USB from outdoor to indoor

[Andyk93]

Hi, my pier is outside about 2m away from my house. What I usually do is sit my laptop outside in a box and let it run while I’m imaging. What I would like to do is keep the laptop indoors and 1 or 2 usb leads inside to the lounge where I can monitor it. Has anybody done this and is there a clean way of doing it without drilling a hole through the house and just threading them through? 

Thanks

[MarsG76]

I've ran a 10 meter USB cable in the past and it worked OK... occasional dropout, 5 meters worked all the time...

But a clean solution would be have your laptop on a short USB as you do, and connect to the laptop via VNC over WiFi on a tablet or your phone.

 

[AstroMadd]

Hey Andy ... check this thread ... it will give you a good idea of what you need ... but I would always recommend an active (repeater) USB extension cable, to keep the data levels high ... if they are low they do cause dropouts and disconnections ... USB is very finicky over long distances ...

Martin

 

 

[Andyk93]

14 hours ago, MarsG76 said:

I've ran a 10 meter USB cable in the past and it worked OK... occasional dropout, 5 meters worked all the time...

But a clean solution would be have your laptop on a short USB as you do, and connect to the laptop via VNC over WiFi on a tablet or your phone.

 

Hi, managed to get VNC working last night while imaging and it’s definitely changed how easy it is to set up and monitor the system. Thanks very much for the help 

[AstroMadd]

Doh! ... I just re-read your post and yes wifi would be the way to go without drilling holes ... I use TeamViewer a lot and that's free also and has some nice extra features ...

https://www.teamviewer.com/en/

[Gina]

I use TeamViewer too.

[Kaliska]

Teamviewer is great, and very simple to setup.

[MarsG76]

2 hours ago, Andyk93 said:

Hi, managed to get VNC working last night while imaging and it’s definitely changed how easy it is to set up and monitor the system. Thanks very much for the help 

You're very welcome... VNC in iPhone/iPad changed the ease of monitoring for me too.

[MarsG76]

2 hours ago, Andyk93 said:

Hi, managed to get VNC working last night while imaging and it’s definitely changed how easy it is to set up and monitor the system. Thanks very much for the help 

What VNC did you setup?

I'm using TightVNC on the Laptop and Mocha VNC on the iPhone and iPad.

TightVNC on the Mac and home PC also to remote into when need be.

[Andyk93]

56 minutes ago, MarsG76 said:

What VNC did you setup?

I'm using TightVNC on the Laptop and Mocha VNC on the iPhone and iPad.

TightVNC on the Mac and home PC also to remote into when need be.

I’m using RealVNC, was the first one that popped up when I typed vnc on my iPhone so that’s what I went with, it’s a good app but I’ll probably do it on an iPad next time for the bigger screen

[Andyk93]

2 hours ago, AstroMadd said:

Doh! ... I just re-read your post and yes wifi would be the way to go without drilling holes ... I use TeamViewer a lot and that's free also and has some nice extra features ...

https://www.teamviewer.com/en/

Thanks! I’ll try that too, see which is better

[MarsG76]

32 minutes ago, Andyk93 said:

I’m using RealVNC, was the first one that popped up when I typed vnc on my iPhone so that’s what I went with, it’s a good app but I’ll probably do it on an iPad next time for the bigger screen

 

31 minutes ago, Andyk93 said:

Thanks! I’ll try that too, see which is better

Find the one that works best for you and the one you're comfortable with and stick with it... 

we don't have enough clear skies to sacrifice on getting to know different software that does the same thing.

[Macavity]

As is my wont I'll chime in with:
http://www.icron.com/products/icron-brand/usb-extenders/


But outside of permanent setups Cat5/6 Cables are not my favourite?

Aside:

Drilling holes in HOUSES is an interesting question! lol. I am fortunate
that some idiot a previous owner had left several... Albeit in irritatingly
random places! My house is "timber framed", so looks  bit like this:



For a small hole, once you get through the bricks with a diamond
hole saw??? I can be a bit "cavalier" re. safety. So if there are any
professionals who can address the question, I'm ever interested! 

Right Tools, skills (weatherproof junction boxes) not impossible...