warehack.ing/birdcage

Fork 0

Ryan Malloy 2c6927cb79 Fix MCP tool count: 35 → 36 (source-verified)

2026-02-17 23:30:17 -07:00

43 KiB

Raw Permalink Blame History

Winegard Trav'ler

Control a Winegard Trav'ler motorized satellite dish via RS-485 for amateur radio satellite tracking.

Project

Packages: birdcage + console-probe (installed via uv sync)
CLI entry points: birdcage (init / serve / pos / move), console-probe (probe / discover)
Source layout: src/birdcage/ and src/console_probe/ (src-layout)
Original upstream: Trav-ler-Rotor-For-HAL-2.05/ — Gabe Emerson's scripts, kept as reference (do not modify)

Build & Lint

uv sync                           # Install deps + both packages
uv run ruff check src/             # Lint
uv run ruff format --check src/    # Format check
uv run birdcage --help              # CLI smoke test
uv run console-probe --help        # Probe tool smoke test

Architecture

protocol.py   — FirmwareProtocol ABC + HAL205Protocol / HAL000Protocol
                Serial I/O owned here. Each firmware version is a subclass.
leapfrog.py   — Pure function: apply_leapfrog(target, current) -> adjusted
                Predictive overshoot to compensate for mechanical motor lag.
antenna.py    — BirdcageAntenna: high-level control wrapping protocol + leapfrog
                This is what consumers (CLI, rotctld, future MCP server) call.
rotctld.py    — RotctldServer: Hamlib rotctld TCP protocol (p/P/S/_/q)
                Bridges Gpredict to the antenna.
cli.py        — Click CLI with init/serve/pos/move subcommands

console-probe package

profile.py    — DeviceProfile + HelpEntry dataclasses
serial_io.py  — Prompt-aware serial I/O (fixes > termination bug)
discovery.py  — Auto-discovery, help parsing, submenu probing, candidates
report.py     — JSON report with format_version 2 (menus/help/undiscovered)
cli.py        — argparse CLI: --discover-only, --deep, --submenu, --json

Usage:

console-probe --port /dev/ttyUSB2 --baud 115200 --discover-only --json /tmp/d.json
console-probe --port /dev/ttyUSB2 --baud 115200 --deep --wordlist scripts/wordlists/winegard.txt

Firmware Variants

Five known Winegard dish variants documented by Gabe Emerson (KL1FI) / saveitforparts and cdavidson0522:

Detail	HAL 0.0.00	HAL 2.05.003	Trav'ler Pro	Carryout	Carryout G2
Repo	Travler_Rotor	Trav-ler-Rotor-For-HAL-2.05	Travler-Pro-Rotor	Carryout-Rotor	winegard-sky-scan
Connection	RS-485 / RJ-25	RS-485 / RJ-25	USB A-to-A (`ttyACM0`)	RS-485 / RJ-25	RS-422 / RJ-12 6P6C
Baud rate	57600	57600	57600	57600	115200
Motor submenu	`mot`	`motor`	`odu` then `mot`	N/A (`target` + `g`)	`mot`
Motor control	`a <id> <deg>`	`a <id> <deg>`	`a <id> <deg>`	`g <az> <el>` only	`a <id> <deg>`
Search kill	`os` -> `kill Search`	`ngsearch` -> `s` -> `q`	`os` -> `kill Search`	N/A	NVS 20 (permanent disable)
Boot signal	`NoGPS`	`NoGPS` or `No LNB Voltage`	undocumented	N/A	`Boot Complete` then `Loc Startup: IDU NOT Present`
Min elevation	15 deg (firmware)	15 deg (firmware)	12 deg (firmware)	22 deg (firmware-enforced)	18 deg (firmware)
Max elevation	90 deg	90 deg	75 deg (hardware cap!)	73 deg (firmware default, NVS 102 override)	65 deg (firmware)
Position query	`a` -> `AZ = / EL =`	`a` -> `AZ = / EL =`	`a` -> `AZ = / EL =`	raw ints / 100	`a` -> floats
Tested model	LG-2112	LG-2112	SK2DISH	2003 Carryout	Carryout G2
HAL version	0.0.00	2.05.003	unknown	1.00.065	02.02.48
Prompt char	`>` (likely)	`>` (likely)	undocumented	undocumented	`TRK>` / `MOT>` / `NVS>` (confirmed)
Position format	`AZ = / EL =`	`AZ = / EL =`	`AZ = / EL =`	raw ints / 100	`Angle[0] = / Angle[1] =`
DVB tuner	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown	BCM4515 (Broadcom)
MCU	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown	NXP MK60DN512VLQ10 (Kinetis K60, Cortex-M4, 96MHz, 512KB flash, 128KB RAM)
Motor driver	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown	2× Allegro A3981 (SPI, 1/16 microstep, AUTO mode)

Key Variant Differences

Trav'ler Pro odu command: The Pro's IDU has its own MCU. You must first tunnel to the ODU with odu before entering the motor submenu. The regular Trav'ler's IDU is a dumb RS-485 passthrough.
Carryout uses g not a: The Carryout has no individual motor addressing. It uses target to enter targeting mode, then g <az> <el> for combined moves. It also can't query its initial position.
Carryout has no limit switches: Uses motor stalling to detect mechanical boundaries (audible grinding).
Pro has the same leap-frog bug as the regular Trav'ler (copy-pasted).
NVS d command dumps all NVS values. Confirmed on Pro and Carryout G2; likely available on all variants.
Carryout DIP switches: All switches to off (up) may disable search mode, but behavior varies by unit.
Carryout G2 uses a not g: Unlike the 2003 Carryout, the G2 uses standard a <id> <deg> motor addressing and the mot submenu — protocol-compatible with the Trav'ler family.
Carryout G2 is RS-422 full-duplex: Separate TX/RX pairs at 115200 baud via RJ-12 6P6C, vs. RS-485 half-duplex at 57600 on the Trav'ler variants. Tested with DSD TECH SH-U11 USB-to-RS422 adapter (FTDI FT232R). Polarity matters — A/B (or +/-) labeling is not standardized; if you get garbled data at the correct baud rate, swap the +/- wires on the RX pair. TX pair polarity swap causes the dish to not receive commands (silent failure).
Carryout G2 position format differs from Trav'ler: Position query a in MOT> submenu returns Angle[0] = 180.00 / Angle[1] = 45.00 — not the AZ = / EL = format used by HAL 0.0.00 and HAL 2.05. Move confirmation returns Angle = 46.00 (no array index). CarryoutG2Protocol.get_position() uses Angle\[0\]/Angle\[1\] regex. Motor overshoot is direction-dependent: +0.01–0.05° in travel direction, -0.02–0.06° on return (stepper backlash).
Carryout G2 firmware version 02.02.48 confirmed (Copyright 2013 - Winegard Company). Bootloader version 1.01. MCU: Kinetis (NXP ARM Cortex-M). DVB tuner: BCM4515 (Broadcom).
Carryout G2 boot sequence: Bootloader v1.01 → SPI1 init @ 4 MHz (A3981 motor drivers, mode 0x03) → Motor init (System=12Inch, master=40000 steps, slave=24960 steps, ratio=1.602564) → SPI2 init @ 6.857 MHz (BCM4515 DVB tuner, mode 0x03) → EXTENDED_DVB_DEBUG ENABLED → DVB init (AP RAM FW verified, BCM4515 ID 0x4515 Rev B0, FW v113.37, strap 0x25018) → auto-search config (blind scan, 18000-24000 ksps, rolloff 0.35) → Enabled LNB STB → Ant ID - 12-IN G2 → NVS load → EL home (stall detect, 2s timeout) → AZ home (stall detect, 8s timeout) → Antenna Facing Front → TRK> prompt (if tracker disabled) or search start. When NVS 20 = TRUE (tracker disabled), homing is skipped entirely — motors stay uncalibrated and AZ position reads as INT_MAX (2147483647).
Carryout G2 cable wrap: Confirmed from homing output: wrap_min:-42333 wrap_max:2333 (centidegrees). Total range ~446.66°.
Carryout G2 has h <id> homing: Explicit motor home-to-reference command. Not documented on other variants.
Carryout G2 has DVB/RSSI: BCM4515 tuner (ID 0x4515, Rev B0, firmware v113.37). DVB submenu provides rssi <n> (bounded, returns Reads:<n> RSSI[avg: <v> cur: <v>]), agc (streaming RF/IF AGC + SNR + NID), snr, lnbdc odu (enable LNA 13V), lnbv (streaming voltage monitor), dis (channel params), config (hardware ID), table (transponder scan), and DiSEqC 2.x commands (di2*, send). RSSI noise floor is ~500. lnbdc odu sets 13V (V-pol); boot default is 18V (H-pol). Streaming commands run until interrupted by q or another command.

Hardware Specs (SK-1000)

Spec	Value
Weight	45 lbs
Stow dimensions	10"H x 42"L x 26"W
Stow height	9.75"
Max deployed height	37" above mount
Arm reach	32.5" from base center
Dish size	~33" x 23" (Ku-band reflector)
Azimuth range	0-455 deg (before cable wrap)
Power input	120VAC -> 12VDC (RP-SK87 supply)
LNB bias	12-18VDC via coax
Motor type	Likely stepper with gearing (unconfirmed)
Satellites (DISH)	110, 119, 129 (61.5 manual only)
Satellites (Bell)	82, 91

Hardware Protocol Notes

RS-485 serial, 57600 baud, 8N1 (via USB-to-RS232 + DTECH RS232-to-RS485 + RJ-25)
Motor commands: a <motor_id> <degrees> (0=azimuth, 1=elevation)
Position query: a (in motor submenu) returns AZ = <val> EL = <val> SK = <val>
Two motor control methods:
- a <id> <deg> — queues command, waits for current motor to finish. Tolerant of rapid command streams from Gpredict.
- g <az> <el> <sk> — immediate move, aborts on any new keystroke/character. Some firmware has a typo listing the order as az/sk/el.
Skew motor can run simultaneously with AZ or EL (the others are mutually exclusive)
Elevation floor: HAL 2.05 unreliable below 15 degrees with direct motor commands
Cable wrap limit: usually 360 or 455 degrees, dish reverses at limit
Console does not accept backspace — hit enter to clear on typo
Firmware prompt character is > (ASCII 62) — used for reliable response termination in prompt-terminated read strategies

RS-485 vs RS-422 — Serial Bus Differences

The Winegard variants use two different differential signaling standards. Understanding which one matters for choosing the right USB adapter.

RS-485 half-duplex (2-wire): One shared differential pair carries both TX and RX. Only one device talks at a time — the transmitter drives the bus, then releases it so the other side can respond. This is how the Trav'ler IDU communicates with the ODU: the IDU sends a command on the shared T/R pair, then listens for the response on the same wires. Simple wiring (2 signal wires + ground), but throughput is limited by the turn-around time between send and receive.

RS-422 full-duplex (4-wire): Two separate differential pairs — one dedicated TX pair and one dedicated RX pair. Both sides can transmit simultaneously because the signals don't share wires. Higher throughput (no bus turnaround penalty), and the Carryout G2 uses this at 115200 baud. Point-to-point only (one transmitter per pair).

RS-485 full-duplex (4-wire): Electrically identical to RS-422 wiring (same 4-wire differential pairs), but the RS-485 spec allows multiple transmitters on each pair (multi-drop bus). For our point-to-point dish↔computer connection, 4-wire RS-485 and RS-422 are interchangeable.

Property	RS-485 half-duplex	RS-422 / RS-485 full-duplex
Signal wires	2 (+ GND)	4 (+ GND)
Direction	One direction at a time	Both directions simultaneously
Max nodes	32 drivers + 32 receivers	1 driver + 10 receivers (RS-422)
Max distance	1200m / 4000ft	1200m / 4000ft
Max baud	~10 Mbps	~10 Mbps
Voltage swing	±1.5V to ±5V differential	±2V to ±5V differential
Bus turnaround	Required (adds latency)	Not needed
Typical adapter	USB-to-RS485 (DTECH, etc.)	USB-to-RS422 (FTDI, DIYables, etc.)

Practical consequence for this project: The Trav'ler's RJ-25 connector exposes both a half-duplex pair (pins 2-3, labeled T/R) and a dedicated receive pair (pins 4-5, labeled RXD). Gabe's code uses only the half-duplex pair via an RS-485 adapter. Davidson's G2 code uses all four wires as RS-422. The same physical connector may support both modes depending on the firmware — this is unconfirmed on the Trav'ler but worth testing if you have a 4-wire adapter available.

Serial Connector Pinout

The physical connector is an RJ-25 (6P6C) on the Trav'ler or RJ-12 (6P6C) on the G2 — same form factor, same 6-pin modular jack.

Trav'ler pinout (RJ-25, bottom view, clip up):

Pin	Label	RS-485 use	RS-422 use
1	GND	Ground	Ground
2	T/R-	Shared data-	TX- (computer→dish)
3	T/R+	Shared data+	TX+ (computer→dish)
4	RXD-	(unused in half-duplex)	RX- (dish→computer)
5	RXD+	(unused in half-duplex)	RX+ (dish→computer)
6	N/C	Not connected	Not connected

Carryout G2 pinout (RJ-12, clip away, per Davidson's wiring guide):

Pin	Wire Color (Davidson)	Wire Color (confirmed)	RS-422 Function
1	White	Orange/White	GND (PE)
2	Red	Orange	TX+ (TA) — computer→dish
3	Black	Green/White	TX- (TB) — computer→dish
4	Yellow	Blue	RX+ (RA) — dish→computer
5	Green	Blue/White	RX- (RB) — dish→computer
6	Blue	Green	Not connected

Note: Wire colors vary by cable manufacturer. The "confirmed" column is from a standard 6P6C flat cable tested 2026-02-12. Always verify with a multimeter before connecting. Polarity is critical: swapping +/- on the RX pair produces garbled data at the correct baud rate (systematic bit inversion, not random noise). Swapping +/- on the TX pair causes silent failure (dish doesn't respond because it can't decode the inverted framing).

Adapter chain by variant:

Variant	Adapter	Wires Used
Trav'ler (Gabe's setup)	USB→RS232→RS485 (DTECH)	Pins 2-3 only (half-duplex)
Carryout G2 (Davidson)	USB→RS422 (5V TTL)	Pins 2-5 (full-duplex)
Carryout G2 (confirmed)	DSD TECH SH-U11 USB→RS422 (FTDI FT232R)	Pins 1-5 (full-duplex + GND)
Carryout G2 (ESP32)	ESP32 UART2→RS422 module (DIYables)	Pins 2-5 (full-duplex)

RS-422 Module Notes (DIYables MAX490)

The DIYables RS422-to-TTL module uses the MAX490 transceiver chip (2.5 Mbps max, well above our 115200 baud). Key specs:

5V TTL logic on the microcontroller side (RXD/TXD)
15 kV ESD protection on RS-422 lines
TVS diode for lightning/spike suppression
10 ohm current-limiting resistors for overcurrent protection
Built-in 120 ohm termination resistor (reduces echo on long runs)
Power + TX/RX activity LEDs
Board size: 5.0cm x 2.7cm

Failsafe concern: The MAX490 does not have failsafe logic, and the module has no provisions for passive failsafe bias resistors. When the RS-422 bus tri-states (no driver active — e.g., between commands, during power transitions, or if the dish firmware is slow to respond), the receiver inputs float and may see random transitions interpreted as garbage data. This can cause spurious bytes in the serial stream.

Workaround options:

Add external bias resistors — pull A/RX+ toward V+ and B/RX- toward GND through ~560 ohm resistors. This biases the idle bus to a known logic-high state (RS-422 "mark" / idle). Solder to the module or add inline on the RJ-12 breakout.
Use the prompt-terminated read strategy — our CarryoutG2Protocol._send() reads until > (ASCII 62) which naturally filters out garbage between commands, since random transitions are unlikely to produce a valid > in context.
Ignore idle noise in firmware — the Winegard firmware likely ignores unexpected input while it's processing or idle, but any bytes received during the bus float could corrupt the next valid command if they land in the UART buffer at the wrong time.

For short cable runs (under ~3m between ESP32 and dish), the built-in 120 ohm termination is sufficient and bus float is less likely to cause issues. For longer runs or electrically noisy environments (near motors, power supplies), add the bias resistors.

Firmware Console Commands

Full command inventory from automated deep probe + interactive ? exploration (firmware 02.02.48, 2026-02-12). Automated probe finds commands that respond without arguments; interactive ? in each submenu reveals the full set including parameter-requiring commands the probe misses.

?              — list available commands (alias: help)
a3981          — enter motor driver submenu
adc            — enter ADC submenu
dipswitch      — enter dipswitch submenu
dvb            — enter DVB tuner submenu
eeprom         — enter EEPROM submenu
gpio           — enter GPIO submenu
latlon         — enter lat/lon calculator submenu
mot            — enter motor control submenu
nvs            — enter non-volatile storage submenu
os             — enter OS submenu
peak           — enter peak/DiSEqC switch submenu
step           — enter stepper motor submenu
q              — terminate shell (WARNING: kills UART, requires power cycle!)
reboot         — reboot firmware
stow           — fold dish flat (caution: modified feeds may not survive)
odu            — tunnel to outdoor unit (Trav'ler Pro only)
ngsearch       — enter search submenu (HAL 2.05 only)

Note: command appeared in automated probe results — this is a false positive. The help parser extracted it from the help [<command>] usage text, where <command> is a parameter placeholder, not an actual command.

A3981 Submenu (A3981>) — Allegro Stepper Driver

6 commands. Controls the two A3981 stepper motor driver ICs via SPI.

cm             — current control mode: AZ/EL both report "AUTO" or "HiZ"/"LoZ"
diag           — fault pin status: "AZ DIAG: OK  EL DIAG: OK" (or FAULT)
reset          — reset AZ/EL A3981 fault flags
sm             — step size mode: AZ/EL both report "AUTO" or fixed mode
ss             — step size: returns integer (FULL=16, HALF=8, QTR=4, EIGHTH=2, SIXTEENTH=1)
st             — torque level: AZ/EL report "HIGH" (moving) or "LOW" (idle/holding)
? / q          — help / return to TRK>

ADC Submenu (ADC>) — Analog-to-Digital Converter

5 commands. Hardware-level ADC readings from the LNB signal chain and board ID.

bdid           — board identity: returns "STATIONARY" (Carryout G2 variant)
bdrevid        — board revision: returns "A"
m              — monitor RSSI (streaming, CR-overwrite line, interrupt with q)
rssi           — single-shot RSSI (raw ADC count, ~233-238 noise floor)
scan           — AZ sweep with per-position RSSI/Lock/SNR readings
                 Output: "Motor:<id> Angle:<cdeg> RSSI:<adc> Lock:<0/1> SNR:<dB> Scan Delta:<step>"
                 WARNING: without arguments on uncalibrated AZ, targets INT_MAX (2147483647)
                 and DEADLOCKS the shell — requires power cycle to recover!
? / q          — help / return to TRK>

DIPSWITCH Submenu (DIPSWITCH>)

1 command. Reads physical DIP switch GPIOs and interprets satellite config code.

dipswitch      — read dipswitch: "val:<hex32>" (raw GPIO) + "app_dipswitch:<decimal>" (interpreted)
                 val:ffffff01 = all switches OFF/up. app_dipswitch:101 = DISH 110+119+129°W
? / q          — help / return to TRK>

DVB Submenu (DVB>) — BCM4515 Tuner

38 commands. Controls the Broadcom BCM4515 DVB-S2 tuner and DiSEqC 2.x LNB interface. Help is paginated: ? shows first page, man shows extended commands.

agc            — stream RF/IF AGC + SNR + NID (continuous, interrupt with q)
config         — BCM hardware/firmware version (ID 0x4515, Rev B0, FW v113.37)
def            — restore DVB defaults
diag           — multi-block per-transponder diagnostics
dis            — display channel parameters (frequency, symbol rate, LNB polarity)
e <n> <v>      — edit channel parameter
freqs          — tuner frequency list
lnbdc odu      — enable LNA in ODU mode (13V = V-pol; boot default 18V = H-pol)
lnbv           — stream LNB voltage readings (continuous, interrupt with q)
ls             — lock status (total reads, no-signal count, glitch count, NID table)
man            — extended help page (shows srch_mode, stats, DiSEqC commands, etc.)
msw            — multi-switch control
nid            — streaming NID reads (Network ID, FFFF = no signal)
pwr            — power control
qls            — quick lock status
range          — signal range test
rssi <n>       — RSSI averaged over n samples (bounded, returns avg + cur)
shuf           — shuffle/reorder transponders
snr            — SNR level (streaming)
srch           — start satellite search
srch_mode      — auto search mode setting
stats          — accumulated satellite read statistics
t <n>          — select transponder
table          — generate transponder table
tablex         — extended transponder table
tabto          — table timeout setting
to             — timeout setting
di2conf        — DiSEqC LNB config register (raw: "3 21180544 238 <4.5")
di2cs          — DiSEqC committed switch command
di2id          — DiSEqC read LNB hardware ID
di2rcs         — DiSEqC read committed switch status
di2sc          — DiSEqC switch control
di2stat        — DiSEqC read LNB status flags
ovraddr        — DiSEqC override address
pretx          — DiSEqC pre-transmit delay
rrto           — DiSEqC receive reply timeout
send <hex>     — raw DiSEqC packet (max 6 bytes, space-delimited hex)
tdthresh       — DiSEqC tone detect threshold
? / q          — help / return to TRK>

EEPROM Submenu (EE>) — K60 FlexNVM/EEPROM

3 commands. Low-level EEPROM access (separate from NVS). Prompt is EE>, not EEPROM>. Most indices read as 0 (unwritten) or fail with val:65793 (0x10101 marker = uninitialized). The firmware primarily uses NVS, not EEPROM, for persistent settings.

ee <idx> [<v>] — read/write EEPROM value at index
                 Read: "Index:<n>    Read value = <v>" or "Failed to read eeprom index:<n> val:65793"
inv <idx>      — INVALIDATE EEPROM index (DESTRUCTIVE — marks entry invalid, not "inventory"!)
def            — restore EEPROM defaults
? / q          — help / return to TRK>

GPIO Submenu (GPIO>)

4 commands. Direct access to K60 GPIO ports A-E. Pin naming: <port><pin> (e.g., B0, E12).

dir <pin>      — query pin direction: returns "INPUT" or "OUTPUT"
r <pin>        — read single GPIO pin value (0 or 1)
regs           — dump ALL GPIO pin states across ports A-E (26+16+20+16+14 = 92 pins)
                 Note: A20-A23, B12-B15 absent (not bonded). E29 shows "Unknown bit E29"
w <pin> <val>  — write GPIO pin (requires pin name and value)
? / q          — help / return to TRK>

LATLON Submenu (LATLON>)

1 command. Satellite triangulation calculator — computes ground station lat/lon from look angles to two known geostationary satellites. Used for auto-location when GPS is unavailable. Values stored internally as centidegrees.

l <p1> <p2> <p3> <p4>
               — calculate lat/lon from 4 parameters (likely AZ/EL pairs for 2 satellites)
                 Output: "anglesentered = <cdeg1> <cdeg2> <cdeg3> <cdeg4>"
                         "Lat = <cdeg>  Lon = <cdeg>" (centidegrees)
? / q          — help / return to TRK>

MOT Submenu (MOT>) — Motor Control

25 commands. High-level motor control with angle-based positioning.

a              — show position: Angle[0] (AZ), Angle[1] (EL)
a <id> <deg>   — move motor to absolute angle (0=AZ, 1=EL)
a <id> +/-deg  — relative move (G2 only, undocumented)
azscan [az_rel] [el_rel] [delay]
               — AZ sweep: scan relative AZ range at EL steps with delay
azscanwxp [motor] [span_deg] [res_cdeg] [num_xponders]
               — AZ sweep + transponder cycling (radio telescope mode)
e              — engage motors (energize steppers)
ela2s <deg>    — elevation angle to steps converter (centidegrees internally)
elminmaxhome   — show EL limits: "Min: <v> Max: <v> Home: <v>" (NVS values)
els2a <steps>  — elevation steps to angle converter (reports overflow if out of range)
g <az> <el>    — go to AZ/EL (aborts on new input)
h <id>         — home motor to reference position (stall-detect based)
l              — list motors and state (0=AZIMUTH, 1=ELEVATION)
life           — motor lifetime/usage stats
ma             — read max acceleration per motor
motorboth      — simultaneous dual-motor move test
motorlife      — detailed motor life statistics
mv             — max velocity per motor: "Max Vel [0] = <v> / Max Vel [1] = <v>"
p              — read raw step positions
pid [motor] [Kp] [Kv] [Ki]
               — read or set PID gains for motor control loop
r              — release motors (de-energize steppers)
sd             — stall detection test (motor, direction, timeout)
sp [motor] [pos]
               — set position (override current position register)
sw [motor] [pos]
               — set wrap position (cable wrap reference point)
v              — read motor velocities
vms [motor] [deg_per_rev] [ms]
               — velocity move for duration: spin motor at velocity for N milliseconds
w [motor] [ON/OFF]
               — wrap manager: enable/disable cable wrap protection per motor
? / q          — help / return to TRK>

NVS Submenu (NVS>) — Non-Volatile Storage

Caution: NVS e <idx> <value> writes values. Any unrecognized input is treated as a sequential index read (no error string), which generates false positives during probing but is harmless. s saves pending changes to flash.

d              — dump all NVS values (name/current/saved/default)
d <idx>        — dump single value with details
e <idx>        — read NVS value at index
e <idx> <v>    — write NVS value at index (NOT saved until `s`)
s              — save pending changes to flash
? / q          — help / return to TRK>

OS Submenu (OS>)

id             — full MCU/firmware identification (NVS version, System ID, chip)
reboot         — reboot microcontroller
tasks          — list running tasks (HAL 0.0.00 only, not on G2)
kill <name>    — kill a named task (HAL 0.0.00 only, not on G2)
? / q          — help / return to TRK>

PEAK Submenu (PEAK>) — Signal Peak / DiSEqC Switch

6 commands. EchoStar/DiSEqC switch control and LNB polarity-switched RSSI.

pw             — peak signal search (likely requires sat lock)
psnr           — peak SNR measurement
pxy1           — peak XY single-axis (likely az or el sweep)
rssits         — RSSI with LNB toggle switch: alternates H-pol (18V, even transponders)
                 and V-pol (13V, odd transponders). Reports "Even_sig = <v>, Odd_sig = <v>".
                 Noise floor: even ~489, odd ~235 (V-pol quieter).
stb            — STB (set-top box) control / DiSEqC switch test
ts             — EchoStar switch toggle status: "SW Status: 0b<binary> <decimal>"
                 (reads 4-bit status, all zeros = no switch connected)
? / q          — help / return to TRK>

STEP Submenu (STEP>) — Low-Level Stepper Control

7 commands. Raw stepper API in microstep units (ustep/sec, ustep/sec/msec). MOT wraps STEP with angle-to-step conversion.

e              — engage motor (same as MOT `e`)
ma             — max acceleration: "Accel[0] = 44 / Accel[1] = 28" (ustep/sec/ms)
                 Set: `ma [motor] [ustep/sec/ms]`
mv             — max velocity: "Max Vel [0] = 7222 / Max Vel [1] = 3120" (ustep/sec)
                 Set: `mv [motor] [ustep/sec]`
                 (7222 ustep/s ÷ 40000 steps/rev × 360° = 65.0°/s AZ)
                 (3120 ustep/s ÷ 24960 steps/rev × 360° = 45.0°/s EL)
p              — goto position in raw step counts: `p [motor] [steps]`
pid            — PID values: "Kp=250  Kv=50" (no Ki at STEP level)
                 Set: `pid [motor] [Kp] [Kv]`
r              — release motors (same as MOT `r`)
v              — go to velocity (continuous spin): `v [motor] [ustep/sec]`
? / q          — help / return to TRK>

K60 GPIO Functional Pin Map (Carryout G2)

Cross-referenced from live gpio dir/gpio regs queries (2026-02-13), K60 datasheet pin mux table (MK60DN512VLQ10, 144-LQFP), boot log peripheral init, and A3981 datasheet.

SPI1 — A3981 Stepper Motor Drivers (4 MHz, mode 0x03)

K60 Pin	GPIO	Alt	Function	Dir	State	Notes
PTE0	E0	ALT2	SPI1_PCS1	OUT	1	A3981 #2 chip select (EL motor)
PTE1	E1	ALT2	SPI1_SOUT	(periph)	1	MOSI — MCU to A3981
PTE2	E2	ALT2	SPI1_SCK	(periph)	1	SPI clock
PTE3	E3	ALT2	SPI1_SIN	(periph)	0	MISO — A3981 to MCU
PTE4	E4	ALT2	SPI1_PCS0	IN*	1	A3981 #1 chip select (AZ motor)
PTE5	E5	ALT2	SPI1_PCS2	OUT	1	Possibly A3981 RESET or enable

*PTE4 shows INPUT in GPIO dir register, but this is irrelevant when muxed to SPI peripheral. The SPI controller manages chip select assertion/deassertion directly.

SPI2 — BCM4515 DVB-S2 Tuner (6.857 MHz, mode 0x03)

K60 Pin	GPIO	Alt	Function	Dir	State	Notes
PTD11	D11	ALT2	SPI2_PCS0	OUT	1	BCM4515 chip select
PTD12	D12	ALT2	SPI2_SCK	IN*	1	SPI clock
PTD13	D13	ALT2	SPI2_SOUT	IN*	1	MOSI — MCU to BCM4515
PTD14	D14	ALT2	SPI2_SIN	—	0	MISO — BCM4515 to MCU
PTD15	D15	ALT2	SPI2_PCS1	—	0	Secondary chip select (unused?)

*GPIO dir register not meaningful for peripheral-muxed pins.

UART4 — RS-422 Console (115200 baud)

K60 Pin	GPIO	Alt	Function	Dir	State	Notes
PTE24	E24	ALT3	UART4_TX	OUT	1	Console TX (to computer RX pair)
PTE25	E25	ALT3	UART4_RX	IN	1	Console RX (from computer TX pair)
PTE26	E26	ALT3	UART4_CTS	IN	1	Hardware flow control (idle high)
PTE27	E27	—	GPIO	IN	1	Unknown (RTS? or pullup)
PTE28	E28	—	GPIO	IN	1	Unknown

DIP Switch GPIOs

dipswitch reads raw value val:ffffff01 (all OFF/up) → app_dipswitch:101 (DISH 110+119+129W). Exact GPIO pins TBD — likely Port A or Port C inputs with internal pullups. The 0xffffff01 raw value suggests a 32-bit register read where bits 1-24 are all high (pullup, switches open) and bit 0 is high (LSB).

A3981 Diagnostic Pins

The a3981 diag command reads fault status from two GPIO pins (one per motor driver). Confirmed both read "OK" when motors are healthy. The A3981 DIAG output is active-low open-drain, pulled high when no fault. Exact GPIO pins TBD.

Unidentified High-State Outputs

GPIO	Dir	State	Likely Function
D10	OUT	1	BCM4515 reset or power enable
B0-B3	—	1	SPI0 or I2C bus (B0-B3 cluster)
B11	—	1	Status LED or peripheral enable
C10-C13	—	1	Contiguous block — possibly bus interface
C18	—	1	LNB voltage control or relay

azscanwxp — Radio Telescope Mode (Carryout G2)

The azscanwxp command in MOT> performs an azimuth sweep while cycling through DVB transponders at each position. This is the core of Davidson's winegard-sky-scan project for RF imaging of the sky.

Usage: azscanwxp [motor] [span] [resolution] [num_xponders]

Parameter	Type	Units	Description
motor	int	—	Motor ID (0=AZ, 1=EL)
span	float	degrees	Total azimuth sweep range
resolution	int	centidegrees (0.01 deg)	Step size per position
num_xponders	int	—	Number of transponders to cycle at each position

Example: azscanwxp 0 10 100 3 — sweep 10 degrees on AZ at 1.00 degree steps, checking 3 transponders per position.

Output format (from ADC scan documentation):

Motor:<id> Angle:<cdeg> RSSI:<adc> Lock:<0/1> SNR:<dB> Scan Delta:<step>

Safety: Requires homed motors. Do NOT run on uncalibrated axes — the firmware may target INT_MAX (2147483647 steps) and deadlock the shell.

For ham radio sky mapping: Set the DVB tuner to a frequency near your target (e.g., 10 GHz Ku-band downconverted through the LNB to ~1178 MHz IF), enable LNA with dvb → lnbdc odu, then run azscanwxp. The RSSI values map RF power at each AZ/EL grid point. Post-process the output into a 2D heatmap for sky imaging.

DiSEqC 2.x Interface (Carryout G2)

The BCM4515 provides a DiSEqC 2.x controller accessible from the DVB> submenu. DiSEqC (Digital Satellite Equipment Control) uses 22 kHz tone bursts on the coax LNB bias line to control switches, LNB polarity, and band selection.

Timing Parameters (confirmed live 2026-02-13):

Command	Value	Description
`ovraddr`	0x11	Target LNB address (standard first LNB)
`rrto`	210 ms	Receive reply timeout
`pretx`	15 ms	Pre-command TX delay
`tdthresh`	110	Tone detect threshold (0.16 counts/mV)

DiSEqC Commands:

Command	Function	Status
`di2conf`	Read LNB config register	RxReplyTimeout (no switch connected)
`di2id`	Read LNB hardware ID	RxReplyTimeout
`di2stat`	Read LNB status flags	RxReplyTimeout
`di2rcs`	Read committed switch status	RxReplyTimeout
`di2cs`	Configure committed switch	Needs parameters
`di2sc`	Short circuit test	Untested
`send <hex>`	Raw DiSEqC packet (max 6 bytes)	Functional

Raw DiSEqC packets: The send command accepts space-delimited hex bytes. Standard DiSEqC 1.x commands use the format: send E0 10 38 Fx where the last byte selects the switch port (F0-F3 for ports 1-4).

For ham radio: DiSEqC can control LNB polarity (13V=V-pol, 18V=H-pol) and 22 kHz tone (band select) without rewiring. The lnbdc odu command sets 13V; boot default is 18V. Polarity affects which transponders are visible and RSSI readings from rssits in the PEAK> submenu, which alternates between even (H-pol/18V) and odd (V-pol/13V) transponders.

Known NVS Indices

Full dump in docs/g2-nvs-dump.md (firmware 02.02.48, captured 2026-02-12).

Index	Setting	Default	Notes
20	Disable Tracker Proc?	FALSE	Set TRUE to prevent TV satellite search on boot
38	Sleep Mode Timer Secs	420	7 minutes before sleep
41	Satellite Scan Velocity	55.00	°/s during TV search
80	AZ Max Vel	65.00	°/s azimuth max velocity
81	AZ Max Accel	400.00	°/s² azimuth max acceleration
83	AZ Steps/Rev	40000	Stepper steps per full rotation
85	EL Max Vel	45.00	°/s elevation max velocity
88	EL Steps/Rev	24960	Stepper steps per full EL rotation
101	Minimum Elevation Angle	18.00	Firmware floor (degrees)
102	Maximum Elevation Angle	65.00	Firmware ceiling (degrees)
103	Elevation Home Angle	65.00	EL position after homing
112	Disable Dipswitch?	FALSE	Override physical DIP switches
113	Dipswitch Value	101	DirecTV config (ignored when tracker disabled)
128-133	AZ/EL PID Gains	varies	Kp/Kv/Ki tuning parameters

Error Messages

Message	Meaning
`AZ MOTOR STALLED`	Obstruction preventing rotation
`EL MOTOR STALLED`	Obstruction preventing elevation change
`EL Motor Home Failure`	Requires EL recalibration via IDU menu
`Step to Position EL angle error: 2147483647`	INT_MAX sentinel — motor axis uncalibrated/unhomed

Known Console Hazards

ADC scan without arguments on uncalibrated AZ: Targets position 2147483647 (INT_MAX), motor task blocks forever, shell deadlocks. No serial input (CR, Ctrl+C, ESC, q, reboot) can recover — requires hardware power cycle. The firmware shell is single-threaded: UART input is only parsed between command completions, so a blocking motor move prevents all input.
Root q command: Terminates the shell task entirely. Console becomes unresponsive until power cycle (same as deadlock, but intentional).

IDU/ODU Cable Wiring (if cut)

Top row: Green, Yellow, Orange. Bottom row: Red, Brown, Black.

Power

120VAC input to RP-SK87 power supply, outputs 12VDC to IDU. Internal coax carries 12-18VDC bias for LNB — do not connect 5V equipment (SDR LNAs, etc.) without bypassing the power injector.

Physical Setup

Base marked with arrows and "BACK" at 0/360 deg (North)
Align "BACK" with true North for accurate tracking
Gpredict rotor config: 127.0.0.1:4533, 0->180->360 mode, min EL 15, max EL 90
No obstructions taller than 8" within 32.5" of base center

Calibration

On power-up, the dish performs calibration movements to establish position and cable wrap limits (~10-15 minutes on Carryout, shorter on Trav'ler). After calibration, firmware automatically starts a TV satellite search — the init sequence kills this.

Carryout uses motor stalling (not limit switches) to detect mechanical boundaries — expect audible grinding during calibration.

EL recalibration (via IDU buttons): POWER -> ENTER (hold 2s) -> User Menu -> INSTALLATION -> Calibrate EL -> confirm hard stop position.

Emergency Manual Stow

Last resort only. 5/16" socket + 6" extension into auxiliary drive hole. Turn clockwise slowly. Ensure arm faces "rear" label before lowering. Improper execution can damage motor.

Known Bugs (from upstream)

Leap-frog elevation bug: original travler_rotor.py lines 98-105 modify target_az instead of target_el. Fixed in leapfrog.py. Present in both Trav'ler and Trav'ler Pro repos. See docs/bugs.md.

Upstream References

github.com/saveitforparts/Travler_Rotor (HAL 0.0.00)
github.com/saveitforparts/Trav-ler-Rotor-For-HAL-2.05 (HAL 2.05)
github.com/saveitforparts/Travler-Pro-Rotor (Pro, USB)
github.com/saveitforparts/Carryout-Rotor (Carryout, HAL 1.00.065)
github.com/saveitforparts/Carryout-Radio-Telescope (RF scanning/imaging)
github.com/cdavidson0522/winegard-sky-scan (Carryout G2 sky scan + rotator)
Gabe Emerson / KL1FI — gabe@saveitforparts.com
YouTube: Trav'ler v1 demo (youtu.be/X1hnReHepFI), v2 demo (youtube.com/watch?v=URJZjo5EcpQ)

Testing

No hardware-in-the-loop tests yet. Protocol implementations can be mocked for unit testing — FirmwareProtocol is an ABC with clear method contracts.

Documentation Site

Property	Value
Repo	`git@git.supported.systems:warehack.ing/birdcage-docs.git`
Local path	`site/` (separate git repo, not a subtree)
Framework	Astro + Starlight
Domain	`birdcage.warehack.ing`
Server	`warehack-ing@warehack.ing:~/birdcage-docs/`
Container	`birdcage-docs` (caddy:2-alpine serving static files)

Workflow

cd site/

# Local development with HMR
make dev          # Sets APP_ENV=dev, starts Astro dev server on :4321

# Production build + deploy
make prod         # Sets APP_ENV=prod, builds static site, serves via Caddy on :80

# Other commands
make logs         # Tail container logs
make rebuild      # Down + up with fresh build
make clean        # Remove containers + images

Make Targets

Target	Description
`up`	Build and start container
`down`	Stop container
`logs`	Tail container logs
`rebuild`	Down + up with fresh build
`dev`	Switch to dev mode (Astro dev server + HMR)
`prod`	Switch to prod mode (static build + Caddy)
`clean`	Remove containers, images, and volumes

Deploying Updates

cd site/
git add . && git commit -m "description"
git push origin main
ssh -A warehack-ing@warehack.ing "cd birdcage-docs && git pull && make prod"

TLS is automatic via caddy-docker-proxy (ACME + Vultr DNS challenge). New subdomains take ~2 minutes for certificate issuance.

Screenshots

TUI screenshots live in site/public/screenshots/ (the site repo, not the main repo). An automated capture script uses Textual's Pilot API to render each screen in demo mode.

Regenerating all screenshots:

cd tui && uv run python scripts/capture_screenshots.py

This captures 8 SVG + 8 PNG screenshots plus a 2×3 collage:

tui-dashboard — F1 action cards
tui-control — F2 Manual mode with compass rose
tui-craft-search — F2 Craft mode with satellite search results
tui-craft-tracking — F2 Craft mode tracking the Moon
tui-signal — F3 Monitor mode with RSSI gauge and receiver info
tui-system — F4 Hardware mode with firmware ID and A3981 diagnostics
tui-console — F5 overlay with serial console
tui-camera — F6 overlay with capture triggers
tui-collage — 2×3 montage of 6 main screens (via ImageMagick montage)

Dependencies: rsvg-convert (SVG→PNG), montage (collage).

When to regenerate: After any UI change that affects widget layout, button labels, or screen content. The script populates Craft search results and tracking state directly via widget API for deterministic screenshots.

TUI

Property	Value
PyPI	`birdcage-tui`
Source	`tui/src/birdcage_tui/`
Entry point	`birdcage_tui.app:main`
Framework	Textual
Screens	Dashboard (F1), Control (F2), Signal (F3), System (F4), Console (F5), Camera (F6)

Running

# Published package (from PyPI) — no clone needed
uvx birdcage-tui --demo                          # demo mode, base install
uvx birdcage-tui                                  # hardware mode (needs serial port)

# With camera capture support (Pillow + astropy)
uvx --with 'birdcage-tui[camera]' birdcage-tui --demo

# Local development
uv run --directory tui birdcage-tui --demo

Extras

Extra	Install	Packages	Purpose
(base)	`uvx birdcage-tui`	`winegard-birdcage`, `textual`	Full TUI, all screens, demo mode
`camera`	`uvx --with 'birdcage-tui[camera]' birdcage-tui`	`Pillow>=10.0`, `astropy>=6.0`	F6 camera overlay: JPEG capture frames with annotated demo images (Pillow), FITS export for radio astronomy pipelines (astropy)

Graceful degradation: The camera screen (F6) works without the camera extra — it falls back to writing minimal JPEG headers directly. Pillow adds annotated demo frames and proper image processing; astropy adds FITS file export for integration with DS9, CASA, and other radio astronomy tools.

MCP Server

Property	Value
PyPI	`mcbirdcage`
Source	`mcp/src/mcbirdcage/`
Entry point	`mcbirdcage.server:main`
Tools	36 (connection, movement, signal, system, satellite, console)
Resources	5 (`birdcage://config`, `position`, `firmware`, `motor-dynamics`, `el-limits`)
Prompts	3 (`setup_wizard`, `satellite_tracking_guide`, `rf_sweep_guide`)
Tests	`mcp/tests/` — 49 tests against DemoDevice via `run_server_async`

Running

# Published package (from PyPI) — no clone needed
uvx mcbirdcage                                        # demo mode auto-detected
BIRDCAGE_DEMO=1 uvx mcbirdcage                        # explicit demo mode

# Local development (from repo)
BIRDCAGE_DEMO=1 uv run --directory mcp mcbirdcage

# Hardware mode
BIRDCAGE_PORT=/dev/ttyUSB2 uv run --directory mcp mcbirdcage

Adding to Claude Code

# Published package (recommended)
claude mcp add mcbirdcage -- uvx mcbirdcage

# Local development
claude mcp add mcbirdcage -- env BIRDCAGE_DEMO=1 uv run --directory mcp mcbirdcage

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Purpose
`BIRDCAGE_DEMO`	`false`	Enable demo mode (DemoDevice + DemoCraftClient)
`BIRDCAGE_PORT`	`/dev/ttyUSB0`	Serial port for hardware mode
`BIRDCAGE_FIRMWARE`	`g2`	Firmware variant (`g2`, `hal205`, etc.)
`BIRDCAGE_CRAFT_URL`	`https://space.warehack.ing`	Orbital prediction API

Testing

cd mcp && uv run pytest tests/       # 49 tests via FastMCP run_server_async
uv run ruff check mcp/src/           # Lint

43 KiB Raw Permalink Blame History Unescape Escape

Winegard Trav'ler

Project

Build & Lint

Architecture

console-probe package

Firmware Variants

Key Variant Differences

Hardware Specs (SK-1000)

Hardware Protocol Notes

RS-485 vs RS-422 — Serial Bus Differences

Serial Connector Pinout

RS-422 Module Notes (DIYables MAX490)

Firmware Console Commands

Root Menu (TRK>)

A3981 Submenu (A3981>) — Allegro Stepper Driver

ADC Submenu (ADC>) — Analog-to-Digital Converter

DIPSWITCH Submenu (DIPSWITCH>)

DVB Submenu (DVB>) — BCM4515 Tuner

EEPROM Submenu (EE>) — K60 FlexNVM/EEPROM

GPIO Submenu (GPIO>)

LATLON Submenu (LATLON>)

MOT Submenu (MOT>) — Motor Control

NVS Submenu (NVS>) — Non-Volatile Storage

OS Submenu (OS>)

PEAK Submenu (PEAK>) — Signal Peak / DiSEqC Switch

STEP Submenu (STEP>) — Low-Level Stepper Control

K60 GPIO Functional Pin Map (Carryout G2)

azscanwxp — Radio Telescope Mode (Carryout G2)

DiSEqC 2.x Interface (Carryout G2)

Known NVS Indices

Error Messages

Known Console Hazards

IDU/ODU Cable Wiring (if cut)

Power

Physical Setup

Calibration

Emergency Manual Stow

Known Bugs (from upstream)

Upstream References

Testing

Documentation Site

Workflow

Make Targets

Deploying Updates

Screenshots

TUI

Running

Extras

MCP Server

Running

Adding to Claude Code

Environment Variables

Testing

43 KiB

Raw Permalink Blame History