Stellarmate OS on Raspberry PI 4 4gb

[Astro-Geek]

Has anyone else tried this yet ?  (I did search here first and couldn't find anything, but usual apologies if I missed it....)

I'm a total Noob with Stellarmate ( so many gadgets like this, difficult to be "street aware" of everything ! 🤓)

I came close to buying an ASIAIR but was discouraged by the way it's so restricted to ZWO cameras.

That got me into researching the Raspberry PI as a remote telescope controller and I found the Stellarmate device. I then researched that and found that the complete  software could be bought for $50 and would then boot a stock Raspberry PI in exactly the same was as their turnkey hardware device.

...and then, for once, I found I was looking at just the right time, with the launch of the Raspberry PI 4, a much upgraded PI with USB 3 ports, gigabit ethernet and 4gb of RAM.

I've bought a PI 4 with 4gb and the Stellarmate OS beta release for the PI 4, and I'm very impressed with it.  I've put it in the "official" case and added a 30mm fan and real time clock (the Stellarmate supported one).

Even though the 4gb PI is at a premium rate at the moment ( a seller's market ), my total outlay has been £75 for the PI, £43 for the software OS, £5 for the case and £1 for the fan, making a total of £124, still quite a bit cheaper than the ready-made Stellarmate or ASIAIR, which are still based on the much slower Raspberry PI 3b.

Edited August 14, 2019 by Astro-Geek

[Dr_Ju_ju]

The main issue is that the OS's need time to catch up..... 

Ubuntu does not yet have an x64 bit build for the Pi4 (needed to make best use of the hardware), although there are some x32 builds around, but these are very flaky'ish, I know I've been trying for the last few days....  

I've even gone to the stage where I've built & installed bare-bones Ubuntu, & then attempting to add in a GUI etc. which has usually ended in failure …...

[StarDodger]

I have full Stellarmate with Ubuntu mate working on rpi4 and it’s superb....Apart from the lack of 4K working, which I need....so also using a script produced by a guy on the INdI team, which installs a full astro package on raspbian buster on rpi4, that also is superb and does work with 4K....Jasem has released a beta version of Stellarmate for rpi4 for us to try...

Edited August 14, 2019 by StarDodger

[StarDodger]

47 minutes ago, Astro-Geek said:

Has anyone else tried this yet ?  (I did search here first and couldn't find anything, but usual apologies if I missed it....)

I'm a total Noob with Stellarmate ( so many gadgets like this, difficult to be "street aware" of everything ! 🤓)

I came close to buying an ASIAIR but was discouraged by the way it's so restricted to ZWO cameras.

That got me into researching the Raspberry PI as a remote telescope controller and I found the Stellarmate device. I then researched that and found that the complete  software could be bought for $50 and would then boot a stock Raspberry PI in exactly the same was as their turnkey hardware device.

...and then, for once, I found I was looking at just the right time, with the launch of the Raspberry PI 4, a much upgraded PI with USB 3 ports, gigabit ethernet and 4gb of RAM.

I've bought a PI 4 with 4gb and the Stellarmate OS beta release for the PI 4, and I'm very impressed with it.  I've put it in the "official" case and added a 30mm fan and real time clock (the Stellarmate supported one).

Even though the 4gb PI is at a premium rate at the moment ( a seller's market ), my total outlay has been £75 for the PI, £43 for the software OS, £5 for the case and £1 for the fan, making a total of £124, still quite a bit cheaper than the ready-made Stellarmate or ASIAIR, which are still based on the much slower Raspberry PI 3b.

£75 for just the rpi4... 😮😮, that £22 over the RRP..

[Astro-Geek]

1 hour ago, StarDodger said:

£75 for just the rpi4... 😮😮, that £22 over the RRP..

Yes indeed, that was from Amazon, and the next day they even pushed it up further, to £80 !! 👀

The 4gb model is almost a black market item at the moment, sold out everywhere that it's being advertised at the correct price.

It seems to be working really well with the Stellarmate beta 1.4 software though, connects to my mounts and cameras, and is accessible from my notebook and my 10" Android tablet.  I've switched the wifi to infrastructure mode, so I can even run it from the Lounge....  😀

As it's all so "open" I guess it'll be upgradeable to any future 64 bit Stellarmate OS.

I never actually owned a PI 3 Stellarmate, but I can easily appreciate the online feedback of how much the USB3, Gigabit, 4gb RAM and 3x faster Proc have improved it over the PI 3.

I was just getting to grips with APT via a 10 metre active USB cable, but this may well prove much more convenient.

[bottletopburly]

28 minutes ago, Astro-Geek said:

.

I was just getting to grips with APT via a 10 metre active USB cable, but this may well prove much more convenient.

 If your not aware Apt works via indigo sky , similar sport of thing as stellarmate runs on pi4)info on APT forum ( ccd cameras work as far as I know awaiting dslr drivers release )

[Astro-Geek]

10 hours ago, bottletopburly said:

 If your not aware Apt works via indigo sky , similar sport of thing as stellarmate runs on pi4)info on APT forum ( ccd cameras work as far as I know awaiting dslr drivers release )

Thanks for that, I'll do a bit of Googling on it ......  👍

 

[CedricTheBrave]

On 14/08/2019 at 08:20, StarDodger said:

I have full Stellarmate with Ubuntu mate working on rpi4 and it’s superb....Apart from the lack of 4K working, which I need....so also using a script produced by a guy on the INdI team, which installs a full astro package on raspbian buster on rpi4, that also is superb and does work with 4K....Jasem has released a beta version of Stellarmate for rpi4 for us to try...

do you have a link for this script?

[StarDodger]

6 hours ago, CedricTheBrave said:

do you have a link for this script?

Yes here you go..

https://github.com/rlancaste/AstroPi3

[Gina]

I see he has updated that script recently.  I use an earlier version on my RPi 3 and 3+ SBCs very successfully.

[StarDodger]

3 hours ago, Gina said:

I see he has updated that script recently.  I use an earlier version on my RPi 3 and 3+ SBCs very successfully.

Yes, he had updated to work with rpi4 and raspbian buster.. and does work very well, and plenty of extras in there too..

Edited August 18, 2019 by StarDodger

[Astro-Geek]

"Confidence is the feeling you get just before you realise how little you know".....    🤓

(My Epitaph....)

Well things were going really well up to now.

4gb PI 4 booting nicely from the Stellarmate OS image, (apart from one or two errors that flash upwards on the boot screen, like "swap file can't be made"....)

It comes up nicely with the desktop and even starts kStars.

I can then login to it via my Samsung Android tablet and also my Windows 10 notebook.

I managed to change the wifi  (somehow !) from from hotspot to infrastructure with a permanent IP address so that I can still access the Internet from everything even when connected to the Raspberry.

So far, so good....   then Bam...  I can't see how I can enable any of my cameras and  mounts  (ASI120MM, EOS 70D, Meade LX200, EQ5).

I've tried to follow the tutorials and vids on the Stellarmate site, but the config screens are different (maybe because I have the Pi 4 beta ?), and it isn't too clear whether the adding actions should be via the tablet, the notebook, or the Pi 4 itself.

I need a "Stellarmate for Dummies" guide to get going.  I'm fairly au fait with Windows and networking, but the Raspberry OS is a completely new adventure for me.  I hail right back to the CPM and MsDos days, so I guess I'll eventually get to grips with it though.

I know the various items of kit and the connection leads are all ok, because I've had them working via APT, Sharpcap, EQMod and Stellarium.

The hardware is running nicely. I put the board in the official Pi 4 case and added an RTC and some vent holes and a 30mm fan. It was a bit noisy at first, but a 22 ohm 1/2 watt series resistor has made it almost silent, yet really cool.

Edited August 18, 2019 by Astro-Geek

[CedricTheBrave]

I cant seem to get Indi to run!

[Astro-Geek]

Just a quick update,    I have action at last !!     😀

I've run Indi from the Kstars menu on the Pi 4 itself and selected a ZWO cam and my LX200 mount and I can move it..........

Edited August 18, 2019 by Astro-Geek

[Gina]

Hooray! 

[StarDodger]

55 minutes ago, Astro-Geek said:

Just a quick update,    I have action at last !!     😀

I've run Indi from the Kstars menu on the Pi 4 itself and selected a ZWO cam and my LX200 mount and I can move it..........

Yes when you open Kstars and then ekos, you need to create a user profile with all your kit listed in the drop down boxes, then save, you don’t need to start INdI it will start automatically when you start ekos to start your imaging session, try with the simulator profile first that’s built into ekos...

[StarDodger]

1 hour ago, CedricTheBrave said:

I cant seem to get Indi to run!

What do you mean you can’t get INdI to run, how are you trying, see my reply above..

i hear many people say they can’t start INdI, but it does not have to be started manually, it runs in the background automatically when you start ekos from within Kstars...the INdI control panel will pop up on startup in ekos..

Edited August 18, 2019 by StarDodger

[Astro-Geek]

1 hour ago, CedricTheBrave said:

I cant seem to get Indi to run!

I think that was the root of my problem, I kept trying to start it from the remote app, and the error message pops up on the monitor screen of the Pi, (if there's one plugged in !)

The message seems a bit cryptic, but the gist is that Indi can't run until a mount and a camera have been put in the settings.

That was the breakthrough on mine.  All of a sudden Indi did start, and my mount was movable and I have an image from the camera.

I haven't managed to make it a live (moving) view yet, but it's very heartening milestone for me.... 🤓

Once you do get it going, it looks incredibly sophisticated.....

[StarDodger]

2 minutes ago, Astro-Geek said:

I think that was the root of my problem, I kept trying to start it from the remote app, and the error message pops up on the monitor screen of the Pi, (if there's one plugged in !)

The message seems a bit cryptic, but the gist is that Indi can't run until a mount and a camera have been put in the settings.

That was the breakthrough on mine.  All of a sudden Indi did start, and my mount was movable and I have an image from the camera.

I haven't managed to make it a live (moving) view yet, but it's very heartening milestone for me.... 🤓

Once you do get it going, it looks incredibly sophisticated.....

Exactly, it will start up with ekos in the background..

[Astro-Geek]

5 minutes ago, StarDodger said:

Yes when you open Kstars and then ekos, you need to create a user profile with all your kit listed in the drop down boxes, then save, you don’t need to start INdI it will start automatically when you start ekos to start your imaging session, try with the simulator profile first that’s built into ekos...

Yes, absolutely right, exactly how mine suddenly started to work.  (thanks)......

Edited August 18, 2019 by Astro-Geek

[StarDodger]

Just now, Astro-Geek said:

Yes, absolutely right, exactly how mine suddenly started to work.

It is easier than people first think, but I would never go back to windows...you don’t need to even think about INdI but it will be there in the background, running the drivers for your kit, you only need to concentrate on using Kstars and ekos, and the INdI control will be there for changes you may need to make to individual drivers....

[StarDodger]

Aslo, remember that the Stellarmate OS for the rpi4, is only a beta version, as Ubuntu Mate is not officially supported yet, and my be a while, so Jasem, the INdI and Kstars developer, has just hacked the Stellarmate to work on the rpi4 to try it out...so there will be issues, which I am having, as I need it to run in 4K mode when no monitor is attached and running it via VNC, but will not work, yet raspbian Buster will run like this...and there are other bugs, so don’t expect perfection from this just yet..

[stash_old]

As an alternative to Indi you can also try Indigo  ( http://www.indigo-astronomy.org) which runs on a RPI4 without OS issues as it uses Raspian Buster natively. Plus no update problems either.  But its all down to personal choice 🙂

There is even a complete image to get you started or just to try it out http://www.indigo-astronomy.org/indigo-sky.html

BUT check you kit is supported FIRST. 

Then check out CCDciel. You can then use CDC together with CCDciel.  The two programs are written by the same author but CCDciel is newish while CDC is well known ,trusted and used on Windows,Mac and Linux.

The only exception is DSLR support where CCDciel lags behind Indi/Ekos/Kstars.

[StarDodger]

8 minutes ago, stash_old said:

As an alternative to Indi you can also try Indigo  ( http://www.indigo-astronomy.org) which runs on a RPI4 without OS issues as it uses Raspian Buster natively. Plus no update problems either.  But its all down to personal choice 🙂

There is even a complete image to get you started or just to try it out http://www.indigo-astronomy.org/indigo-sky.html

BUT check you kit is supported FIRST. 

Then check out CCDciel. You can then use CDC together with CCDciel.  The two programs are written by the same author but CCDciel is newish while CDC is well known ,trusted and used on Windows,Mac and Linux.

The only exception is DSLR support where CCDciel lags behind Indi/Ekos/Kstars.

Indigo does run well on raspbian, but so does INdI, and the issue is that indigo is not good with Kstars / Ekos...

[CedricTheBrave]

mine is a slightly different issue now!,

when i run ekos and select the kit etc and select run it pops up saying it detected indi running do i want to close it and start a new session.

i select yes or no and it closes kstars 

going to start from scratch i think!