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213 lines
8.3 KiB
Markdown
213 lines
8.3 KiB
Markdown
<h1>Remote TCP Sink Channel Plugin</h1>
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<h2>Introduction</h2>
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The Remote TCP Sink Channel plugin sends I/Q samples from the baseband via TCP/IP or a Secure WebSocket across a network to a client application.
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The client application could be SDRangel using the [Remote TCP Input](../../samplesource/remotetcpinput/readme.md) plugin or an rtl_tcp compatible application.
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This means that applications using rtl_tcp protocol can connect to the wide variety of SDRs supported by SDRangel.
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While the plugin supports rtl_tcp's RTL0 protocol for compatibility with older applications, the newer SDRA protocol supports the following additional features:
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- Different bit depths (8, 16, 24 or 32),
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- Additional settings, such as decimation, frequency offset and channel gain,
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- Device settings can be sent to the client for display,
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- IQ compression, using FLAC or zlib, to reduce network bandwidth,
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- IQ squelch, to reduce network bandwidth when no signal is being received,
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- Real-time forwarding of device/antenna position and direction to client,
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- Text messaging between clients and server,
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- Use of either TCP or WSS (WebSocket Secure Protocol).
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The Remote TCP Sink can support multiple clients connected simultaneously, with a user-defined maximum client limit. Clients can also have a time limit applied.
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Connection details can optionally be sent to a public database at https://sdrangel.org to allow operation as a WebSDR. Public servers are viewable on the [Map Feature](../../feature/map/readme.md).
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<h2>Interface</h2>
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![Remote TCP sink channel plugin GUI](../../../doc/img/RemoteTCPSink.png)
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<h3>1: Frequency shift from center frequency of reception</h3>
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This is the shift of the channel center frequency from the device center frequency.
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This is used to select the desired part of the signal when the channel sample rate is lower than the baseband sample rate.
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<h3>2: Gain</h3>
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Sets a gain figure in dB that is applied to I/Q samples before transmission via TCP/IP.
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This option may be useful for amplifying very small signals from SDRs with high-dynamic range (E.g. 24-bits), when the network sample bit-depth is 8-bits.
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<h3>3: Channel power</h3>
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Average total power in dB relative to a +/- 1.0 amplitude signal received in the pass band.
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<h3>4: Level meter in dB</h3>
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- top bar (green): average value
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- bottom bar (blue green): instantaneous peak value
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- tip vertical bar (bright green): peak hold value
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<h3>5: IQ Squelch</h3>
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Check to enable IQ squelch. When IQ squelch is enabled, if the channel power falls below the specified power level (6),
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the plugin will squelch (suppress) all the signal and noise in the channel,
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so that it can be transmitted at a very high compression ratio, reducing network bandwidth.
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This option is particularly suitable for packetised data, where the client doesn't need to receive the noise between packets.
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<h3>6: IQ Squelch power level</h3>
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Sets the power level in dB, below which, IQ data will be squelched.
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<h3>7: IQ Squelch gate time</h3>
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Sets the IQ squelch gate time. The units can be us (microseconds), ms (milliseconds) or s (seconds).
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<h3>8: IQ Squelch indicator</h3>
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When IQ squelch is enabled, the icon will have a green background when a signal above the power level (6) is being transmitted and a grey background when the signal is squelched.
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<h3>9: Sample rate</h3>
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Specifies the channel and network sample rate in samples per second. If this is different from the baseband sample rate, the baseband signal will be decimated to the specified rate.
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<h3>10: Sample bit depth</h3>
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Specifies number of bits per I/Q sample transmitted via TCP/IP.
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<h3>11: IP address</h3>
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IP address of the local network interface on which the server will listen for TCP/IP connections from network clients. Use 0.0.0.0 for any interface.
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<h3>12: Port</h3>
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TCP port on which the server will listen for connections.
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<h3>13: Protocol</h3>
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Specifies the protocol used for sending IQ samples and metadata to clients:
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- RTL0: Compatible with rtl_tcp - limited to 8-bit IQ data.
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- SDRangel: Enhanced version of protocol via TCP Socket.
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- SDRangel wss: SDRangel protocol via a WebSocket Secure instead of a TCP Socket. You should use this if you wish to allow connections from the WebAssembly version of SDRangel.
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<h3>14: Display Settings</h3>
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Click to open the Settings Dialog.
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![Remote TCP sink Settings Dialog](../../../doc/img/RemoteTCPSink_settings.png)
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<h4>Max Clients</h4>
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Specify the maximum number of clients than can connect simultaneously.
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If additional clients attempt to connect, they will be held in a queue.
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<h4>Time Limit</h4>
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Specify a time limit in minutes for each client connection. Use 0 for no limit.
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After the time limit expires, a client will be disconnected.
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They will be allowed to reconnect if the maximum number of clients is not reached.
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<h4>Max Channel Sample Rate</h4>
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Specify the maximum channel sample rate that can be set. This allows a limit to be set on network bandwidth.
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<h4>IQ only</h4>
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When checked, only uncompressed IQ samples will be transmitted. This is for compatibilty with client software expecting the RTL0 protcol.
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Checking this option will disable support for compression, messaging, device location and direction.
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<h4>Compressor</h4>
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Specify the compressor to use. This can be FLAC or zlib.
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<h4>Compression Level</h4>
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Specifies the compression effort level. Higher settings can improve compression, but require more CPU time.
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<h4>Block size</h4>
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Specify the block size the compressor uses. Larger block sizes improve compression, but add latency.
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Generally it should be fine to use the largest setting, unless the sample rate is very low.
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<h4>SSL Certificate</h4>
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Specify an SSL certificate .pem file. This is required to use SDRangel wss protocol.
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This file can be generated in the same way as for a web server.
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<h4>SSL Key</h4>
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Specify an SSL key .pem file. This is required to use SDRangel wss protocol.
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This file can be generated in the same way as for a web server.
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<h4>List Server</h4>
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Check to list the server in a public directory on https://sdrangel.com.
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This will allow other users to find and connect to the server via the [Map Feature](../../feature/map/readme.md).
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<h4>Address</h4>
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Public IP address or hostname and port number to access the server.
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The port number specified here may differ from (12) if your router's
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port forwarding maps the port numbers.
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<h4>Frequency Range</h4>
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Specify minimum and maximum frequencies that users can expect to receive on.
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This will typically depend on the SDR and antenna.
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For information only and will be displayed on the [Map](../../feature/map/readme.md).
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<h4>Antenna</h4>
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Optionally enter details of the antenna.
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For information only and will be displayed on the [Map](../../feature/map/readme.md).
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<h4>Location</h4>
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Optionaly enter the location (Town and Country) of the antenna.
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For information only and will be displayed on the [Map](../../feature/map/readme.md).
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The position the SDRangel icon will be plotted on the Map will be
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taken from the device itself, which for most devices, will default
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to the position in Preferences > My Position.
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<h4>Isotropic</h4>
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Check to indicate the antenna is isotropic (non-directional).
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When unchecked, the direction the antenna points in can be specified below.
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<h4>Rotator</h4>
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Specify a Rotator feature that is controlling the direction of the antenna.
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Set to None to manually set the direction the antenna points.
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<h4>Direction</h4>
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Specify the direction the antenna is pointing, as Azimuth in degrees and Elevation in degrees.
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<h4>IP Blacklist</h4>
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Specify a list of IP addresses that will be prevented from connecting to the server.
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<h3>15: Remote Control</h3>
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When checked, remote clients will be able to change device settings. When unchecked, client requests to change settings will be ignored.
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<h3>16: TX</h3>
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When pressed, the text message (18) will be transmitted to the clients specified by (17).
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<h3>17: TX Address</h3>
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Specifies the TCP/IP address and port of the client that the message should be transmitted to, or ALL, if it should be transmitted to all clients.
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<h3>18: TX Message</h3>
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Specifies a text message to transmit to clients, when the TX button (16) is pressed.
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<h3>19: RX Messages</h3>
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Displays text messages received from clients.
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<h3>20: Connection Log</h3>
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Displays the IP addresses and TCP port numbers of clients that have connected, along with when they connected and disconnected
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and how long they were connected for.
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