Debugging

Use this guide when something fails, APRS looks wrong, or you need verbose logs. End-user setup is in the User guide; config keys live in Configuration.

Log levels

Set log_level in glancerf_config.json to control how much GlanceRF logs:

Example:

"log_level": "debug"

Restart GlanceRF after changing the log level.

Log output

• Console: Logs always go to stderr (terminal/console).
• File: Set log_path to write logs to a file:

"log_path": "glancerf.log"

Or use an absolute path:

"log_path": "C:\\GlanceRF\\logs\\glancerf.log"

The log directory is created automatically if it does not exist.

APRS-specific debug

To see incoming APRS packets from APRS-IS in the console, set:

"aprs_debug": true

When enabled, each packet received is logged as:

APRS << CALLSIGN>APRS,TCPIP*:...

Note: At full feed, APRS-IS can send hundreds of packets per second. This option is very verbose. Use it briefly to verify the connection, then set to false.

Requirements for APRS debug to show anything:

• setup_callsign must be set in config (Setup → Station & updates)
• APRS cache must be connected to APRS-IS
• Packets must be arriving (connection successful)

Verifying APRS packet reception

The APRS cache logs every 60 seconds while receiving:

APRS cache: 1234 packets received, 45.2/sec

If you see APRS cache: SQLite error dropping packet: in the logs, packets are being lost due to database errors (e.g. disk full, lock). Check disk space and permissions.

The cache connects to the APRS-IS full feed (rotate.aprs.net:10152) and stores all packets. Filtering (e.g. by callsign prefix) is done when the dashboard reads from the cache, not at ingest.

APRS cache location

The APRS cache file is created at:

{config_dir}/cache/aprs.db

config_dir is the directory containing glancerf_config.json (or the path in GLANCERF_PROJECT).

The file is created when the first packet is received. If it does not exist:

1. Ensure setup_callsign is set
2. Restart GlanceRF
3. Check logs for APRS cache started: or APRS cache: not started
4. With log_level: "debug", connection errors are logged

APRS real-time updates

The APRS list and map overlay use WebSocket for real-time updates. When new packets arrive in the cache, the server broadcasts an aprs_update message. Clients receive it and refetch from the API immediately (typically within 1–2 seconds of new data).

Quick reference

For environment variables (e.g. GLANCERF_PROJECT, GLANCERF_CONFIG_PATH), see Configuration.