BlackOut Secure · OpenWrt Package Feed 23.05-SNAPSHOT

readsb-wiedehopf from feat-add-pkg-readsb-wiedehopf

Install

After adding the feed above, install with:

Mainline OpenWrt on Cortex-A53 (e.g. ipq60xx, ipq807x)

opkg install readsb-wiedehopf

GL.iNet ApNos firmware (AXT1800 / AX1800, 23.05-based)

opkg install readsb-wiedehopf

Configuring readsb-wiedehopf

This page only documents the OpenWrt-specific layer (UCI, init, hotplug, geoip). For the readsb daemon itself — every CLI flag, the autogain algorithm, BeastReduce, MLAT, pushing to aggregators, tar1090, the JSON/API outputs — see upstream:

github.com/wiedehopf/readsb

The mapping is direct: each UCI option in /etc/config/readsb translates to the same-named --flag on the daemon command line (underscores become dashes). So upstream's --net-connector=... is option net_connector '...' here, --net-beast-reduce-filter-dist=... is option net_beast_reduce_filter_dist '...', etc.

What the OpenWrt glue adds on top of upstream readsb

The init script and hotplug helper handle the things upstream's Debian package does via /etc/default/readsb plus hand-editing — automated for OpenWrt:

• USB hotplug auto-config (/etc/hotplug.d/usb/30-readsb, gated on option hotplug '1', default on). Recognises the full librtlsdr known-device list (Realtek 0bda:2832/2838, Hauppauge, Terratec, Compro, MyGica, Astrometa, Nooelec, RTL-SDR Blog v3/v4, etc.). On add it sets device_type=rtlsdr, pins device=<USB serial>, clears net_only, sets enabled=1, and restarts readsb. On boot the init script replays ACTION=add for every already-attached SDR so an SDR plugged in before install behaves the same as a hot-insert.
• Boot-time reconciler. If hotplug is on but no SDR is present at boot (e.g. unplugged while powered off), the section is normalized back to net_only=1 and device_type cleared, so the daemon doesn't try to open a missing radio.
• Auto-fill lat/lon via /usr/sbin/readsb-geoip (ipapi.co with ip-api.com fallback) when both are empty. City-level accuracy — set lat/lon manually for correct CPR/range decoding or MLAT.
• Cold-boot waits. geoip_wait_timeout (default 60 s) blocks startup until WAN is routable enough for geoip to resolve; usb_wait_timeout (default 0 = off) optionally waits for a USB SDR to appear.
• Multi-aggregator feeder framework. config feeder <name> sections in /etc/config/readsb — define zero, one, or many. Each enabled section becomes one outbound --net-connector using a built-in preset (adsblol, airplaneslive, adsbfi, planespotters, theairtraffic, flyitaly, avdelphi, adsbexchange, flyrealtraffic) or a user-supplied custom host/port. Inspect/probe with readsb-feeder list / probe / url / presets. Generate the optional station UUID with readsb-uuid. Full details in Feeding aggregators below.
• Logging via syslog under tag readsb (and readsb-geoip / readsb-feeder / readsb-uuid for the helpers): logread -e readsb -f. The periodic stats block (option stats '1', cadence stats_every) is on by default.

So for a typical RTL-SDR install: plug it in, install the package, done.

UCI cheatsheet

The shipped /etc/config/readsb defaults to net_only=1 with net=1 so the daemon comes up as a feeder/passthrough; the hotplug helper flips it into SDR mode the moment a known USB radio is attached. Common overrides:

uci show readsb                          # current effective config
# cat /etc/config/readsb                 # raw file view

# Override the geoip-detected location with your real receiver coordinates.
# uci set readsb.main.lat='12.3456'
# uci set readsb.main.lon='-65.4321'

# Gain. 'auto' is upstream's ADS-B autogain (see upstream README § Autogain).
# With system log_level=debug the init script promotes this to 'auto-verbose'
# automatically. Or pin a manual dB value from the list in `readsb --help`.
uci set readsb.main.gain='auto'
# uci set readsb.main.gain='49.6'

uci set readsb.main.mlat='1'             # emit MLAT timestamps in Beast OUT
# Aggregator feeders: see "Feeding aggregators" below — prefer `config feeder`
# sections (presets + per-feeder UUID + readsb-feeder helpers). The legacy
# `list net_connector 'host,port,protocol'` form still works for one-off endpoints.

# Manual SDR / net-only setup — only needed if hotplug didn't fire
# (non-RTL-SDR receiver, hotplug disabled, or pure net-only ingest).
# uci set readsb.main.enabled='1'
# uci set readsb.main.device_type='rtlsdr'   # rtlsdr | modesbeast | gnshulc | ifile
# uci set readsb.main.device='00001090'      # USB serial of a specific dongle
# uci set readsb.main.net_only='1'           # net-only (no SDR)

uci commit readsb                        # procd reload trigger picks it up
/etc/init.d/readsb status
logread -e readsb -f
viewadsb                                 # text UI of live aircraft
# readsb-geoip --force                   # re-run geoip lookup (overwrite lat/lon)

For the meaning of every option, search upstream readsb --help for the dash-form name (UCI net_beast_reduce_filter_dist → --net-beast-reduce-filter-dist).

Default network listeners

As shipped in /etc/config/readsb:

net_api_port, net_json_port, write_globe_history, heatmap, and the rest are unset by default — enable them in /etc/config/readsb as described upstream.

Feeding aggregators (zero, one, or many)

Outbound feeding is configured with config feeder <name> sections in /etc/config/readsb. Each enabled section becomes one outbound --net-connector; readsb shares the same decoded message stream across all of them with no priority or order between feeders.

• Zero sections — no outbound feeding (the shipped default). The daemon still decodes locally and serves net_bo_port (30005) etc. for LAN clients (tar1090, vendor feeders running on another host, …).
• One section — feed a single aggregator.
• Many sections — feed several aggregators in parallel. No fixed upper limit beyond memory and uplink bandwidth.

Built-in presets. All ship the same protocol (beast_reduce_plus_out, BeastReduce-Plus over TCP). Pick a preset by name and the helper resolves host/port for you. Endpoints can change without notice — readsb-feeder presets always prints the live list.

Enable feeders. The shipped /etc/config/readsb includes every preset above as a commented-out example — uncomment what you want and flip option enabled to '1', or append from the shell:

# One aggregator (the most common case):
cat >> /etc/config/readsb <<'EOF'

config feeder 'adsblol'
	option enabled '1'
	option preset 'adsblol'
	option silent_fail '1'
EOF

# Many — just stack more sections, one per aggregator:
cat >> /etc/config/readsb <<'EOF'

config feeder 'airplaneslive'
	option enabled '1'
	option preset 'airplaneslive'
	option silent_fail '1'

config feeder 'adsbexchange'
	option enabled '1'
	option preset 'adsbexchange'
	option silent_fail '1'
EOF

uci commit readsb
/etc/init.d/readsb reload     # picks up the new connectors

Custom endpoint (anything not in the preset table):

config feeder 'mycustom'
	option enabled '1'
	option preset 'custom'
	option host 'feed.example.com'
	option port '30004'
	option protocol 'beast_reduce_plus_out'
	option silent_fail '1'
	# option uuid ''      # override the main section's UUID for this feed only
	# option extra ''     # comma-separated modifiers passed verbatim

Mute a feeder without removing the section:

uci set readsb.adsbexchange.enabled='0'
uci commit readsb && /etc/init.d/readsb reload

Station UUID. Aggregators that authenticate or de-duplicate by UUID need a stable value. Generate one once in the main section and every config feeder inherits it:

readsb-uuid                # generate (or print existing — idempotent)
# readsb-uuid -p           # print only, never write
# readsb-uuid -f           # force regenerate (do NOT do this after registering with an aggregator)
/etc/init.d/readsb reload

Resolution order per section: option uuid on the section → option uuid in main → omitted (aggregator de-dupes by source IP only). Set a per-section UUID only when you registered separately with that aggregator under a different identity.

Inspect and probe.

readsb-feeder list       # all sections + resolved host/port/protocol
readsb-feeder probe      # TCP-probe each enabled feeder's host:port
readsb-feeder url        # per-UUID stats page URL (where one is published)
readsb-feeder presets    # current preset list with endpoints
logread -e readsb-feeder # script-side log lines from the helpers above

Aggregators NOT supported by this package. FlightAware (piaware), FlightRadar24 (fr24feed), RadarBox (rbfeeder), Planefinder (pfclient), and AussieADSB use closed-source vendor clients that do their own per-station enrolment and MLAT — none of which fits inside readsb. To feed them, leave them out of /etc/config/readsb, expose net_bo_port (default 30005, Beast OUT) on this device, and run the vendor's client on another host pointed at <router-ip>:30005.

Stubborn leftovers after opkg remove

If opkg remove reports Not found even though the package was previously installed, opkg's status DB no longer tracks it but the package-shipped files may still be on disk. Check and clean manually:

pgrep -af readsb     # nothing should be running; if it is: kill it first
ls -l /usr/bin/readsb /usr/bin/viewadsb \
      /usr/sbin/readsb-geoip /usr/sbin/readsb-feeder /usr/sbin/readsb-uuid \
      /etc/init.d/readsb /etc/hotplug.d/usb/30-readsb \
      /usr/lib/readsb/functions.sh 2>/dev/null
rm -f /usr/bin/readsb /usr/bin/viewadsb \
      /usr/sbin/readsb-geoip /usr/sbin/readsb-feeder /usr/sbin/readsb-uuid \
      /etc/init.d/readsb /etc/hotplug.d/usb/30-readsb
rm -rf /usr/lib/readsb

The bundled deps librtlsdr and libzstd are not removed automatically. Confirm nothing else needs them before dropping:

opkg whatdepends librtlsdr
opkg whatdepends libzstd
opkg remove librtlsdr libzstd     # only if no other dependents

Uninstall

Removes the package(s) installed for readsb-wiedehopf. The package's own prerm stops and disables its service for you, and its postrm cleans up /var/run/readsb:

opkg remove readsb-wiedehopf viewadsb-wiedehopfadsbexchange-stats|feat-add-package-adsbexchange-stats|

Optional — also discard the conffile. opkg deliberately preserves your edits on remove (and saves the package default as *-opkg if it differs):

rm -f /etc/config/readsb /etc/config/readsb-opkg