README.md

Pi-side: satdump as a systemd service

This directory holds the artifacts that run on the Raspberry Pi in the yard. The job of the Pi is to demodulate the GOES HRIT signal with satdump and publish the resulting stream over TCP, so the indoor server (running goesproc-docker) can subscribe to it.

satdump-goes19.service is the systemd unit that keeps satdump running indefinitely — it restarts on failure and starts automatically on boot.

What's in the unit

The included unit targets GOES-19 on 1694.1 MHz. All GOES-R series satellites (GOES-16/17/18/19) share the same HRIT downlink frequency, so if you're pointing at GOES-18 instead, just change the satdump pipeline name from GOES_19 to GOES_18 (and update Description / filename to match) — the frequency stays the same.

It assumes:

• satdump is installed at /usr/bin/satdump (adjust ExecStart if yours is elsewhere — which satdump will tell you)
• Your SDR is plugged in and recognized
• You're OK running as root. To run unprivileged instead, give the rtlsdr binary the right capabilities (sudo setcap cap_sys_nice,cap_net_admin+ep $(which satdump)) and change the User= line.

The unit exposes both the satdump web UI on port 8080 and the demodulated TCP stream on port 5004 — goesproc-docker subscribes to the latter.

Installing the unit

On the Pi:

sudo cp satdump-goes19.service /etc/systemd/system/
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now satdump-goes19.service

Checking that it's running

systemctl status satdump-goes19           # current state
sudo journalctl -u satdump-goes19 -f      # tail logs

You should see satdump locking onto the signal and reporting SNR. Then load http://<pi-ip>:8080 in a browser to see the live constellation/decoder UI.

Updating the unit

After editing the file:

sudo cp satdump-goes19.service /etc/systemd/system/
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart satdump-goes19