Installing SatMe-PC on Windows
Version française · On Linux: Installing SatMe-PC · What SatMe-PC does: SatMe-PC
All in one: Java, SatMe-PC, ffmpeg (videos, GIFs, DATV) and rtl_tcp (RTL-SDR dongle) in a single installer. Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. Nothing else to install.
1. Download and install#
From the downloads page:
satme-pc-windows.msi: the installer. Double-click it. It installs for your account only, without administrator rights, with a Start menu entry (folder SatMe) and, if you wish, a desktop shortcut.- or
satme-pc-windows.zip: the same without installing. Unzip it anywhere, then runSatMe-PC\SatMe-PC.exe. This is the portable mode (a USB stick): adonneesfolder besideSatMe-PC.exethen keeps all the settings and files.
Windows may warn ("Windows protected your PC"): SatMe-PC is not signed with a paid certificate. Click More info, then Run anyway. To check the file, compare its fingerprint with SHA256SUMS:
certutil -hashfile satme-pc-windows.msi SHA2562. Start it#
Start SatMe-PC from the Start menu. The page opens in the browser (http://localhost:8090/); the first start downloads the orbital elements (from gp.f4ioz.fr), a few seconds.
SatMe-PC has no window of its own: it runs in the background, with its icon by the clock (under the ^ arrow if hidden). A click opens the page again; a right click also offers the settings folder and Quit SatMe-PC. Starting it again while it runs simply opens its page.
Settings, log, journal and recordings are in %APPDATA%\SatMe (and what SatMe-PC writes while running: satme-pc.log) — never in the program's folder, which the installer replaces at each update. A donnees folder found in the program's folder (the ZIP's portable mode) is copied at start-up into %APPDATA%\SatMe (or %APPDATA%\SatMe-portable-<date> if that one is already in use), checked, then used; the original is kept and a window says where your data is. Réglages › Démarrage refuses a data folder inside the program's.
3. What each feature needs#
| For | Do |
|---|---|
| Rig (CAT) or rotator | plug the interface in: it shows as a COM… port in the Station tab. Sometimes its maker's driver is needed (FTDI, CP210x, CH340); Windows often finds it by itself. |
| RTL-SDR dongle (SDR, radiosondes, METEOR, QO-100 panorama) | once: install the WinUSB driver with Zadig — plug the dongle in, Options → List All Devices, choose Bulk-In, Interface (Interface 0) (or RTL2838UHIDIR), WinUSB, Replace Driver. |
| Sound card (the rig's audio, SSTV, APRS, FT8) | nothing: it shows in the Sound tab. |
| DATV with a MiniTiouner | LongMynd runs on Linux only: the MiniTiouner goes on a SatMe-Node (a Raspberry Pi by the antenna), driven by SatMe-PC over the network. VLC (optional) opens the stream in its own window. |
| The phone joining by QR code, or the page open to other machines | the first time, Windows asks whether Java may use the network: allow it on private networks. |
Nothing opens by itself: a serial port opens only when chosen and "Connect" clicked, RTS/DTR stay low, and no transmit command is ever sent. Start with the simulated rig and rotator.
4. Options#
The shortcut starts SatMe-PC.exe with no option. To add some (for instance to open the page to the other machines of the network), make a shortcut to SatMe-PC.exe with, at the end of its target:
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
--port 8090 | the page's port |
--reseau | the page open to the network's other machines; without it, this PC only |
--dossier DIR | where settings, log, journal and recordings are kept |
5. Update, uninstall#
- Update: quit SatMe-PC (icon by the clock → Quit), then install the new
.msi: it replaces the old one, and removes only its own files. Your data stays in%APPDATA%\SatMe. From 2026.10.33 or older: first copy elsewhere adonneesfolder kept in the program's folder — the old installer empties it one last time as it goes. - Uninstall: Settings → Apps → SatMe-PC → Uninstall. Also delete
%APPDATA%\SatMeto erase your data.