Satran MK3 User manual

SATRAN
MK3 USER MANUAL
SAtellite TRacking Antenna
Open source 3D-printable azimuth/elevation antenna rotator
www.satran.io
Within Europe only legal for use by
authorities or license ra io amateurs
Always read and understand this manual before use
2022-08-23 page 1

Safety Precautions and Instructions
Before use, read all parts of this manual to prevent injury or malfunction
1) Inspect the pro uct after unboxing an o not continue with the installation in case there are parts
missing or the pro uct has any visible amage.
2) The control unit nee s a stable DC 12V 1A power supply to function properly, you are a vise to
only use the supplie power a apter or it may result in amage to the unit.
3) Ensure that the operating environment meets the specifications state in this ata sheet.
4) Do not store or mount any electrical parts of the pro uct in such manner that they can be expose
to water or other chemicals. The rotator housing is splash-proof but prolonge exposure to liqui s
might amage it.
5) Protect the pro uct from sources of high voltage, lightning or electromagnetic interference. The
unit has some protection for EMI, but high antenna transmitting powers might affect the
functionality or even amage the control unit.
6) When installing or using the pro uct, make sure that the rotator an any externally mounte
antenna have enough space to move freely without hitting something or someone before you
connect any power cables.
7) Never use the pro uct if it is amage in any way or operating unexpecte ly.
8) Never use the pro uct if you o not have sufficient knowle ge or licenses. It is the responsibility
of the operator to follow local laws an regulations, an to maintain the proper permissions.
9) Shoul any abnormal o our, noise, smoke, temperature rise or vibration be etecte ; stop using
the pro uct imme iately, remove power an any connecte communication cables.
10) Do not operate in strong win s which may cause antennas, rotator or parts of it to get amage
or come loose an hurt people or property.
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Gettin started
Visit www.satran.io for the latest instructions/video on how to 3D-print and assemble the unit.
The efault mount is inten e for a 35mm pipe, preferably a PA speaker stan with any plastic
center plugs remove for the cables to run through the center.
Warnin ! Before connecting power to the evice, make sure it has enough room to move freely
without hitting something. When power is applie , the rotator will initiate by moving both axis an
turning azimuth to 0 egrees north.
1) Mount the Satran on top of a pipe with control cables an any coaxial cables running insi e own
through the pipe, without fastening it completely.
2) Mount the control unit below the rotator, approx 1 meter away from the evice or any other
sources of electromagnetic interference. Cables coming in or out of the plastic housing shoul o so
in the bottom to prevent any rainwater entering. Connect the control cable from the Satran to the
RJ45 port on the controller, an the 12V power connector to the JST-plug on the controller.
3) Connect the power cable to a recommen e power a apter an wait a few secon s for the rotator
to initialize. If all is well, it shoul move both the azimuth an the elevation for some istance.
4) After initialization, the rotator points to what shoul be 0 egrees north. Take a compass an
place it on top of the antenna. Turn the rotator by the pipe mount until the antenna is facing
geographic north an fasten it by tightening the bolt on the pipe mount.
5) Start your computer or smartphone an connect it to the wireless hotspot with a hostname
starting with ”SATRAN_”
6) Now you can control the rotator. No more steps are nee e if you only want to control the rotator
irectly. Enter http://192.168.4.1 in a web browser to access the manual control interface or enter
the IP in the settings of your esire software like ”Satran Control” an roi app or Gpre ict on PC.
Continue if you want to control the Satran via your wireless network (recommended ...
7) Open a web browser an enter http://192.168.4.1/setup
8) Choose your esire wireless network from the list an enter the require passwor , press to
save. Satran now restarts.
9) Now you can connect the computer or smartphone back to your own WLAN an the Satran can
be accesse by replacing the IP-a ress with the one assigne to it by your wireless router. If you
o not know this, you nee to login to your wireless router an check what IP-a ress it has been
assigne by the DHCP service. If the Satran is unable to connect, you might nee to reset it to
factory efaults an try again.
Success! Now it is rea y to be controlle by Gpre ict or the free an roi app
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Mountin the device and antenna
It is important that both the Satran an any antennas are mounte properly to minimize the risk of
amage to the unit or its surroun ings.
The rotator shoul always be mounte facing upwar s to prevent rain or ust entering it.
Satran MK2 is inten e for all cables running through the center of it own the mounting pipe. On
the si e of the rotator there is a rubber gasket for the antennas coaxial cable. If the pipe your Satran
is mounte to is taller than the control cable, you nee to rill a hole in the pipe approx 1 meter
below the top where the cable can exit for connection with the control box.
The DC power jack on the power cable is not waterproof an shoul be protecte or seale from the
elements if it is mounte out oors.
The control box shoul be securely mounte with the cables coming out from the bottom, using a
rubber gasket for the cables an the silicone-seale li completely fastene .
A maximum antenna weight of 500 grams is recommen e an antenna shoul be balance with a
slight overweight (5-20% of total antenna weight) in the front when in a horizontal position.
Satran oes not know what is north or south. When you mount the rotator, connect power to it an
let it finish initialization. Then put a compass along the top bracket or antenna an manually turn
the entire rotator until the ”front” is facing 0 egrees north. Now tightly fasten the screws on the
rotator mount. Remove an reconnect power again an make sure that sensors has been rea
correctly an that it is still facing north, otherwise re o the proce ure an a just.
Use plastic wire straps to fasten any cables to prevent strain on the connectors an other amage
that coul be cause by win or gravity.
Reset to factory defaults
If you nee to reset the wifi settings an start the efault Access Point again, you nee to reset the
controller to factory efaults. Do this by pressing an hol ing the reset-button on the top left of the
controller boar for a minimum of 3 secon s until a bright LED-light turns on. Release the button
an wait 10 secon s for the Satran to restart.
Powerin up or down
To turn off the Satran; just isconnect the power. There are not any manual boot sequences or
comman s. When you reconnect power again it will boot up in a clean state but will remember any
save wifi cre entials or calibrations.
It is recommen e to always isconnect power when the evice is not in active use.
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Calibration of sensors
The Satran MK2 uses two linear 1K potentiometers as sensors to rea its current position. The
max/min values of these nee to be calibrate in or er to give a high accuracy. The rotator accepts
potentiometer range of 25 - 999. A rea ing lower than approximately 25 probably in icates that the
control boar has lost connection with the sensor; in that case check your cables.
1) Mount the rotator correctly an
power it up. Wait a few secon s for
the evice to initialize.
2) If the evice has not yet been setup
an connecte to you WLAN,
connect your computer or smartphone
irectly to the Satran Access Point
(hostname starting with
”SATRAN_”).
3) When connecte , open a web
browser win ow an enter
http://192.168.4.1/calibration into the
URL fiel if accessing it irectly on
the access point, or replace the IP-
a ress with the one assigne to it
by your wireless router.
4) Click to turn the azimuth counter-clockwise until it rea s approx 150. This number will be the
north en position (0 egrees). Enter this value in the correspon ing fiel an press save button.
5) Take a pen or piece of tape an make a marking on both the bottom fixe turntable an the top
rotator housing that shoul line up with each other.
6) Press the ”Azimuth CW” button repeate ly to turn the azimuth a full 360- egree turn until the
markings you ma e lines up again. Enter this new azimuth rea ing into the correspon ing ”azimuth
max”-fiel an press save. Approx 900 is the maximum of the sensor, an when moving closer to
this value you might get irregular rea ings, which in icates that the sensor has move too far.
Remove the markings/tape on the rotator when finishe .
7) Continue by repeate ly pressing ”Elevation own” button until the top antenna bracket is
horizontal (0 egrees) Enter the elevation rea ing into the correspon ing ”Elevation min”-fiel an
save.
8) Press ”Elevation up” until the antenna bracket is vertical (90 egrees) an enter the rea ing as the
”elevation maximum”, press to save settings.
Now calibration is finishe . Restart the evice an continue with the wifi setup.
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Controllin manually via browser interface
When installing or testing the Satran, it is goo to have a way of controlling it without nee ing any
a itional software. That's why it has a manual control that you can access irectly from any
stan ar internet browser.
If setup has been performe an Satran is connecte to your WLAN, enter:
http://192.168.x.x (change IP-a ress to the one it has been assigne by your WLAN)
If you are accessing the Satran irectly, via the built-in access point (SSID: SATRAN_***):
http://192.168.4.1
Control with the Android app
The easiest way to use the Satran is with the free an roi app ”Satran Control” available for
ownloa from Google Play.
After installation, start the app an go to the settings tab. Enter your GPS location an the correct
IP-a ress to the Satran. If setup has been performe , use the IP that it has been assigne to it
ynamically by your wireless router. If you are accessing the Satran access-point irectly, the given
IP-a ress is always 192.168.4.1
Now click the tab for the satellite list an choose any by clicking on it. If the list is empty, you nee
to connect your an roi evice to a WLAN with internet access an restart the app to fetch a new
satellite list from the CelesTrak ata server.
When a satellite has been chosen, you can go to the first tab that shoul show you its relative
position an the time for its next overhea pass. If you want the Satran to track the satellite when it
passes you, you nee to click the toggle button on the pre iction tab to activate the rotator.
Please min that the app will keep sen ing comman s to the Satran even when minimize in the
backgroun . For the Satran to stop you nee to eactivate it by pressing the toggle button in the app,
or completely terminate the app.
Control with HTTP GET request
The app uses very simple GET requests to control the Satran, which are sent as a rea able URL
over HTTP on port 80 that you can test manually with any web browser:
Http://192.168.x.x/tracker?az=123&el=123
The IP-a ress above (192.168.x.x) shoul be replace with the one it has been assigne by your
wireless router. Replace ”123” with the irection you want in egrees 0-360 for azimuth an 0-90
for elevation. Wait a secon an the rotator shoul move an the browser sen s back the string
”success”.
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Control with Gpredict (hamlib/rotctld)
The Satran has a simulate hamlib rotctl aemon or ”rotctl ” that acts as a TCP server an can take
stan ar rotctl comman s from compatible software, like the popular Gpre ict program.
When power is connecte an the rotator has initialize without errors the Satran is always listening
for rotctl comman s, which makes setup very easy.
1) Power up the Satran an connect the computer with Gpre ict either irectly to the access point or
the wireless network that the Satran is connecte to.
2) In Gpre ict, click ”e it” an ”preferences” in the top bar
3) Press ”interfaces” in the left column an choose the tab ”rotators”. Press ”A New”. Enter the
IP-a ress to the Satran an the other settings as picture above. Press OK to close all.
4) In the main Gpre ict win ow, now click on the small arrow icon in the top right corner to bring
up the menu containing ”Antenna Control”. Click on it.
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5) First press the ”engage”-button to connect with the rotator. Next choose the esire satellite from
the rop own un er ”Target” an click the button ”Track” to automatically follow the satellite
when it reaches AOS (enters over the horizon). You can also manually change the large numbers
for azimuth or elevation an the rotator will turn accor ingly.
Satran MK2 has not yet been tested with other hamlib/rotctl-compatible software like satnogs.
If you get it to work with such other software, please be kind to the community and share your
findings in the forum at www.satran.io or by mail to [email protected]
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Specifications MK3 standard
Control unit processor: ESP8266 v2 No eMCU
Recommen e PSU: DC12V 1A
Control unit power cable: JST-XH 2pin to 5x2.5mm DC-plug
Voltage requirements: DC 11-14 volt
Recommen e fuse: 5x20mm 630mA
Motor rate voltage: DC12V 60RPM
Wifi network compatibility: 802.11 b/g/n (max 20 character pass/ssi )
Azimuth movement: 0-360 egrees
Elevation movement: 0-90 egrees
Tolerance: approx 5 egrees
Operating temperature: 0 to +30° Celsius
Max antenna weight: 500 gram
Weight, finishe unit: approx 500gram
Dimensions rotator: 200x120x120mm
Dimensions control box: 110x110x70mm
Stan ar pipe mount: 25mm-35mm
Country of origin: Swe en
Happy satellite hunting!
73 e SM7YSA Daniel Nikolajsen
www.satran.io
2022-08-23 page 9