Rewrite homepage to lead with capabilities
Feature cards (tracking, camera, radio telescope, signal, motor, console) replace the old firmware-focused "What is this?" section. TUI collage screenshot and demo mode quick-start now front-and-center. Attribution moved downstream. Hero CTAs updated to demo mode and guides.
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@ -11,59 +11,95 @@ hero:
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- text: Get Started
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link: /getting-started/
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icon: right-arrow
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- text: Birdcage TUI
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link: /guides/tui/
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- text: Try Demo Mode
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link: /guides/tui/#quick-start
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variant: minimal
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- text: Console Commands
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link: /reference/console-commands/
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- text: Browse Guides
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link: /guides/wiring/
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variant: minimal
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---
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import { Card, CardGrid, LinkCard, Aside } from '@astrojs/starlight/components';
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import { Card, CardGrid, LinkCard, Aside, Steps } from '@astrojs/starlight/components';
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Birdcage turns salvaged RV satellite dishes into general-purpose AZ/EL positioners. Point them at LEO satellites, map the RF sky, capture images during passes — the hardware doesn't care what you're tracking or why.
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## What it does
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<CardGrid>
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<Card title="Satellite Tracking" icon="star">
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Real-time pass prediction from the [Craft API](https://space.warehack.ing), or connect Gpredict via the built-in rotctld server. Search by name, filter by elevation, track automatically.
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[Tracking guide →](/guides/satellite-tracking/)
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</Card>
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<Card title="Camera Capture" icon="seti:image">
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Manual, interval, and pass-event triggered image capture. Produces JPEG frames with JSON metadata and optional FITS output for scientific workflows.
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[TUI guide →](/guides/tui/)
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</Card>
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<Card title="Radio Telescope" icon="sun">
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2D RF sky mapping with `azscanwxp` — a firmware command that sweeps azimuth while cycling DVB transponders and logging RSSI at each grid point.
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[Radio telescope guide →](/guides/radio-telescope/)
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</Card>
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<Card title="Signal Analysis" icon="bars">
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Live RSSI monitoring, automated sweep peaking, DVB tuner access, and LNB polarity switching — all from the Signal screen.
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[Signal screen →](/guides/tui/#f3--signal)
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</Card>
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<Card title="Motor Control" icon="setting">
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Keyboard nudging, position presets, velocity tuning, configurable step sizes. Direct motor commands with safety gates to prevent accidental stow.
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[Control screen →](/guides/tui/#f2--control)
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</Card>
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<Card title="Raw Console" icon="terminal">
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Full firmware shell access through the TUI. 12 submenus, 100+ commands, with history and prompt-aware I/O.
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[Command reference →](/reference/console-commands/)
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</Card>
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</CardGrid>
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## The TUI
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Six screens, one terminal. Everything from pass prediction to raw firmware commands:
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- **F1 — Dashboard:** Satellite list, pass predictions, active tracking status, position readout
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- **F2 — Control:** Motor nudging, presets, velocity controls, step size selector
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- **F3 — Signal:** RSSI plots, DVB tuner status, sweep peaking, LNB diagnostics
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- **F4 — System:** NVS settings, firmware identification, motor lifetime stats
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- **F5 — Console:** Direct firmware shell with prompt-terminated I/O and command history
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- **F6 — Camera:** Live capture overlay with manual, interval, and pass-event triggers
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<Aside type="note" title="No hardware? No problem.">
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Demo mode runs the full TUI with simulated data — every screen, every interaction. It's the fastest way to see what Birdcage can do.
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</Aside>
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<Steps>
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1. **Clone and install** (from the `tui/` directory):
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```bash
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cd tui/
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uv sync
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```
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2. **Run in demo mode:**
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```bash
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uv run birdcage-tui --demo
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```
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</Steps>
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## Why "Birdcage"?
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In ham radio, satellites are called "birds." The Carryout G2's white dome radome looks like a birdcage — and a birdcage catches birds from the sky.
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It's also a nod to [saveitforparts](https://www.youtube.com/@saveitforparts). Gabe saves discarded RV satellite dishes "for parts." We took the parts and built a birdcage from them.
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<Aside type="tip" title="Standing on the shoulders of saveitforparts">
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This project builds directly on the open-source work of **Gabe Emerson (KL1FI)** and his
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[saveitforparts](https://www.youtube.com/@saveitforparts) YouTube channel. Gabe documented
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five different Winegard dish variants, wrote Python control scripts for each, and shared
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everything on GitHub. Without his work, none of this would exist.
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everything on GitHub. Chris Davidson ([cdavidson0522](https://github.com/cdavidson0522/winegard-sky-scan))
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figured out the G2's RS-422 wiring and discovered the built-in radio telescope mode.
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Without their work, none of this would exist.
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[Read the full story →](/journal/origins/)
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</Aside>
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## Why "Birdcage"?
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The Carryout G2's white dome radome does look like a birdcage -- and in ham radio, satellites are called "birds." A birdcage catches birds from the sky.
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It's also a nod to [saveitforparts](https://www.youtube.com/@saveitforparts). Gabe saves discarded RV satellite dishes "for parts." We took the parts and built a birdcage from them.
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## What is this?
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Winegard makes motorized satellite TV dishes -- the Trav'ler, Carryout, and their variants -- designed to automatically find DirecTV and DISH Network satellites from an RV rooftop. They have stepper motors for azimuth and elevation, firmware consoles accessible over RS-485 or RS-422, and enough mechanical range to track objects across most of the sky.
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Birdcage repurposes that hardware for **amateur radio satellite tracking**: pointing a dish at LEO and GEO satellites using orbital prediction software like Gpredict, controlled via the Hamlib `rotctld` protocol.
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Along the way, we've reverse-engineered the firmware console of the Carryout G2 (all 12 submenus, 100+ commands), mapped the K60 MCU's GPIO pins live over serial, built a BLE-to-RS422 wireless bridge, and discovered a built-in radio telescope mode.
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## Where to start
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<CardGrid>
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<Card title="Getting Started" icon="rocket">
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What hardware you need, how to connect, and your first satellite track.
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[Start here →](/getting-started/)
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</Card>
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<Card title="Guides" icon="open-book">
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Task-oriented guides: wiring, calibration, search disabling, firmware probing, BLE bridge build.
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[Browse guides →](/guides/wiring/)
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</Card>
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<Card title="Reference" icon="document">
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Complete firmware command inventory, NVS settings, GPIO pin maps, hardware specs.
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[See reference →](/reference/firmware-variants/)
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</Card>
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<Card title="Understanding" icon="puzzle">
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Software architecture, hardware platform internals, reverse-engineering methodology.
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[Deep dives →](/understanding/architecture/)
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</Card>
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</CardGrid>
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## Supported hardware
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Five Winegard dish variants are documented, with varying levels of testing:
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@ -80,8 +116,29 @@ The Carryout G2 has the most complete documentation — over 100 firmware comman
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<LinkCard title="Firmware Variant Comparison" href="/reference/firmware-variants/" description="Detailed comparison table of all five variants: baud rates, motor commands, position formats, and protocol differences." />
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## Where to start
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<CardGrid>
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<Card title="Getting Started" icon="rocket">
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What hardware you need, how to connect, and your first satellite track.
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[Start here →](/getting-started/)
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</Card>
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<Card title="Guides" icon="open-book">
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Wiring, calibration, satellite tracking, camera capture, radio telescope, BLE wireless bridge.
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[Browse guides →](/guides/wiring/)
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</Card>
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<Card title="Reference" icon="document">
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100+ firmware commands, NVS settings, GPIO pin maps, hardware specs, serial protocol.
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[See reference →](/reference/firmware-variants/)
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</Card>
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<Card title="Project Journal" icon="pencil">
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Discovery stories, debugging sessions, and the ongoing narrative of reverse-engineering these dishes.
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[Read the journal →](/journal/)
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</Card>
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</CardGrid>
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## Project journal
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This isn't just a reference manual. The [project journal](/journal/) captures the story of how we got here — the debugging sessions, the discoveries, the moments where a `?` in the right submenu revealed a whole new capability. It's a living section that grows as the project evolves.
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This isn't just a reference manual. The [project journal](/journal/) captures the story of how we got here — the debugging sessions, the discoveries, the moments where a `?` in the right submenu revealed a whole new capability.
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<LinkCard title="Read the journal" href="/journal/" description="Discovery stories, debugging sessions, and the ongoing narrative of this project." />
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