Stuart1971

The problems you had with the RPI is power and Wi-Fi issues, these are all too common, the internal Wi-Fi is not so good, and an external dongle is a good upgrade, also a 4 amp minimum power supply makes a huge difference, and thirdly the USB ports on the RPI are a bit underpowered, and so a powered USB hub is a must if you are going to add items that DONT have there own power supply's….if these runs are followed it works perfectly…well mine has for three years… These rules can also be true of the ASIair as it’s just the same RPI and the same software with an ASI added front end….👍🏼

First of all, will the ASIair allow you to add a Pegasus INdI driver for the power box, hmmmm, I’m not sure…🤔

Don’t agree at all, SM and Astroberry are as simple or even easer than ASIair, and they work with all cameras and kit, download image file, burn to SD card put in RPI and done, so there is just no comparison, and Astroberry is free, so once you bought an RPI 4 and a case £80 that’s it….compared to £300 plus for the ASIair pro….

BTW, My daughter lives in Wiltshire, in Trowbridge, she works for Wiltshire farm foods as a marketing exec…is that near to you….?

Ah yes, I forgot that does not come with Astroberry, I am so used to using Stellarmate and it’s pre installed with that…. So have you tried re booting, as you may find you have to set it up each time you re boot, I did, in which case you have to add a line of code to a file, so let me know if you need this….then it will map itself to the rfcomm0 port on boot up each time, it’s called binding the port…👍🏼

I have just recently set all mine up on Bluetooth, so I know it all works….👍🏼

What other ports are showing in the EQMOD INdI drive as available….? Is there an /dev/rfcomm0 there….if so those that in the box above it and click “set” If not then you need to assign one from the Bluetooth software in the Astroberry menu….it’s easy enough….

When you have paired it, you should have a little icon on Bluetooth section with a Red Cross next to it… DONT try and connect using that, open ekos, and with the EQMOD driver loaded it should find it automatically and assign a serial port to it It shoud assign rfcomm0 Now if non of this works, then you will need to open the Bluetooth software from the menu, and in there you can tell it to assign a serial port, then save and exit and try again…..👍🏼

Rother valley optics, Astro dealer….👍🏼

For sure…..totally agree….👍🏼

So do you run the full OS on the indoor PI from an SSD or still run from an SD card…? Sorry am not as computer savy as some….☹️

This is interesting, you can now run the RPI OS on a normal PC….. https://www.raspberrypi.org/software/raspberry-pi-desktop/

I do have mine in a small obsy…the RPI is between the two dovetails under the TAK 60mm guidescope, next to the Pegasus UPB

I must admit I did consider running your way a while back, as I use a 4k 28” monitor and over VNC 4k is useless, so had to settle for just 2k.. But your way I could run the indoor RPI on 4k connected directly to my monitor, with Kstars / Ekos running,mand then the RPI on the mount just as INdI server….🤔🤔 I though about one of the new RPI 400 that’s built into its own keyboard, but they only do them with. 4gb of RAM and not 8…

Can I ask why you use another RPI in the house, and not your normal indoor PC, and then run Kstars / Ekos on that…? I have an RPI on the mount and it runs it all, and I just VNC into it from a PC in the house….

This is all possible, but you will need the eyesight of a hawk to PA with EKOS from a phone screen….😮😮 which I certainly don’t have….🤨

All good advice… I run mine from an 120gb SSD which is around 5 times faster, and also run all the software from the RPI, and works very well indeed….just then VNC into it from my indoor PC.. One bit of advice I will share, is that the RPI USB ports are a bit underpowered and if unpowered cameras etc, will be plugged in here then a USB powered hub is in order, also I don’t use the built in WIFI, I have a USB 3.0 wifi dongle, which gives a much better connection over a much greater distance….👍🏼

Looks superb, 👍🏼👍🏼 how do you cover the join between the two roof sections to keep water out when shut….?

Yes, they are pretty cheap on fleabay, a few quid at most for a buck converter 12v to 5v and they are nice and small too…👍🏼

Not sure on cases, as they all vary so much…I just use a cheap one from Amazon, but you will have to look for a case that allows the room for a hat… I use a Pegasus UPB so that has a motor controller built in, also one thing I did not mention, depending on what kit you have you may need a powered USB hub, as the RPI USB ports are not that powerful and not good for unpowered cameras and such like, these can cause issues. Also you need a good solid 5v 3 amp minimum power supply for the RPI, anything less can also cause issues….. Power issues are the most common on this set up, and many people do not realise this, but it’s easy to remedy with a good power supply.

Oh, and I use my EQ8 mount over Bluetooth too, with a shoestring astronomy adapter, with no issues….👍🏼

Good decision, firstly I use Astroberry which is a free image file for you SD card and has all the software you will need, Kstars, Ekos, Indi, PhD2 and much more…. No, it won’t al fit in the flirc case, as that case uses heatsinks built into the case that draw the heat out of the case and these touch all the parts that get very hot, these would be in the way…. Stellarmate is pretty much the same, I have that too, but costs $49 but you do get a very good app with it for full control from mobile devices and iPads… I actually used SM for two years before moving to AB, as I don’t need the app, as I run mine, the same way you mention above over VNC, and TBH I find AB faster, more stable and generally better, and of course it’s free…. HTH..any questions please ask…👍🏼

Hello, I have just purchased a new Dual saddle for my EQ8 mount, the Primaluce version specifically for the EQ8... this is, I think, the only one made that directly replaces the one supplied with the EQ8 mounts, and fits using the same three mounting holes... So I am after anyone who uses an Primaluce Dual saddle or Losmandy clamp, and has made or 3D printed some sort of tool to tighten up the hand bolts on these, as unlike the original one on the EQ8 which have Allen socket heads on, these do not....obviously I have metal ones that would do the job, but not without badly marking the Ali Thanks for looking

Hello, sorry if this is a little off topic.... I See you have a set of the new More Blue scope rings with the two lock bolts, can I ask what you think of them, I have two Taks, the FSQ85 and the FS60cb and was thinking of getting for both of them...also what are the mounting holes spacings on the rings..? thanks..

I have been reading this thread with interest, as I have an EQ8 mount and have both adjusted the backlash and replaced the bad DEC clutch, and I have to say it’s much much better, but as @tonyowens_uk as said, it’s pretty much impossible to get rid of all backlash due to the “not so good” machining of the worm wheels on these mounts. They are not perfectly round, and so your best bet is, in the cold of winter, find the tightest point on the worm wheel rotation and adjust it at that point...this is what I did, and it took some trial and error, and a good guide was watching the amp meter on my power supply, as under normal load slewing the DEC was showing a 2 amp draw, as soon as it started to get tight this went up to 3.5 Amps, before it started binding, so I was looking for a point where it was a nice steady 2 Amps all the way round, I found the tightest point, and then with a long dovetail in the clamp as a lever, I rocked the end of it to see how much play there was....and adjusted as needed, and then run a cycle or two around and checked again, but as I said, it’s impossible to get rid of it all. My worm has no real noticeable backlash around half of the worm cycle and a small amount on the other half, this shows how out of true the worm wheels are and hence why the only way to solve is with spring loaded worm... Stuart