Docker-RadarVirtuel

What is it?

This application is a feeder service that takes RAW/AVR ADSB data from a service like dump1090[-fa], readsb, and tar1090, and feeds this data to adsbnetwork's RadarVirtuel data aggregator. It works similar to other data connectors from the @Mikenye family of ADSB tools.

RadarVirtuel can be reached at:

• http://www.radarvirtuel.com/

Before you install this container, you need a feeder key. To request one, email support@adsbnetwork.com with the following information:

• Your name
• The Lat/Lon and nearest airport of your station
• Your Raspberry Pi model (or other hardware if not Raspberry Pi)
• Mention that you will feed using a Docker container.

Quick Start Guide

These instructions are for people who are deploying on Raspberry Pi (3B+ or 4) with Raspberry OS or Ubuntu, and who already have a running Docker and Docker-compose setup with readsb, dump1090-fa, or a similar ADSB decoder running. That decoder can run inside a container or directly on the host.

You should also have received a Feeder Key as per the section above.

With these 4 simple steps, you should be up and running in 5 minutes or less. If you need more detailed instructions, please continue reading the next few sections of this README.

1. Download the docker-compose.yml example file and add it to your existing docker-compose.yml, or run it stand-alone.
2. In docker-compose.yml, please check the ${HOSTNAME} variable:
   • if you are using dockerized readsb or tar1090 in the same docker-compose stack, then you can put in the name of the target container. Example: SOURCE_HOST=readsb:30002
   • if you are using dump1090[-fa], readsb, or tar1090 WITHOUT docker or in a different docker stack:
     • if it's on the local machine -- use the default value of ${HOSTNAME}:30002
     • if it's on a different machine -- use the hostname or IP address of the target machine, for example SOURCE_HOST=192.168.1.10:30002
     • (Note - NEVER put "127.0.0.1" as the IP address - this won't work!)
3. Make sure that you add the following parameters to your .env file, in the same directory as docker-compose.yml. You may already have some of these params in that file, in which case it's not necessary to duplicate them. You should have received your feeder key value from support@adsbnetwork.com.

RV_FEEDER_KEY=xxxx:123456789ABCDEF
FEEDER_LAT=12.345678
FEEDER_LONG=6.7890123
FEEDER_ALT_M=12.3

4. Restart your container stack with docker-compose up -d and you're in business. Monitor docker logs -f radarvirtuel to check for any errors.

Detailed Instructions

Prerequisites

1. The use of this connector service assumes that you already have a working ADS-B station setup

• Ensure you enabled RAW (=AVR) and BEAST data output on the application that actively processes your ADS-B data.
• Your ADS-B station can be on the same machine as this application, or on a different machine.
• Similarly, it doesn't matter if you are using a Containerized or non-Containerized setup.

2. The use of this connector also assumes that you have installed Docker and Docker-compose on the machine you want to run RadarVirtuel on.

• For a good overview on Docker, installation, etc., please read Mike Nye's excellent gitbook.
• If you need to install Docker and/or Docker-compose on your machine, go here for a handy script that will take care of it for you

3. Last, you will need to get a FEEDER_KEY to identify your station to RadarVirtuel. See the "What is it?" section above for instructions on how to get this key.

Installation

For a stand-alone installation on a machine with an existing ADS-B receiver, you can simply do this:

sudo mkdir -p /opt/adsb && sudo chmod a+rwx /opt/adsb && cd /opt/adsb
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kx1t/docker-radarvirtuel/main/docker-compose.yml

Then, edit the docker-compose.yml file and the .env file in the same directory using the instructions above.

To add RadarVirtuel to an existing Docker Stack, simply copy and paste the relevant sections into your existing docker-compose.yml and .env files.

Environment Parameters for docker-radarvirtuel

Parameter	Definition	Value
FEEDER_KEY	This key is provided by RadarVirtuel and is your PRIVATE KEY. Do no share this with anyone else.	[icao]:[private_key]
SOURCE_HOST	host and port number of your ADSB receiver. When running stand-alone on your local machine, this should be ${HOSTNAME}. The value after the : is the port number to the RAW or AVR service on the target machine, most probably 30002.	${HOSTNAME}:30002
RV_SERVER	The hostname and the port of the RadarVirtuel server. You should NOT change this unless specifically instructed. Note - this value may be overwritten/automatically updated if you are in a predefined zone in North America or Europe	mg2.adsbnetwork.com:50050
VERBOSE	Write verbose messages to the log	OFF (default) / ON
MLAT_SERVER	RV MLAT server address and port - do not change unless instructed to	mlat.adsbnetwork.com:50000
MLAT_HOST	This is the same hostname as for SOURCE_HOST, but now using port 30005	${HOSTNAME}:30005
MLAT_INPUT_TYPE	Optional param to define MLAT Input Type - do not change unless instructed to	auto (default) / dump1090 / beast / radarcape_12mhz / radarcape_gps / radarcape / sbs / avrmlat
MLAT_RESULTS	Optional param to define how to make the MLAT results available. Value is used with the --results option of mlat-client. For valid options, do docker exec -t radarvirtuel mlat-client --help	beast,listen,30105 (default)
LAT	This is your station latitude (used with MLAT)
LON	This is your station longitude (used with MLAT)
ALT	This is your antenna altitude above the ellipsoid (MSL). Use "ft" for feet or "m" for meters
ENABLE_MLAT	Enable MLAT	true (default) / false

MLAT Configuration

By default, MLAT is switched ON in the container. Please make sure to configure a valid MLAT_HOST, LAT, LON, and ALT in your docker-compose.yml setup. If you want to switch off MLAT, simply set ENABLE_MLAT to false.

Timezone configuration

• The default timezone setting for the container mimics the host machine's timezone. Sometimes, it is desired to run the container in UTC instead.
• To run the container in UTC, comment out the following lines (using #) in docker-compose.yml:

#    volumes:
#      - "/etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro"
#      - "/etc/timezone:/etc/timezone:ro"

Starting, stopping, upgrading, and monitoring the container

To start the container for the first time:

• pushd /opt/adsb && docker-compose up -d && popd

To restart the container:

• docker restart radarvirtuel

To stop the container:

• pushd /opt/adsb && docker-compose down && popd <-- this stops all containers in the stack
• docker stop radarvirtuel <-- this stops only RadarVirtuel

To download and deploy a new version of the container, if one exists:

• pushd /opt/adsb && docker-compose pull && docker-compose up -d && popd

To monitor the logs of the RadarVirtuel container:

• docker logs radarvirtuel <-- shows all logs for RadarVirtuel in the buffer (warning - can be very long!)
• docker logs -f radarvirtuel <-- shows the last few logs and waits for any new log entries, abort with CTRL-C

Troubleshooting

• If things don't appear to work as they should, set VERBOSE=ON in your docker-compose.yml and restart the container. Then monitor docker logs -f radarvirtuel to see what is going on
• If it complains about your SOURCE_HOST:
  • Make sure your data source can be reached from inside the container. SOURCE_HOST should be set to:
    • if it's a container within the same stack: the container name, for example SOURCE_HOST=readsb:30002
    • if it's a separate container or a stand-alone installation on the same machine, SOURCE_HOST must be set to SOURCE_HOST=${HOSTNAME}:30002
    • If it's a separate container on a different machine, you should use the full hostname or IP address of that machine. For example SOURCE_HOST=192.168.1.10:30002.
  • Make sure that your readsb or dump1090[-fa] installation is providing RAW (AVR) data:
    • Stand-alone dump1090 variants must use the --net-ro-port 30002 command line parameter
    • Containerized readsb or readsb-protobuf should pass the following variable in the environment: section of docker-compose.yml: READSB_NET_RAW_OUTPUT_PORT=30002
• If the logs complain about not being able to reach the RadarVirtuel server:
  • Make sure your machine is connected to the internet. Try this command to check connectivity: netcat -u -z -v mg2.adsbnetwork.com 50050
• If it complains about errors in your docker-compose.yml file
  • SPACING IS IMPORTANT. Spacing is important. There, I said it. Check that each line has the correct indentation
  • Sometimes, there are problems with newline characters when you import from a Windows machine. In that case, you can easily convert your file to Unix format. There are multiple ways to do this, one of them is: cat docker-compose.yml | tr -dc '[:print:]\n' >/tmp/tmp.tmp && sudo mv -f /tmp/tmp.tmp docker-compose.yml

Further help

• For help with credentials and service outages, please email support@adsbnetwork.com
• For help with the Docker Container and related issues, please contact kx1t on this Discord channel: https://discord.gg/m42azbZydy

OWNERSHIP AND LICENSE

RADARVIRTUEL is owned by, and copyright by AdsbNetwork and by Laurent Duval. All rights reserved. Note that parts of the code and scripts included with this package are NOT covered by an Open Source license, and may only be distributed and used with express permission from AdsbNetwork. Contact support@adsbnetwork.com for more information.

Any modifications to the existing AdsbNetwork scripts and programs, and any additional scripts are provided by kx1t under the MIT License as included with this package.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.