Winegard satellite dish control for amateur radio sky tracking
Project description
winegard-birdcage
Serial control library for Winegard motorized satellite dishes, repurposed for amateur radio satellite tracking.
Turns surplus RV/marine satellite TV antennas into steerable ground station dishes via RS-485 or RS-422.
Install
pip install winegard-birdcage
CLI Tools
Two entry points are included:
birdcage -- antenna control and rotctld server:
birdcage init --port /dev/ttyUSB0 --firmware hal205
birdcage pos
birdcage move --az 180.0 --el 45.0
birdcage serve --host 127.0.0.1 --port 4533 # rotctld for Gpredict
console-probe -- automated firmware exploration:
console-probe --port /dev/ttyUSB0 --baud 115200 --discover-only --json report.json
console-probe --port /dev/ttyUSB0 --baud 115200 --deep --wordlist wordlist.txt
Supported Hardware
| Variant | Connection | Baud | Motor Command |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trav'ler (HAL 0.0.00) | RS-485 / RJ-25 | 57600 | a <id> <deg> |
| Trav'ler (HAL 2.05) | RS-485 / RJ-25 | 57600 | a <id> <deg> |
| Trav'ler Pro | USB A-to-A | 57600 | a <id> <deg> |
| Carryout | RS-485 / RJ-25 | 57600 | g <az> <el> |
| Carryout G2 | RS-422 / RJ-12 | 115200 | a <id> <deg> |
Architecture
protocol.py -- FirmwareProtocol ABC + per-variant subclasses (HAL205, HAL000, G2)
leapfrog.py -- Predictive overshoot compensation for mechanical motor lag
antenna.py -- BirdcageAntenna: high-level control wrapping protocol + leapfrog
rotctld.py -- Hamlib rotctld TCP server (p/P/S/_/q) for Gpredict integration
cli.py -- Click CLI: init / serve / pos / move
Related Packages
| Package | Description |
|---|---|
| birdcage-tui | Six-screen terminal UI for dish control |
| mcbirdcage | MCP server for AI-assisted dish operations |
Documentation
Full hardware details, wiring guides, firmware command reference, and NVS tables: birdcage.warehack.ing
Credits
- Gabe Emerson (KL1FI / saveitforparts) -- original Trav'ler, Trav'ler Pro, and Carryout rotor scripts
- Chris Davidson (cdavidson0522) -- Carryout G2 sky scan and rotator control
License
MIT
Release history Release notifications | RSS feed
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