Quick Reference Guide

This page contains a quick reference guide for the Blockstream Satellite receiver setup and its general usage. Please refer to the main guide for detailed explanations on all steps.

CLI Installation and Upgrade

Install the command-line interface (CLI):

sudo pip3 install blocksat-cli

Alternatively, to upgrade a previous installation of the CLI, run:

sudo pip3 install blocksat-cli --upgrade

To check your current version, run:

blocksat-cli -v

Common Steps

These are the commands that are applicable to all the supported types of receivers.

Set initial configurations:

blocksat-cli cfg

Install software dependencies:

blocksat-cli deps install

To update the dependencies, run:

blocksat-cli deps update

Get instructions:

blocksat-cli instructions

Receiver-specific Configuration Steps

Novra S400 standalone receiver

Configure the receiver and the host by running:

blocksat-cli standalone cfg

Monitor the S400 receiver:

blocksat-cli standalone monitor

TBS USB receiver

Install the drivers:

blocksat-cli deps tbs-drivers

Configure the host and the TBS 5927/5520SE:

blocksat-cli usb config

Start the USB receiver:

blocksat-cli usb launch

Sat-IP receiver

Launch the Sat-IP client:

blocksat-cli sat-ip

SDR receiver

Configure Gqrx:

blocksat-cli gqrx-conf

Run the SDR receiver:

blocksat-cli sdr

Receiver-specific Antenna Alignment Steps

This is the most time-consuming part of the process and has detailed guidance on the antenna alignment guide.

In summary, you will try to point your antenna until you get a signal lock on your receiver.

Novra S400 standalone receiver

Monitor the S400 receiver by running:

blocksat-cli standalone monitor

While pointing the antenna, check the logs on the terminal until the receiver logs a Lock. Alternatively, check the lock indicator on the S400’s web UI or front panel until it becomes green (locked).

TBS USB receiver

Make sure that the USB receiver is running with:

blocksat-cli usb launch

While pointing the antenna, check the logs on the terminal until the receiver logs a Lock.

Sat-IP receiver

Launch the Sat-IP client:

blocksat-cli sat-ip

While pointing the antenna, check the logs on the terminal until the receiver logs a Lock.

SDR receiver

Run gqrx:

gqrx

Point the antenna until you can visualize the Blockstream Satellite signal spanning 1.2 MHz. Take note of the offset between the observed signal’s center frequency and the nominal center frequency (at the center of the gqrx plot).

Run the receiver with the GUI enabled and in debug mode:

blocksat-cli sdr --gui -d --derotate freq_offset

where freq_offset is the offset (in units of kHz) you observed on the gqrx step.

On the plots that open up, confirm the presence of the signal. Then, wait until the receiver prints LOCKED on the terminal.

Bitcoin-satellite Setup

Install bitcoin-satellite:

blocksat-cli deps install --btc

To update a previous installation of bitcoin-satellite, run:

blocksat-cli deps update --btc

Generate the bitcoin.conf configuration file:

blocksat-cli btc

Run bitcoin-satellite:

bitcoind

Satellite API

Configure encryption keys:

blocksat-cli api cfg

Broadcast a message using the satellite API:

blocksat-cli api send

Bump the bid of an API transmission order:

blocksat-cli api bump

Delete an API transmission order:

blocksat-cli api del

Listen for API messages acquired by the satellite receiver:

blocksat-cli api listen

Run the demo receiver:

blocksat-cli api demo-rx

Listen to the API messages coming from the demo receiver:

blocksat-cli api listen -d