PrimaluceLab Eagle3 Pro vs Nuc or simlar

[RyanParle]

For some time i have been thinking of having a mini pc based system for driving my imaging rig, and recently saw the Primaluce Lab Eagle3 devices which look pretty good, i like that they have the power control features and that they have not tried to add stuff like focuser and rotator control as i prefer to use my existing controllers for those features. However the cost of the Eagle3 Pro with i5 cpu 16GB RAM & 500GB SSD is around £1700 and you can get a Nuc or similar with an i7 CPU, 16GB RAM & 500GB SSD for around £700-800. would you guys say that the pre installed software, power control features, PLUS mounting solution and the sleek anodized red casing (I appreciate aesthetics too) is worth the extra money? If i bought the Eagle3 I would also buy the ECCO sensor unit for intelligent dew heater control, but there are other solutions such as the Kendrick dew controllers or an arduino could do the job quite easily.

[phguy65]

Hi Ryan, 

I was in the same bind until I saw the Eagle3 at NEAF in early April.  The unit is a solid piece of gear and the Enterprise Win 10 Pro is clean and perfectly configured.  I ended up buying the S model.  Here is the deal, taking my sweet ol time, i had evything set up and running in about two hours.  I run my Evo 8 HD mount, StarSense, Celestron focuser and asi294 through the unit.  I can control it all with my iPad, laptop or desktop pc (in a comfy  ac'd/heated room on the second floor of my house) using remote desktop.  The only cable coming off the scope is the power (i have a hook up in my backyard).  CPWI and sharpcap work fine and there is enough space on the hard drive to store anything i will ever capture in a night of viewing. (I do EEA).  I have not had it under dark skies yet but all my tests and drills have been repeatedly successful.  I am highly confident that first clear night all i will have to do is power up, align and gaze.  It really is a pretty great peice of equipent.

[hughgilhespie]

Hi,

The setup I use for an OTA mounted computer / controller comes in around the £700 mark, so a lot cheaper than the Eagle. My equipment is a  Kodlix GN41 fanless mini-computer. with a Pegasus Ultimate power box. The Kodlix runs on 12-15 volt power and comes with Windows 10 Pro pre-installed. I added an internal SanDisk Ultra 500 GB SSD which is overkill really. The Kodlix runs all my imaging software without any problems. Works a treat!

HTH,

Regards, Hugh

 

[Skipper Billy]

I looked at the Eagle but couldnt understand the price tag.

I bought an i5 NUC with loads of RAM and a big SSD and a lid with 2 extra USB ports. Cost about £400.

Runs SGP, PHD2, etc flawlessly.

Only one wire to the ground.

 

[AngryDonkey]

Same here, got an Intel NUC and a Pegasus Astro Ultimate Powerbox which worked out a fair bit cheaper than the Eagle (and works great). Although I have to say that the Eagle looks like a great piece of kit and offers a few more outputs and attachment options which might come in handy (as well as some pre installed software to manage the system and remote into it).

[wornish]

I use a Raspberry Pi running Astroberry with a 7 port powered USB hub, and 4 channel dew heater controller on my mount,  total cost less than £100 all works through WiFi and I run Kstars/Ekos on my Windows laptop indoors to control it all.

It delivers almost everything the Eagle 3 pro does and saves me £1600.  Have to agree the Eagle looks great though but its way out of my price range.