Enabling the Transcriptions Tab in Skywarn Operators Console

If you run Skywarn Operators Console alongside a local Boondock Edge server, you may have noticed that the Transcriptions tab doesn't appear until the two are linked together. That link lives in a small plain-text file called Boondock.dat, and editing it by hand is the only way to point the console at your Edge server. Here's how the file works and how to change it safely.

What Boondock.dat actually does

Boondock Edge (Boondock Echo's local hub, available as Edge Server) runs on your network and produces live transcriptions of radio audio. Skywarn Operators Console doesn't generate those transcriptions itself — it reads them from your Boondock Edge instance over your local network. Boondock.dat is simply the console's way of storing where to find that server and how to authenticate to it. When the file is present and correctly filled in, the console connects to Boondock Edge on startup and the Transcriptions tab becomes available. When it's missing, empty, or wrong, the tab stays hidden (or the console fails silently to connect).

Where to find it

The file lives at:

C:\Users\<your-username>\AppData\Local\SkywarnOperatorsConsole\current\Boondock.dat

AppData is hidden by default in Windows Explorer. The quickest way in is to paste that path (with your actual username) directly into the Explorer address bar, or type %localappdata%\SkywarnOperatorsConsole\current and press Enter.

The file format

Boondock.dat is a plain-text file with exactly two lines:

http://192.168.1.218:4000
bk_live_YourApiKeyHere

• Line 1 is the base URL of your Boondock Edge server — its local IP address (or hostname) and port, with no trailing slash.
• Line 2 is the API key issued by that Boondock Edge instance. Keys follow the bk_live_... format.

Editing the file

1. Close Skywarn Operators Console first. It reads this file at startup, and editing it while the app is running can get overwritten or ignored until the next restart.
2. Make a backup copy of Boondock.dat before changing anything, so you have something to roll back to if a typo breaks the connection.
3. Find your Boondock Edge server's address and API key. The URL is whatever machine and port your Edge instance is running on (check its own local dashboard or settings screen for the exact address and port, and for where it displays or lets you generate an API key).
4. Open Boondock.dat in a plain-text editor — Notepad is fine. Avoid Word or anything that might save it as rich text.
5. Replace line 1 with your Boondock Edge server's URL, and line 2 with the matching API key. Leave line 3 blank.
6. Save the file, keeping the name Boondock.dat and plain-text (UTF-8, no BOM) encoding — the default when saving .dat/.txt from Notepad.
7. Relaunch Skywarn Operators Console. If the URL and key are valid and the Edge server is reachable, the Transcriptions tab should appear.

If the tab still doesn't show up

A few things worth checking, in order:

• Typos in the URL or key are the most common culprit — double-check there's no stray space, missing http://, or truncated key.
• Port and reachability — make sure the Boondock Edge server is actually running and that the port in line 1 matches what Edge is listening on. If the console and Edge server are on different machines, confirm your network/firewall allows that connection.
• Extra blank lines or trailing spaces — the file should have exactly the URL, then the key, then one blank line; extra whitespace on either of the first two lines can cause a mismatch.
• Stale key — if you regenerated the API key in Boondock Edge since you last edited this file, the old key in line 2 will no longer authenticate.

A note on the API key

Treat the key on line 2 like a password — anyone with it can pull data from your Boondock Edge server. Don't paste it into screenshots, chat logs, or public forum posts when troubleshooting; redact it (as in the bk_live_YourApiKeyHere placeholder above) before sharing your Boondock.dat contents with anyone.