3). Make sure your system is up to date if dongles are not found. ⚠️
| `ENABLE_TIMELAPSE1090` | Optional / Legacy. Set to `true` to enable timelapse1090. Once enabled, can be accessed via <http://dockerhost:port/timelapse/>. | Unset | |
| `READSB_EXTRA_ARGS` | Optional, allows to specify extra parameters for readsb | Unset | |
| `READSB_DEBUG` | Optional, used to set debug mode. `n`: network, `P`: CPR, `S`: speed check | Unset | |
| `S6_SERVICES_GRACETIME` | Optional, set to 30000 when saving traces / globe_history | `3000` | |
| `READSB_HEATMAP_INTERVAL` | Per plane interval for heatmap and replay (if you want to lower this, also lower json-trace-interval to this or a lower value) | `--heatmap=<sec>` | `15` |
| `MAX_GLOBE_HISTORY` | Maximum number of days that `globe_history` data (used to produce heatmaps and ptracks) is retained. Note - this parameter doesn't affect the data used to produce `graphs1090` statistics | | Unset |
`READSB_EXTRA_ARGS` just passes arguments to the commandline, you can check this file for more options for wiedehopf's readsb fork: <https://github.com/wiedehopf/readsb/blob/dev/help.h>
| `READSB_DEVICE_TYPE` | If using an SDR, set this to `rtlsdr`, `modesbeast`, `gnshulc` depending on the model of your SDR. If not using an SDR, leave un-set. | `--device-type=<type>` | Unset |
| `READSB_RTLSDR_DEVICE` | Select device by serial number. | `--device=<serial>` | Unset |
| `READSB_BEAST_SERIAL` | only when type `modesbeast` or `gnshulc` is used: Path to Beast serial device. | `--beast-serial=<path>` | `/dev/ttyUSB0` |
| `READSB_GAIN` | Set gain (in dB). Use `autogain` to have the container determine an appropriate gain, more on this below. Leave this parameter empty (recommended) to use [`readsb`'s built-in auto-gain](#using-readsbs-built-in-autogain-recommended), or set it to `omit` or `off` to not pass this parameter to `readsb` | `--gain=<db>` | Max gain |
| `READSB_RTLSDR_PPM` | Set oscillator frequency correction in PPM. See [Estimating PPM](https://github.com/sdr-enthusiasts/docker-readsb-protobuf/#estimating-ppm) | `--ppm=<correction>` | Unset |
###### Using `readsb`'s built-in AutoGain (recommended)
As of November 2024, we are recommending to leave the `READSB_GAIN` parameter empty by not including it in your configuration. This will engage the new built-in [autogain of `readsb`](https://github.com/wiedehopf/readsb?tab=readme-ov-file#autogain). This new algorithm uses continuous noise and signal strength measurements and is highly effective in environments with a mix of strong, local signals and distant, weak signals.
(Experts only:) If you want to pass in any autogain parameters to `readsb`, you can do so by setting `READSB_GAIN` to (for example) `READSB_GAIN=auto-verbose,0,25,31,243`. See the explanation at Wiedehopf's [`readsb` repository](https://github.com/wiedehopf/readsb?tab=readme-ov-file#autogain) for more information about these parameters
###### Using the original AutoGain algorithm
You can still use the original autogain algorithm by setting `READSB_GAIN=autogain`. That algorithm is built into the container and it will take signal strength measurements to determine the optimal gain. The AutoGain functionality is based on a (slightly) modified version of [Wiedehopf's AutoGain](https://github.com/wiedehopf/autogain). AutoGain will only work with `rtlsdr` style receivers.
Note that AutoGain is not related to the SDR's AGC setting (controlled with the `READSB_RTLSDR_ENABLE_AGC` variable). We do not recommend enabling AGC for Ultrafeeder or any other ADS-B decoder.
When taking measurements, if the percentage of "strong signals" (i.e., ADSB messages with RSSI > 3 dB) is larger than 6%, AutoGain will reduce the receiver's gain by 1 setting. Similarly, if the percentage of strong signals is smaller than 2.5%, AutoGain will increment the receiver's gain by 1 setting. When AutoGain changes the gain value, the `readsb` component of the container will restart. This may show as a disconnect / reconnected in container logs.
We recommend running the initial period during times when there are a lot of planes overhead, so the system will get a good initial view of what signals look like when traffic is at its peak for your location. If you forgot to do this for any reason, feel free to give the AutoGain reset command (see below) during flights busy hour.
In addition to (or instead of) connecting to an SDR or hardware device to get ADSB data, the container also supports ingesting or sending data from a TCP port. Here are some parameters that you need to configure if you want to make this happen:
##### All-in-One Configuration using `ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG`
`ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG` is a new parameter that can be used instead of separately defining `READSB_NET_CONNECTOR`, `MLAT_NET_CONNECTOR`, `MLATHUB_NET_CONNECTOR`/`MLATHUB_CONFIG`. These legacy parameters will still work; however, we wanted to provide a single parameter that enables configuration of incoming and outgoing ADSB data, MLAT-client data, and MLATHUB data.
Note that `ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG` and `ULTRAFEEDER_NET_CONNECTOR` can be used interchangeably; in this documentation, we'll use `ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG` as an example.
The ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG parameter can have multiple config strings, separated by a `;`. Please note that the config strings cannot contain `;` or `,` -- undefined things may happen if these characters are present.
- To connect to an external ADSB (for input or output), UAT, or MLAT results source, use `- ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG=adsb,host,port,protocol[,uuid=XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX][,extra-arguments]`
- To connect and send data to an MLAT Server, use `- ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG=mlat,host,port[,return_port][,uuid=XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX][,name=Friendly_Name-123][,input_connect=remote-host:port,input_type=xxxx,lat=xx.xxxx,lon=yy.yyyy,alt=zzz][,extra-arguments]`. For the optional parts in this structure, see [MLAT configuration](#mlat-configuration). Note - any MLAT results data received from the MLAT Server will automatically be aggregated in an [MLAT Hub](#configuring-the-built-in-mlat-hub) and shared with `tar1090`
- To add MLAT results from additional MLAT Servers not configured with Ultrafeeder (for example, MLAT results from FlightRadar24 or FlightAware/piaware), use `- ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG=mlathub,host,port,protocol[,uuid=XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX][,extra-arguments]`. You can further configure this MLAT Hub as described in the section [Configuring the built-in MLAT Hub](#configuring-the-built-in-mlat-hub)
-`uat_in`: "special" RAW format input as generated by the `dump978` container on port 30978. It is advisable to use this protocol and port to get UAT data from dump978, for example: `- ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG=adsb,dump978,30978,uat_in`
-`uuid` is a Universally Unique Identifier. You can reuse the one you generated for AdsbExchange, or you can generate a new one with this Linux command: `cat /proc/sys/kernel/random/uuid`. If omitted, it will use the `UUID` environment parameter, or if that one doesn't exist, it will leave the field empty
-`name` is a friendly name (containing any character of the set \[A-Za-z0-9_-\] - do not use any spaces, quotes, or other non-alphanumeric characters!) that will be sent to the MLAT Server, used to identify the station by name. If omitted, it will use the `MLAT_USER` parameter, or if that one doesn't exist, it will leave the field empty
-`input_connect` is a `host:port` combination where the ADSB data for this MLAT connection is coming from. If omitted, it will get its input from the `readsb` instance that is present in the container
-`input_type` is the type of data that the input source provides. This can be one of these: `auto`, `dump1090`, `beast`, `radarcape_12mhz`, `radarcape_gps`, `radarcape`, `sbs`, or `avrmlat`. If omitted, the value of the `MLAT_INPUT_TYPE` variable will be used, or if that one does not exist, `auto` will be used
| `BEASTHOST` | IP/Hostname of a Mode-S/Beast provider (`dump1090`/`readsb`) | |
| `BEASTPORT` | TCP port number of Mode-S/Beast provider (`dump1090`/`readsb`) | `30005` |
| `MLATHOST` | Legacy parameter. IP/Hostname of an MLAT provider (`mlat-client`). Note - using this parameter will not make the MLAT data part of the consolidated mlathub. The preferred way of ingesting MLAT results is using the `mlathub` functionality of the container, see below for details | |
| `MLATPORT` | Legacy parameter used with `MLATHOST`. TCP port number of an MLAT provider (`mlat-client`) | 30105 |
There are several aggregators, both non-profit and commercial, that can directly be sent data from ultrafeeder without the need for an additional feeder container. We have added them in the example `docker-compose.yml` snippet above. Here is a partial list of these aggregators. All of them use the `beast_reduce_plus` format for feeding ADSB data, and `mlat-client` for feeding MLAT:
| Airplanes.live | N | Run by volunteers that used to be related to adsbexchange | adsb:`feed.airplanes.live` port `30004`<br/>mlat: `feed.airplanes.live` port `31090` |
| RadarPlane | N | Run by a few aviation enthusiasts in Canada and Portugal | adsb: `feed.radarplane.com` port `30001`<br/>mlat: `feed.radarplane.com` port `31090` |
| Fly Italy ADSB | N | Run by a few aviation enthusiasts in Italy | adsb: `dati.flyitalyadsb.com` port `4905`<br/>mlat: `dati.flyitalyadsb.com` port `30100` |
| AussieADSB | C | Small semi-commercial aggregator focused uniquely on Australia/Oceania. See <https://aussieadsb.com>. See below on how to configure a feed to them | adsb: `aussieadsb.com` port (varies)<br/>mlat: `aussieadsb.com` port `30000` |
When feeding AdsbExchange, Ultrafeeder will send statistics to adsbexchange.com by default. See the description of the `ADSBX_STATS` parameter on how to disable this.
To feed AussieADSB (Australia/Oceania only!), execute this command on your host and follow the instructions. You can also use this command to de-register your feeder, or to see its status:
Instead of (or in addition to) using `BEASTHOST`, you can also define ADSB data ingests using the `READSB_NET_CONNECTOR` parameter. This is the preferred way if you have multiple sources or destinations for your ADSB data. This variable allows you to configure incoming and outgoing connections. The variable takes a semicolon (`;`) separated list of `host,port,protocol[,uuid=XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX]`, see the section [All-in-One Configuration using `ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG`](#all-in-one-configuration-using-ultrafeeder_config) for explanation of these parameters.
Note: if you have a UAT dongle and use `dump978` to decode this, you should use `READSB_NET_CONNECTOR` to ingest UAT data from `dump978`. See example below
There are many optional parameters relating to the ingestion of data and the general networking functioning of the `readsb` program that implements this functionality.
| `READSB_ENABLE_API` | Adds nginx proxies api at /re-api. Use with extraargs --write-json-globe-index --tar1090-use-api to get fast map with many planes | various | disabled |
| `READSB_NET_BEAST_REDUCE_FILTER_DIST` | Restrict beast-reduce output to aircraft in a radius of X nmi | `--net-beast-reduce-filter-dist=<nmi>` | Unset |
| `READSB_NET_BEAST_REDUCE_FILTER_ALT` | Restrict beast-reduce output to aircraft below X ft | `--net-beast-reduce-filter-alt=<ft>` | Unset |
| `READSB_WRITE_STATE_ONLY_ON_EXIT` | if set to anything, it will only write the status range outlines, etc. upon termination of `readsb` | `--write-state-only-on-exit` | Unset |
| `READSB_JSON_INTERVAL` | Update interval for the webinterface in seconds / interval between aircraft.json writes | `--write-json-every=<sec>` | `1.0` |
| `READSB_JSON_TRACE_INTERVAL` | Per plane interval for json position output and trace interval for globe history | `--json-trace-interval=<sec>` | `15` |
| `READSB_FORWARD_MLAT_SBS` | If set to anything, it will include MLAT results in the SBS/BaseStation output. This may be desirable if you feed SBS data to applications like [VRS](https://github.com/sdr-enthusiasts/docker-virtualradarserver) or [PlaneFence](https://github.com/kx1t/docker-planefence) | `--forward_mlat_sms` | Unset |
| `UUID` | Sets the UUID that is sent on the `beast_reduce_plus` port if no individual UUIDs have been defined with the `READSB_NET_CONNECTOR` parameter. Similarly, it's also used with `mlat-client` (see below) if no individual UUIDs have been set with the `MLAT_CONFIG` parameter. | | Unset |
| `ADSBX_STATS` | If set to `disabled`/`off`/`0`/`no`, and feeding to AdsbExchange has been configured, no special statistics will be shared with AdsbExchange. If unset or set to `enabled`/`on`/`1`/`yes`, statistics will be shared with AdsbExchange if they are configured as an aggregator | | Unset |
The Ultrafeeder contains a capability to send MLAT data to MLAT servers to be processed, and to receive the MLAT results and integrate those with an MLAT Hub and the `tar1090` map.
It will create a separate instance of `mlat-client` for each defined MLAT server. The parameters for these `mlat-client` instances is as follows:
| `mlat` | Mandatory | indicates that the line container MLAT-client configuration parameters |
| `mlat-server.com` | Mandatory | the domain name or ip address of the target MLAT server |
| `port` | Mandatory | the port (TCP or UDP) of the target MLAT server |
| `return_port` | Optional | the port at which the MLAT results are made available in BEAST format. We recommend to sequentially number them starting at 39000 |
| `uuid` | Optional | a unique user ID for this MLAT server instance. If included, the string must start with `uuid=`. If not included, it will use the value of the `UUID` parameter if it exists |
| `input_connect` | Optional | a unique input connection in the form `input_connect=remotehost:port`, where `remotehost:` is the hostname or IP address and TCP port of your remote BEAST source. This can be used to connect to a remote Beast source and forward MLAT data to an MLAT server |
| `lat` | Optional | the latitude to be sent to the MLAT server in the form `lat=xx.xxxxx`. If omitted, the `LAT` / `READSB_LAT` parameter will be used. This is meant to be used in combination with `input_connect` for connecting to a remote Beast source and forward MLAT data to an MLAT server |
| `lon` | Optional | the longitude to be sent to the MLAT server in the form `lon=xx.xxxxx`. If omitted, the `LONG` / `READSB_LON` parameter will be used. This is meant to be used in combination with `input_connect` for connecting to a remote Beast source and forward MLAT data to an MLAT server |
| `alt` | Optional | the altitude to be sent to the MLAT server in the form `alt=xx.xxxxx`. If omitted, the `ALT` / `READSB_ALT` parameter will be used. This is meant to be used in combination with `input_connect` for connecting to a remote Beast source and forward MLAT data to an MLAT server |
| `extra-arguments` | Optional | Any extra parameter you want to pass to the `mlat-client` program. Will be added verbatim to the command line |
The `MLAT_USER` parameter is passed to the MLAT Client and server, and will show up as a "friendly" name on MLAT related stats at your MLAT aggregator. This parameter can only contain alphanumeric (a-z, A-Z, 0-9) characters, dashes (-), or underscores (_).
Here are a few things you may want to try to fix this:
- Ensure your longitude, latitude, and altitude are ACCURATE
- Make sure your device's clock is synced continuously with a reliable NTP service. We recommend `chronyd` over `systemd.timesyncd`
- Do not try to send MLAT data from a centralized instance when you are using a remote receiver. Instead, feed MLAT directly from the remote station
- On Raspberry Pi 3/3B+, disable HealthCheck by adding the following to the ultrafeeder service section in your `docker-compose.yml` file. (This has to do with docker resource spikes that mess with MLAT timing on slower machines like the Pi3/3B+) :
```yaml
ultrafeeder:
...
healthcheck:
disable: true
```
- MLAT often fails when you run your receiver on a Virtual Machine rather than directly on the hardware. Avoid virtual machines (including ProxMox and container-in-container setups) or disable MLAT on them
- For FlightAware MLAT, make sure that your location and altitude are PRECISELY defined in your dashboard on the FlightAware website
- Never, ever, ever resend MLAT results back to ADSB or MLAT aggregators. Please DO NOT. This will ensure your data is discarded and may get you banned from the aggregator
- If you feed your data to multiple aggregators, please do not enable MLAT for FlightRadar24 (per their request). Note that MLAT for FR24 using our containerized setup is disabled by default
An "MLAT Hub" is an aggregator of MLAT results from several sources. Since the container is capable of sending MLAT data to multiple ADSB aggregators (like adsb.lol/fi/one, etc), we built in a capability to:
- collect the MLAT results from all of these services
- ingest MLAT results from other containers (FlightAware, Radarbox, etc.)
- make the consolidated MLAT results available on a port in Beast or SBS (BaseStation) format
- create outbound connections using any supported format to send your Beast data wherever you want
Note - due to design limitations of `readsb`, the `tar1090` graphical interface will by default ONLY show MLAT results from the aggregators/MLAT sources that were defined with the `MLAT_NET_CONNECTOR` or `ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG=mlat,...` parameters. If you want to show any MLAT results from sources that have their own feeder containers (for example, those from `piaware`), you should add these sources like this:
-`host` is the hostname where the `MLAT results` are coming from. This can be another container name (e.g., `piaware`) or the IP address of your machine on which `mlat-client` is running. Note -- this is NOT the hostname or IP of the MLAT Server or aggregator that processes the MLAT data
-`port` is the port on which the `mlat-client` on the `host` makes its results available
-`protocol` is the output protocol which is almost always `beast_in`
| `MLATHUB_NET_CONNECTOR` | (Obsolete, please use `ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG=mlathub,...` instead.) List of semi-colon (`;`) separated IP or host, port, and protocols where MLATHUB will connect to ingest or send MLAT data. It follows the same syntax as described in the [`READSB_NET_CONNECTOR` syntax section](#alternate-configuration-method-with-readsb_net_connector) above | Unset |
The Container creates an interactive web interface displaying the aircraft, based on Wiedehopf's widely used [tar1090](https://github.com/wiedehopf/tar1090) software.
Note - due to design limitations of `readsb`, the `tar1090` graphical interface will by default ONLY show MLAT results from the aggregators/MLAT sources that were defined with the `MLAT_NET_CONNECTOR` parameter. If you want to show any additional MLAT results (for example, those from `piaware`), you should add a separate `READSB_NET_CONNECTOR` entry for them.
| `READSB_JSON_INTERVAL` | Update data update interval for the webinterface in seconds | `1.0` |
| `UPDATE_TAR1090` | At startup update tar1090 and tar1090db to the latest versions | `true` |
| `INTERVAL` | Interval at which the track history is saved | `8` |
| `HISTORY_SIZE` | How many points in time are stored in the track history | `450` |
| `ENABLE_978` | Change to yes to enable UAT/978 display in `tar1090`. This will also enable UAT-specific graphs in graphs1090 | `no` |
| `URL_978` | The URL needs to point at where you would normally find the skyview978 webinterface, for example `http://192.168.0.29/skyaware978`. Note -- do not use `localhost` or `127.0.0.1 | |
| `GZIP_LVL` | `1`-`9` are valid, lower lvl: less CPU usage, higher level: less network bandwidth used when loading the page | `3` |
| `PTRACKS` | Shows the last `$PTRACKS` hours of traces you have seen at the `?pTracks` URL | `8` |
| `TAR1090_FLIGHTAWARELINKS` | Set to `true` to enable FlightAware links in the web interface | `null` |
| `TAR1090_ENABLE_AC_DB` | Set to `true` to enable extra information, such as aircraft type and registration, to be included in in `aircraft.json` output. Will use more 50 MB extra memory | `false` |
| `TAR1090_DB_LONGTYPE` | Set to `false` to remove the "desc", "ownOp" and "year" fields from `aircraft.json` when AC_DB is enabled. | `true` |
| `HEYWHATSTHAT_PANORAMA_ID` | Your `heywhatsthat.com` panorama ID. See <https://github.com/wiedehopf/tar1090#heywhatsthatcom-range-outline> (will reveal exact location in the webinterface) | |
| `HEYWHATSTHAT_ALTS` | Comma separated altitudes for multiple outlines. Use no units or `ft` for feet, `m` for meters, or `km` for kilometers. Only integer numbers are accepted, no decimals please | `12192m` (=40000 ft) |
| `HTTP_ACCESS_LOG` | Optional. Set to `true` to display HTTP server access logs. | `false` |
| `HTTP_ERROR_LOG` | Optional. Set to `false` to hide HTTP server error logs. | `true` |
| `TAR1090_IMAGE_CONFIG_LINK` | An optional URL shown at the top of page, designed to be used for a link back to a configuration page. The token `HOSTNAME` in the link is replaced with the current host that tar1090 is accessed on. | `null` |
| `TAR1090_IMAGE_CONFIG_TEXT` | Text to display for the config link | `null` |
| `TAR1090_DISABLE` | Set to `true` to disable the web server and all websites (including the map, `graphs1090`, `heatmap`, `pTracks`, etc.) | Unset |
| `READSB_ENABLE_HEATMAP` | Set to `true` or leave unset to enable the HeatMap function available at `http://myip/?Heatmap`; set to `false` to disable the HeapMap function | `true` (enabled) |
| `READSB_ENABLE_TRACES` | Save detailed globe history traces (1 gzip compressed json file per day and airframe, use MAX_GLOBE_HISTORY so you don't run out of inodes / diskspace) | `false` |
| `TAR1090_AISCATCHER_SERVER` | If you want to show vessels from your AIS-Catcher instance on the map, put the (externally reachable) URL of your AIS-Catcher or ShipFeeder website in this parameter (incl. `https://`). Note - if you are using "barebones" AIS-Catcher you should add `GEOJSON on` after the `-N` parameter on the `AIS-Catcher` command line. If you use [docker-shipfeeder](https://github.com/sdr-enthusiasts/docker-shipfeeder), no change is needed for that container | Empty |
| `TAR1090_AISCATCHER_REFRESH` | Refresh rate (in seconds) of reading vessels from your AIS-Catcher instance. Defaults to 15 (secs) if omitted | `15` |
- For documentation on the aircraft.json format see this page: <https://github.com/wiedehopf/readsb/blob/dev/README-json.md>
- TAR1090_ENABLE_AC_DB causes readsb to load the tar1090 database as a csv file from this repository: <https://github.com/wiedehopf/tar1090-db/tree/csv>
| `TAR1090_DISPLAYUNITS` | The DisplayUnits setting controls whether nautical (ft, NM, knots), metric (m, km, km/h) or imperial (ft, mi, mph) units are used in the plane table and in the detailed plane info. Valid values are "`nautical`", "`metric`", or "`imperial`". | `nautical` |
| `TAR1090_BINGMAPSAPIKEY` | Provide a Bing Maps API key to enable the Bing imagery layer. You can obtain a free key (with usage limits) at <https://www.bingmapsportal.com/> (you need a "basic key"). | `null` |
| `TAR1090_DEFAULTCENTERLAT` | Default center (latitude) of the map. This setting is overridden by any position information provided by dump1090/readsb. All positions are in decimal degrees. | `45.0` |
| `TAR1090_DEFAULTCENTERLON` | Default center (longitude) of the map. This setting is overridden by any position information provided by dump1090/readsb. All positions are in decimal degrees. | `9.0` |
| `TAR1090_DEFAULTZOOMLVL` | The google maps zoom level, `0` - `16`, lower is further out. | `7` |
| `TAR1090_SITESHOW` | Display center marker. Setting this to false will NOT remove your location, see `READSB_RX_LOCATION_ACCURACY` for that. | `true` |
| `TAR1090_SITELAT` | Center marker. If readsb provides a receiver location, that location is used and these settings are ignored. Position of the marker (latitude). | `45.0` |
| `TAR1090_SITELON` | Center marker. If readsb provides a receiver location, that location is used and these settings are ignored. Position of the marker (longitude). | `9.0` |
| `TAR1090_SITENAME` | The tooltip of the center marker. | `My Radar Site` |
| `TAR1090_RANGE_OUTLINE_COLOR` | Colour for the range outline. | `#0000DD` |
| `TAR1090_RANGE_OUTLINE_WIDTH` | Width for the range outline. | `1.7` |
| `TAR1090_RANGE_OUTLINE_COLORED_BY_ALTITUDE` | Range outline is coloured by altitude. | `false` |
| `TAR1090_RANGE_OUTLINE_DASH` | Range outline dashing. Syntax `[L, S]` where `L` is the pixel length of the line, and `S` is the pixel length of the space. | Unset |
| `TAR1090_ACTUAL_RANGE_OUTLINE_COLOR` | Colour for the actual range outline | `#00596b` |
| `TAR1090_ACTUAL_RANGE_OUTLINE_WIDTH` | Width of the actual range outline | `1.7` |
| `TAR1090_ACTUAL_RANGE_OUTLINE_DASH` | Dashed style for the actual range outline. Unset for solid line. `[5,5]` for a dashed line with 5 pixel lines and spaces in between | Unset |
| `TAR1090_MAPTYPE_TAR1090` | Which map is displayed to new visitors. Valid values for this setting are `osm`, `esri`, `carto_light_all`, `carto_light_nolabels`, `carto_dark_all`, `carto_dark_nolabels`, `gibs`, `osm_adsbx`, `chartbundle_sec`, `chartbundle_tac`, `chartbundle_hel`, `chartbundle_enrl`, `chartbundle_enra`, `chartbundle_enrh`, and only with bing key `bing_aerial`, `bing_roads`. | `carto_light_all` |
| `TAR1090_MAPDIM` | Default map dim state, true or false. | `true` |
| `TAR1090_MAPDIMPERCENTAGE` | The percentage amount of dimming used if the map is dimmed, `0`-`1` | `0.45` |
| `TAR1090_MAPCONTRASTPERCENTAGE` | The percentage amount of contrast used if the map is dimmed, `0`-`1` | `0` |
| `TAR1090_DWDLAYERS` | Various map layers provided by the DWD geoserver can be added here. [Preview and available layers](https://maps.dwd.de/geoserver/web/wicket/bookmarkable/org.geoserver.web.demo.MapPreviewPage?1&filter=false). Multiple layers are also possible. Syntax: `dwd:layer1,dwd:layer2,dwd:layer3` | `dwd:RX-Produkt` |
| `TAR1090_LABELZOOM` | Displays aircraft labels only until this zoom level, `1`-`15` (values >`15` don't really make sense) | |
| `TAR1090_LABELZOOMGROUND` | Displays ground traffic labels only until this zoom level, `1`-`15` (values >`15` don't really make sense) | |
| `TAR1090_RANGERINGS` | `false` to hide range rings | `true` |
| `TAR1090_RANGERINGSDISTANCES` | Distances to display range rings, in miles, nautical miles, or km (depending settings value '`TAR1090_DISPLAYUNITS`'). Accepts a comma separated list of numbers (no spaces, no quotes). | `100,150,200,250` |
| `TAR1090_RANGERINGSCOLORS` | Colours for each of the range rings specified in `TAR1090_RANGERINGSDISTANCES`. Accepts a comma separated list of hex colour values, each enclosed in single quotes (e.g., `TAR1090_RANGERINGSCOLORS='#FFFFF','#00000'`). No spaces. | Unset |
| `TAR1090_ENABLE_ACTUALRANGE` | Set to `true` or leave unset to enable the outline of the actual range of your station on the map; set to `false` to disable the this outline | `true` (enabled) |
| `GRAPHS1090_DISK_DEVICE` | Defines which disk device (`mmc0`, `sda`, `sdc`, etc) is shown. Leave empty for default device | Unset |
| `GRAPHS1090_ETHERNET_DEVICE` | Defines which (wired) ethernet device (`eth0`, `enp0s`, etc) is shown. Leave empty for default device | Unset |
| `GRAPHS1090_WIFI_DEVICE` | Defines which (wireless) WiFi device (`wlan0`, `wlp3s0`, etc) is shown. Leave empty for default device | Unset |
| `GRAPHS1090_DISABLE` | Set to `true` to disable the entire GRAPHS1090 web page and associated data collection | Unset |
| `GRAPHS1090_DISABLE_CHART_CPU` | Set to `true` to disable the GRAPHS1090 CPU chart | Unset |
| `GRAPHS1090_DISABLE_CHART_TEMP` | Set to `true` to disable the GRAPHS1090 Temperature chart | Unset |
| `GRAPHS1090_DISABLE_CHART_MEMORY` | Set to `true` to disable the GRAPHS1090 Memory Utilization chart | Unset |
| `GRAPHS1090_DISABLE_CHART_NETWORK_BANDWIDTH` | Set to `true` to disable the GRAPHS1090 Network Bandwidth chart | Unset |
| `GRAPHS1090_DISABLE_CHART_DISK_USAGE` | Set to `true` to disable the GRAPHS1090 Disk Usage chart | Unset |
| `GRAPHS1090_DISABLE_CHART_DISK_IOPS` | Set to `true` to disable the GRAPHS1090 Disk IOPS chart | Unset |
| `GRAPHS1090_DISABLE_CHART_DISK_BANDWIDTH` | Set to `true` to disable the GRAPHS1090 Disk Bandwidth chart | Unset |
| `GRAPHS1090_WWW_TITLE` | Set title for the web page (displayed in the browser title or tab bar) | `graphs1090` |
| `GRAPHS1090_WWW_HEADER` | Set header text for the web page | `Perf. Graphs` |
| `GRAPHS1090_HIDE_SYSTEM` | Hide the system graphs and don't render them, don't collect system data | `no` |
| `GRAPHS1090_DEFAULT_APPEND` | Append to /etc/default/graphs1090, see <https://github.com/wiedehopf/graphs1090/blob/master/default> | Unset |
| `ENABLE_AIRSPY` | Optional, set to any non-empty value if you want to enable the special AirSpy graphs. See below for additional configuration requirements | Unset |
| `URL_AIRSPY` | Optional, set to the URL where the airspy stats are available, for example `http://airspy_adsb` | Unset |
2. Install the [`docker-dump978` container](https://github.com/sdr-enthusiasts/docker-dump978). Note - only containers downloaded/deployed on/after Feb 8, 2023 will work.
Note that you *must* configure `URL_978` to point at a working skyaware978 website with `aircraft.json` data feed. This means that the URL `http://dump978/skyaware978/data/aircraft.json` must return valid JSON data to this `tar1090` container.
2. Install the [`airspy_adsb` container](https://github.com/sdr-enthusiasts/airspy_adsb). Note - only containers downloaded/deployed on/after May 9th, 2024 will work with this method.
By default, the system will use the temperature available at Thermal Zone 0. This generally works well on Raspberry Pi devices, and no additional changes are needed.
On different devices, the Core Temperature is mapped to a different Thermal Zone. To ensure the Core Temperature graph works, follow these steps
First check out which Thermal Zone contains the temperature you want to monitor. On your host system, do this:
```bash
for i in /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone* ; do echo "$i - $(cat ${i}/type) - $(cat ${i}/temp 2>/dev/null)"; done
Repeat this a few times to ensure that the temperature varies and isn't hardcoded to a value. In our case, either Thermal Zone 5 (`pch_skylake` is the Intel Core name) or Thermal Zone 8 (the temp of the entire SOC package) can be used. Once you have determined which Thermal Zone number you want to use, map it to a volume like this. Make sure that the part to the left of the first `:` reflects your Thermal Zone directory; the part to the right of the first `:` should always be `/sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0:ro`.
Note that you will have to add `- privileged: true` capabilities to the container. This is less than ideal as it will give the container access to all of your system devices and processes. Make sure you feel comfortable with this before you do this.
Note - *this feature is still somewhat experimental. If you are really attached to your statistics/graphs1090 data, please make sure to back up your mapped drives regularly*
If you are using a Raspberry Pi or another type of computer with an SD card, you may already be aware that these SD cards have a limited number of write-cycles that will determine their lifespan. In other words - a common reason for SD card failure is excessive writes to it.
By the nature of having to log lots of data the `graphs1090` functionality writes a lot to the SD card. To reduce the number of write cycles, there are a few parameters you can set.
Enabling this functionality will cause `graphs1090` to temporarily write all data to volatile memory (`/run`) instead of persistent disk space (`/var/lib/collectd`). This data is backed up to persistent disk space in regular intervals and upon (graceful) shutdown of the container.
Note -- there is a chance that the data isn't written back in time (due to power failures, non-graceful container shutdowns, etc), in which case you may lose statistics data that has been generated since the last write-back.
The feature assumes that you have mapped `/var/lib/collectd` to a volume (to ensure data is persistent across container recreations), and `/run` as a `tmpfs` RAM disk, as shown below and also as per the [`docker-compose.yml` example](docker-compose.yml):
Legacy: **We recommend AGAINST enabling this feature** as it has been replaced with <http://dockerhost:port/?replay>. `timelapse1090` writes a lot of data to disk, which could shorten the lifespan of your Raspiberry Pi SD card. The replacement functionality is better and doesn't cause any additional disk writes.
| `ENABLE_TIMELAPSE1090` | Optional / Legacy. Set to `true` to enable timelapse1090. Once enabled, can be accessed via <http://dockerhost:port/timelapse/> | Unset |
| `TIMELAPSE1090_INTERVAL` | Snapshot interval in seconds | `10` |
| `TIMELAPSE1090_HISTORY` | Time saved in hours | `24` |
This feature enables you to deploy Ultrafeeder while you are moving around. It will read your current longitude/latitude/altitude from a GPS unit that is connected to `gpsd` on your host system, and ensure that the map will show your current location. It will also restart any `mlat-client` instances once it detects that you moved from your previous location.
### Basic Installation and Configuration of your GPS hardware and `gpsd` drivers
The simplest way of getting this to work is to acquire a ["VK163" USB GPS "Mouse"](https://a.co/d/0D7Tj0n), similar to the one in the link. You can connect this mouse to any USB port on your machine.
For this to work, you should install and configure GPSD to work on your host machine. The `DEVICES` parameter is probably correct as shown below, but you may want to double-check that data is received on that device (`cat /dev/ttyACM0`) and adjust it if needed:
Then, you can add the following values to `ultrafeeder` service settings in `docker-compose.yml`:
```yaml
services:
...
ultrafeeder:
...
extra_hosts:
- "host.docker.internal:host-gateway"
...
environment:
ULTRAFEEDER-CONFIG=
gpsd,host.docker.internal,2947;
...
```
Finally, restart the container with `docker compose up -d`
This will:
- install and configure `gpsd` (`/etc/default/gpsd`) so it makes GPS data available on the default TCP port 2947 of your host system
- configure the ultrafeeder docker container to read GPSD data
- configure the ultrafeeder container so the hostname `host.docker.internal` always resolves to the IP address of the underlying machine (where `gpsd` is running)
The following parameters are all optional and are subject to change. These variables should be added to the environment section of your docker-compose.yml. They will not work if entered into the .env file. You don't need to set them unless you want to change the default behavior.
No paths need to be mapped through to persistent storage. However, if you don't want to lose your range outline and aircraft tracks/history and heatmap / replay data on container restart, you can optionally map these paths:
| `/opt/adsb/ultrafeeder/globe_history:/var/globe_history` | Holds range outline data, heatmap / replay data and traces if enabled. *Note: this data won't be automatically deleted, you will need to delete it eventually if you map this path.* |
| `/opt/adsb/ultrafeeder/timelapse1090:/var/timelapse1090` | Holds timelapse1090 data if enabled. (We recommend against enabling this feature, see above) |
| `/opt/adsb/ultrafeeder/collectd:/var/lib/collectd` | Holds graphs1090 & performance data |
| `/proc/diskstats:/proc/diskstats:ro` | Makes disk statistics available to `graphs1090` |
| `/sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone8:/sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0:ro` | Only needed on some systems to display the CPU temperature in `graphs1090`, see [here](#configuring-the-core-temperature-graphs) |
When using the `:telegraf` tag, the image contains [Telegraf](https://docs.influxdata.com/telegraf/), which can be used to capture metrics from `ultrafeeder` if an output is enabled.
See [README-grafana.md](README-grafana.md) for detailed instruction on how to configure this.
**NOTE - READ CAREFULLY**: As of 27 April 2023, the `latest` image no longer contains Telegraf. If you want to send metrics to InfluxDB or Prometheus, please use this image:
Please see the [separate instruction document](README-grafana.md) for step by step instructions on how to set up and configure a Grafana Dashboard with Prometheus. The sections below are provided as a reference.
In order for Telegraf to output metrics to an [InfluxDBv2](https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb/) time-series database, the following environment variables can be used:
If you want to use `ultrafeeder`*only* as a SDR decoder but without any mapping or stats/graph websites, without MLAT connections or MLAT-hub, etc., for example to minimize CPU and RAM needs on a low CPU/memory single board computer, then do the following:
- in the `ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG` parameter, remove any entry that starts with `mlat` or `mlathub`. This will prevent any `mlat-client`s or `mlathub` instances to be launched. If you still want to connect the `mlat-client`(s) to external MLAT servers but you don't want to run the overhead of a MLATHUB, you can leave any entries starting with `mlat` in the `ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG` parameter, and set `MLATHUB_DISABLE=true`
- Set the parameter `TAR1090_DISABLE=true`. This will prevent the `nginx` webserver and any websites to be launched and no `collectd` (graphs1090) or `rrd` (ADSB message history) data to be collected or retained.
- Make sure to use `ghcr.io/sdr-enthusiasts/docker-adsb-ultrafeeder:latest` and specifically NOT the `ghcr.io/sdr-enthusiasts/docker-adsb-ultrafeeder:telegraf` label as Telegraf adds a LOT of resource use to the container
- The [SDR-Enthusiasts team](https://github.com/sdr-enthusiasts) ([Mike Nye](https://github.com/mikenye), [Fred Clausen](https://github.com/fredclausen)) for all the foot and leg work done to create the base images on which the container is built
- [Wiedehopf](https://github.com/wiedehopf) for modifying, creating, maintaining, and adding features to many of the components of this container including [readsb](https://github.com/wiedehopf/readsb), [tar1090](https://github.com/wiedehopf/tar1090), [graphs1090](https://github.com/wiedehopf/graphs1090), [autogain](https://github.com/wiedehopf/adsb-scripts/wiki/Automatic-gain-optimization-for-readsb-and-dump1090-fa), and many more components, and for helping debug the container whenever the need arose
- [John Norrbin](https://github.com/Johnex) for his ideas, testing, feature requests, more testing, nagging, pushing, prodding, and overall efforts to make this a high quality container and for the USB "hotplug" configuration
- The community at the [SDR-Enthusiasts Discord Server](https://discord.gg/sTf9uYF) for helping out, testing, asking questions, and generally driving to make this a better product
- Of course the Open Source community at large, including [Salvatore Sanfilippo](https://github.com/antirez) and [Oliver Jowett](https://github.com/mutability) who wrote the excellent base code for `dump1090` from which much of this package is derived
