msacco

Thanks for the comments guys, I've got myself a 12V@2A usb hub which a friend recommended me

1 hour ago, Padraic M said:

Like you, I'm looking to buy a single powered USB hub for all the mount-based equipment so that I can have a single USB 3.0 cable back to the laptop. It will need to support main camera, guide camera, filter wheel and the EQDIR connection to the mount itself. Possibly also a few other gadgets such as a focuser in time. The real high-current devices in astro are dew heaters, the mount motors, camera coolers and your laptop, none of which work on usb power.

ZWO ASI290mm mini guidecam is USB2.0 so max current (according to the usb spec) is 500mA.
ZWO EFW mini 5-port filter wheel 150ma max current @ 5V (from the ZWO website)
(e.g.) ZWO ASI1600mm Pro is USB 3.0 so max current is 900mA (usb spec). Cooling is powered by a separate 12V/3A power supply.
EQDIR connection to the mount is a usb-to-serial FTDI connection, and these are normally very low power (probably <50mA).

So total power requirement on the usb hub is up to 1.5A at 5V which is 7.5W. A 12V supply at 625mA would provide the same power. 

I'm not 100% sure that you can get powered usb hubs that take an external 5V power supply. All of the ones I've looked at are 12V. I suspect that the reason for this is that the designers of the powered hub would like to have a voltage regulator inside the hub, to provide a regulated 5V supply internally regardless of what a 'stupid user' plugs into that socket. At worst, you'll blow the hub if you supply overvoltage, and won't blow each of the devices you've plugged into it. Personally, I'd prefer to spend €50 on a new hub than ~€2,000 on two cameras, a filter wheel and a mount motherboard because I accidentally plugged my 12V supply into an unregulated 5V hub. Bear in mind that most 5V voltage regulators will actually handle an input voltage of up to 40V without burning up; but many will require an input voltage of 7V or higher (i.e. not 5V) in order to maintain a guaranteed 5V output. I wouldn't like to connect 40V to an ASI1600MM Pro!!!!

So in my view, it's not a power question (because you can supply any number of watts you want with different combinations of voltage and current) but of good design. 

Given that you say your device combination currently works fine without external power, then your max current requirement is relatively low. I can't say exactly what it is as some PCs will have high-power USB ports to support device charging (higher power than the usb spec mandates). The risk here is that if your device combination tries to draw more current than the usb port can provide, it may either a) shut down gracefully at its maximum power output, or b) burn out. It might be a good idea to go with external power anyway just in case (note to self: I don't!). Using my figures above, and to allow plenty of headroom for future expansion given that you're moving up to 7 ports, why don't you treble your current estimated power requirement of ~7.5W and spec your new hub at 20W, which is 12V@2.5A. Hopefully the internal regulator will efficiently convert that into 5V@4A. This will be total power to all ports simultaneously, and may allow any individual port draw down <3A.

Hope that helps!

Padraic.

 

Thanks for the comment, I totally agree with you. Isn't a 12v@2.5A gonna be 30W though? That should be plenty enough I think, it really isn't that costy either.

2 minutes ago, Xplode said:

It's better to go with a 12V usb hub because it's easier to power as you don't need an extra 5v power adaptor, but can instead use the same power supply as the mount, camera etc.
Most USB 2 hubs are 5v while most USB 3.0 hubs are 12v.

I actually already have a micro usb power cable, do it's not really an issue, and I know that most are 12v, but there are a few 5v ones.
I'm just wondering if it's actually needed though. I'll probably get 12v hub anyway to be on the safe side, but just want to better understand this

Thanks.

Hello, another USB hub thread as I still didn't managed to find a clear cut answer to that.

I have a power USB hub which gets power from a micro USB cable and supports 5V@2A, it's a 4 ports hub and currently enough, but I want to build something and want to future proof myself with a 7 ports USB hub.
My question is whether I need a 5v hub or 12v hub. Currently my connected equipment is ZWO cooled camera, ZWO guide camera, mount connection and auto focuser, and it's connected without the micro USB power as so far it just worked fine with no issues.

Going with 7 ports, I probably won't be able to go without power, but will 5v@2A be enough for 7 ports? Obviously 12v@2A would allow much more power than 5v@2A, but I wonder if it's even needed?

Would love to know and understand more about this, thanks

Just now, skywest said:

Oh that's interesting. do you mean move manually and then just use Stellarium to do fine nudging? That would be perfect.

Yep exactly. I'm not sure exactly how to align the mount from a PC when manually slewing, but I have a friend that did just that.

7 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

My EQ5 has been engineered after a calamity with bendy bolts sent it to Rother Valley for overall now it just hums when slewing. 

How much did you pay for it? With the EQ5 price being quite low it seems like almost any kind of repair would not really be worthy in my opinion. But all depends on the price.

2 minutes ago, skywest said:

So my follow up question is - I could just manually slew the scope and then just use it for tracking in the wee small hours? I know this then loses the goto function (except with the large dobs) but really I want tracking more than goto, goto being just a bonus. I have been seriously considering just getting a manual eq mount and a RA drive motor - old school.

Yeah that should be totally fine. If you only want the GOTO for tracking and not actually for slewing, then yes.

Also, if you're using a PC(doesn't sound like you're the type), then you could maybe even align using the PC even if you're moving manually, then you could use that to fine slew into the object you're trying to view.

That would depends on the mount I'd say.

I first got an EQ5 goto, which was very noisy when slewing and I also felt bad with my neighboors, even though no one ever complained and honestly I don't think it's loud enough to wake anyone up, but it still felt bad, that was only when slewing in full speed though, when tracking is was still loud compared to other mounts, but not considered noisy.

I recently got a NEQ6, and the slewing is very very silent, I really love it! I could slew all night long and don't feel bad at all.

I just this is varies from mount to mount.

1 minute ago, MarkAR said:

Yes, try it and if it is no better you can always clean it off.

Ok thanks

45 minutes ago, MarkAR said:

Ok then, just go for anything you can lay your hands on. Something would be better than nothing.

You don't think that some grease/oil type could make it worse? Should I just get any grease I could get?

On 25/04/2020 at 18:54, MarkAR said:

Try Molygrease, Ebay Israel ?

Yes I am from Israel, Molygrease doesn't seem to bring much results as well(I find it for around $6, but additional $22 for shipping 😕 )

1 minute ago, MarkAR said:

No idea about that stuff. Try searching for Molybdenum Disulphate Grease but in reality I would think any thick sticky grease will work. 

Molybdenum Disulphate Grease doesn't seem to bring up any good results it seems. Just wondering, would thick sticky grease actually be good here? I know that grease could also make things worse at times(harder, more stiff etc).
Not very familiar with that stuff so don't really know.

Thanks.

On 24/04/2020 at 13:40, MarkAR said:

Something like this should be ok.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Liqui-Moly-3510-Long-Life-Grease/dp/B00295CR0U/ref=sr_1_31?dchild=1&keywords=high+pressure+grease&qid=1587724767&sr=8-31

Amazon doesn't ship to my country due to the covid, so my options are only aliexpress/ebay, couldn't really find something similar for a decent price there. Can you tell me what would be the best search keywords?

Would something like this for example do the job? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000396969406.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.2ac92c11HW9iib&algo_pvid=075f0dde-3b4f-4729-ab1a-79199c765a73&algo_expid=075f0dde-3b4f-4729-ab1a-79199c765a73-2&btsid=0ab50f0815878213286366777e4293&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

Thanks.

23 minutes ago, MarkAR said:

I would go for a thick grease, maybe high pressure grease or molybdenum sulphide based grease.

Thanks! Any chance for a specific item you might be familiar with? And how much should that cost?

Hey, my ALT AZ bolts are quite stiff, they're not very hard to move in general, but it is hard to get a fine tune for polar align right now.

I know there are the 3 bolts for the altitude bolts to make it easier or harder, but I'd like to avoid if possible removing the plate etc.
I'll first try to grease/oil it, which is why I'm asking here, first of all, would it be better greasing or oiling? I know that grease is mostly used for inner mount parts, bearings etc, not sure if it's good for the bolts as well.

So what should I use? I'll need to buy from aliexpress/ebay, so please try to send a link from one of these if possible, or just grease/oil type.

Thanks

2 minutes ago, newbie alert said:

As long as she don't need any help from me

Good luck with that! 😬

11 minutes ago, newbie alert said:

At the time my daughter's boyfriend was working for raspberry PI,  he was really enthusiastic about them, and I kind of had enough of Windows so was looking at Kstars etc  but seemed like the PI 3 was going to be too slow and no one had got their pi4  to work at the time so I waited.. in the meantime I got my Windows system working,  switched off the internet connection and no probs so far

Now it looks like my daughter wants the pi4 as a mini computer

I see, that is a good excuse

Is she into linux and stuff like that? That could be a cool idea.

24 minutes ago, newbie alert said:

I bought a PI 3 and a PI 4,  seemed abit too complex for my little brain so they never came out of the box..

So why did you buy them in the first place? ^^

3 hours ago, Rocket Stars said:

I think you did a good choice! 

If you end up with to computers. You "need" another scope to go with the other computer.

 

😂😂😂 I am actually looking for a small grab n go wide field scope such as the Sharpstar 61 EDPH triplet or the SharpStar 71SDQ quadruplet.

We have a pretty similar setup tbh, C8 Edge HD + reducer + hyper. I'm in love with the versatility of this scope

5 hours ago, Rocket Stars said:

I do not want to discourage you from RPi. Astroberry is a free and complete set up. Also works on on rpi3. So if you find one really cheap. That could be a test platform. If happy. Switch to a 4. 

I didn't plan to do EAA and live stacking. But I have tryed it. And it is really fun in SharpCap. If im happy. I save it to a capture file!!  

My main reason going for a nuc. Was it is all intel. Including USB3 chips. So I would have (hopefully) good camera connection. When in the future when getting a camera with high resolution/ big capture files. Win10 was something I had to buy. Im a iOS user since 90´s.. And yes. Win is still doing upgrades, checking my system. giving weird warning.. But hey. win 10 is better than earlier win versions.

Though, not happy with the interna wifi antennas range. Beelink, has external antennas. (but heard there was issues on earlier models) 

In the end. I did go a more expensive route then intended. I like small and lean RPi form factor. Very much. But Im happy now. And if I want to change the nuc to something else. Its good enough to be used in other applications. 

My best advice is to think it tru. (if not cheap enough to be a fun experiment) And buy "once". Because when you have a clear night. You want to have a setup that work with a little hazzle as possible. I found it that is a lot of other things to keep in order. to keep imaging. 

Oh, I control the NUC from inside on my Mac mini, with Anydesk. Its great. But had issues setting it up. Lots of settings to fix so it docent disconnect during imaging. Did happen on several location. That ended in some rather harsh Swedish Swearing..lol!!  Lession. Powersavings settings should be shut off. And there is several of them..

Let us hear what you did go for. And the result!  

 

edit! 

One thing to consider to have a mini pc, or a RPi att the scope/mount. Is that you don't have a screen close buy. There is a big advantage with laptop. 

I brought out a 27" screen when doing fault findings in the beginning. In a dark site.. Or my back yard. It lights up the whole area. .My neighbors was probably

thinking what that idiot doing out in the middle of the night. Watch a monitor in the garden lol

 

 

So.........even though it was probably a stupid decision, I simply couldn't resist myself. I just bought a RPi 4 with 4 GB, I found a 128GB sd card so I'll try using that first.

I'll see how it goes, on the worst case I'll simply get a mini PC for around the $220-250, should be far enough for an 8GB ram system with a very fine CPU(i5-4300U, i7-4650U, i7-4500U, i3-7100U and the likes).

I hope it'll go well 😀

2 minutes ago, Rocket Stars said:

RPi. I did remote 3d printing on pi3 first. Agree on meh.. But version 4 would be much better. 

Anyway, U can build a NAS for astro files. All sky camera controller. Surveillance.. ect.. There it tons of applications. . But I have to little time.. well when not pandemic is raging. I rather spend the time imaging, than struggle with software. Have to be clear. Indi on a pi4. Looks like a great solution. But didn't work with my cam, focuser and some more issue I forgot. If you have equipment that is confirmed to work good. Id go for it. 

But I thought like you. when external SSD, good case ect,ect. You hav paid close to a decent mini pc.  I got the latest NUC 4core i5, 8gig 2400mhz ram and 250gig m2 ssd. (remember. you must buy  ram and hdd separately) Ad win 10 license. So its not cheap solution either. 

I think that for my case a mini PC would end up a bit cheaper, I already own a windows license, so that's not an issue, even though most mini PC's already does seem to arrive with windows 10 pro pre-installed.
The mini PC's I'm looking at also comes with RAM / SSD as part of the package, so that's kinda good as well(of course, it's included in the price).

I don't really know if my equipment will work, I think it should, but I think the risk here is possibly too high, even though I'm incredibly eager to get the RPi and try it out, but it seems to be even worse than I thought.

I thought the $62 price comes with the basic necessities(SD card, power supply, etc...), but it seems like that would be another $20 or so.
It's a real shame, I want to try it, but I just can't find the price good enough compared to a rather small addition for a mini PC, I'm not still not sure about it though.

I wonder, a NUCi5 is rather powerful, can you please share about your requirements and applications? I'm currently thinking about a lower end PC as it seems like the softwares used are quite light on the PC and I don't really think I need more than a simple PC, at least for my needs. Do you use that for imaging or live stacking(EEA)? As I wrote in the first post, I want the PC only for image capturing, so no live stacking, processing, or anything else.

Do you think a NUCi5 could be considered too powerful for my needs? (of course that you can't really say that, but I hope you understood what I meant).

Thanks!

7 minutes ago, Avocette said:

The official RaspberryPi.org price for the 2GB version is $35 - it should be available from US dealers for that, no need to use AliExpress. One of the other members above (7170) mentions that he uses a Raspberry Pi 3. Well that was only ever available with 1GB RAM. No, I'm not saying there's no point in buying the 4GB version, just that for a very comprehensive package of software like Astroberry, you could presently save some money with the 2GB version. Of course in the fullness of time, other features could be added which might mean that the 2GB version reaches a limit, but for the moment I'm very comfortable running my 2GB RPi4.

I'm not from the US though. I don't seem to find a retailer that sells for the official price. Aliexpress seems to be the cheapest right now.

1 hour ago, Avocette said:

You asked for an idea of what else you need in addition to the RPi4 (and by the way as I emphasised before the 2GB version does everything I want and is now the entry level RPi4 at a price of $35). I use a 32GB microSD card and have a spare or two. The RPi4 sits in a ‘flirc’ aluminium case. I power the RPi from one of the three ‘charging’ outlets on a tp-link 7 port  USB 3.0 hub which is itself powered by a Pegasus Pocket Powerbox which also distributes 12V to the mount, 8V to the Canon DSLR, two lots of pwm dew strip power controlled by its  dew sensor, and measures voltage supply and current drawn. I need lots of USB ports for: DSLR camera, guidescope camera, EQDirect to the mount, Pegasus PPB, GPS dongle if out in the field, Joypad dongle when I use my SkyMax, HitecAstro focus motor controller.....
The three items sit on my mount pillar, attached to each other by a Velcro strap which ties onto a Velcro strap around the pillar. Cabling could be tidier, but I like to retain flexibility when I swap scopes etc.

The cheapest RPi4 I am able to find on aliexpress with 2 GB is for $42, yeah it's $20 less, and it's something but I think that if I'm gonna pay for it, whether I'll eventually end up using it or not, I should add that $20 for a 4GB instead.
Do you think there's no reason at all to go for 4 GB instead of 2GB? Or that the difference is not very cruicial?

Thanks, that setup looks amazing.

1 minute ago, Rocket Stars said:

 A note on small mini PC. 

I have it welcromounted. So when the session is done. I removed easily. Connect it so a screen. And have a fully dedicated desktop astro computer. I do stacking ect on it. 

I think you should get a rpi4. Install some software and "play" with it a little. If not, you can use it for a lot of other stuff. 

I do have a very powerful PC and very powerful laptop for image processing and other stuff, so I don't need that at all for my mini PC / Pi.
Do you have so ideas on what else I can do with it? Thought about using it for wifi 3d printing, but that kinda meh...It doesn't justify a $62.

Any other ideas? That would make my decision much easier so even if it doesn't work for me for astro, I could do other things.

2 minutes ago, 7170 said:

I think you make a valid comment about the future options and the cost of a PI + USB hub + case vs a mini pc.

For a mini PC I think of two types in my simple mind. One type is like a USB stick which has a power connector, USB and mini HDMI etc (like an Amazon fire TV stick size). The second is a PC with a very small form factor case - like a Chromebox size (or smaller) but it has lots of USB ports, maybe an SSD too etc. For the first type you would also need a USB hub and are limited option wise too. But for the second perhaps not depending on how much power each USB port can provide. I would still stick Linux onto it as I just want something that works and don't want to worry about the OS doing an update or crashing etc.

In my view INDI has proven the server/client approach for controlling astro gear, and I think more people will go down this approach in the future. For example you if you really wanted you could have one PI controlling the mount and autoguider, and a second just focusing on controlling the camera/focus/filter wheel, and maybe a third controlling the dome and monitoring the weather. I'm out of touch with ASCOM but i'm sure I read they were going to go down the server/client approach, or maybe I am thinking they were going to support Linux somehow, or maybe my memory is going bad!

I often wonder what features mount manufacturers will release next, other than payload I suspect an obvious addition to many sub £2-3k mounts is a built in powered USB hub, which in the grand scheme of things would not cost them much to add vs say the cost of significantly improving accuracy. That would really help a lot of people who are doing imaging.

I'll start with a big yes for the last part! I wonder why it not already that way, guess most mounts are quite old though, some new ones already have it.

I can relate to what you're saying about windows, but if you completely disable all windows updates and similar stuff, there's really not much to worry about in that matter.
There is the intel compute stick as you mentioned, I think for the price of it I would better go with a Pi. 4 GB of ram in my opinion is not enough for windows, even though I'm sure it can cope with image capturing.

When relating to mini PC, I'm really relating only to the mini PC's with 8GB ram and above, which starts at around $170.

I've changed my reply above a bit, so a Pi 4 with 4 GB costs around $62. Maybe a simple 128GB SD card would be enough for me, but idk..Seen something about x825 expandable slot or something like that, not sure 100% sure about how useful is that. Regardless, it might not end up very low cost as I initially thought.

Considering the fact that a mini PC would be significantly more powerful(with that also with higher power consumption though), that might be a better investment.

It's a hard decision though...I love experimenting stuff, I really want to try that, I really feel like I want to buy one, but my mind tells me it's probably not gonna be a very good decision money-wise. I think I'm gonna get myself a 9 months early birthday present.

1 minute ago, Stuart1971 said:

There are a few mounts already out there with built in USB hubs... IOptron CEM 60 and CEM 129 and Skywatcher EQ8-r

 Yep, awesome mounts

5 hours ago, wornish said:

Stellermate. is OK but its basically a RPi4 with Stars/Ekos and few bits extra.  Its cheaper to just get the RPi4 and add Kstars/Ekos and PHD2.

There is a script that will do all the hard work for you.  Look here.

https://github.com/rlancaste/AstroPi3/blob/master/README.md

 

Should this be used if I'm only installing Raspbian without the astroberry image? The astroberry image file should already have all of these?
Thanks!

4 hours ago, Avocette said:

The Astroberry RPi ‘image’ has a whole set of open source software integrated into it. Polar Alignment is just one function within the very powerful KStars/Ekos/Indi package, alongside PlateSolving, Guiding using an internal function or with PHD2  running alongside. Since Radek has compiled this Astroberry version 2.0.1, he has set up a ‘repo’ which is like a one stop shop for updating all the software to the latest versions or adding new functions like ASTAP for platesolving.

I bought my (first) RPi4 last summer, and used it for mount control and then polar alignment with my DSLR and the main scope. I added a guidescope and ASI120 in December. Polar alignment is a lot faster now (platesolving takes around 5 seconds) and the ability to use platesolving to synchronise mount alignment at any moment is transforming. 

4 hours ago, TerryMcK said:

I have a Pi4 with 4GB RAM and 128GB flash drive. I have been using Astroberry as an operating system with PHD2 to guide, KStars and EKOS to control the sessions. It is very easy to use and produces great results. You can sequence a number of targets over a session and it will automatically do everything once you set it up

• Slew to target
• focus
• plate solve
• calibrate PHD2
• image
• meridian flip
• change to next target and repeat

It's like Sequence Generator Pro but open source so free. I control the PI4 remotely using KStars for Windows running on a laptop inside the house. This connects to the Linux version of KStars running on the PI next to the telescope. You don't need to use a remote control like that as you can set everything up through a webbrowser running on anything (a smartphone can be used but probably too small). I have used an iPad to connect to the wifi running on the PI4 itself to do that. Or you can plug a cable into the Ethernet port and connect it to your home network (as I do).

I have imaged for ages using a Windows laptop running software like AstroPhotographyTool, BackYardEOS or NINA and the use of the PI4 means I don't have to use a laptop outdoors anymore (I don't have a permanent observatory). The PI4 is inside a medium sized plastic storage box along with a power supply that supplies power to the scope/mount so is weatherproof. 

The PI4 has 2 USB3 ports and 2 USB2 ports so has all the connectivity most people will need. The addition of a USB (2 or 3) hub can of course expand that.

Also you don't get anything like the equivalent of "Windows is now doing an update. Your computer may reboot several times" that takes place in the middle of an imaging session! It really is a no brainer.

4 hours ago, Rocket Stars said:

I did a few tests with rpi 3. I had one laying around. 

But it didn't seem to work well with my equipment. Som driver issues, in combo with not being very experienced with it. Im a Mac user since the 90´s. But I decided to go for a mini pc at the mount. 

That was the most practical reason. I can test and have a try on pretty much all software. As most astro software is written for windows. I think we will see more and more software for iOS, linux ect. But for now. I did go with a NUC. Going wireless can be a bit of a challenge. In my case. The NOC antenna has a little limited wifirange. But is solved by moving from the scope to the mount. (it did lose connection on certen angels) 

I external wifiadapter with antennas is the solution in the long term. 

One thing is indisputable. The pi form factor, is a winner! It light weight, draws very little power. And even if you add SSD ect. Its a economical solution!

2 hours ago, 7170 said:

RPi3 running Astroberry here. The RPi3 is powered from a USB hub (which is in turn powered by 12v split from the mount supply), all mounted on the scope. It does everything for me - mount control, imaging, guiding, plate solving, polar alignment, focus etc.

Previously I was running an old Toshiba netbook running Windows 7, remote but moved to the Pi for a number of reasons. (1) The netbook only had two physical USB ports so I needed to use a powered hub anyway; (2) I had to connect and disconnect it each time; (3)  I preferred KStars/Ekos/INDI on the pi over APT/ASCOM (much more reliable - never crashes with my rig) and I wanted to more advanced automation/scrips it allows; (4) things actually run quicker on the PI as the netbook is old.

I also tried Ubuntu on the netbook to see if that would work with KStars/Ekos/INDI but there were two problems, Ubuntu ran very slowly (doesn't seem to be as lean as before - but that is a separate topic!) and the resolution of the netbook screen is low and KStars/Ekos seemed to assume a higher minimum resolution so I had to play with scaling or having a high remote resolution which slowed things down too much.

I've not tried high frame solar/lunar capture on the RPi, but have read of a number of people who have. As noted above another popular thing to do is to add a small external SSD, but so far I've need had the need. 

Not up to speed on stick pc's but when I looked before a Pi3 was cheaper, and combined with so many positive Astroberry users won things over for me.

One thing I think is worth calling out is the developers of INDI seem to be very responsive in the forum on the official site, both for support and new features.

So many good and interesting reviews on the Pi for image capturing. That's interesting.

It really makes me want to get my hands on the Pi as well and give it a try...The only thing that kinda holds me back is that it kinda holds you back in terms of options, as most things are really built for windows.
The power consumption of the Pi could also be an incredible power efficient. But I think that considering the fact that the Pi itself costs around $62, in addition I would probably need an SSD so it would perform faster, a case with SSD slot might be a bit more expensive, so that probably already adds around $40-50, and I think that i might require a usb hub as well?

If someone will be able to summarize everything else that's needed except for the actual Pi 4(case, ssd, usb hub, whatever), that would be very helpful for me to decide

Generally I think a mini PC might be more versatile and eventually a better investment in money, but I'm so tempted to try the Pi 4....

55 minutes ago, iapa said:

I used a compute stick with an intel Z8300, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, c£140 from Amazon, running Windows 10 pro (I upgraded from Win10 home with an license purchased on amazon for £15). Also has MMC slot, 1 x USB3, 1 x USB 2 and HDMI. Also have a 4 port powered USB 3 hub.

This was stripped down year before last after the observatory was destroyed in the winds. 

I use SGP Pro for scheduling and capture, PHD2 for guiding, MS Remote desktop for remote control, Teamviewer kept telling me I was using it professionally and needed to buy a license.

This controls CGEM-DX mount, ASI1600 cool c.w filter wheel, pegasus cube focuser on Celestron C8, Pegasus Powerbox, hitecastro focuser on StarTravel 80 guide scope. 

With lockdown for past 4 week, I have started reconstructing this.

HTH

Can you share some experience you had with it? Was it fast enough for all your needs? Crashes? How fast it performed?

Thanks everyone