MaJiC79

Short answer - yes it's possible. A brief look tells me that the monitoring tool is based heavily on standard raspbian. Long answer - you need a long enough USB cable to plug in to, voltage drop on long runs are going to be the issue you face. I don't have details (but I can have a look tomorrow) but once you plug in your USB camera, you will see a device in the system, its then a case of updating the config to use this device instead of the IP device

On the bright side, you don't need to try so hard to cool your imaging sensor down! I've flown into Skavsta airport many times, drove on Swedish roads and paid high prices for 500ml of beer. I quite like Sweden

For more specialist stuff, I use a site called Namrick

I think the upper temperature limit for PLA is around 50c - yes, temps in cars can get well above that. Choosing white is a good idea for sun exposed stuff anyway (no matter the material) - a suitably dark material will probably exceed 60c on a hot bright day anyway

Thanks for that M40, I've yet to check the axis alignment - I'll do that first. I'll not worry about the rest of the reticle for now

I'm happy to share - keeping it to myself benefits no-one!

I'd use any of the materials I listed above for those applications - of them all, PLA is biodegradable, so not really suitable for long term outdoor use exposed to moisture. Nylon is common in real world manufacture but has an exceptionally high print temperature (300c+). Personally I'd use ABS (I have it already, I'm setup to print it, it's good for outdoor work, it's the great all rounder)

So SkyWatchers manual for the HM5 Polarscope is... thin.. bordering on non-existent. I managed to glean more from the manual for EQ3-2/EQ5 mount. Anyway, I'm wondering if there's a "good" or "right" way to set it up? I mean - how do I align the reticle to the alignment mark on the date ring? Knowing that Polaris is above the NCP on the 1st Nov, gives me a good guide position to work to - is the 0 position on the retical the right place to align to? The new reticle pattern doesn't have the little locating circle for Polaris now, it just says "put it on the ring"? Do I need to worry about it? TIA

Big fan of OpenSCAD here - I print almost exclusively in ABS (comes with it's challenges, but as with everything there are Pro's and Con's) ABS is a little flexible for some applications, but you can overcome that by making walls thicker to compensate. Wall thickness on your slicer has a big impact on performance, and some infills can add or remove strength (most infills are strong only in one direction, if you need strength in multiple directions, take a cubic or gyroid which is strong in all directions, but not as strong as a dedicated direction of strength) Material wise - there's lots to choose from. As I said, I'm using ABS, which is convenient for storage, has a medium yield strength and is long lasting (operating temps good for -20c to 80c). PLA is popular (lower print temp, slightly higher yields strength, more brittle, hygroscopic - so you need to treat the storage environment if you don't use it immediately, lower operating range - reduced maximum temp, but lowest temperature is probably the same), as well as PETG, Nylon and Polycarbonate Interestingly, depending on how you measure the strength (impact, tension, compression?) you might find things are stronger at lower temperature (tension) or weaker (impact)

I see several solutions - one is to pack up your corrent computer and put it closer and in the roof near to your camera (use remote desktop to remote onto it), use a Mini-ITX system in a box near to your camera (same as before, but you install Windows Embedded or similar to remote onto it), use a SBC (Single Board Computer - like a Pi) and get Linux working for you (I'm just getting started here, so I don't have any good advice there) Like Plank says, if USB2 works for you, why use USB3?

I'm using the Analog Devices ADP2303 for most of my stuff - I prefer higher frequency, you can get away with a smaller inductor which means smaller footprint, but also peak to peak ripple current is lower, so easier to smooth out. They do fixed outputs (5v and 3.3v) but the other devices have a reference pin that you can tune for your output (it's a simple voltage divider). They're a little on the expensive side (£2.40 per chip) but well proven and stable. An adjustable DC-DC converter is possible, but sub-optimal (there's a lot of tuning based on actual voltage/current requirements and picking inductors is a pain in the ... - going adjustable you throw a lot of that out of the window. Inductors have a sweet spot, so you're usually trying to find the optimum as that's most fogriving over the entire range of operating conditions)

Hi There, Thought it best I come along and introduce myself - I've long gazed at the stars and wondered what's out there, and recently I made the leap and bought a 'scope (Skywatcher Evostar 102 on an EQ3-2 mount) and being the hacker that I am, and my experience with building 3D printers, I saw an opportunity to homebrew a GoTo with a Raspberry pi... So I've got a few things to share and probably lots of questions to bring with me. Anyway, Merry Christmas!