Table of Contents:

• Table of Contents:
• oresat-dxwifi-software
  • Install prerequisites on compatible system
  • Set up source directories
  • Build and install libdxwifi
  • Build oresat_configs
  • Build and install Oresat DxWiFi Software (OLAF app) Package
  • Example end-to-end usage
    • Notes on debugging
    • Steps for transmitting

oresat-dxwifi-software

Software for OreSat's DxWiFi board. Part of OreSat Live mission, a real-time video broadcast from space.

Install prerequisites on compatible system

At the time of writing, a compatible system is the BBB3, using the oresat-dev-2023-07-30-2gb.img.zst image, running the Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye) distro on armhf architecture.

To install prerequisites needed on the BBB, run the following:

sudo apt -y update && \
sudo apt -y upgrade && \
sudo apt -y install build-essential cmake ffmpeg firmware-ath9k-htc git \
                    libgpiod-dev libpcap-dev libv4l-dev pybind11-dev \
                    python3 python3-pip tcpdump usbutils v4l-utils

Note: This step takes close to 11 minutes on the BBB3 with the oresat-dev-2023-07-30-2gb.img.zst image.

Add a configuration file to ensure the ath9k_htc driver is used with the mon0 link by switching to root:

sudo -s

and running the following:

cat <<EOF > /etc/systemd/network/50-ath9k-htc.link
[Match]
Driver=ath9k_htc
[Link]
Name=mon0
EOF

Reboot to ensure the changes are fully applied:

$ reboot now

Set up source directories

Run the following command on the BBB oresat-dev host to clone the repo and set up output directories:

mkdir /home/debian/src && \
cd /home/debian/src && \
git clone https://github.com/oresat/oresat-dxwifi-software.git && \
sudo mkdir -p /oresat-live-output/{frames,videos}

Build and install libdxwifi

Clone Repository

cd /home/debian/src && \
git clone https://github.com/oresat/oresat-libdxwifi.git

Build libdxwifi from instructions

Install the debian packages created from the libdxwifi instructions

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Build oresat_configs

Clone Repository

cd /home/debian/src && \
git clone https://github.com/oresat/oresat-configs

Install requirements

cd oresat-configs && \
sudo pip install -r requirements.txt
sudo ./build_and_install.sh

Build and install Oresat DxWiFi Software (OLAF app) Package

Install requirements

cd src/oresat-dxwifi-software
sudo pip install -r requirements.txt

From the source directory, you can build and install the OLAF app package as follows:

./build-deb.sh \
    && sudo apt -y install ./oresat-dxwifi-software-server-*.deb \
    && sudo reboot now

Note: The reboot above is not strictly necessary but is recommended to confirm everything works correctly on startup.

Example end-to-end usage

Once you have both the BBB and the RPI set up (satellite and HGS, respectively), you can test tx and rx and see the frame output in the browser.

To set up the BBB:

• Install the camera software (see oresat_dxwifi/camera/README.md).
• Install libdxwifi (see the README for OreSat libdxwifi).
• Install the OLAF app as described in the previous section.

To set up the RPI:

• Install the OreSat Live server (see the README for OreSat Live Software Server).
• Install libdxwifi (see the README for OreSat libdxwifi).

If you have set up the BBB correctly, you should be able to confirm the OLAF app services are running properly as follows:

$ sudo systemctl status oresat-mon-iface.service \
                        oresat-vcan-iface.service \
                        oresat-dxwifi-software-server.service
● oresat-mon-iface.service - Oresat MON0 IFACE Service
  Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/oresat-mon-iface.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
  Active: inactive (dead) since Wed 2023-11-22 23:05:19 UTC; 24s ago
  Process: 705 ExecStart=ifconfig mon0 up (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
   Main PID: 705 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
      CPU: 15ms

Nov 22 23:05:19 oresat-dev systemd[1]: Started Oresat MON0 IFACE Service.
Nov 22 23:05:19 oresat-dev systemd[1]: oresat-mon-iface.service: Succeeded.

● oresat-vcan-iface.service - Oresat VCAN0 IFACE Service
  Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/oresat-vcan-iface.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
  Active: inactive (dead) since Wed 2023-11-22 23:05:19 UTC; 24s ago
  Process: 706 ExecStart=/usr/local/sbin/start-vcan (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
   Main PID: 706 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
      CPU: 34ms

Nov 22 23:05:19 oresat-dev systemd[1]: Started Oresat VCAN0 IFACE Service.
Nov 22 23:05:19 oresat-dev systemd[1]: oresat-vcan-iface.service: Succeeded.

● oresat-dxwifi-software-server.service - Oresat DXWIFI Software Server
  Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/oresat-dxwifi-software-server.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
  Active: active (running) since Wed 2023-11-22 23:05:19 UTC; 25s ago
   Main PID: 707 (python3)
    Tasks: 10 (limit: 1026)
  Memory: 19.9M
      CPU: 13.046s
  CGroup: /system.slice/oresat-dxwifi-software-server.service
          └─707 python3 -m oresat_dxwifi

Nov 22 23:05:40 oresat-dev python3[707]: 2023-11-22 23:05:40.520 | ERROR  | oresat_dxwifi.resources.temperature:find_temperature:83 - Unable to reach ADC

The following log messages are expected on the BBB. The OreSat Live board is connected to a temperature sensor on the satellite, but the BBB has no such sensor.

2023-11-22 02:01:21.696 | ERROR | oresat_dxwifi.resources.temperature:find_temperature:83 - Unable to reach ADC
2023-11-22 02:01:21.700 | ERROR | oresat_dxwifi.resources.temperature:_on_read_temperature:54 - Temperature outside int8 range or unable to reach ADC.

The following command follows the log with temperature messages excluded.

$ tail -f /tmp/olaf.log | grep -vi temperature

Notes on debugging

When the DxWiFi OLAF app is running in a subprocess in the background, some of the output doesn't go to the olaf.log file. To have the full debug output sent to the terminal, you can run the app in the foreground as follows:

$ sudo systemctl stop oresat-dxwifi-software-server.service;
$ sudo su -l
# cd /usr/local/sbin/
# python3 -m oresat_dxwifi | grep -vi temperature
# exit

When the app is running (either via systemd or in the foreground), it listens on 127.0.0.1:8000, and Nginx runs a reverse proxy to this port. You can administer the app in a web browser by visiting http://<bbb-address>/oresat-live (replacing <bbb-address> with the IP address or hostname of the BBB).

Steps for transmitting

Press Read State. The page should now say "Standby." If it says "Error," there is a problem to be debugged.

Press FILMING. The logs should say something like this:

2023-11-22 02:03:21.332 | INFO  | oresat_dxwifi.services.oresat_live:on_state_write:119 - Changing state: STANDBY -> FILMING
...
2023-11-22 01:50:29.275 | INFO  | oresat_dxwifi.camera.camera:create_videos:162 - Finished, videos available at: /oresat-live-output/videos

Press TRANSMISSION. The logs should say something like this:

2023-11-22 02:05:25.199 | INFO  | oresat_dxwifi.services.oresat_live:on_state_write:119 - Changing state: STANDBY -> TRANSMISSION

After you press TRANSMISSION, go to the browser connected to the HGS app (the OreSat Live Server), and you should see the transmission coming in. It should look something like this: