Network power control

[snowy911]

Hi all, I was just wondering what devices people use for managing power to the devices in their observatories.  I use my obs in a semi-remote setup, and have until recently been successfully using an AVIOSYS 9858 for switching mounts and cameras on and off, as well as for rebooting the Obs PC if it ever froze.  After 14 months of no issues the AVIOSYS is now becoming unreliable and dropping the LAN connection, hence basically rendering it useless.  I know Lindy have a 8 plug model for £300 (ouch), and MSNSwitch have a 2 plug one for £100 (similar in cost to the AVIOSYS), but just wondering if others new of any further options?

I've also tried the Aviosys 8800 USB model, but that needs the PC to be working, so again fail sin the event the PC freezes.

thanks

 

[RayD]

43 minutes ago, snowy911 said:

Hi all, I was just wondering what devices people use for managing power to the devices in their observatories.  I use my obs in a semi-remote setup, and have until recently been successfully using an AVIOSYS 9858 for switching mounts and cameras on and off, as well as for rebooting the Obs PC if it ever froze.  After 14 months of no issues the AVIOSYS is now becoming unreliable and dropping the LAN connection, hence basically rendering it useless.  I know Lindy have a 8 plug model for £300 (ouch), and MSNSwitch have a 2 plug one for £100 (similar in cost to the AVIOSYS), but just wondering if others new of any further options?

I've also tried the Aviosys 8800 USB model, but that needs the PC to be working, so again fail sin the event the PC freezes.

thanks

 

I use one of these which, whilst basic, has proven rock solid and reliable.  I use one outlet on this to power my PC, which has the BIOS set to boot on power up, and the other to power my power supplies and mount hub, through which I then control power to everything else.

It has 5 built in ping tests to enable auto rebooting if you lose connection etc. so in your case if your PC freezes it will lose the ping and reboot.

I'm sure the ones you have and are looking at have more functions, but for me it was about simple and basic as this is a key item, so I wanted it to literally just turn on and off via the built in web server.

[snowy911]

Thank you Ray, that was the other option I was looking at.  It looks like it does everything I need it to and definitely the right price when compared to the Lindy!

 

[RayD]

1 minute ago, snowy911 said:

Thank you Ray, that was the other option I was looking at.  It looks like it does everything I need it to and definitely the right price when compared to the Lindy!

 

Yes the price is great as it is pretty well built.  The server software is pretty basic, but it has been perfect for me, and the hub (I have been using MHP but now use the Pegasus one) does the rest, meaning I can control all the individual accessories locally to the mount at 13.8V.  

Lindy is of course a good name, but maybe for an obsy, especially if you have a hub, they do far too much which can complicate things and perhaps compromise long-term reliability.

[snowy911]

Thanks again Ray, have the MHP pro as well, but I must admit, the Pegasus device is making me ponder my next purchase!

[RayD]

9 hours ago, snowy911 said:

Thanks again Ray, have the MHP pro as well, but I must admit, the Pegasus device is making me ponder my next purchase!

It really is excellent.  I like the MHP and have always rated it, but the Pegasus one is so much better, and of course the benefit of a 6 port industrial USB.

Downside of course is the cost, but for me it's been worth every penny.  I think my favourite feature is the way it uses the supplied climate sensor to automatically control your dew heaters.