Overview¶
765 words Estimated reading time 3 minutes
Danger
Please don't forward the web interface to the internet. It's not designed for that and it's a security risk. If you want to access the web interface from outside your home network, then use a VPN connection. Also don't post the device ID anywhere as it can be used to assign the station to another user.
Web interface¶
Most parts of the web interface should be self explaining. In case you see small blue "i" icon, just hover over it with the mouse cursor to see additional information. When you click on the "i" you will be redirected to the Web Interface Reference.
The web interface is only available via unencrypted HTTP. Due to limited hardware resources there are currently no plans to implement a secure HTTPS/TLS web server. Irrespective of this, the signals and station data are sent to our servers in encrypted form.
Video overview of the web interface¶
Amplifiers¶
The channels of the amplifiers 1 and 2 are named 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A and so on. Additionally they have the following numbering scheme:
| Channel | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RED | 1A | 1B | 1C | 2A | 2B | 2C | Uses external amplifier boards, so has variable amount of channels |
| BLUE | 1A | 1B | 1C | 2A | 3x H-field, 1x E-field | ||
| MINI | 1A | 1B | 2x H-field |
Buttons¶
-
Reset just restarts the controller (resets the CPU). It's almost the same as power cycling, but the GPS module doesn't loose the satellites.
-
BOOT0 enters DFU mode upon reset.
-
BOOT1* is for different purposes on boot or while running.
* On System RED this is the blue button.
LEDs¶
System BLUE
| LED | Color | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Power | red | Always on when powered |
| Mode | green | On when system is okay, i.e. voltages are correct. |
| Network | green | On when connection to Blitzortung.org is established. |
| Fault | yellow | In case your stations receive too much (bad) signals, this LED turns on. |
| GPS | blue | Flashes every second when GPS is up an running. Blinking or "off" means that GPS is not locked (yet). |
| Alarm | red | Blinks when lightning alert is active. |
| Signal | yellow | Flashes on a signal. |
Buzzer¶
The buzzer creates a tick sound on every sent signal. That can be very useful but also annoying. That's why sounds and volumes can be adjusted in the web interface. To disable sounds completely press BOOT1 for some seconds. Typical beep sounds are listed in the following table:
| Length | High Tone | Medium Tone | Low Tone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short | End interference mode | - | Enter interference mode |
| Medium | Found amplifier / first signal | Startup | Error with Network, GPS |
| Long | New message (i.e. ask for account registration) | - | Hard fault Error |
LCD¶
Note
Only System RED has a LC Display.
On top of the display is the status line, which shows several categories. If there's a problem on a particular category, then its text is inverted. Under some circumstances the text can blink. Here is a list of most different conditions for each category:
- SYS: Voltages too high/low.
- GPS: Problem with GPS <-> controller connection, bad position accuracy or bad/missing 1PPS pulse. Blinking if GPS fix has been lost.
- NET: Network not configured properly or no network cable attached. The symbol is blinking, when there was a error while remote configuration request.
- AMP: No amplifier connected.
- SIG: Stays inverted until first signal received after boot. Otherwise inverted on interference mode.
- STR: Invisible until Lightning alerts are enabled or a AS3935 is detected.
Every category has one or more pages in the main display area. Most of the displayed values should be self explaining. The page category is marked with a horizontal line in the status bar. The page switches automatically every ~8 seconds. You can switch the page by hand when doing a short push on the blue button. After that, the page won't get changed for some minutes. If this page looping is disabled in the settings, then there will be no automatic change to the next page. Some error events can always switch to another page, so that you can see the error message. You can run actions on some pages when doing a medium push:
- SYS: Opens a menu where you can a) enable the buzzer amplifier buzzer throughput for all channels or b) toggle LCD page looping on/off.
- GPS: Page 1: Sends initialization string. Page 2: Nothing.
- NET: Page 1: Nothing. Page 2: Manual remote configuration request.
- AMP: Opens a menu where you can enable the potentiometer or initialize the selected amplifier (upload/download of gain levels).
- SIG: Does a manual trigger and sends the signal.
- STR: Currently nothing.