Has anyone used a MeLE Quieter2 Mini PC to run their rig?

[dazzystar]

Hi All,

I'm looking at the MeLE Quieter2 running Windows 10 to run my rig outside. Has anyone used one before?

Cheers

Daz

[Ibbo!]

I have just got mine.

The idea was to build a rig so I can build up a mobile setup to use for my solar imaging, to avoid the bad seeing of the backyard horizon.

So far two runs have been done and i can say that the frame rate was good at around 40 + fps and upto 60fps

Next step is to try going mobile.

 

I have also tried it with NINA with my QSI ccd but the QSI will not connect as yet - driver issue.

Everything I have connected so far works, except the QSI having said that the QSI/Nina has also failed with the old Toughbook I have been using out there.

I will test it with my SX ccd when its a bit drier in the obs.

[dazzystar]

Thanks for the reply. I was watching Cuiv on one of his YouTube videos where he used it and it looks great. 

[markse68]

3 hours ago, Ibbo! said:

I have just got mine.

The idea was to build a rig so I can build up a mobile setup to use for my solar imaging, to avoid the bad seeing of the backyard horizon.

So far two runs have been done and i can say that the frame rate was good at around 40 + fps and upto 60fps

Next step is to try going mobile.

 

I have also tried it with NINA with my QSI ccd but the QSI will not connect as yet - driver issue.

Everything I have connected so far works, except the QSI having said that the QSI/Nina has also failed with the old Toughbook I have been using out there.

I will test it with my SX ccd when its a bit drier in the obs.

Hi Ibbo, I had all sorts of usb connection issues with my QSI- the camera would connect but not the filter wheel or vice versa. Running APT/NINA as administrator solved it- haven’t had any issues since- I have all my ASCOM sw set to always run as administrator now. worth a try if you haven’t already.

Mark

[Ibbo!]

2 hours ago, markse68 said:

Hi Ibbo, I had all sorts of usb connection issues with my QSI- the camera would connect but not the filter wheel or vice versa. Running APT/NINA as administrator solved it- haven’t had any issues since- I have all my ASCOM sw set to always run as administrator now. worth a try if you haven’t already.

Mark

I will give that a go when the weather improves a bit.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Ibbo!]

On 17/12/2021 at 22:35, markse68 said:

Hi Ibbo, I had all sorts of usb connection issues with my QSI- the camera would connect but not the filter wheel or vice versa. Running APT/NINA as administrator solved it- haven’t had any issues since- I have all my ASCOM sw set to always run as administrator now. worth a try if you haven’t already.

Mark

 

Finally got it connected using the latest QSI drivers and switching to NINA 32 bit and as you suggested opening as Admin.

Now to get it to talk to the mount via a serial converter.

Thanks[

[Stuart1971]

On 24/12/2021 at 17:37, Ibbo! said:

 

Finally got it connected using the latest QSI drivers and switching to NINA 32 bit and as you suggested opening as Admin.

Now to get it to talk to the mount via a serial converter.

Thanks[

The issue with the QSI drivers is they are only 32 bit, so you need the 32 bit NINA which you now have, but you should not need to run in Admin mode, and NINA developers say not to and don’t recommend it, as it can cause all sorts of issues behind the scenes in the program…..they don’t support issues when running in Admin mode…

So I suggest you run the 32 bit programme and see if that’s ok, and avoid running in admin mode, if it does not work have a look on the NINA discord group for some advice…but my guess is they will say to contact QSI and ask for a 64 bit driver…. 👍🏼

[Stuart1971]

This is taken from the NINA discord group, as an answer to an issue, posted by one of the developers….

“ i strongly recommend not running apps in general as admin. beyond that, we also dont test nina run as adminstrator on purpose, so it is not a supported configuration. it doesn't mean it won't work, it does mean we won't guarantee it will, weird stuff happens when interacting between apps and devices, and you just experienced one of them”

[Starflyer]

I don't wish to hijack the thread but I was looking at one of these today, I'd prefer a fanless mini PC over the Beelink for example.

The USB C power concerns me as I'd want it mounted on top of my scope with no other cabling apart from a single 12v feed and single USB cable going through the mount.  Is there any way of powering one of these from 12v?  I've seen bulky, relatively expensive, 12v to USB C laptop adapters, is there anything lighter, cheaper, more elegant, for powering these?

 

Cheers

Ian

[Padraic M]

Hi Ian, I was looking into this today, and while it's not 100% gospel (no specs whatsoever on the MeLE website), it actually looks like it runs on 12V, not 5V. Cuiv the Lazy Geek just bought a cable to convert from DC jack to USB C male and it didn't blow up; also, an Amazon listing shows:

Interestingly the same Amazon listing says:

  

I'm using the Pegasus Pocket Powerbox Advanced so the equivalent USB C male - 2.1mm DC jack female is also available for €6.

I'm thinking of pushing the button on this.

[Padraic M]

One other point - the 256GB variant seems to be 1x 128GB eMMC + 1x 128GB M.2 SSD, so if you're thinking of upgrading storage at any stage you're better to buy the 128GB variant and leave the M.2 slot free. Otherwise you're wasting the 128GB SSD.

[Stuart1971]

1 hour ago, Starflyer said:

I don't wish to hijack the thread but I was looking at one of these today, I'd prefer a fanless mini PC over the Beelink for example.

The USB C power concerns me as I'd want it mounted on top of my scope with no other cabling apart from a single 12v feed and single USB cable going through the mount.  Is there any way of powering one of these from 12v?  I've seen bulky, relatively expensive, 12v to USB C laptop adapters, is there anything lighter, cheaper, more elegant, for powering these?

 

Cheers

Ian

It runs from 12v, so you just need a USB C to 5.5mm jack adapter…Simple’s….👍🏼

[dazzystar]

Yup. I'm waiting for the price to drop to under £200 (they have in the past) and then pushing the button. It was Cuiv that got me looking into it in the first place.

[Stuart1971]

52 minutes ago, dazzystar said:

Yup. I'm waiting for the price to drop to under £200 (they have in the past) and then pushing the button. It was Cuiv that got me looking into it in the first place.

£209 on Amazon…

[scotty38]

I had one of these arrive last week and used the aaotokk adapter mentioned above. All was well EXCEPT the wireless would drop out if I mounted it on top of my pegasus powerbox. If I moved it just a cm the rdp connection would fire back up again. I moved it to the other end of my dovetail but it was still intermittent so I returned it and have a different type arriving today.

I may have just been unlucky with my example, everything else was perfect for me though....

[dazzystar]

1 hour ago, Stuart1971 said:

£209 on Amazon…

Yes, last week they were £239 but with a £30 off coupon so the same price.

[dazzystar]

1 hour ago, scotty38 said:

I had one of these arrive last week and used the aaotokk adapter mentioned above. All was well EXCEPT the wireless would drop out if I mounted it on top of my pegasus powerbox. If I moved it just a cm the rdp connection would fire back up again. I moved it to the other end of my dovetail but it was still intermittent so I returned it and have a different type arriving today.

I may have just been unlucky with my example, everything else was perfect for me though....

Don't put power lines close to WiFi antennas. Keep it as far away as possible.

[scotty38]

1 hour ago, dazzystar said:

Don't put power lines close to WiFi antennas. Keep it as far away as possible.

Well yeah thanks but that's what the powerbox brackets are designed for. That aside, there was no power the other end.....

[scotty38]

Just to close this out my replacement Quieter 2 is half way through its second night of imaging and has been fine so far, even sat on my Powrerbox.....

[scotty38]

On 01/01/2022 at 21:24, Padraic M said:

One other point - the 256GB variant seems to be 1x 128GB eMMC + 1x 128GB M.2 SSD, so if you're thinking of upgrading storage at any stage you're better to buy the 128GB variant and leave the M.2 slot free. Otherwise you're wasting the 128GB SSD.

I have a 256GB version and it just appears to be one 256GB eMMC device in mine with the ssd slot free.

[Stuart1971]

11 minutes ago, scotty38 said:

I have a 256GB version and it just appears to be one 256GB eMMC device in mine with the ssd slot free.

What is the eMMC like, speed wise, compared to an SSD….?

[scotty38]

7 minutes ago, Stuart1971 said:

What is the eMMC like, speed wise, compared to an SSD….?

To be honest I've not really done any comparisons as it's replaced on old laptop for image capturing. It's running all the ascom drivers, NINA, PHD2, Green Swamp Server, Pegasus powerbox and probably some other stuff and it's perfectly fine and responsive over an RDP connection. No issues whatsoever for what I'm using it for.

[Padraic M]

From what I'm reading, SATA SSDs are slightly faster than eMMC but much more reliable.  NVMe SSDs on the other hand are ~10 times faster. I've just ordered the Quieter 2 129GB with an extra 1TB of NVMe SSD, and have had the oh-no moment of wondering does it actually support NVMe at all, or just SATA? Will just have to wait and see I suppose!

This guy on youtube gives a good review. https://youtu.be/99aBuPNrwBc

[Stuart1971]

7 hours ago, Padraic M said:

From what I'm reading, SATA SSDs are slightly faster than eMMC but much more reliable.  NVMe SSDs on the other hand are ~10 times faster. I've just ordered the Quieter 2 129GB with an extra 1TB of NVMe SSD, and have had the oh-no moment of wondering does it actually support NVMe at all, or just SATA? Will just have to wait and see I suppose!

This guy on youtube gives a good review. https://youtu.be/99aBuPNrwBc

No, these mini PC only support M.2 sata SSD drives….the port is different for the type you have bought….☹️

[Padraic M]

Hmmm. Oh well, will probably exchange for SATA, or hold on to it and use it as an external drive. It's a pity MeLE don't provide specs on their website.

Edited January 5, 2022 by Padraic M