Advice setting up wifi enabled mount

Stonius (Markus) · #1 08-06-2020, 05:38 PM

Hi there,

I'm a little confused about this.

I'm wanting to make my Gemini II mount communicate with my computer via Wifi while I'm toasty and warm inside. Partly to keep my girlfriend happy, and partly because I feel better not leaving my laptop outside unattended in dewy conditions all night.

Anyway, I actually have one of those ASIair things from a while back. It came with some other gear. I never used it much because it had to use *their software and run it on a phone or tablet, so I lose access to the larger screen and the software I normally use along with the deeper functionality and diagnostics it provides. Plus, I just don't like tablets.

I know about team viewer, but that only allows you to virtually control a remote computer - you're still leaving a computer on your scope all night, which is still doing the majority of the grunt work. I don't want to buy another hefty machine when my laptop is already more than capable.

What I want is something that will just pass the signals from the mount, cameras, and focuser on to my remote computer - kind of like a router, and there *is a page for doing just that on the Losmandy site. But, how do you get the the all-important USB signals from the camera to be based on by the router? Especially if you're doing planetary with high data rates.

I know this ASIair thing is basically just an RPi travel router. Can I just reprogram this thing to do what I want?

Many thanks for reading - I'm a bit lost. I figure some of you legends will know the answer.

Cheers

Markus

Outcast (Carlton) · #2 08-06-2020, 05:49 PM

Hi Mark,

I can't specifically say for ASIAIR as I run Stellarmate which allows you to run from your PC if you choose using a Virtual Window..

A quick look online seems to suggest that a Virtual Window is not an option for ASIAIR however, it appears some have had success using an Android emulator on PC...

This might be a useful read:

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/6...t-or-computer/

Hope this helps

Camelopardalis (Dunk) · #3 08-06-2020, 05:52 PM

Just get a recent RPi that’s supported by AstroBerry or similar, or a NUC if you must have Windows software. Either way, fix it to your mount, and keep the cable lengths as short as possible.

I use RDP which is built-in to Windows, even for planetary. The advantage to using something like a NUC is that you can build it using NVMe SSD to maximise your frame rates with planetary...

Stonius (Markus) · #4 08-06-2020, 07:29 PM

Thanks guys,

Dunk - there's lot there for me to unpack so I'm gonna google what you said, but what does NUC stand for?

EDIT; okay, I got it.

So I'm right in thinking there are really two choices here; Windows computer at the telescope doing most of the work and i just remote desktop to it, OR Switch to Linux and RPi it.

There's nothing that is small and cheap like an RPi that will just forward signals rather than processing them?

Cheers

Markus

Camelopardalis (Dunk) · #5 08-06-2020, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stonius

Thanks guys,

Dunk - there's lot there for me to unpack so I'm gonna google what you said, but what does NUC stand for?

EDIT; okay, I got it.

So I'm right in thinking there are really two choices here; Windows computer at the telescope doing most of the work and i just remote desktop to it, OR Switch to Linux and RPi it.

There's nothing that is small and cheap like an RPi that will just forward signals rather than processing them?

Cheers

Markus

Not sure about the signal forwarding. The problem, especially with USB devices, is the signal doesn’t like going long distances.

The INDI software uses network protocols, so you can control from a remote computer but I’m not sure the image capture works in that way.

The_bluester (Paul) · #6 10-06-2020, 11:49 AM

I looked in to software called "Virtual here" at one point, which allows a host machines USB ports to be shared over a network and appear as local USB connections on the client machine, but you still need a reasonably quick "something" out at the mount and I was not sure how reliable it would be.

About twelve months ago I went Dunk's way with an i5 NUC which is now running Voyager for image capture. I could probably get away with an i3 but I wanted the quicker one for faster plate solving. That has worked flawlessly since I bought it. I connect to it over wifi using Teamviewer to fiddle as required (Monitoring through the night is generally via Voyagers web based dashboard) and there is a file replication app available for the NAS I have in the house, which means that about 20 seconds after an image is downloaded off the camera I have three copies of it in different locations, one being my image processing machine.

Thomo47 (Daryl) · #7 02-07-2020, 07:31 PM

I have been using the ZWO AsiAir pro (AAP) since Feb this year. Without any dramas or frustration, it is preforming everything that it has been stated to do. I'm using the AAP on a Ipad inside and with the complete scope & mount setup outside on a balcony, remotely. I can also use the APP on my laptop, running windows 10 within bluestacks emulator. Both SkySafari and AAP can run togethor without issues. PA (5 to 10 minutes), plate solving (2 to 4 seconds) and goto's work brilliantly with the cameras as well as "centre here" on screen if needed.
My setup includes ZWO Asi 294mc Pro, 290mm, 120mc s, & 1600mm pro, finder scope Orion helical focuser 50mm, ZWO EAF, ZWO 5 position mini filter wheel, 2" filter drawer and SW 6" newtonian reflector, SW 180mm Maksutov cassegrain. The mounts are SW sky discovery and Az-Eq 5 GT.
Prior to AAP I used sharpcap & PHD2 with cables running in all directions, particularly if dew heaters are needed. All Processing of images in DSS or AS!2, and Pixinsight.

Stonius (Markus) · #8 02-07-2020, 08:14 PM

Yep, I guess it's about whatever makes you feel most comfortable. For me I like the configuration and depth of the programs I'm using, But that comes with the caveat that there are more ways to mess things up too.

Speaking of which, I finally got my system working as follows.

Remote Desktop is the weapon of choice. At home I just connect both of them to the house WIFI and they discover each other just fine.

I did have some difficulties with my dark sky site setup in that hotspots wanted there to be an internet connection available before they'd connect.

So I bought a $50 TP-Link travel router. Configured to 'Access Point' mode it works like a charm (as long as you turn off windows defender on the telescope computer - which is fine as it's not going to be connected to the internet) and runs off a spare USB port.

So I'm pretty darn happy at the moment. Yet to do any actual photography with the new setup, but you know, baby steps.

Cheers

Markus

kens (Ken) · #9 02-07-2020, 09:09 PM

You've got lots of options. My setup is based around INDI which is what the ASIAir uses as does Stellarmate and others. INDI does just what you are looking for. It takes commands from programs like PHD2, KStars/EKOS, Stellarium etc over the network and passes them on to your devices. INDI itself is open source and free. A lot of people don't realise that with the ASIAir you are really paying for their tablet software and the Raspberry PI. If you don't like the tablet software you may as well use StellarMate (if you don't want to DIY and want full support), Astroberry (a little bit of DIY) or just DIY a Raspberry PI or equivalent. They all have the advantage of not being locked down like the ASIAir.
In my case I use an Aaeon-UP core which I chose because at the time it was one of the few credit card sized computers with USB3, MMC drive and x64 CPU. The RPi4 is now viable.
Since you've got the ASIAir Raspberry Pi you could try communicating with it via Kstars/EKOS or even just try connecting via PHD2 if you have that already on your laptop. KStars/EKOS runs on Linux, Mac and Windows.
But for high data volumes a compuer with USB3 is a better choice. With my setup, downloading images over the network is slow. So I tell INDI to save them to the Aaeon-UP which is instantaneous over USB3. At the end of the session I hook up a Gigabit LAN and download over that. Other options are to save to a USB Stick and unplug it at the end of the session.

Stonius (Markus) · #10 02-07-2020, 10:04 PM

That sounds like a great solution. I wish I was more of an IT genius. I'm not bad, but the learning curve of new systems is just too much to contemplate. Networking does my head in and it's something I've never really felt like I fully grasp. It was bad enough getting the above system working, let alone figuring out the ins and outs of a new system, so I went with what I was familiar with because I had fairly high confidence I could get it working. Even then there were a couple of days of frustration caused by windows defender.

Not knocking your solution at all - it sounds great. I just know I would be entering into weeks of beating myself about the head with router cables :-D

Cheer

Markus