Remote monitoring of OGN-R/ATOM station

[trident]

Hi all,

Apologies for my ignorance, but is there a way to remotely monitor my PW station over the internet from any location?

Would it require a VPN connection, port forwarding etc., or is there another way to do it and could I share the connection with a couple of friends?

It's not something I've ever tried so have no knowledge of what would be involved.

Thanks,

Frank.

[Admin]

Hi Frank,

which is your station ?
There is a users login portal

thx
Lee

[trident]

Hi Lee,

Thanks for your reply. It's PWLongSutton.

I know I can log in when I'm at home and connected to my home network, but I would like to be able to do it when I'm away from home.

Thanks,

Frank.

[smoothop3]

Hello Frank,

I have just sent your log in credentials to your email.

Chris

[steveu]

I know I can log in when I'm at home and connected to my home network, but I would like to be able to do it when I'm away from home.

I have no problem viewing my ATOM station when away from home on my own PC and mobile broadband, but a lot of places block the port the connection is on, so expect Wifi provided for free or at work to crash and burn...

[trident]

Hello Chris,

Thanks for sending the remote login details which work to a point, but I seem to be having the problem Steve reports with maybe blocking of port 9000 to allow viewing of the ATOM display even on my own phone. This is particularly what I was hoping to view away from home, either via cellular network or other wifi connections.

Thanks,

Frank.

[exfirepro]

Hi Frank / Steve,

I’m not questioning what you are saying about port blocking in any way - just surprised.

I have been using the remote login procedure since it first became available and use it pretty much every day, via a range of access devices, including Windows PC/laptop, various iPads and my Android tablet and phones - on a variety of home, club and other networks operating via landline, cable, gsm and microwave links. Despite all that, I can’t say I have ever come across the problem you are referring to of ports being blocked. That said, if I’m not on a ‘known’ network, I normally use a 4G connection from my phone or tablet, rather than attempting to login to our secure network from a potentially unsecured site (which might explain why you get blocked).

Best Regards

Peter

[steveu]

I’m not questioning what you are saying about port blocking in any way - just surprised.

I have been using the remote login procedure since it first became available and use it pretty much every day, via a range of access devices, including Windows PC/laptop, various iPads and my Android tablet and phones - on a variety of home, club and other networks operating via landline, cable, gsm and microwave links. Despite all that, I can’t say I have ever come across the problem you are referring to of ports being blocked. That said, if I’m not on a ‘known’ network, I normally use a 4G connection from my phone or tablet, rather than attempting to login to our secure network from a potentially unsecured site (which might explain why you get blocked).

Some of the places I work in or end up staying away from home at are not good for mobile broadband coverage, which is ideally 4G to work properly. Examples include underground OB parks or basements of buildings...

I used to some IT support for work and know that on "free" Wifi a lot of ports do get blocked. 15 years ago some places were even blocking port 25!!! Yes, silly, but for real...

As I understand it, if the connection is https then there shouldn't be an issue with unsecured.

AIUI the ATOM login uses port 444?

I usually use my own 4G rather than nosey, want my email address and T&Cs agreement free Wifi.

If you do make the most of free Wifi, then you may encounter this problem, you may not...

Increasingly in my business, facilities are asked to provide a feed of raw, unfiltered Internet...

[Admin]

Thanks for sending the remote login details which work to a point, but I seem to be having the problem Steve reports with maybe blocking of port 9000 to allow viewing of the ATOM display even on my own phone. This is particularly what I was hoping to view away from home, either via cellular network or other wifi connections.

Can you explain exactly what you are doing, I suspect you are clicking the links on the ATOM page to access the VRS rather than the links from the users site

[trident]

Hi,

Sorry for the late reply, but I've been away for a couple of days.

I'm trying to use the link Chris sent me at: https://data.pilotaware.com. I use the links at the top of the page after logging in with the password and selecting PWLongSut in the drop-down menu.

I select the "Status" drop down above where it says: "Dropdown menu inside a navigation bar", then "Grid" which gives me the "Home" page where there's the familiar "Home", "Metar", "Radar" and "Login" options.

When I select "Radar" as I would through a local connection, I get a message saying:
"Bad Request, Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand. Reason: You're speaking plain HTTP to an SSL-enabled server port. Instead use the HTTPS scheme to access this URL, please. Apache/2.4.52 (Ubuntu)Server at bogus_host_without_reverse_dns port 9000

I'm using an Android phone. Any ideas please?

Thanks,

Frank.

[steveu]

When I select "Radar" as I would through a local connection, I get a message saying:
"Bad Request, Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand. Reason: You're speaking plain HTTP to an SSL-enabled server port. Instead use the HTTPS scheme to access this URL, please. Apache/2.4.52 (Ubuntu)Server at bogus_host_without_reverse_dns port 9000

I'm using an Android phone. Any ideas please?

Which browser are you using?

Which brand of Android phone?

Which version of Android?

The first and last question can usually be answered by going into the "About" menu either in the phone itself or the browser...

[Admin]

Hi Trident
The buttons you are using only work on your local connection
If you want the radar screen, select VRS
Thx
Lee

[exfirepro]

Hi Frank,

I thought I had answered this properly the other day, but I obviously didn’t... sorry.

As Lee has indicated, if you are using the remote login via the database link, the buttons on the Grid screen (which you would normally use to bring up your Radar Screen etc.) don’t work, which is why you got the ‘Bad Request’ message.

To switch between screens when using the database access, you have to use the ‘back’ button in your browser each time. This takes you back to the Navigation Bar. You then select the appropriate dropdown, then select the next screen you want to go to from the options on that dropdown.

Hope that is clear.

Best Regards

Peter
p.s. re-reading your original post, you say you want to use the link to ‘share access with a couple of friends’. Although I fully appreciate the sentiment, please remember that the database link allows much wider access than is available to Regular PilotAware users, so we strongly discourage publicising database login credentials other than to those having a specific interest in maintaining, or assisting you to maintain your station.

[trident]

Hi all,

Thanks for your comments and I'll try to answer them.

Firstly, I was thinking I could share just access to the ATOM screen with a couple of good friends, purely for them to see what I can see in real time. If there was just a link to that, I would direct them to it. One friend in particular I've known for 40+ years and I completely trust him. He's an avid user of all the readily available flight-tracking apps and we often exchange screen-shots, but I just though an ATOM feed for him would be good. Anyway, if there's potential security risks to the system, I won't bother.

As for phone type, Android version etc. it' s Motorola G6 Play, Android V9 and Google Chrome browser.

I tried the VRS tab as you suggested thanks Lee and lo and behold the ATOM server is down. I'm having ongoing issues with power outages and after resetting the power today found I couldn't get the ATOM screen to work. This seems to be quite a frequent issue, but I just try again later and all seems fine...usually.

I didn't know the usual buttons seen on the local access screen didn't work when accessing through the remote login, but I do now.

Hopefully when the ATOM server is back up again, I can see it from home on my local network and remotely via remote login via the link.

Many thanks for all your help,

Frank.