v2.26.12: fix AIS/ADS-B dashboards ignoring configured observer position

Pass DEFAULT_LATITUDE/DEFAULT_LONGITUDE from config to both standalone
dashboard templates so observer-location.js uses .env values instead of
falling back to hardcoded London coordinates on first visit.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

.dockerignore

@@ -40,7 +40,11 @@ tasks/
 
 # Runtime data (mounted as volume)
 instance/
-data/
+
+# data/ is a Python package — only exclude non-code files
+data/*.json
+data/*.csv
+data/*.db
 
 # Build scripts
 build-multiarch.sh

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,84 @@
 
 All notable changes to iNTERCEPT will be documented in this file.
 
+## [2.26.11] - 2026-03-14
+
+### Fixed
+- **APRS map ignores configured observer position** — The APRS map always fell back to the centre of the US (39.8°N, 98.6°W) when no live GPS fix was available, ignoring the observer position configured in `.env` (`INTERCEPT_DEFAULT_LAT` / `INTERCEPT_DEFAULT_LON`). Now seeds the APRS user location from the shared observer location on page load, so the map centres correctly and distance calculations work. (#193)
+
+---
+
+## [2.26.10] - 2026-03-14
+
+### Fixed
+- **APRS stop timeout and inverted SDR device status** — The APRS stop endpoint terminated two processes sequentially (up to 4s) while the frontend timed out at 2.2s, causing console errors and the SDR status panel to show stale state (active after stop, idle during use). Now releases the SDR device immediately and terminates processes in a background thread so the response returns instantly. (#194)
+
+---
+
+## [2.26.9] - 2026-03-14
+
+### Fixed
+- **ADS-B bias-t support for RTL-SDR Blog V4** — When dump1090 lacks native `--enable-biast` support, the system now falls back to `rtl_biast` (from RTL-SDR Blog drivers) to enable bias-t power before starting dump1090. The Blog V4's built-in LNA requires bias-t to receive ADS-B signals. (#195)
+
+---
+
+## [2.26.8] - 2026-03-14
+
+### Fixed
+- **acarsdec build failure on macOS** — `HOST_NAME_MAX` is Linux-specific (`<limits.h>`) and undefined on macOS, causing 3 compile errors in `acarsdec.c`. Now patched with `#define HOST_NAME_MAX 255` before building. Also fixed deprecated `-Ofast` flag warning on all macOS architectures (was only patched for arm64). (#187)
+
+---
+
+## [2.26.7] - 2026-03-14
+
+### Fixed
+- **Health check SDR detection on macOS** — `timeout` (GNU coreutils) is not available on macOS, causing `rtl_test` to silently fail and report "No RTL-SDR device found" even when one is connected. Now tries `timeout`, then `gtimeout` (Homebrew coreutils), then falls back to a background process with manual kill. (#188)
+
+---
+
+## [2.26.6] - 2026-03-14
+
+### Fixed
+- **Oversized branded 'i' logo on dashboards** — `.logo span { display: inline }` in dashboard CSS had higher specificity (0,1,1) than `.brand-i { display: inline-block }` (0,1,0), forcing the branded "i" SVG to render as inline which ignores width/height. Added `.logo .brand-i` selector (0,2,0) to retain `inline-block` display. (#189)
+
+---
+
+## [2.26.5] - 2026-03-14
+
+### Fixed
+- **Database errors crash entire UI** — `get_setting()` now catches `sqlite3.OperationalError` and returns the default value instead of propagating the exception. Previously, if the database was inaccessible (e.g. root-owned `instance/` directory from running with `sudo`), the `inject_offline_settings` context processor would crash every page render with a 500 Internal Server Error. (#190)
+
+---
+
+## [2.26.4] - 2026-03-14
+
+### Fixed
+- **Environment Configurator crash** — `read_env_var()` crashed with "Setup failed at line 2333" when `.env` existed but didn't contain the variable being looked up. `grep` returned exit code 1 (no match), which `pipefail` propagated and `set -e` turned into a fatal error. Fixed by appending `|| true` to the pipeline. (#191)
+
+---
+
+## [2.26.3] - 2026-03-13
+
+### Fixed
+- **SatDump AVX2 crash** — SatDump now compiles with `-march=x86-64` on x86_64 platforms (Docker and `setup.sh`), preventing "Illegal instruction" crashes on CPUs without AVX2. SIMD plugins still use runtime detection for acceleration on capable hardware. (#185)
+
+---
+
+## [2.26.2] - 2026-03-13
+
+### Fixed
+- **Docker startup crash** — `.dockerignore` excluded the entire `data/` directory, which is now a Python package (`data.oui`, `data.patterns`, `data.satellites`). Caused `ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'data.oui'` on container startup. Fixed by only excluding non-code files from `data/`.
+
+---
+
+## [2.26.1] - 2026-03-13
+
+### Fixed
+- **Default admin credentials** — Default `ADMIN_PASSWORD` changed from empty string to `admin`, matching the README documentation (`admin:admin`)
+- **Config credential sync** — Admin password changes in `config.py` or via `INTERCEPT_ADMIN_PASSWORD` env var now sync to the database on restart, without needing to delete the DB
+
+---
+
 ## [2.26.0] - 2026-03-13
 
 ### Fixed

Dockerfile

@@ -130,7 +130,10 @@ RUN cd /tmp \
     && git clone --depth 1 --branch 1.2.2 https://github.com/SatDump/SatDump.git \
     && cd SatDump \
     && mkdir build && cd build \
-    && cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_GUI=OFF -DCMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR=lib .. \
+    && ARCH_FLAGS=""; if [ "$(uname -m)" = "x86_64" ]; then ARCH_FLAGS="-march=x86-64"; fi \
+    && cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_GUI=OFF -DCMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR=lib \
+           -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS="$ARCH_FLAGS" \
+           -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="$ARCH_FLAGS" .. \
     && make -j$(nproc) \
     && make install \
     && ldconfig \

config.py

@@ -7,10 +7,81 @@ import os
 import sys
 
 # Application version
-VERSION = "2.26.0"
+VERSION = "2.26.12"
 
 # Changelog - latest release notes (shown on welcome screen)
 CHANGELOG = [
+    {
+        "version": "2.26.12",
+        "date": "March 2026",
+        "highlights": [
+            "AIS and ADS-B dashboards now use configured observer position from .env",
+        ]
+    },
+    {
+        "version": "2.26.11",
+        "date": "March 2026",
+        "highlights": [
+            "APRS map now centres on configured observer position from .env",
+        ]
+    },
+    {
+        "version": "2.26.8",
+        "date": "March 2026",
+        "highlights": [
+            "Fix acarsdec build failure on macOS (HOST_NAME_MAX undefined)",
+        ]
+    },
+    {
+        "version": "2.26.7",
+        "date": "March 2026",
+        "highlights": [
+            "Fix health check SDR detection on macOS (timeout command not available)",
+        ]
+    },
+    {
+        "version": "2.26.6",
+        "date": "March 2026",
+        "highlights": [
+            "Fix oversized branded 'i' logo on Aircraft & Vessel dashboards",
+        ]
+    },
+    {
+        "version": "2.26.5",
+        "date": "March 2026",
+        "highlights": [
+            "Fix database errors crashing the entire UI — pages now degrade gracefully",
+        ]
+    },
+    {
+        "version": "2.26.4",
+        "date": "March 2026",
+        "highlights": [
+            "Fix Environment Configurator crash when .env exists but variable is missing",
+        ]
+    },
+    {
+        "version": "2.26.3",
+        "date": "March 2026",
+        "highlights": [
+            "Fix SatDump AVX2 crash on older CPUs — build now targets baseline x86-64",
+        ]
+    },
+    {
+        "version": "2.26.2",
+        "date": "March 2026",
+        "highlights": [
+            "Fix Docker startup crash — data/ Python package was excluded by .dockerignore",
+        ]
+    },
+    {
+        "version": "2.26.1",
+        "date": "March 2026",
+        "highlights": [
+            "Fix default admin credentials — now matches README (admin:admin)",
+            "Admin password changes in config.py / env vars now sync to DB on restart",
+        ]
+    },
     {
         "version": "2.26.0",
         "date": "March 2026",
@@ -418,7 +489,7 @@ ALERT_WEBHOOK_TIMEOUT = _get_env_int('ALERT_WEBHOOK_TIMEOUT', 5)
 
 # Admin credentials
 ADMIN_USERNAME = _get_env('ADMIN_USERNAME', 'admin')
-ADMIN_PASSWORD = _get_env('ADMIN_PASSWORD', '')
+ADMIN_PASSWORD = _get_env('ADMIN_PASSWORD', 'admin')
 
 
 def configure_logging() -> None:

docs/index.html

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
     <canvas id="bg-canvas"></canvas>
     <nav class="navbar">
         <div class="nav-container">
-            <a href="#" class="nav-logo">iNTERCEPT</a>
+            <a href="#" class="nav-logo"><span class="brand-i"><svg viewBox="36 14 28 68" width="1em" height="1em" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><circle cx="50" cy="20" r="6" fill="#00ff88"/><rect x="44" y="33" width="12" height="45" rx="2" fill="#00d4ff"/><rect x="38" y="33" width="24" height="4" rx="1" fill="#00d4ff"/><rect x="38" y="74" width="24" height="4" rx="1" fill="#00d4ff"/></svg></span>NTERCEPT</a>
             <div class="nav-links">
                 <a href="#features">Features</a>
                 <a href="#screenshots">Screenshots</a>
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
     <header class="hero">
         <div class="hero-content">
             <div class="hero-badge">Open Source SIGINT Platform</div>
-            <h1>iNTERCEPT</h1>
+            <h1><span class="brand-i"><svg viewBox="36 14 28 68" width="1em" height="1em" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><circle cx="50" cy="20" r="6" fill="#00ff88"/><rect x="44" y="33" width="12" height="45" rx="2" fill="#00d4ff"/><rect x="38" y="33" width="24" height="4" rx="1" fill="#00d4ff"/><rect x="38" y="74" width="24" height="4" rx="1" fill="#00d4ff"/></svg></span>NTERCEPT</h1>
             <p class="hero-subtitle">A unified web interface for software-defined radio tools. Monitor pagers, track aircraft, scan WiFi networks, and more — all from your browser.</p>
             <div class="hero-buttons">
                 <a href="#installation" class="btn btn-primary">Get Started</a>
@@ -435,7 +435,7 @@ docker compose --profile basic up -d --build</code></pre>
         <div class="container">
             <div class="footer-content">
                 <div class="footer-brand">
-                    <span class="footer-logo">iNTERCEPT</span>
+                    <span class="footer-logo"><span class="brand-i"><svg viewBox="36 14 28 68" width="1em" height="1em" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><circle cx="50" cy="20" r="6" fill="#00ff88"/><rect x="44" y="33" width="12" height="45" rx="2" fill="#00d4ff"/><rect x="38" y="33" width="24" height="4" rx="1" fill="#00d4ff"/><rect x="38" y="74" width="24" height="4" rx="1" fill="#00d4ff"/></svg></span>NTERCEPT</span>
                     <p>Signal Intelligence Platform</p>
                 </div>
                 <div class="footer-links">

docs/style.css

@@ -86,6 +86,21 @@ body {
     letter-spacing: 2px;
 }
 
+/* Branded "i" — inline SVG glyph matching the app logo */
+.brand-i {
+    display: inline-block;
+    width: 0.55em;
+    height: 0.9em;
+    vertical-align: baseline;
+    position: relative;
+    top: 0.05em;
+}
+.brand-i svg {
+    display: block;
+    width: 100%;
+    height: 100%;
+}
+
 .nav-links {
     display: flex;
     align-items: center;

pyproject.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "intercept"
-version = "2.26.0"
+version = "2.26.11"
 description = "Signal Intelligence Platform - Pager/433MHz/ADS-B/Satellite/WiFi/Bluetooth"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.9"

routes/adsb.py

@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ from config import (
     ADSB_DB_PORT,
     ADSB_DB_USER,
     ADSB_HISTORY_ENABLED,
+    DEFAULT_LATITUDE,
+    DEFAULT_LONGITUDE,
     SHARED_OBSERVER_LOCATION_ENABLED,
 )
 from utils import aircraft_db
@@ -1197,6 +1199,8 @@ def adsb_dashboard():
         'adsb_dashboard.html',
         shared_observer_location=SHARED_OBSERVER_LOCATION_ENABLED,
         adsb_auto_start=ADSB_AUTO_START,
+        default_latitude=DEFAULT_LATITUDE,
+        default_longitude=DEFAULT_LONGITUDE,
         embedded=embedded,
     )
 

routes/ais.py

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import time
 from flask import Blueprint, Response, jsonify, render_template, request
 
 import app as app_module
-from config import SHARED_OBSERVER_LOCATION_ENABLED
+from config import DEFAULT_LATITUDE, DEFAULT_LONGITUDE, SHARED_OBSERVER_LOCATION_ENABLED
 from utils.constants import (
     AIS_RECONNECT_DELAY,
     AIS_SOCKET_TIMEOUT,
@@ -542,5 +542,7 @@ def ais_dashboard():
     return render_template(
         'ais_dashboard.html',
         shared_observer_location=SHARED_OBSERVER_LOCATION_ENABLED,
+        default_latitude=DEFAULT_LATITUDE,
+        default_longitude=DEFAULT_LONGITUDE,
         embedded=embedded,
     )

routes/aprs.py

@@ -1924,7 +1924,13 @@ def start_aprs() -> Response:
 
 @aprs_bp.route('/stop', methods=['POST'])
 def stop_aprs() -> Response:
-    """Stop APRS decoder."""
+    """Stop APRS decoder.
+
+    Releases the SDR device immediately so the status panel updates
+    without waiting for process termination. Process cleanup runs in a
+    background thread to avoid blocking the HTTP response (which caused
+    frontend timeout errors when two processes each took up to 2s to die).
+    """
     global aprs_active_device, aprs_active_sdr_type
 
     with app_module.aprs_lock:
@@ -1939,6 +1945,28 @@ def stop_aprs() -> Response:
         if not processes_to_stop:
             return api_error('APRS decoder not running', 400)
 
+        # Release SDR device immediately so status panel reflects the
+        # change without waiting for process termination.
+        if aprs_active_device is not None:
+            app_module.release_sdr_device(aprs_active_device, aprs_active_sdr_type or 'rtlsdr')
+            aprs_active_device = None
+            aprs_active_sdr_type = None
+
+        # Capture refs to clear before releasing the lock
+        master_fd = getattr(app_module, 'aprs_master_fd', None)
+        app_module.aprs_process = None
+        if hasattr(app_module, 'aprs_rtl_process'):
+            app_module.aprs_rtl_process = None
+        app_module.aprs_master_fd = None
+
+    # Terminate processes in background so the response returns fast.
+    # Each proc.wait() can block up to PROCESS_TERMINATE_TIMEOUT (2s),
+    # which previously caused the frontend 2200ms fetch to abort.
+    def _cleanup():
+        # Close PTY master fd first — this unblocks the stream thread
+        if master_fd is not None:
+            with contextlib.suppress(OSError):
+                os.close(master_fd)
         for proc in processes_to_stop:
             try:
                 proc.terminate()
@@ -1948,21 +1976,7 @@ def stop_aprs() -> Response:
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.error(f"Error stopping APRS process: {e}")
 
-        # Close PTY master fd
+    threading.Thread(target=_cleanup, daemon=True).start()
-        if hasattr(app_module, 'aprs_master_fd') and app_module.aprs_master_fd is not None:
-            with contextlib.suppress(OSError):
-                os.close(app_module.aprs_master_fd)
-            app_module.aprs_master_fd = None
-
-        app_module.aprs_process = None
-        if hasattr(app_module, 'aprs_rtl_process'):
-            app_module.aprs_rtl_process = None
-
-        # Release SDR device
-        if aprs_active_device is not None:
-            app_module.release_sdr_device(aprs_active_device, aprs_active_sdr_type or 'rtlsdr')
-            aprs_active_device = None
-            aprs_active_sdr_type = None
 
     return jsonify({'status': 'stopped'})
 

setup.sh

@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ read_env_var() {
   local fallback="${2:-}"
   if [[ -f "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env" ]]; then
     local val
-    val=$(grep -E "^${key}=" "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env" 2>/dev/null | tail -1 | cut -d'=' -f2-)
+    val=$(grep -E "^${key}=" "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env" 2>/dev/null | tail -1 | cut -d'=' -f2- || true)
     if [[ -n "$val" ]]; then
       # Strip surrounding quotes
       val="${val#\"}"
@@ -751,9 +751,26 @@ install_acarsdec_from_source_macos() {
 
     cd "$tmp_dir/acarsdec"
 
+    # Replace deprecated -Ofast (all macOS, not just arm64)
+    if grep -q '\-Ofast' CMakeLists.txt 2>/dev/null; then
+      sed -i '' 's/-Ofast/-O3 -ffast-math/g' CMakeLists.txt
+      info "Patched deprecated -Ofast flag"
+    fi
+
+    # macOS doesn't have -march=native on arm64
     if [[ "$(uname -m)" == "arm64" ]]; then
-      sed -i '' 's/-Ofast -march=native/-O3 -ffast-math/g' CMakeLists.txt
+      sed -i '' 's/ -march=native//g' CMakeLists.txt
-      info "Patched compiler flags for Apple Silicon (arm64)"
+      info "Removed -march=native for Apple Silicon"
+    fi
+
+    # HOST_NAME_MAX is Linux-specific; macOS uses _POSIX_HOST_NAME_MAX
+    if grep -q 'HOST_NAME_MAX' acarsdec.c 2>/dev/null; then
+      sed -i '' '1i\
+#ifndef HOST_NAME_MAX\
+#define HOST_NAME_MAX 255\
+#endif
+' acarsdec.c
+      info "Patched HOST_NAME_MAX for macOS compatibility"
     fi
 
     if grep -q 'pthread_tryjoin_np' rtl.c 2>/dev/null; then
@@ -957,8 +974,14 @@ install_satdump_from_source_debian() {
     ) &
     progress_pid=$!
 
+    local arch_flags=""
+    if [[ "$(uname -m)" == "x86_64" ]]; then
+      arch_flags="-march=x86-64"
+    fi
+
     if cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_GUI=OFF -DCMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR=lib \
-        -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-Wno-template-body" .. >"$build_log" 2>&1 \
+        -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS="$arch_flags" \
+        -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="$arch_flags -Wno-template-body" .. >"$build_log" 2>&1 \
         && make -j "$(nproc)" >>"$build_log" 2>&1; then
       kill $progress_pid 2>/dev/null; wait $progress_pid 2>/dev/null
       $SUDO make install >/dev/null 2>&1
@@ -1918,7 +1941,18 @@ do_health_check() {
   info "SDR device detection..."
   if cmd_exists rtl_test; then
     local rtl_output
-    rtl_output=$(timeout 3 rtl_test -d 0 2>&1 || true)
+    if cmd_exists timeout; then
+      rtl_output=$(timeout 3 rtl_test -d 0 2>&1 || true)
+    elif cmd_exists gtimeout; then
+      rtl_output=$(gtimeout 3 rtl_test -d 0 2>&1 || true)
+    else
+      # No timeout command (common on macOS) — run with background kill
+      rtl_test -d 0 > /tmp/.rtl_test_out 2>&1 & local rtl_pid=$!
+      sleep 2
+      kill "$rtl_pid" 2>/dev/null; wait "$rtl_pid" 2>/dev/null
+      rtl_output=$(cat /tmp/.rtl_test_out 2>/dev/null || true)
+      rm -f /tmp/.rtl_test_out
+    fi
     if echo "$rtl_output" | grep -q "Found\|Using device"; then
       ok "RTL-SDR device detected"
       ((pass++)) || true

static/css/core/layout.css

@@ -88,8 +88,11 @@
 }
 
 /* Branded "i" — inline SVG that matches the logo icon.
-   Sized to 0.9em so it sits naturally alongside text at any font-size. */
+   Sized to 0.9em so it sits naturally alongside text at any font-size.
-.brand-i {
+   Uses .logo .brand-i (0,2,0) to beat .logo span (0,1,1) in dashboard CSS
+   which otherwise forces display:inline and breaks width/height. */
+.brand-i,
+.logo .brand-i {
     display: inline-block;
     width: 0.55em;
     height: 0.9em;

templates/adsb_dashboard.html

@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@
     <script>
         window.INTERCEPT_SHARED_OBSERVER_LOCATION = {{ shared_observer_location | tojson }};
         window.INTERCEPT_ADSB_AUTO_START = {{ adsb_auto_start | tojson }};
+        window.INTERCEPT_DEFAULT_LAT = {{ default_latitude | tojson }};
+        window.INTERCEPT_DEFAULT_LON = {{ default_longitude | tojson }};
     </script>
     {% if offline_settings.assets_source == 'local' %}
     <script defer src="{{ url_for('static', filename='vendor/leaflet/leaflet.js') }}"></script>
@@ -340,8 +342,8 @@
             <div class="control-group">
                 <span class="control-group-label">LOCATION</span>
                 <div class="control-group-items">
-                    <input type="text" id="obsLat" value="51.5074" onchange="updateObserverLoc()" style="width: 70px;" title="Latitude" placeholder="Lat">
+                    <input type="text" id="obsLat" value="{{ default_latitude }}" onchange="updateObserverLoc()" style="width: 70px;" title="Latitude" placeholder="Lat">
-                    <input type="text" id="obsLon" value="-0.1278" onchange="updateObserverLoc()" style="width: 70px;" title="Longitude" placeholder="Lon">
+                    <input type="text" id="obsLon" value="{{ default_longitude }}" onchange="updateObserverLoc()" style="width: 70px;" title="Longitude" placeholder="Lon">
                     <span id="gpsIndicator" class="gps-indicator" style="display: none;" title="GPS connected via gpsd"><span class="gps-dot"></span> GPS</span>
                 </div>
             </div>
@@ -643,7 +645,9 @@
                     if (parsed.lat !== undefined && parsed.lat !== null && parsed.lon !== undefined && parsed.lon !== null) return parsed;
                 } catch (e) {}
             }
-            return { lat: 51.5074, lon: -0.1278 };
+            const defaultLat = window.INTERCEPT_DEFAULT_LAT || 51.5074;
+            const defaultLon = window.INTERCEPT_DEFAULT_LON || -0.1278;
+            return { lat: defaultLat, lon: defaultLon };
         })();
         let rangeRingsLayer = null;
         let observerMarker = null;

templates/ais_dashboard.html

@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@
     <!-- Deferred scripts -->
     <script>
         window.INTERCEPT_SHARED_OBSERVER_LOCATION = {{ shared_observer_location | tojson }};
+        window.INTERCEPT_DEFAULT_LAT = {{ default_latitude | tojson }};
+        window.INTERCEPT_DEFAULT_LON = {{ default_longitude | tojson }};
     </script>
     {% if offline_settings.assets_source == 'local' %}
     <script defer src="{{ url_for('static', filename='vendor/leaflet/leaflet.js') }}"></script>
@@ -185,8 +187,8 @@
             <div class="control-group">
                 <span class="control-group-label">LOCATION</span>
                 <div class="control-group-items">
-                    <input type="text" id="obsLat" value="51.5074" onchange="updateObserverLoc()" style="width: 70px;" title="Latitude" placeholder="Lat">
+                    <input type="text" id="obsLat" value="{{ default_latitude }}" onchange="updateObserverLoc()" style="width: 70px;" title="Latitude" placeholder="Lat">
-                    <input type="text" id="obsLon" value="-0.1278" onchange="updateObserverLoc()" style="width: 70px;" title="Longitude" placeholder="Lon">
+                    <input type="text" id="obsLon" value="{{ default_longitude }}" onchange="updateObserverLoc()" style="width: 70px;" title="Longitude" placeholder="Lon">
                 </div>
             </div>
 
@@ -248,7 +250,9 @@
             if (window.ObserverLocation && ObserverLocation.getForModule) {
                 return ObserverLocation.getForModule('ais_observerLocation');
             }
-            return { lat: 51.5074, lon: -0.1278 };
+            const defaultLat = window.INTERCEPT_DEFAULT_LAT || 51.5074;
+            const defaultLon = window.INTERCEPT_DEFAULT_LON || -0.1278;
+            return { lat: defaultLat, lon: defaultLon };
         })();
         let rangeRingsLayer = null;
         let observerMarker = null;

templates/index.html

@@ -9849,8 +9849,28 @@
         let aprsMeterCheckInterval = null;
         const APRS_METER_TIMEOUT = 5000; // 5 seconds for "no signal" state
 
-        // APRS user location (from GPS)
+        // APRS user location (from GPS or shared observer location)
         let aprsUserLocation = { lat: null, lon: null };
+
+        // Seed from configured observer location so the map centres on the
+        // user's position even without a live GPS fix.
+        (function _seedAprsLocation() {
+            if (typeof ObserverLocation !== 'undefined' && ObserverLocation.getShared) {
+                const shared = ObserverLocation.getShared();
+                if (shared && shared.lat && shared.lon) {
+                    aprsUserLocation.lat = shared.lat;
+                    aprsUserLocation.lon = shared.lon;
+                    return;
+                }
+            }
+            // Fallback: read the Jinja-injected defaults directly
+            const lat = window.INTERCEPT_DEFAULT_LAT;
+            const lon = window.INTERCEPT_DEFAULT_LON;
+            if (lat && lon && Number.isFinite(lat) && Number.isFinite(lon)) {
+                aprsUserLocation.lat = lat;
+                aprsUserLocation.lon = lon;
+            }
+        })();
         let aprsUserMarker = null;
 
         // Calculate distance in miles using Haversine formula

utils/database.py

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ from contextlib import contextmanager
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any
 
-from werkzeug.security import generate_password_hash
+from werkzeug.security import check_password_hash, generate_password_hash
 
 logger = logging.getLogger('intercept.database')
 
@@ -252,14 +252,15 @@ def init_db() -> None:
             )
         ''')
 
+        from config import ADMIN_PASSWORD, ADMIN_USERNAME
+
         cursor = conn.execute('SELECT COUNT(*) FROM users')
         if cursor.fetchone()[0] == 0:
-            import secrets as _secrets
+            # First run — seed the admin user from config / env vars.
-
-            from config import ADMIN_PASSWORD, ADMIN_USERNAME
-
             admin_password = ADMIN_PASSWORD
             if not admin_password:
+                import secrets as _secrets
+
                 admin_password = _secrets.token_urlsafe(16)
                 logger.warning(f"Generated admin password: {admin_password}")
                 logger.warning("Set INTERCEPT_ADMIN_PASSWORD env var to use a fixed password.")
@@ -277,6 +278,27 @@ def init_db() -> None:
                 INSERT INTO users (username, password_hash, role)
                 VALUES (?, ?, ?)
             ''', (ADMIN_USERNAME, hashed_pw, 'admin'))
+        elif ADMIN_PASSWORD:
+            # Sync admin credentials from config on every startup so that
+            # changes to config.py / env vars take effect without wiping the DB.
+            row = conn.execute(
+                'SELECT password_hash FROM users WHERE username = ? AND role = ?',
+                (ADMIN_USERNAME, 'admin'),
+            ).fetchone()
+            if row:
+                if not check_password_hash(row['password_hash'], ADMIN_PASSWORD):
+                    conn.execute(
+                        'UPDATE users SET password_hash = ? WHERE username = ? AND role = ?',
+                        (generate_password_hash(ADMIN_PASSWORD), ADMIN_USERNAME, 'admin'),
+                    )
+                    logger.info(f"Admin password updated from config for user '{ADMIN_USERNAME}'.")
+            else:
+                # Admin user doesn't exist (maybe renamed) — create it.
+                conn.execute(
+                    'INSERT OR IGNORE INTO users (username, password_hash, role) VALUES (?, ?, ?)',
+                    (ADMIN_USERNAME, generate_password_hash(ADMIN_PASSWORD), 'admin'),
+                )
+                logger.info(f"Created admin user '{ADMIN_USERNAME}' from config.")
         # =====================================================================
         # TSCM (Technical Surveillance Countermeasures) Tables
         # =====================================================================
@@ -639,32 +661,36 @@ def get_setting(key: str, default: Any = None) -> Any:
     Returns:
         Setting value (auto-converted from JSON for complex types)
     """
-    with get_db() as conn:
+    try:
-        cursor = conn.execute(
+        with get_db() as conn:
-            'SELECT value, value_type FROM settings WHERE key = ?',
+            cursor = conn.execute(
-            (key,)
+                'SELECT value, value_type FROM settings WHERE key = ?',
-        )
+                (key,)
-        row = cursor.fetchone()
+            )
+            row = cursor.fetchone()
 
-        if row is None:
+            if row is None:
-            return default
-
-        value, value_type = row['value'], row['value_type']
-
-        # Convert based on type
-        if value_type == 'json':
-            try:
-                return json.loads(value)
-            except json.JSONDecodeError:
                 return default
-        elif value_type == 'int':
+
-            return int(value)
+            value, value_type = row['value'], row['value_type']
-        elif value_type == 'float':
+
-            return float(value)
+            # Convert based on type
-        elif value_type == 'bool':
+            if value_type == 'json':
-            return value.lower() in ('true', '1', 'yes')
+                try:
-        else:
+                    return json.loads(value)
-            return value
+                except json.JSONDecodeError:
+                    return default
+            elif value_type == 'int':
+                return int(value)
+            elif value_type == 'float':
+                return float(value)
+            elif value_type == 'bool':
+                return value.lower() in ('true', '1', 'yes')
+            else:
+                return value
+    except sqlite3.OperationalError:
+        logger.warning("Database unavailable reading setting '%s', using default", key)
+        return default
 
 
 def set_setting(key: str, value: Any) -> None:

utils/sdr/rtlsdr.py

@@ -46,6 +46,35 @@ def _rtl_tool_supports_bias_t(tool_path: str) -> bool:
         return False
 
 
+def enable_bias_t_via_rtl_biast(device_index: int = 0) -> bool:
+    """Enable bias-t power using rtl_biast (RTL-SDR Blog drivers).
+
+    Runs rtl_biast to set the bias-t register on the device, then exits.
+    The setting persists across device opens until the device is reset.
+
+    Returns True if bias-t was enabled successfully.
+    """
+    rtl_biast_path = get_tool_path('rtl_biast') or 'rtl_biast'
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            [rtl_biast_path, '-b', '1', '-d', str(device_index)],
+            capture_output=True,
+            text=True,
+            timeout=5
+        )
+        if result.returncode == 0:
+            logger.info(f"Bias-t enabled via rtl_biast on device {device_index}")
+            return True
+        logger.warning(f"rtl_biast failed (exit {result.returncode}): {result.stderr.strip()}")
+        return False
+    except FileNotFoundError:
+        logger.warning("rtl_biast not found — install RTL-SDR Blog drivers for bias-t support")
+        return False
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.warning(f"Failed to enable bias-t via rtl_biast: {e}")
+        return False
+
+
 def _get_dump1090_bias_t_flag(dump1090_path: str) -> str | None:
     """Detect the correct bias-t flag for the installed dump1090 variant.
 
@@ -197,10 +226,13 @@ class RTLSDRCommandBuilder(CommandBuilder):
             if bias_t_flag:
                 cmd.append(bias_t_flag)
             else:
-                logger.warning(
+                # Fallback: use rtl_biast to set bias-t before starting dump1090
-                    f"Bias-t requested but {dump1090_path} does not support it. "
+                if not enable_bias_t_via_rtl_biast(device.index):
-                    "Consider using dump1090-fa or readsb for bias-t support."
+                    logger.warning(
-                )
+                        f"Bias-t requested but {dump1090_path} does not support it "
+                        "and rtl_biast is not available. Install RTL-SDR Blog drivers "
+                        "or use dump1090-fa/readsb for bias-t support."
+                    )
 
         return cmd