SDRTrunk Monitor

A Python script to monitor SDRTrunk application status, log files, and audio recordings with automatic heartbeat reporting and Telegram notifications.

Features

• Universal Path Detection: Automatically detects the current Windows username and SDRTrunk paths
• Process Monitoring: Checks if SDRTrunk is running
• Log File Monitoring: Scans sdrtrunk_app.log for errors after monitor start (ignores old errors)
• Audio Quality Monitoring (Optional): Checks audio files in recordings folder and deletes after processing (can be disabled)
• Heartbeat Reporting: Sends status updates to configured endpoint
• Telegram Notifications: Sends instant alerts to Telegram channel when issues are detected
• Configurable: All settings stored in JSON configuration file
• Ignore List: Can ignore specific log lines to prevent false alerts

Requirements

• Python 3.7 or higher
• Windows OS
• SDRTrunk installed in C:\Users\{username}\SDRTrunk

One-Click Install: Auto Python and Dependencies

Run install_everything.bat as an ADMINISTRATOR. This will:

• Check for Python and install it if missing
• Install all required Python packages
• Does NOT start the monitor automatically (run it manually after install)

Manual Installation

1. Install Python dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Configure the monitor:

   • Edit monitor_config.json and update the heartbeat_url to your endpoint
   • Adjust error keywords, ignore keywords, check intervals, and other settings as needed

Configuration

The monitor_config.json file contains all configurable settings:

{
  "heartbeat_url": "https://your-heartbeat-endpoint.com/heartbeat",
  "error_keywords": [
    "ERROR", "Exception", "No Tuner Available", "Error getting source", "failed", "failed to load", "Pipe error", "USB error", "LibUsbException", "NullPointerException", "IndexOutOfBoundsException", "Couldn't design final output low pass filter", "AMBE CODEC failed", "JMBE audio conversion library failed", "No audio", "Audio error", "Buffer overflow", "Disk full"
  ],
  "ignore_keywords": [
    "FrequencyErrorCorrectionManager - Auto-Correcting Tuner PPM"
  ],
  "monitor_audio": true,
  "check_interval_seconds": 60,
  "audio_quality_threshold_seconds": 5.0,
  "max_audio_age_hours": 4,
  "process_name": "sdrtrunk",
  "telegram": {
    "enabled": false,
    "bot_token": "your_telegram_bot_token_here",
    "channel_id": "your_telegram_channel_id_here",
    "computer_name": "SDRTrunk-Monitor"
  }
}

Configuration Options

• heartbeat_url: URL to send heartbeat status updates
• error_keywords: List of keywords that indicate errors in log files
• ignore_keywords: List of keywords/phrases to ignore in log lines (prevents false alerts)
• monitor_audio: Set to true to enable audio file monitoring and quality checks, or false to disable all audio monitoring
• check_interval_seconds: How often to run monitoring checks (default: 60 seconds)
• audio_quality_threshold_seconds: Minimum audio duration to consider "good quality"
• max_audio_age_hours: Maximum age of audio files before deletion or before heartbeat is blocked (if audio monitoring is enabled)
• process_name: Name of the SDRTrunk process to monitor (substring match)
• telegram: Telegram notification settings
  • enabled: Enable/disable Telegram notifications
  • bot_token: Your Telegram bot token (get from @BotFather)
  • channel_id: Your Telegram channel ID
  • computer_name: Custom name for your computer (appears in messages)

Telegram Setup

1. Create a Telegram Bot

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
2. Send /newbot command
3. Follow the prompts to create your bot
4. Save the bot token (format: 1234567890:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz)

2. Get Channel ID

1. Add your bot to your channel as an admin
2. Send a message in the channel
3. Visit: https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_BOT_TOKEN>/getUpdates
4. Find the chat_id for your channel (usually starts with -100)

3. Configure Monitor

Update your monitor_config.json:

"telegram": {
  "enabled": true,
  "bot_token": "1234567890:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz",
  "channel_id": "-1001234567890",
  "computer_name": "My-SDRTrunk-Server"
}

4. Test Configuration

Run the test script to verify your setup:

python test_telegram.py

Usage

Quick Start

python sdrtrunk_monitor.py

Using the Batch File (Windows)

Double-click start_monitor.bat or run it from command prompt.

Using the One-Click Installer

1. Run install_everything.bat as administrator
2. After install, start the monitor with:

   python sdrtrunk_monitor.py

Running as a Service

You can set up the script to run as a Windows service using tools like:

• NSSM (Non-Sucking Service Manager)
• Windows Task Scheduler

How It Works

1. Path Detection

The script automatically detects:

• Current Windows username
• SDRTrunk base path: C:\Users\{username}\SDRTrunk
• Logs path: C:\Users\{username}\SDRTrunk\logs
• Recordings path: C:\Users\{username}\SDRTrunk\recordings

2. Monitoring Cycle (Runs every minute)

1. Process Check: Verifies SDRTrunk is running
2. Log Analysis: Scans sdrtrunk_app.log for errors after monitor start (ignores old errors)
3. Audio Processing (if enabled):
   • Checks audio quality (duration ≥ threshold)
   • Deletes processed files
   • Tracks processing activity
4. Heartbeat Decision: Determines if conditions are met for heartbeat
5. Status Report: Sends heartbeat if all checks pass
6. Telegram Notifications: Sends alerts when issues are detected

3. Heartbeat Conditions

Heartbeat is sent ONLY when:

• ✅ SDRTrunk process is running
• ✅ No errors found in log file after monitor start (excluding ignored lines)
• ✅ Audio has been processed within last N hours (if audio monitoring is enabled)

4. Error Detection & Notifications

The script monitors for these types of issues and sends Telegram alerts:

• ❌ SDRTrunk process not running
• ⚠️ Error keywords in log files (excluding ignored lines)
• ⚠️ No audio processing for >N hours (if audio monitoring is enabled)
• ⚠️ Audio quality issues (files too short, if enabled)

Logging

The script creates sdrtrunk_monitor.log with detailed monitoring information:

• Process status
• Log file errors
• Audio processing results
• Heartbeat success/failure
• Configuration warnings

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "Log file not found"

   • Ensure SDRTrunk is configured to log to sdrtrunk_app.log
   • Check that the logs directory exists

2. "Recordings directory not found"

   • Verify SDRTrunk recordings path is correct
   • Create the directory if it doesn't exist

3. "Heartbeat failed"

   • Check your heartbeat URL is correct and accessible
   • Verify network connectivity
   • Check server endpoint is responding

4. "SDRTrunk is not running"

   • Verify the process name in config matches actual SDRTrunk process
   • Check if SDRTrunk is actually running

Debug Mode

To see more detailed output, modify the logging level in the script:

logging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG, ...)

Customization

Adding Error Keywords

Edit monitor_config.json and add keywords to the error_keywords array:

"error_keywords": [
  "ERROR", "Exception", "No Tuner Available", ...
]

Adding Ignore Keywords

Edit monitor_config.json and add keywords/phrases to the ignore_keywords array:

"ignore_keywords": [
  "FrequencyErrorCorrectionManager - Auto-Correcting Tuner PPM",
  "YOUR_OTHER_IGNORE_PHRASE"
]

Disabling Audio Monitoring

Set monitor_audio to false in the config to skip all audio file checks and related heartbeat conditions:

"monitor_audio": false

Changing Check Frequency

Modify check_interval_seconds in the config:

"check_interval_seconds": 30  // Check every 30 seconds

Adjusting Audio Quality Threshold

Change the minimum audio duration:

"audio_quality_threshold_seconds": 3.0  // Minimum 3 seconds

Security Notes

• The script reads log files and audio files but doesn't modify them (except deletion)
• Heartbeat payload includes username and status information
• Consider using HTTPS for heartbeat URLs in production
• Review error keywords and ignore keywords to avoid false positives

Support

For issues or questions:

1. Check the log file for detailed error messages
2. Verify all paths and configurations
3. Test heartbeat URL manually before running
4. Ensure Python dependencies are installed correctly