Satellites

A Satellite is a speaker and mic in a room: a Raspberry Pi (4 or 5, Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit) or a spare Windows or Linux PC. It listens for the wake words on the device itself and sends nothing until it hears one; then Starbase answers out loud through its speaker.

Installing

Add it in the Shuttlebay:

• Raspberry Pi or Linux: copy the command from the Bridge (Shuttlebay → Add a device) into a terminal.
• Windows: unzip the Satellite folder and run install.bat. Without a Python it's tested on, it offers to install Python 3.13 for you, just for your user (checked and matched to your PC). Set Windows to sign in by itself (netplwiz) so the Satellite starts again after a restart.

Windows 11 Smart App Control

Smart App Control can block parts of the Satellite, because they aren't signed by a publisher Windows knows. If install.bat or the Satellite is stopped, turn it off in Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control.

It shows a six-digit code: pair it in the Shuttlebay. It's in the Start menu as Starfarer Satellite (the apps menu on Linux), and on the desktop if you said yes.

Using it

• Say an AI's name: "Hey Celestra, what's the weather?", "Hey Ship, set a timer for 10 minutes". After the wake word it waits for you to start talking, and a pause ends what you're saying (both times are set for every device in Voice).
• Timers, alarms and reminders ring here when they were set in this room, when it's your own device, or when Starbase last heard you in this room. "Stop" (anyone's) stops it everywhere.
• Pages to this room are heard here right away.
• On a shared Satellite it knows who's talking by voice; a voice it doesn't know is a Guest, unless Guests are off.

When Starbase can't be reached

It still hears its wake words, and when someone calls it, the AI they called says so in its own voice (lines made ahead of time). It never speaks up on its own. It reconnects by itself.

Handy commands

On a Pi or Linux the command is satellite; on Windows it's %LOCALAPPDATA%\StarfarerSatellite\venv\Scripts\python.exe %LOCALAPPDATA%\StarfarerSatellite\satellite.py.

Command
satellite --devices	list the mics and speakers
satellite --mic 2 --speaker 3	use those ones (or choose them in the Shuttlebay, Sound)
satellite --volume 70	the AI's volume here
satellite --test	check the mic and speaker on their own
satellite --hub https://<address>:<port>	Starbase moved to a new address
satellite --no-chime	no tone when it hears a wake word
satellite --forget	forget the pairing (it asks again)
satellite --shuttle / --satellite / --starship	change what it is (then restart it)
satellite --update	fetch the latest version from Starbase now
satellite --uninstall	take it off this computer (Python stays)

On a Pi it runs as a service: systemctl --user restart starfarer-satellite; its log: journalctl --user -u starfarer-satellite -f. Its settings are in ~/.config/starfarer-satellite (Windows: %APPDATA%\StarfarerSatellite).