Raspberry PI, mini PC - share your experience

[msacco]

Hi Everyone, I'm looking into getting a raspberry PI or a mini PC to replace my laptop(at least for actively taking images), eventually to manage my gear better and more easily.

I've seen some(mostly) positive opinions on Pi/mini PC, and also some negative opinions. I currently don't own a Pi, I could buy one, but if I'll get one it would be the 4GB 64GB version, and in case I won't like it eventually, it's $60 I could spend on a mini PC.
Now as for mini PC...That's a very hard decision for me. I'm looking for something on the $150-250 range. I've seen some great reviews on the Beelink T34 which uses the Celeron N3450, a quad core 2.2 ghz, the great thing about it is the power consumption which is 6W TDP, that's quite amazing, it also comes with 8 GB of ram which should be plenty. Costs around $170.

My uses are fairly simple, I don't plan on any processing with that(hell no), I simply want that for image capturing. The programs I'm using are: sharpcap(for polar align), N.I.N.A for everything else along with PHD2 and platesolve.
Should be a fairly easy task, even for a low end CPU? But still...Maybe I should invest a little more for a higher end CPU? I could get some 4th gen i7 at around $200 such as the i7-4610Y, that's surely powerful enough, 11.5W TDP, should probably do the trick just fine.

The other options are getting closer to the $250 with CPU's such as the i3/i5/i7 - 7100U/7200U/7300U, last there is 8th gen i3 8130U/8145U, that's closer to the $300 and it's quite powerful already, I don't think I have the need for such CPU.

Generally, I feel pretty confident getting the Beelink T34, as I really can't think of the astro programs really taking much CPU/RAM. Still, not sure it would be the best choice.

So eventually, I'd like to hear some experience you guys had with such setups, some recommendations, and just anything related that comes to your mind.

Thanks for the help!

[wornish]

I have the RPi 4 with 4MB memory and run Astroberry which contains Kstars/Ekos as my astro software to control everything plus PHD2 for guiding.  It works great.  The one extra thing I did was to invest in a SSD with a USB3 controller and that made a huge difference to the performance. The improvement was 8X the speed of using just an SD card.  The RPi4 doesn't boot off USB3 yet but there is quite a simple mod that's available that allows the system to run completely off the SSD.  The performance I get now is actually faster than my laptop.

Here is a useful guide to adding a flash drive.

https://jamesachambers.com/raspberry-pi-4-usb-boot-config-guide-for-ssd-flash-drives/

[Avocette]

As my ‘signature’ shows I’m a convinced Pi user, these days with the very stable Astroberry package of software. I have several Pi4s, and have no problem using my 2GB one for Astroberry. The program uses ‘zram’ which effectively doubles the RAM available, and there is a memory use monitor display which shows that it is usually around 47% filled.
I start a session with Polar Alignment using the guidescope/camera, then steer to a bright star, platesolving with the main scope and camera (in my case a DSLR), Bahtinov mask for focusing, then off to the target. Take a look at Radek’s Astroberry videos on YouTube.

[However you can’t run SharpCap or NINA on a Pi].

[msacco]

1 hour ago, wornish said:

I have the RPi 4 with 4MB memory and run Astroberry which contains Kstars/Ekos as my astro software to control everything plus PHD2 for guiding.  It works great.  The one extra thing I did was to invest in a SSD with a USB3 controller and that made a huge difference to the performance. The improvement was 8X the speed of using just an SD card.  The RPi4 doesn't boot off USB3 yet but there is quite a simple mod that's available that allows the system to run completely off the SSD.  The performance I get now is actually faster than my laptop.

Here is a useful guide to adding a flash drive.

https://jamesachambers.com/raspberry-pi-4-usb-boot-config-guide-for-ssd-flash-drives/

I believe you meant 4GB?

Thanks for the comment, what do you think about a Pi against a mini PC? Sure it's a bit more expensive, but might be a bit more comfortable.

1 hour ago, Avocette said:

As my ‘signature’ shows I’m a convinced Pi user, these days with the very stable Astroberry package of software. I have several Pi4s, and have no problem using my 2GB one for Astroberry. The program uses ‘zram’ which effectively doubles the RAM available, and there is a memory use monitor display which shows that it is usually around 47% filled.
I start a session with Polar Alignment using the guidescope/camera, then steer to a bright star, platesolving with the main scope and camera (in my case a DSLR), Bahtinov mask for focusing, then off to the target. Take a look at Radek’s Astroberry videos on YouTube.

[However you can’t run SharpCap or NINA on a Pi].

Thanks! Thinking about it, is there a dedicated polar align software in astroberry? I don't own polemaster or similar, and currently only using sharpcap.

If I won't have a polar alignment solution for the Pi that's probably a deal breaker for me.

[SamAndrew]

My micro Optiplex has a i5 4590t (2.0Ghz) and runs everything without issue - I use DSS live to analyse images as they come in on top of SGP, CDC, PHD2 and TeamViewer.

I wanetd to avoid usb hubs, so something with more than 4 usb ports was essential for me.

[msacco]

2 hours ago, SamAndrew said:

My micro Optiplex has a i5 4590t (2.0Ghz) and runs everything without issue - I use DSS live to analyse images as they come in on top of SGP, CDC, PHD2 and TeamViewer.

I wanetd to avoid usb hubs, so something with more than 4 usb ports was essential for me.

Thanks for the comment, curently in terms of mini PC's I'm thinking of either the Beelink T34 due to the 6W TDP and a CPU that according to reviews I've read should be plenty enough for image capturing(I won't be live stacking or anything similar to that), or the following one: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32790689792.html with the i7-4610Y processor, which should be a fairly good processor running on 11.5W TDP and 6W SDP(don't know if that actually helps in any way), also with 8GB ram and 256 GB SSD for $216, USB3.0 x 4 ports and USB2.0 x 2 ports, that should be plenty I'd say.

[wornish]

6 hours ago, msacco said:

I believe you meant 4GB?

Thanks for the comment, what do you think about a Pi against a mini PC? Sure it's a bit more expensive, but might be a bit more comfortable.

Thanks! Thinking about it, is there a dedicated polar align software in astroberry? I don't own polemaster or similar, and currently only using sharpcap.

If I won't have a polar alignment solution for the Pi that's probably a deal breaker for me.

Yes my RPi4 is 4GB.  Was a typo

Kstars/Ekos has its own polar alignment tool which works very well.  I also used Sharpcap but the Ekos version is very similar and it actually does the RA rotation for you before you manually do the actual alignment. Here is a short demonstration.

 

Edited April 14, 2020 by wornish

[msacco]

12 minutes ago, wornish said:

Yes my RPi4 is 4GB.  Was a typo

Kstars/Ekos has its own polar alignment tool which works very well.  I also used Sharpcap but the Ekos version is very similar and it actually does the RA rotation for you before you manually do the actual alignment. Here is a short demonstration.

 

Interesting. Maybe I should get a raspberry pi just for the fun of it. That could be a waste of $60 though 🙃

Speaking of stellarmate, how is it? I don't really think it's worth an extra $50 for an OS. With the budget of the additional stellarmate, I should probably get a mini pc.

Edited April 14, 2020 by msacco

[wornish]

Stellermate. is OK but its basically a RPi4 with Stars/Ekos and few bits extra.  Its cheaper to just get the RPi4 and add Kstars/Ekos and PHD2.

There is a script that will do all the hard work for you.  Look here.

https://github.com/rlancaste/AstroPi3/blob/master/README.md

 

[Avocette]

22 hours ago, msacco said:

Thanks! Thinking about it, is there a dedicated polar align software in astroberry? I don't own polemaster or similar, and currently only using sharpcap.

If I won't have a polar alignment solution for the Pi that's probably a deal breaker for me.

The Astroberry RPi ‘image’ has a whole set of open source software integrated into it. Polar Alignment is just one function within the very powerful KStars/Ekos/Indi package, alongside PlateSolving, Guiding using an internal function or with PHD2  running alongside. Since Radek has compiled this Astroberry version 2.0.1, he has set up a ‘repo’ which is like a one stop shop for updating all the software to the latest versions or adding new functions like ASTAP for platesolving.

I bought my (first) RPi4 last summer, and used it for mount control and then polar alignment with my DSLR and the main scope. I added a guidescope and ASI120 in December. Polar alignment is a lot faster now (platesolving takes around 5 seconds) and the ability to use platesolving to synchronise mount alignment at any moment is transforming. 

[TerryMcK]

I have a Pi4 with 4GB RAM and 128GB flash drive. I have been using Astroberry as an operating system with PHD2 to guide, KStars and EKOS to control the sessions. It is very easy to use and produces great results. You can sequence a number of targets over a session and it will automatically do everything once you set it up

• Slew to target
• focus
• plate solve
• calibrate PHD2
• image
• meridian flip
• change to next target and repeat

It's like Sequence Generator Pro but open source so free. I control the PI4 remotely using KStars for Windows running on a laptop inside the house. This connects to the Linux version of KStars running on the PI next to the telescope. You don't need to use a remote control like that as you can set everything up through a webbrowser running on anything (a smartphone can be used but probably too small). I have used an iPad to connect to the wifi running on the PI4 itself to do that. Or you can plug a cable into the Ethernet port and connect it to your home network (as I do).

I have imaged for ages using a Windows laptop running software like AstroPhotographyTool, BackYardEOS or NINA and the use of the PI4 means I don't have to use a laptop outdoors anymore (I don't have a permanent observatory). The PI4 is inside a medium sized plastic storage box along with a power supply that supplies power to the scope/mount so is weatherproof. 

The PI4 has 2 USB3 ports and 2 USB2 ports so has all the connectivity most people will need. The addition of a USB (2 or 3) hub can of course expand that.

Also you don't get anything like the equivalent of "Windows is now doing an update. Your computer may reboot several times" that takes place in the middle of an imaging session! It really is a no brainer.

[Rocket Stars]

I did a few tests with rpi 3. I had one laying around. 

But it didn't seem to work well with my equipment. Som driver issues, in combo with not being very experienced with it. Im a Mac user since the 90´s. But I decided to go for a mini pc at the mount. 

That was the most practical reason. I can test and have a try on pretty much all software. As most astro software is written for windows. I think we will see more and more software for iOS, linux ect. But for now. I did go with a NUC. Going wireless can be a bit of a challenge. In my case. The NOC antenna has a little limited wifirange. But is solved by moving from the scope to the mount. (it did lose connection on certen angels) 

I external wifiadapter with antennas is the solution in the long term. 

One thing is indisputable. The pi form factor, is a winner! It light weight, draws very little power. And even if you add SSD ect. Its a economical solution!

[7170]

RPi3 running Astroberry here. The RPi3 is powered from a USB hub (which is in turn powered by 12v split from the mount supply), all mounted on the scope. It does everything for me - mount control, imaging, guiding, plate solving, polar alignment, focus etc.

Previously I was running an old Toshiba netbook running Windows 7, remote but moved to the Pi for a number of reasons. (1) The netbook only had two physical USB ports so I needed to use a powered hub anyway; (2) I had to connect and disconnect it each time; (3)  I preferred KStars/Ekos/INDI on the pi over APT/ASCOM (much more reliable - never crashes with my rig) and I wanted to more advanced automation/scrips it allows; (4) things actually run quicker on the PI as the netbook is old.

I also tried Ubuntu on the netbook to see if that would work with KStars/Ekos/INDI but there were two problems, Ubuntu ran very slowly (doesn't seem to be as lean as before - but that is a separate topic!) and the resolution of the netbook screen is low and KStars/Ekos seemed to assume a higher minimum resolution so I had to play with scaling or having a high remote resolution which slowed things down too much.

I've not tried high frame solar/lunar capture on the RPi, but have read of a number of people who have. As noted above another popular thing to do is to add a small external SSD, but so far I've need had the need. 

Not up to speed on stick pc's but when I looked before a Pi3 was cheaper, and combined with so many positive Astroberry users won things over for me.

One thing I think is worth calling out is the developers of INDI seem to be very responsive in the forum on the official site, both for support and new features.

[iapa]

I used a compute stick with an intel Z8300, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, c£140 from Amazon, running Windows 10 pro (I upgraded from Win10 home with an license purchased on amazon for £15). Also has MMC slot, 1 x USB3, 1 x USB 2 and HDMI. Also have a 4 port powered USB 3 hub.

This was stripped down year before last after the observatory was destroyed in the winds. 

I use SGP Pro for scheduling and capture, PHD2 for guiding, MS Remote desktop for remote control, Teamviewer kept telling me I was using it professionally and needed to buy a license.

This controls CGEM-DX mount, ASI1600 cool c.w filter wheel, pegasus cube focuser on Celestron C8, Pegasus Powerbox, hitecastro focuser on StarTravel 80 guide scope. 

With lockdown for past 4 week, I have started reconstructing this.

HTH

[msacco]

5 hours ago, wornish said:

Stellermate. is OK but its basically a RPi4 with Stars/Ekos and few bits extra.  Its cheaper to just get the RPi4 and add Kstars/Ekos and PHD2.

There is a script that will do all the hard work for you.  Look here.

https://github.com/rlancaste/AstroPi3/blob/master/README.md

 

Should this be used if I'm only installing Raspbian without the astroberry image? The astroberry image file should already have all of these?
Thanks!

4 hours ago, Avocette said:

The Astroberry RPi ‘image’ has a whole set of open source software integrated into it. Polar Alignment is just one function within the very powerful KStars/Ekos/Indi package, alongside PlateSolving, Guiding using an internal function or with PHD2  running alongside. Since Radek has compiled this Astroberry version 2.0.1, he has set up a ‘repo’ which is like a one stop shop for updating all the software to the latest versions or adding new functions like ASTAP for platesolving.

I bought my (first) RPi4 last summer, and used it for mount control and then polar alignment with my DSLR and the main scope. I added a guidescope and ASI120 in December. Polar alignment is a lot faster now (platesolving takes around 5 seconds) and the ability to use platesolving to synchronise mount alignment at any moment is transforming. 

4 hours ago, TerryMcK said:

I have a Pi4 with 4GB RAM and 128GB flash drive. I have been using Astroberry as an operating system with PHD2 to guide, KStars and EKOS to control the sessions. It is very easy to use and produces great results. You can sequence a number of targets over a session and it will automatically do everything once you set it up

• Slew to target
• focus
• plate solve
• calibrate PHD2
• image
• meridian flip
• change to next target and repeat

It's like Sequence Generator Pro but open source so free. I control the PI4 remotely using KStars for Windows running on a laptop inside the house. This connects to the Linux version of KStars running on the PI next to the telescope. You don't need to use a remote control like that as you can set everything up through a webbrowser running on anything (a smartphone can be used but probably too small). I have used an iPad to connect to the wifi running on the PI4 itself to do that. Or you can plug a cable into the Ethernet port and connect it to your home network (as I do).

I have imaged for ages using a Windows laptop running software like AstroPhotographyTool, BackYardEOS or NINA and the use of the PI4 means I don't have to use a laptop outdoors anymore (I don't have a permanent observatory). The PI4 is inside a medium sized plastic storage box along with a power supply that supplies power to the scope/mount so is weatherproof. 

The PI4 has 2 USB3 ports and 2 USB2 ports so has all the connectivity most people will need. The addition of a USB (2 or 3) hub can of course expand that.

Also you don't get anything like the equivalent of "Windows is now doing an update. Your computer may reboot several times" that takes place in the middle of an imaging session! It really is a no brainer.

4 hours ago, Rocket Stars said:

I did a few tests with rpi 3. I had one laying around. 

But it didn't seem to work well with my equipment. Som driver issues, in combo with not being very experienced with it. Im a Mac user since the 90´s. But I decided to go for a mini pc at the mount. 

That was the most practical reason. I can test and have a try on pretty much all software. As most astro software is written for windows. I think we will see more and more software for iOS, linux ect. But for now. I did go with a NUC. Going wireless can be a bit of a challenge. In my case. The NOC antenna has a little limited wifirange. But is solved by moving from the scope to the mount. (it did lose connection on certen angels) 

I external wifiadapter with antennas is the solution in the long term. 

One thing is indisputable. The pi form factor, is a winner! It light weight, draws very little power. And even if you add SSD ect. Its a economical solution!

2 hours ago, 7170 said:

RPi3 running Astroberry here. The RPi3 is powered from a USB hub (which is in turn powered by 12v split from the mount supply), all mounted on the scope. It does everything for me - mount control, imaging, guiding, plate solving, polar alignment, focus etc.

Previously I was running an old Toshiba netbook running Windows 7, remote but moved to the Pi for a number of reasons. (1) The netbook only had two physical USB ports so I needed to use a powered hub anyway; (2) I had to connect and disconnect it each time; (3)  I preferred KStars/Ekos/INDI on the pi over APT/ASCOM (much more reliable - never crashes with my rig) and I wanted to more advanced automation/scrips it allows; (4) things actually run quicker on the PI as the netbook is old.

I also tried Ubuntu on the netbook to see if that would work with KStars/Ekos/INDI but there were two problems, Ubuntu ran very slowly (doesn't seem to be as lean as before - but that is a separate topic!) and the resolution of the netbook screen is low and KStars/Ekos seemed to assume a higher minimum resolution so I had to play with scaling or having a high remote resolution which slowed things down too much.

I've not tried high frame solar/lunar capture on the RPi, but have read of a number of people who have. As noted above another popular thing to do is to add a small external SSD, but so far I've need had the need. 

Not up to speed on stick pc's but when I looked before a Pi3 was cheaper, and combined with so many positive Astroberry users won things over for me.

One thing I think is worth calling out is the developers of INDI seem to be very responsive in the forum on the official site, both for support and new features.

So many good and interesting reviews on the Pi for image capturing. That's interesting.

It really makes me want to get my hands on the Pi as well and give it a try...The only thing that kinda holds me back is that it kinda holds you back in terms of options, as most things are really built for windows.
The power consumption of the Pi could also be an incredible power efficient. But I think that considering the fact that the Pi itself costs around $62, in addition I would probably need an SSD so it would perform faster, a case with SSD slot might be a bit more expensive, so that probably already adds around $40-50, and I think that i might require a usb hub as well?

If someone will be able to summarize everything else that's needed except for the actual Pi 4(case, ssd, usb hub, whatever), that would be very helpful for me to decide

Generally I think a mini PC might be more versatile and eventually a better investment in money, but I'm so tempted to try the Pi 4....

55 minutes ago, iapa said:

I used a compute stick with an intel Z8300, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, c£140 from Amazon, running Windows 10 pro (I upgraded from Win10 home with an license purchased on amazon for £15). Also has MMC slot, 1 x USB3, 1 x USB 2 and HDMI. Also have a 4 port powered USB 3 hub.

This was stripped down year before last after the observatory was destroyed in the winds. 

I use SGP Pro for scheduling and capture, PHD2 for guiding, MS Remote desktop for remote control, Teamviewer kept telling me I was using it professionally and needed to buy a license.

This controls CGEM-DX mount, ASI1600 cool c.w filter wheel, pegasus cube focuser on Celestron C8, Pegasus Powerbox, hitecastro focuser on StarTravel 80 guide scope. 

With lockdown for past 4 week, I have started reconstructing this.

HTH

Can you share some experience you had with it? Was it fast enough for all your needs? Crashes? How fast it performed?

Thanks everyone

Edited April 15, 2020 by msacco

[Rocket Stars]

 A note on small mini PC. 

I have it welcromounted. So when the session is done. I removed easily. Connect it so a screen. And have a fully dedicated desktop astro computer. I do stacking ect on it. 

I think you should get a rpi4. Install some software and "play" with it a little. If not, you can use it for a lot of other stuff. 

Edited April 15, 2020 by Rocket Stars

[7170]

38 minutes ago, msacco said:

So many good and interesting reviews on the Pi for image capturing. That's interesting.

It really makes me want to get my hands on the Pi as well and give it a try...The only thing that kinda holds me back is that it kinda holds you back in terms of options, as most things are really built for windows.
The power consumption of the Pi could also be an incredible power efficient. But I think that considering the fact that the Pi itself costs around $62, in addition to a good ventilation case which is probably around $10 as well, and I think that i might require a usb hub as well?

Generally I think a mini PC might be more versatile and eventually a better investment in money, but I'm so tempted to try the Pi 4....

Can you share some experience you had with it? Was it fast enough for all your needs? Crashes? How fast it performed?

Thanks everyone

I think you make a valid comment about the future options and the cost of a PI + USB hub + case vs a mini pc.

For a mini PC I think of two types in my simple mind. One type is like a USB stick which has a power connector, USB and mini HDMI etc (like an Amazon fire TV stick size). The second is a PC with a very small form factor case - like a Chromebox size (or smaller) but it has lots of USB ports, maybe an SSD too etc. For the first type you would also need a USB hub and are limited option wise too. But for the second perhaps not depending on how much power each USB port can provide. I would still stick Linux onto it as I just want something that works and don't want to worry about the OS doing an update or crashing etc.

In my view INDI has proven the server/client approach for controlling astro gear, and I think more people will go down this approach in the future. For example if you really wanted you could have one PI controlling the mount and autoguider, and a second just focusing on controlling the camera/focus/filter wheel, and maybe a third controlling the dome and monitoring the weather. I'm out of touch with ASCOM but i'm sure I read they were going to go down the server/client approach, or maybe I am thinking they were going to support Linux somehow, or maybe my memory is going bad!

I often wonder what features mount manufacturers will release next, other than payload I suspect an obvious addition to many sub £2-3k mounts is a built in powered USB hub, which in the grand scheme of things would not cost them much to add vs say the cost of significantly improving accuracy. That would really help a lot of people who are doing imaging.

Edited April 15, 2020 by 7170

[Stuart1971]

4 minutes ago, 7170 said:

I think you make a valid comment about the future options and the cost of a PI + USB hub + case vs a mini pc.

For a mini PC I think of two types in my simple mind. One type is like a USB stick which has a power connector, USB and mini HDMI etc (like an Amazon fire TV stick size). The second is a PC with a very small form factor case - like a Chromebox size (or smaller) but it has lots of USB ports, maybe an SSD too etc. For the first type you would also need a USB hub and are limited option wise too. But for the second perhaps not depending on how much power each USB port can provide. I would still stick Linux onto it as I just want something that works and don't want to worry about the OS doing an update or crashing etc.

In my view INDI has proven the server/client approach for controlling astro gear, and I think more people will go down this approach in the future. For example if you really wanted you could have one PI controlling the mount and autoguider, and a second just focusing on controlling the camera/focus/filter wheel, and maybe a third controlling the dome and monitoring the weather. I'm out of touch with ASCOM but i'm sure I read they were going to go down the server/client approach, or maybe I am thinking they were going to support Linux somehow, or maybe my memory is going bad!

I often wonder what features mount manufacturers will release next, other than payload I suspect an obvious addition to many sub £2-3k mounts is a built in powered USB hub, which in the grand scheme of things would not cost them much to add vs say the cost of significantly improving accuracy. That would really help a lot of people who are doing imaging.

There are a few mounts already out there with built in USB hubs... IOptron CEM 60 and CEM 129 and Skywatcher EQ8-r

[msacco]

1 minute ago, Rocket Stars said:

 A note on small mini PC. 

I have it welcromounted. So when the session is done. I removed easily. Connect it so a screen. And have a fully dedicated desktop astro computer. I do stacking ect on it. 

I think you should get a rpi4. Install some software and "play" with it a little. If not, you can use it for a lot of other stuff. 

I do have a very powerful PC and very powerful laptop for image processing and other stuff, so I don't need that at all for my mini PC / Pi.
Do you have so ideas on what else I can do with it? Thought about using it for wifi 3d printing, but that kinda meh...It doesn't justify a $62.

Any other ideas? That would make my decision much easier so even if it doesn't work for me for astro, I could do other things.

2 minutes ago, 7170 said:

I think you make a valid comment about the future options and the cost of a PI + USB hub + case vs a mini pc.

For a mini PC I think of two types in my simple mind. One type is like a USB stick which has a power connector, USB and mini HDMI etc (like an Amazon fire TV stick size). The second is a PC with a very small form factor case - like a Chromebox size (or smaller) but it has lots of USB ports, maybe an SSD too etc. For the first type you would also need a USB hub and are limited option wise too. But for the second perhaps not depending on how much power each USB port can provide. I would still stick Linux onto it as I just want something that works and don't want to worry about the OS doing an update or crashing etc.

In my view INDI has proven the server/client approach for controlling astro gear, and I think more people will go down this approach in the future. For example you if you really wanted you could have one PI controlling the mount and autoguider, and a second just focusing on controlling the camera/focus/filter wheel, and maybe a third controlling the dome and monitoring the weather. I'm out of touch with ASCOM but i'm sure I read they were going to go down the server/client approach, or maybe I am thinking they were going to support Linux somehow, or maybe my memory is going bad!

I often wonder what features mount manufacturers will release next, other than payload I suspect an obvious addition to many sub £2-3k mounts is a built in powered USB hub, which in the grand scheme of things would not cost them much to add vs say the cost of significantly improving accuracy. That would really help a lot of people who are doing imaging.

I'll start with a big yes for the last part! I wonder why it not already that way, guess most mounts are quite old though, some new ones already have it.

I can relate to what you're saying about windows, but if you completely disable all windows updates and similar stuff, there's really not much to worry about in that matter.
There is the intel compute stick as you mentioned, I think for the price of it I would better go with a Pi. 4 GB of ram in my opinion is not enough for windows, even though I'm sure it can cope with image capturing.

When relating to mini PC, I'm really relating only to the mini PC's with 8GB ram and above, which starts at around $170.

I've changed my reply above a bit, so a Pi 4 with 4 GB costs around $62. Maybe a simple 128GB SD card would be enough for me, but idk..Seen something about x825 expandable slot or something like that, not sure 100% sure about how useful is that. Regardless, it might not end up very low cost as I initially thought.

Considering the fact that a mini PC would be significantly more powerful(with that also with higher power consumption though), that might be a better investment.

It's a hard decision though...I love experimenting stuff, I really want to try that, I really feel like I want to buy one, but my mind tells me it's probably not gonna be a very good decision money-wise. I think I'm gonna get myself a 9 months early birthday present.

1 minute ago, Stuart1971 said:

There are a few mounts already out there with built in USB hubs... IOptron CEM 60 and CEM 129 and Skywatcher EQ8-r

 Yep, awesome mounts

[Avocette]

You asked for an idea of what else you need in addition to the RPi4 (and by the way as I emphasised before the 2GB version does everything I want and is now the entry level RPi4 at a price of $35). I use a 32GB microSD card and have a spare or two. The RPi4 sits in a ‘flirc’ aluminium case. I power the RPi from one of the three ‘charging’ outlets on a tp-link 7 port  USB 3.0 hub which is itself powered by a Pegasus Pocket Powerbox which also distributes 12V to the mount, 8V to the Canon DSLR, two lots of pwm dew strip power controlled by its  dew sensor, and measures voltage supply and current drawn. I need lots of USB ports for: DSLR camera, guidescope camera, EQDirect to the mount, Pegasus PPB, GPS dongle if out in the field, Joypad dongle when I use my SkyMax, HitecAstro focus motor controller.....
The three items sit on my mount pillar, attached to each other by a Velcro strap which ties onto a Velcro strap around the pillar. Cabling could be tidier, but I like to retain flexibility when I swap scopes etc.

[msacco]

1 hour ago, Avocette said:

You asked for an idea of what else you need in addition to the RPi4 (and by the way as I emphasised before the 2GB version does everything I want and is now the entry level RPi4 at a price of $35). I use a 32GB microSD card and have a spare or two. The RPi4 sits in a ‘flirc’ aluminium case. I power the RPi from one of the three ‘charging’ outlets on a tp-link 7 port  USB 3.0 hub which is itself powered by a Pegasus Pocket Powerbox which also distributes 12V to the mount, 8V to the Canon DSLR, two lots of pwm dew strip power controlled by its  dew sensor, and measures voltage supply and current drawn. I need lots of USB ports for: DSLR camera, guidescope camera, EQDirect to the mount, Pegasus PPB, GPS dongle if out in the field, Joypad dongle when I use my SkyMax, HitecAstro focus motor controller.....
The three items sit on my mount pillar, attached to each other by a Velcro strap which ties onto a Velcro strap around the pillar. Cabling could be tidier, but I like to retain flexibility when I swap scopes etc.

The cheapest RPi4 I am able to find on aliexpress with 2 GB is for $42, yeah it's $20 less, and it's something but I think that if I'm gonna pay for it, whether I'll eventually end up using it or not, I should add that $20 for a 4GB instead.
Do you think there's no reason at all to go for 4 GB instead of 2GB? Or that the difference is not very cruicial?

Thanks, that setup looks amazing.

Edited April 15, 2020 by msacco

[Avocette]

The official RaspberryPi.org price for the 2GB version is $35 - it should be available from US dealers for that, no need to use AliExpress. One of the other members above (7170) mentions that he uses a Raspberry Pi 3. Well that was only ever available with 1GB RAM. No, I'm not saying there's no point in buying the 4GB version, just that for a very comprehensive package of software like Astroberry, you could presently save some money with the 2GB version. Of course in the fullness of time, other features could be added which might mean that the 2GB version reaches a limit, but for the moment I'm very comfortable running my 2GB RPi4.

[msacco]

7 minutes ago, Avocette said:

The official RaspberryPi.org price for the 2GB version is $35 - it should be available from US dealers for that, no need to use AliExpress. One of the other members above (7170) mentions that he uses a Raspberry Pi 3. Well that was only ever available with 1GB RAM. No, I'm not saying there's no point in buying the 4GB version, just that for a very comprehensive package of software like Astroberry, you could presently save some money with the 2GB version. Of course in the fullness of time, other features could be added which might mean that the 2GB version reaches a limit, but for the moment I'm very comfortable running my 2GB RPi4.

I'm not from the US though. I don't seem to find a retailer that sells for the official price. Aliexpress seems to be the cheapest right now.

[Rocket Stars]

RPi. I did remote 3d printing on pi3 first. Agree on meh.. But version 4 would be much better. 

Anyway, U can build a NAS for astro files. All sky camera controller. Surveillance.. ect.. There it tons of applications. . But I have to little time.. well when not pandemic is raging. I rather spend the time imaging, than struggle with software. Have to be clear. Indi on a pi4. Looks like a great solution. But didn't work with my cam, focuser and some more issue I forgot. If you have equipment that is confirmed to work good. Id go for it. 

But I thought like you. when external SSD, good case ect,ect. You hav paid close to a decent mini pc.  I got the latest NUC 4core i5, 8gig 2400mhz ram and 250gig m2 ssd. (remember. you must buy  ram and hdd separately) Ad win 10 license. So its not cheap solution either. 

[msacco]

2 minutes ago, Rocket Stars said:

RPi. I did remote 3d printing on pi3 first. Agree on meh.. But version 4 would be much better. 

Anyway, U can build a NAS for astro files. All sky camera controller. Surveillance.. ect.. There it tons of applications. . But I have to little time.. well when not pandemic is raging. I rather spend the time imaging, than struggle with software. Have to be clear. Indi on a pi4. Looks like a great solution. But didn't work with my cam, focuser and some more issue I forgot. If you have equipment that is confirmed to work good. Id go for it. 

But I thought like you. when external SSD, good case ect,ect. You hav paid close to a decent mini pc.  I got the latest NUC 4core i5, 8gig 2400mhz ram and 250gig m2 ssd. (remember. you must buy  ram and hdd separately) Ad win 10 license. So its not cheap solution either. 

I think that for my case a mini PC would end up a bit cheaper, I already own a windows license, so that's not an issue, even though most mini PC's already does seem to arrive with windows 10 pro pre-installed.
The mini PC's I'm looking at also comes with RAM / SSD as part of the package, so that's kinda good as well(of course, it's included in the price).

I don't really know if my equipment will work, I think it should, but I think the risk here is possibly too high, even though I'm incredibly eager to get the RPi and try it out, but it seems to be even worse than I thought.

I thought the $62 price comes with the basic necessities(SD card, power supply, etc...), but it seems like that would be another $20 or so.
It's a real shame, I want to try it, but I just can't find the price good enough compared to a rather small addition for a mini PC, I'm not still not sure about it though.

I wonder, a NUCi5 is rather powerful, can you please share about your requirements and applications? I'm currently thinking about a lower end PC as it seems like the softwares used are quite light on the PC and I don't really think I need more than a simple PC, at least for my needs. Do you use that for imaging or live stacking(EEA)? As I wrote in the first post, I want the PC only for image capturing, so no live stacking, processing, or anything else.

Do you think a NUCi5 could be considered too powerful for my needs? (of course that you can't really say that, but I hope you understood what I meant).

Thanks!