Quick start · Describes DENKO Aurora firmware v487 and later · Updated 2026-11-01

Quick start

From the box to a working station on your Wi-Fi in about ten minutes. Each step links to the full explanation in chapter 1.

You need: the station, its cable and power supply, a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network with internet access (you will need its name and password), and a phone.

1. Place it

Keep the antenna unit as far as practical from electrical equipment: air conditioners, power supplies, chargers, computers, routers and LED lighting. Distance helps a lot, because this kind of interference weakens very quickly as you move away from it.
Do not fix the antenna unit with metal clamps or brackets that go all the way around it.
The satellite (GNSS) antenna is built into the base unit: place the base unit where it can see as much open sky as possible, for example at a window or outdoors.
The base unit must be within reach of your Wi-Fi.

Indoors on a table is fine for this first setup. You can move the station to its final place afterwards; it remembers its Wi-Fi network.

2. Connect it

Connect the antenna unit to the base unit with the supplied cable.
Connect the power last.

3. Power on and wait

The display shows the Denko logo and the firmware version, then the status screen.

If the station already knows a Wi-Fi network in range, its IP address appears on the status screen, usually within half a minute. Go to step 5.
A new station, with no Wi-Fi saved yet, shows the setup screen with a QR code within seconds. Go to step 4.
A station that has a saved network it cannot reach tries it for about 5 minutes first, then shows the setup screen.

If the top line shows a version older than v388 (for example AURORA 9994 v366) and no setup screen appears, the station needs a USB update first: see section 4.3, which has the download.

4. Connect it to your Wi-Fi

SETUP
scan or
join:

Aurora-9994

key:
K7QM4TXB9A

no wifi set

Setup screen (drawing). The name and key are different on every station.

Scan the QR code currently shown on the station with your phone's camera and join the Aurora-… network it offers. The setup password is generated randomly each time the setup network starts; the current QR code includes it.
The setup page opens by itself. If it does not, open http://192.168.4.1/.
Enter your Wi-Fi network name and password and press Save and connect.
The station restarts and joins your network. Its IP address appears on the status screen.

The setup password changes with each setup session from firmware v482. Earlier firmware shows a fixed 8-character key. Always use the key and QR code currently shown on your station.

No QR scanner? Join the network shown under join: by hand, with the key shown under key: as the password. Use the current 10-character key on the screen: a label, old photograph or previously saved setup password will not work for a new session. If the phone remembers an old setup password, forget that setup network on the phone and scan the current QR code again. Your station's saved home Wi-Fi is kept. Details and error messages: section 3.

5. Open the web interface

On a phone or computer connected to the same Wi-Fi network, open http://<IP address>/, using the address from the status screen. You see the live signal and the station's status. See section 5.

To reach the station while away from its network, choose the station on the Denko dashboard and press Open station console. From firmware v475 onward, it connects automatically on its next contact; see section 5.6.

6. Check that it is working

Give the station a few minutes after it joins your network, then look at the status screen. At each start it first records a 30-second antenna measurement; lightning detection pauses during that measurement.

AURORA 9994 v487

IP 192.168.1.57

▂▄▆ -58dBmGPS 9sat

UP 12m00slocked

A healthy station (drawing).

Look for	If not
An IP address	Not connected to Wi-Fi. Wait for the setup screen and repeat step 4.
`OK` on the line below the IP	`INIT` is normal for the first seconds, and `BAD:nofix` until the station gets its first satellite fix (see the next row). Any other code after `BAD:` or `OK?` means the station noticed a problem with its measurement: check the cable between the antenna unit and the base unit, and contact Denko if the code stays. One exception is `gnssant`: it concerns the satellite antenna built into the base unit, not the antenna-unit cable. It is advisory: the station keeps reporting. `OK?nbndlo` and `OK?nbndhi` are also for information only: the station keeps reporting, and a quiet site can show `nbndlo`. All codes: chapter 2.
`GPS` with a number of satellites	`GPS nofix`: the base unit cannot see enough sky. Move it nearer to a window or outdoors.
`locked` at the bottom right	`unlocked` is normal for the first minutes. It becomes `locked` once satellites are in view.

7. Leave it running

The station updates its firmware by itself over the internet. If the display shows FIRMWARE UPDATE / keep power ON, do not unplug it, and leave it powered for at least 3 minutes after it restarts.
It restarts by itself once a day. This is normal.
The red light is off when all is well. If it flashes, count the flashes and see chapter 2. The white lights flash after the network confirms a located stroke that used this station’s report. The Lightning indicators selector can instead show located lightning within 250 km (chapter 2).
If your Wi-Fi goes down, the station keeps trying to reconnect. After about 5 minutes it also shows the setup screen, and it rejoins by itself as soon as your network is back.