This is my plan (or should I say hope) 😂

[Dazzyt66]

A couple of years after moving to our new home, I’ve finally got my HEQ5 permanently located outside - it’s pretty much polar aligned but I have got to do some final checks (cloud willing).

My hope is to be able to do everything on my old Dell laptop. I’ve got APT working with my DSLR and the mount, so hopefully I’m good to go! I currently have a 4m usb lead working well with the camera so I am remote  from the scope, but if trials go well I’ll be moving fully inside with a longer run.

All I just need now is one clear night to try it all out... 🤞

[M40]

Strange, I am definitely walking in your footsteps plus we have some of the same family members. There is not yet a Stacie although I am hoping for an Ed in the future 🤪

[Dazzyt66]

2 hours ago, M40 said:

Strange, I am definitely walking in your footsteps plus we have some of the same family members. There is not yet a Stacie although I am hoping for an Ed in the future 🤪

You and me both 🤞 although my plan has changed from usb cable to raspberry pi 4 and Astroberry - been Kstars etc all week and it’s great and doing same as apt so getting the pi next week 😊

[noah4x4]

Be ready for grief with long USB cables. The maximum recommended lengths are surprisingly short. I wasted ££££'s on active USB cables and powered hubs and still failed.

Your better route is to put a mini computer at yoir scope running all your software. Then connect that to a laptop indoors using cat6 cable or WiFi. Then control the scope side computer from the laptop over Windows Remote Desktop (or similar). Cat6 will work up to 100M, whilst WiFi range will depends on your home network (I use BT Whole Home MESH extenders). But both are more reliable than USB beyond 3 to 5 metres.

[Clarkey]

It's funny how many people seem to have endless problems with USB. I have a 15m USB 3 active cable and a 12v powered USB hub and have had no issues over the last year of use. I have taped all of the joints and 'active' parts of the cable to make it as waterproof as possible. I seem to be the exception though!

[noah4x4]

On 26/03/2021 at 08:03, Clarkey said:

It's funny how many people seem to have endless problems with USB. I have a 15m USB 3 active cable and a 12v powered USB hub and have had no issues over the last year of use. I have taped all of the joints and 'active' parts of the cable to make it as waterproof as possible. I seem to be the exception though!

Much depends on camera and what purpose. Your principle cameras are high resolution, larger sensor and data hungry, which can be an issue. However,  if you are capturing frames for later stacking and post processing 15M Active USB should be fine.  The process might be a tad slow, but within USB tolerance. However, try live stacking extremely short duration exposures at fast frame rates, such as those possible at f/2 on HyperStar  or RASA.  Then output data to a 4K UHD display as I do. Like anything technical, there are limits and USB is no exception.  It is not easy to predict where any particular methodology breaks as there are so many variables. But the important thing is to plan remote control rigs holistically, be they cable or wireless connected.  If not it is easy to underestimate connectivity requirements and computing power.

[Dazzyt66]

11 hours ago, noah4x4 said:

there are so many variables. But the important thing is to plan remote control rigs holistically, be they cable or wireless connected.  If not it is easy to underestimate

 

On 24/03/2021 at 21:14, Dazzyt66 said:

You and me both 🤞 although my plan has changed from usb cable to raspberry pi 4 and Astroberry - been Kstars etc all week and it’s great and doing same as apt so getting the pi next week 😊

The plan has defo changed to RPI 4 running Astroberry. No cables required as I’ve linked it all through WiFi and running the software on the RPI so no transfer issues from where the Mount is located. Got an eqmod cable on the way from flo so I won’t need my SynScan app and iPhone and can do it all from my Mac! Lovely jubbly!