Astroberry on Raspberry Pi Zero W?

[JPearson]

Hi Everyone!

 

Forgive me if this should be in a different thread or has been discussed before I might have missed it. I am trying to get back into astronomy in general and step up my astrophotography game, I am very much still a beginner however I have an Ioptron Skyguider Pro that I mount my Sony A7III onto, and am currently awaiting the arrival of a ZWO ASI120MM-S for my guide scope.

My question is, is the Raspberry Pi Zero W capable of running PHD2? I have Astroberry loaded on it and it seems to run, it is a bit slow which is not really surprising with how basic the Zero is. However while I seem to be able to open all of the other apps PHD2 never opens, the hour glass appears and its thread will show up in the task manager for about 3 seconds before it disappears.

Has anyone else tried this and seen similar results? I'm prepared to order a Pi4 and don't mind doing so, but I have the Zero on hand so if its just an update or configuration change I don't mind fiddling around with it.

Thanks Everyone!

Jordon

[Dazzyt66]

Don't know about the zero but I have Astroberry running on a Pi4 2 gig all OK with mount and dslr - that said I don't use guiding, but from what I've read about compatibility you should be fine if you go down that route (saves you having to buy a 4gb).

[KP82]

Don't bother with anything less than a Pi4 if you are going to use astroberry for purposes other than a basic INDI server.

I've tested it on Pi B+ (the same specs as Pi Zero), Pi 3A, Pi 3B+ and Pi 4B 4GB. PHD2 runs on Pi 3B+ and Pi 4B although the startup is a bit slow on 3B+. It refuses to start on B+. On 3A it starts up just like on 3B+, but would slow down to literally non-responsive after about 20 mins. Kstars/Ekos runs fine on 4B. It lags on 3B+ if PHD2 is running at the same time. On 3A and B+ it takes ages to start up and then brings the pi to its knee after about 5 minutes.

[JPearson]

Thank you both for your advice and feedback! That is kind of what I was expecting to hear about it. I'll get a Pi 4gb then, just to be a bit future proof though i plan on using it solely for guiding for at least a couple years.

[rnobleeddy]

I found it manageable if a little slow on a pi3, but much better on a pi4. 

[BCN_Sean]

A Pi Zero is a great bit of kit for a small repetetive process, but it'll soon cough when faced with Astroberry; and from a design point, it's limited by the two (one of which would be taken up by a power supply) micro USB ports.  A 4 or 8GB Pi 4 kit would be a better investment for a task like this.

[alacant]

22 hours ago, JPearson said:

Pi Zero W capable of running PHD2

Hi

AAMOI, which feature of PHD2 do you need which is not available with EKOS' -excellent- internal guider? I can't think of any!

Cheers

[JPearson]

Thanks Everyone!

I have placed an order for a Pi 4, in the meantime (difficult as it is with the camera not having been delivered) I am playing around with ekos trying to figure out the interface.

Cheers!