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NAME

       rotctld - TCP rotator control daemon

SYNOPSIS

       rotctld [-hlLuV] [-m id] [-r device] [-s baud] [-T IPADDR] [-t number] [-C parm=val]
               [-v[-Z]]

DESCRIPTION

       The rotctld program is a rotator control daemon  that  handles  client  requests  via  TCP
       sockets.   This  allows  multiple  user  programs  to  share  one rotator (this needs more
       development).  Multiple rotators can be controlled  on  different  TCP  ports  by  use  of
       multiple  rotctld processes.  The syntax of the commands are the same as rotctl(1).  It is
       hoped that rotctld will be especially useful for client authors using  languages  such  as
       Perl, Python, PHP, and others.

       rotctld  communicates  to  a  client  through a TCP socket using text commands shared with
       rotctl.  The protocol is simple, commands are sent to rotctld  on  one  line  and  rotctld
       responds  to  “get”  commands  with  the  requested values, one per line, when successful,
       otherwise, it responds with one line “RPRT x”, where ‘x’ is a negative  number  indicating
       the  error code.  Commands that do not return values respond with the line “RPRT x”, where
       ‘x’ is ‘0’ when successful, otherwise is a regative  number  indicating  the  error  code.
       Each line is terminated with a newline ‘\n’ character.  This protocol is primarily for use
       by the NET rotctl (rotator model 2) backend.

       A separate Extended Response Protocol extends the above behavior by echoing  the  received
       command  string  as  a  header, any returned values as a key: value pair, and the “RPRT x”
       string as the end of response marker which includes the Hamlib success or  failure  value.
       See  the PROTOCOL section for details.  Consider using this protocol for clients that will
       interact with rotctld directly through a TCP socket.

       Keep in mind that Hamlib is BETA level software.  While a lot of  backend  libraries  lack
       complete rotator support, the basic functions are usually well supported.

       Please  report  bugs  and provide feedback at the e-mail address given in the BUGS section
       below.  Patches and code enhancements sent to the same address are welcome.

OPTIONS

       This program follows the usual GNU command  line  syntax.   Short  options  that  take  an
       argument  may  have the value follow immediately or be separated by a space.  Long options
       starting with two dashes (‘-’) require an ‘=’ between the option and any argument.

       Here is a summary of the supported options:

       -m, --model=id
              Select rotator model number.

              See model list (use “rotctld -l”).

              Note: rotctl (or third party software using the C API) will use rotator model 2 for
              NET  rotctl  (this model number is not used for rotctld even though it shows in the
              model list).

       -r, --rot-file=device
              Use device as the file name of the port connected to the rotator.

              Often a serial port, but could be a USB to serial adapter.   Typically  /dev/ttyS0,
              /dev/ttyS1,  /dev/ttyUSB0,  etc. on Linux, COM1, COM2, etc. on MS Windows.  The BSD
              flavors and Mac OS/X have their own designations.  See your system's documentation.

       -s, --serial-speed=baud
              Set serial speed to baud rate.

              Uses maximum serial speed from rotator backend capabilities as the default.

       -T, --listen-addr=IPADDR
              Use IPADDR as the listening IP address.

              The default is ANY.

       -t, --port=number
              Use number as the TCP listening port.

              The default is 4533.

              Note: As rigctld's default port is 4532, it is advisable to use odd numbered  ports
              for rotctld, e.g. 4533, 4535, 4537, etc.

       -L, --show-conf
              List all configuration parameters for the rotator defined with -m above.

       -C, --set-conf=parm=val[,parm=val]
              Set rotator configuration parameter(s),  e.g.  stop_bits=2.

              Use  the  -L  option above for a list of configuration parameters for a given model
              number.

       -u, --dump-state
              Dump state for the rotator defined with -m above and exit.

       -u, --dump-caps
              Dump capabilities for the rotator defined with -m above and exit.

       -l, --list
              List all rotator model numbers defined in Hamlib and exit.

              The list is sorted by model number.

              Note: In Linux the list can be scrolled back using Shift-PageUp/Shift-PageDown,  or
              using  the scrollbars of a virtual terminal in X or the cmd window in Windows.  The
              output can be piped to more(1) or less(1), e.g. “rotctl -l | more”.

       -v, --verbose
              Set verbose mode, cumulative (see DIAGNOSTICS below).

       -Z, --debug-time-stamps
              Enable time stamps for the debug messages.

              Use only in combination with the -v option as it generates no output on its own.

       -h, --help
              Show a summary of these options and exit.

       -V, --version
              Show version of rotctld and exit.

       Note: Some options may not be implemented by a given backend and  will  return  an  error.
       This is most likely to occur with the --set-conf and --show-conf options.

       Be  aware that the backend for the rotator to be controlled, or the rotator itself may not
       support some commands. In that case, the operation will fail with a Hamlib error code.

COMMANDS

       Commands can be sent over the TCP socket either as a single char, or  as  a  long  command
       name plus the value(s) space separated on one ‘\n’ terminated line. See PROTOCOL.

       Since most of the Hamlib operations have a set and a get method, an upper case letter will
       be used for set methods whereas the corresponding lower case  letter  refers  to  the  get
       method.   Each  operation  also  has a long name; prepend a backslash, ‘\’, to send a long
       command name.

       Example (Perl): “print $socket "\\dump_caps\n";” to see what the rotator's backend can  do
       (Note: In Perl and many other languages a ‘\’ will need to be escaped with a preceding ‘\’
       so that even though two backslash characters appear in the code, only one will  be  passed
       to rotctld.  This is a possible bug, beware!).

       Note:  The backend for the rotator to be controlled, or the rotator itself may not support
       some commands. In that case, the operation will fail with a Hamlib error message.

       Here is a summary of the supported commands (In  the  case  of  set  commands  the  quoted
       italicized  string  is  replaced  by  the  value  in  the description.  In the case of get
       commands the quoted italicized string is the key name of the value returned.):

       P, set_pos 'Azimuth' 'Elevation'
              Set position.

              'Azimuth' and 'Elevation' are floating point values.

              For example (typed text shown in bold):

                  P 163.0 41.0

              Note: If the rotator does not support setting elevation (most do not) supply  “0.0”
              for 'Elevation'.

       p, get_pos
              Get position.

              'Azimuth' and 'Elevation' are returned as double precision floating point values.

       M, move 'Direction' 'Speed'
              Move the rotator in a specific direction at the given rate.

              'Direction'  is  an integer defined as ‘2’ = Up, ‘4’ = Down, ‘8’ = Left, and ‘16’ =
              Right.

              'Speed' is an integer between 1 and 100. Use -1 for no change to current speed.

              Note: Not all backends that implement the move command use the Speed value.

       S, stop
              Stop the rotator.

       K, park
              Park the rotator.

       C, set_conf 'Token' 'Value'
              Set a configuration parameter.

              'Token' is a string; see the -C option and the -L output.

              'Value' is a string of up to 20 characters.

       R, reset 'Reset'
              Reset the rotator.

              'Reset' accepts an integer value of ‘1’ for “Reset All”.

       _, get_info
              Get misc information about the rotator.

              Returns 'Info' “Model Name”.

       dump_state
              Return certain state information about the rotator backend.

       1, dump_caps
              Not a real rot remote command, it just dumps capabilities, i.e.  what  the  backend
              knows about this model, and what it can do.

       w, send_cmd 'Cmd'
              Send a raw command string to the rotator.

              ASCII  CR  is  appended automatically at the end of the command for text protocols.
              For binary protocols, enter hexadecimal values as “\0xAA\0xBB”.

   Locator Commands
       These commands offer conversions of Degrees Minutes Seconds to other  formats,  Maidenhead
       square locator conversions and distance and azimuth conversions.

       L, lonlat2loc 'Longitude' 'Latitude' 'Loc Len'
              Returns the Maidenhead 'Locator' for the given 'Longitude' and 'Latitude'.

              'Longitude' and 'Latitude' are floating point values.

              'Loc  Len'  is  the precision of the returned square and should be an even numbered
              integer value between 2 and 12.

              For example:

                  L -170.0 -85.0 12

              returns:

                  Locator: AA55AA00AA00

       l, loc2lonlat 'Locator'
              Returns 'Longitude' and 'Latitude' in decimal degrees at the approximate center  of
              the requested Maidenhead grid square.

              'Locator' can be from 2 to 12 characters in length.

              West longitude is expressed as a negative value.

              South latitude is expressed as a negative value.

              For example:

                  l AA55AA00AA00

              returns:

                  Longitude: -169.999983 Latitude: -84.999991

              Note: Despite the use of double precision variables internally, some rounding error
              occurs.

       D, dms2dec 'Degrees' 'Minutes' 'Seconds' 'S/W'
              Returns 'Dec Degrees', a signed floating point value.

              'Degrees' and 'Minutes' are integer values.

              'Seconds' is a floating point value.

              'S/W' is a flag with ‘1’ indicating South latitude or West longitude and ‘0’  North
              or  East (the flag is needed as computers don't recognize a signed zero even though
              only the 'Degrees' value is typically signed in DMS notation).

       d, dec2dms 'Dec Degrees'
              Returns 'Degrees' 'Minutes' 'Seconds' 'S/W'.

              Values are as in dms2dec above.

       E, dmmm2dec 'Degrees' 'Dec Minutes' 'S/W'
              Returns 'Dec Degrees', a signed floating point value.

              'Degrees' is an integer value.

              'Dec Minutes' is a floating point value.

              'S/W' is a flag as in dms2dec above.

       e, dec2dmmm 'Dec Deg'
              Returns 'Degrees' 'Minutes' 'S/W'.

              Values are as in dmmm2dec above.

       B, qrb 'Lon 1' 'Lat 1' 'Lon 2' 'Lat 2'
              Returns 'Distance' and 'Azimuth'.

              'Distance' is in km.

              'Azimuth' is in degrees.

              Supplied Lon/Lat values are signed floating point numbers.

       A, a_sp2a_lp 'Short Path Deg'
              Returns 'Long Path Deg'.

              Both the supplied argument and returned value are floating point values within  the
              range of 0.00 to 360.00.

              Note: Supplying a negative value will return an error message.

       a, d_sp2d_lp 'Short Path km'
              Returns 'Long Path km'.

              Both the supplied argument and returned value are floating point values.

       pause 'Seconds'
              Pause  for  the  given  whole (integer) number of 'Seconds' before sending the next
              command to the rotator.

PROTOCOL

       There are two protocols in use by rotctld, the Default Protocol and the Extended  Response
       Protocol.

       The  Default  Protocol  is intended primarily for the communication between Hamlib library
       functions and rotctld (“NET rotctl”, available using rotator model ‘2’).

       The Extended Response Protocol is intended to be  used  with  scripts  or  other  programs
       interacting directly with rotctld as consistent feedback is provided.

   Default Protocol
       The  Default Protocol is intentionally simple.  Commands are entered on a single line with
       any needed values.  In practice, reliable results are obtained by terminating each command
       string with a newline character, ‘\n’.

       Example set position (Perl code):

           print $socket "P 135 10\n";

       or:

           print $socket "\\set_pos 135 10\n";   # escape leading ‘\’

       A  one  line  response  will be sent as a reply to set commands, “RPRT x\n” where x is the
       Hamlib error code with ‘0’ indicating success of the command.

       Responses from rotctld get commands are text values and match the same tokens used in  the
       set  commands.  Each value is returned on its own line.  On error the string “RPRT x\n” is
       returned where x is the Hamlib error code.

       Example get position (Perl code):

           print $socket "p\n";
           "135"
           "10"

       Most get functions return one to three  values.  A  notable  exception  is  the  dump_caps
       command which returns many lines of key:value pairs.

       This  protocol is primarily used by the “NET rotctl” (rotctl model 2) backend which allows
       applications already written for Hamlib's C API to take advantage of rotctld  without  the
       need  of  rewriting  application  code.   An application's user can select rotator model 2
       (“NET rotctl”) and then set rot_pathname to “localhost:4533” or  other  network  host:port
       (set by the -T/-t options, respectively, above).

   Extended Response Protocol
       The  Extended  Response protocol adds several rules to the strings returned by rotctld and
       adds a rule for the command syntax.

       1. The command received by rotctld is echoed with its long command name  followed  by  the
       value(s)  (if any) received from the client terminated by the specified response separator
       as the first record of the response.

       2. The last record of each block is the string “RPRT x\n” where x is  the  numeric  return
       value of the Hamlib backend function that was called by the command.

       3.  Any records consisting of data values returned by the rotator backend are prepended by
       a string immediately followed by a colon then a space and then the value terminated by the
       response separator, e.g. “Azimuth: 90.000000\n” when the command was prepended by ‘+’.

       4.  All commands received will be acknowledged by rotctld with records from rules 1 and 2.
       Records from rule 3 are only returned when data values must be returned to the client.

       An example response to a P command sent from the shell prompt (note the prepended ‘+’):

           $ echo "+P 90 45" | nc -w 1 localhost 4533
           set_pos: 90 45
           RPRT 0

       In this case the long command name and values are returned  on  the  first  line  and  the
       second  line  contains  the end of block marker and the numeric rotor backend return value
       indicating success.

       An example response to a get_pos query:

          $ echo "+\get_pos" | nc -w 1 localhost 4533
          get_pos:
          Azimuth: 90.000000
          Elevation: 45.000000
          RPRT 0

              Note: The ‘\’ is still required for  the  long  command  name  even  with  the  ERP
              character.

       In  this  case, as no value is passed to rotctld, the first line consists only of the long
       command name.  The final line shows that the command was  processed  successfully  by  the
       rotor backend.

       Invoking  the  Extended Response Protocol requires prepending a command with a punctuation
       character.  As shown in the examples above, prepending a  ‘+’  character  to  the  command
       results  in  the  responses  being  separated  by  a  newline character (‘\n’).  Any other
       punctuation character recognized by the C ispunct() function except ‘\’, ‘?’, or ‘_’  will
       cause  that  character to become the response separator and the entire response will be on
       one line.

       Separator character summary:

       ‘+’    Each record of the response is appended with a newline (‘\n’).

       ‘;’, ‘|’, or, ‘,’
              Each record of the response is appended by the given character resulting in  entire
              response on one line.

              These  are  common  record separators for text representations of spreadsheet data,
              etc.

       ‘?’    Reserved for help in rotctl.

       ‘_’    Reserved for get_info short command

       ‘#’    Reserved for comments when reading a command file script.

              Note: Other punctuation characters have not been tested!  Use at your own risk.

       For example, invoking a get_pos query with a leading ‘;’ returns:

           get_pos:;Azimuth: 90.000000;Elevation: 45.000000;RPRT 0

       Or, using the pipe character ‘|’ returns:

           get_pos:|Azimuth: 90.000000|Elevation: 45.000000|RPRT 0

       And a set_pos command prepended with a ‘|’ returns:

           set_pos: 135 22.5|RPRT 0

       Such a format will allow reading a response as a single event using a  preferred  response
       separator.  Other punctuation characters have not been tested!

       All  commands  with  the exception of set_conf have been tested with the Extended Response
       protocol and the included testrotctld.pl Perl script.

DIAGNOSTICS

       The -v, --verbose option allows different levels of diagnostics to be output to stderr and
       correspond  to  -v  for  BUG, -vv for ERR, -vvv for WARN, -vvvv for VERBOSE, or -vvvvv for
       TRACE.

       A given verbose level is useful for providing needed debugging information  to  the  email
       address  below.   For  example,  TRACE output shows all of the values sent to and received
       from the radio which is very useful for radio  backend  library  development  and  may  be
       requested by the developers.

EXAMPLES

       Start  rotctld  for  a  Hy-Gain  Ham IV rotor with the Idiom Press RotorEZ board installed
       using a USB-to-serial adapter and backgrounding:

           $ rotctld -m 401 -r /dev/ttyUSB1 &

       Start rotctld for RotorEZ using COM2 on Win32:

           > rotctl -m 401 -r COM2

       Connect to the already running rotctld, and set position to 135.0 degrees azimuth and 30.0
       degrees elevation with a 1 second read timeout from the shell prompt:

           $ echo "\set_pos 135.0 30.0" | nc -w 1 localhost 4533

       Connect to a running rotctld with rotctl on the local host:

           $ rotctl -m 2

SECURITY

       No  authentication  whatsoever;  DO  NOT  leave  this  TCP port open wide to the Internet.
       Please ask if stronger security is needed  or  consider  using  a  Secure  Shell  (ssh(1))
       tunnel.

       As rotctld does not need any greater permissions than rotctl, it is advisable to not start
       rotctld as “root” or another system user account in order to limit any vulnerability.

BUGS

       The daemon is not detaching and backgrounding itself.

       No method to exit the daemon so the kill(1) command must be used to terminate it.

       Multiple clients using the daemon may experience contention with the connected rotator.

       Report bugs to:

              Hamlib Developer mailing list
              ⟨hamlib-developer@lists.sourceforge.net

COPYING

       This file is part of Hamlib, a  project  to  develop  a  library  that  simplifies  radio,
       rotator,  and amplifier control functions for developers of software primarily of interest
       to radio amateurs and those interested in radio communications.

       Copyright © 2000-2009 Stephane Fillod
       Copyright © 2000-2018 the Hamlib Group (various contributors)
       Copyright © 2011-2020 Nate Bargmann

       This is free software; see the file COPYING for copying conditions.  There is NO warranty;
       not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

SEE ALSO

       kill(1), rotctl(1), ssh(1), hamlib(7)

COLOPHON

       Links  to  the  Hamlib Wiki, Git repository, release archives, and daily snapshot archives
       are available via hamlib.org ⟨http://www.hamlib.org⟩.