MLAT shows up on station pages
Yesterday we switched on MLAT for the feeder network. Today the result of that is visible to everyone, not only to the owner of a station.
In the station list
The list at /stations now puts a small MLAT badge next to a station that is clock-synchronised with at least one other station on our MLAT server right now. Hover it and you see how many neighbours it is in sync with. Above the list there is a new figure, the number of stations in MLAT sync, which appears once that number is above zero.
A station that is connected but has nobody in range gets no badge. It is doing everything right, it just has nothing to compute yet, and a badge would suggest otherwise.
On a station's page
A station's own page shows one more line when it is connected: either "in sync" with the number of neighbours, or "connected, waiting for nearby stations". If the station isn't connected, the line isn't there.
We don't show which stations a station is in sync with. Pairs of neighbours would narrow an antenna's position down further than the rounded location the pages already use, so the page gives the count and nothing else.
For owners
Nothing changes in the setup. The Setup tab on skydex.online/feed still has the MLAT line with your uuid filled in and your station's status, including the one state the public pages leave out: when the server is ignoring your station's timing, which usually means the antenna position or altitude in your settings is off.
One thing a feeder pointed out to us: ultrafeeder starts its MLAT clients one after another, so after a container restart it can take a minute or so before the connection to our server comes up. If the Setup tab says "not connected" right after a restart, give it a couple of minutes.
The Ultrafeeder README now lists the Skydex MLAT line too, thanks to its maintainer.
Where it works
MLAT needs four or more stations hearing the same aircraft. Today that means the US Southeast and the English Midlands, with the Netherlands one station short. The badges will show where clusters form as more stations connect.