HOW TO ACTIVATE THE MLAT FOR RADARBOX24

[Runway 31]

I suggest you ask Airnav

Alan

[391P]

Hello everyone. Hi @abcd567 and @Runway31.

I've had a station for a few years, but it never ran properly. Now I have redone everything in the last few days, replaced the hardware and apart from the MLAT service, I am very satisfied. Can you help me? MLAT active (No stations synced).

Result of (sudo systemctl status rbfeeder | sed ‘s/ / /’):

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CGroup: /system.slice/rbfeeder.service
             ├─591 /usr/bin/rbfeeder
             └─603 /usr/bin/dump1090-rb --write-json /dev/shm/ --net --quiet --mlat --forward-mlat --net-bo-port 30105 --lat 52.XXXXX --lon 9.XXXXX --modeac --fix --adaptive-burst --adaptive-range -gnss
I made the settings for the position via the interface. Values anonymised:

Result of (sudo nano /etc/rbfeeder.ini):

Code: [Select]

[client]
network_mode=false
log_file=/var/log/rbfeeder.log

key=dxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
sn=EXTRPI027193
lat=52.XXXXX
lon=9.XXXXX
alt=69

[mlat]
autostart_mlat=true
#mlat_cmd=/usr/bin/python3.9 /usr/bin/mlat-client

[dump978]
#dump978_enabled=true
I have also reinstalled the MLAT service:

Code: [Select]

sudo apt purge mlat-client
sudo apt clean
sudo apt install mlat-client   
sudo reboot 
Of course, I also rebooted the Raspberry and gave it some time to boot up and start all services. If you still have questions about the current system:

Result of (cat /etc/os-release):

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RETTY_NAME="Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)’
NAME="Debian GNU/Linux’
VERSION_ID="12’
VERSION="12 (bookworm)’
VERSION_CODENAME=bookworm
If you want to know which station it's about, have a look here: https://www.airnavradar.com/stations/EXTRPI027193

I would be grateful if you could help. Now I would like to have all services running and not a ‘half-finished state’ like before.

Greetings
391P

[Runway 31]

Hi 391P

Would I be correct in thinking you are using an older version of the Pi OS??  Reason I was asking is that the MLAT client is now within the latest version of the RB software  see reply 9 of this thread https://forum.airnavradar.com/index.php?topic=107991.0

Only thing I can see so far is this from a previous post from abcd which will be helpful if using an older Pi os version

Python version entry in file /etc/rbfeeder.ini is by default commented out (see screenshot below which shows a # at start of mlat line). The rbfeeder  uses the version of python which is installed matching with OS version. Please do NOT remove # from start of mlat-line of file /etc/rbfeeder.ini...

Maybe worthwhile commenting it out

Alan

[391P]

Hi Runway31.
Thanks for the tip. That was a mistake on my part when transferring it to the post. The value is correct in the *.ini! I have just checked the Phython version, it is 3.11.2 installed.
Greetings
391P

PS: I have noticed that the data statistics do not register / record any values for MLAT.

[Runway 31]

See the amendment I made to my post

Alan

[391P]

I have also updated content.

Result of (cat /proc/device-tree/model; echo);

Code: [Select]

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Rev 1.2
Result of (uname -m):

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aarch64
Result of (python --version):

Code: [Select]

Python 3.11.2
Result of (rbfeeder --version):

Code: [Select]

RBFeeder v1.0.11 (build 20241022110000)
I have now installed all updates again and restarted. Let's see if the MLAT starts now. You can see the status on the website of the station. I won't be able to reply until tomorrow ;-)

sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade

Greetings
391P

[Runway 31]

MLAT is active on your station with 54 synced

Alan

[391P]

Hi @Runway31

Thank you for the positive feedback. I noticed today that the first MLAT data packets were sent after updating the Raspberry yesterday. In the last few hours, however, the station has continued without successful synchronization.

That's why I sent an email to support a few hours ago. After I had no idea what could be wrong with the configuration - because MLAT data was also sent in the meantime.

Great! Now it works. I would still be interested to know what the missing piece of the puzzle was or it simply takes a while for Airnavradar to release the function...

In the same way, after restarting the Rapsberry several times, the error message appears that the sharing key is invalid. But after about 30 minutes everything is fine again.

Greetings
391P

[Runway 31]

I would be interested to find out myself, I have a suspicion there was something wrong at the server end

Alan

[mahagonny]

Hi everyone,

I set up my station 7 days ago and I’m reaching out because I’m having some trouble with MLAT.
Even though my dashboard shows that I am synchronized with about 30 nearby stations, my report says I have sent zero MLAT packets. The ADS-B feed is working perfectly, but MLAT seems stuck.
I have already correctly configured my Latitude, Longitude, and Altitude in the dashboard settings, so my location is precisely set. I also checked my hardware and everything is stable (Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, solid power supply, and good temperatures).
Could this be a backend issue with my station's UUID or the synchronization between my feeder and the MLAT server?
I’m a total newbie at this, so please bear with me. Thanks in advance for your patience and help!
Best regards, Enzo (Station EXTRPI723871)

[Runway 31]

Hi

What OS are you using on the Pi and can you post a copy of your ini file with your credentials redacted

Alan

[mahagonny]

I am using Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie).

Here is my rbfeeder.ini file:

Ini, TOML
[client]
network_mode=true
log_file=/var/log/rbfeeder.log
key=6cb57e6d30d670331670f1c3bc38xxx
sn=EXTRPI723871
lat=41.078221999999997
lon=16.782668000000001
alt=99

[network]
mode=beast
external_port=30005
external_host=127.0.0.1

[mlat]
#autostart_mlat=true
#mlat_cmd=/usr/bin/mlat-client
enable=true
mlat_connector=127.0.0.1:30005

[Runway 31]

Regarding Trixie and MLAT, see this thread from Reply 1 Item F onwards

Alan