Ryan Malloy
9f2e88ecdd
- astro-opengraph-images: auto-generates 1200x630 PNG for all 50 pages - Starlight Head override injects og:image via getImagePath helper - site URL enables sitemap-index.xml generation - Fix F1 Dashboard description (action cards, not satellite list)
170 lines
8.3 KiB
Plaintext
170 lines
8.3 KiB
Plaintext
---
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title: "Birdcage"
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description: A generic AZ/EL positioner that doesn't care about wavelength — repurposing motorized satellite TV dishes for amateur radio tracking
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template: splash
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hero:
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tagline: A generic AZ/EL positioner that doesn't care about wavelength
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image:
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file: ../../assets/carryout-g2.jpg
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alt: Winegard Carryout G2 satellite dish — the white dome radome that inspired the project name
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actions:
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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: Try Demo Mode
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link: /guides/tui/#quick-start
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variant: minimal
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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, Tabs, TabItem } 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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Search the sky catalog by name, track targets at 1 Hz, predict upcoming passes. Works standalone via the Craft API or with Gpredict through the built-in rotctld server.
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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 Sky Catalog
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Birdcage doesn't maintain its own TLE files or orbital prediction engine. It talks to
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[Craft](https://space.warehack.ing) — an open API that knows where everything is.
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Search "ISS" and get its current azimuth and elevation from your location. Search "Moon"
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and point the dish at it. The catalog covers LEO satellites, GPS constellations, geostationary
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birds, deep space probes, and celestial bodies — anything with a known ephemeris.
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The integration runs at three levels:
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- **TUI Craft mode** (F2 → Craft tab) — search, select a target, hit Track. The dish follows at 1 Hz.
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Pass predictions show rise time, peak elevation, and duration. Pass-state transitions
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(AOS → TCA → LOS) feed the Camera overlay for automated capture.
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- **MCP server** — `search_satellites`, `get_passes`, `get_next_pass`, and `get_visible_targets`
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tools let any MCP client query the catalog and compose tracking workflows.
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- **rotctld bridge** — Gpredict and other Hamlib-compatible controllers drive the dish via
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the built-in TCP server on port 4533. Craft provides the orbital data; Gpredict does the math.
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No NORAD catalog numbers to memorize, no TLE files to download, no prediction libraries to configure.
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Type a name, get a position.
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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:** Four action cards — Point Dish, Monitor Signal, Scan Sky, and Stow — each jumping to the relevant screen
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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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<Tabs>
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<TabItem label="uvx (no clone needed)">
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```bash
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uvx birdcage-tui --demo
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```
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</TabItem>
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<TabItem label="From source">
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```bash
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cd tui/
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uv sync
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uv run birdcage-tui --demo
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```
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</TabItem>
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</Tabs>
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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. 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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## Supported hardware
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Five Winegard dish variants are documented, with varying levels of testing:
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| Variant | Connection | Status |
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|---------|-----------|--------|
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| Trav'ler (HAL 0.0.00) | RS-485 / RJ-25 | Supported (Gabe's original) |
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| Trav'ler (HAL 2.05) | RS-485 / RJ-25 | Supported (Gabe's original) |
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| Trav'ler Pro | USB A-to-A | Partially supported |
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| Carryout (2003) | RS-485 / RJ-25 | Supported (different protocol) |
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| Carryout G2 | RS-422 / RJ-12 | **Fully reverse-engineered** |
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The Carryout G2 has the most complete documentation — over 100 firmware commands mapped across 12 submenus, NVS settings dumped, GPIO pins identified, and motor control characterized.
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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="Experiments" icon="star">
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Solar monitoring, rain fade radiometry, hydrogen line astronomy, weather satellite imagery, and more — on-board DVB and external SDR.
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[Browse experiments →](/experiments/)
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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.
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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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