Barebone PC for Telescope control.

[Docrob]

Wondering if anyone has heard or has any thoughts about using a Barebone or NUC PC for telescope control, image capture etc. My though is to mount the PC to a tray mounted on the mount or the tripod so that all the imaging equipment, filter wheels, mounts, focusers, autoguiders etc etc only need to be wired into the PC with short, neatly routed cable runs rather than having 6-8 cables draping off your scope running a longer distance to a remote computer. This way one network cable for remote control or a single monitor cable with wireless keyboard and mouse running away from the computer.

Something like this is what I had in mind.

http://www.scorptec.com.au/computer/49697-xs36vl

Anyone know if these sort of devices have the computing power etc to be used in this way?

[AstroJunk]

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=111789

How about a real PC? (Still available)

Ignoring the shameless plug, these are great solutions to observatory control and image capture, but don't expect too much of them, at 20W power usage, they are built for comfort not speed :)

[Docrob]

Yeh, it sort of occurred to me that the actual pointing of the telescope is probably not very resource intensive considering it can be done almost as well by a processor that fits in an autostar handbox, IN terms of imaging the initial imaging bandwidth is done internally in my DSLR and then simply transferred as a raw file to my PC, as long as I dont tax it with stacking or image processing and it is easy enough with the NUC unit networked in to simply retrieve all the files and perform all the image processing on my primary desktop. I also like that because many are designed for commercial and industrial applications a number have native serial ports, something almost impossible to find on laptops anymore, negating the need to have multiple serial to USB adapters with the virtual com port headaches and software compatibility issues that brings.

It just occurred to me that if this was possible I could have a fully computer controlled system with only a power cable running to the mount and a monitor cable running from the mount. It grew out of toying with the idea of considering fabricating a "telescope junction box" with a USB hub, power sockets etc to try and reduce cable clutter and it occurred to me the ultimate "junction box" would be simply taking a compact PC and mounting it on the scope mount itself so almost no cables have to run off the pier.

[Merlin66]

I've got a ten year old ACER sitting in the observatory does everything I need.
A USB hub under the scope minimises the cables on the floor to two....the power and the USB back to the laptop.
Then use Teamviewer and sit inside!!

[Docrob]

The fact that a ten year old computer can do all that without trouble confirms the processing requirements for such a system are modest. With regards to the simpler USB hub option, how well does a serial cable like a mount control cable work if you put the serial to USB adapter before the hub, particularly if there are multiple Serial to USB adapters connected to the hub, do the signals for the virtual com ports come out the other end in a usable way?

[Merlin66]

Rob,
I have a Keyspan serial>usb>EQdir module (for EQMod) which then goes directly to the mount.
All the other connections, - cameras, focuser etc etc etc go to the 8 port powered hub under the scope then only the one USB back to the computer. No issues, no drama, no problems.

[algwat]

This one looks very good , and can be maxed out to 16GB.
good number of usb ports.

http://www.asus.com/au/ASUS_VivoPC/VivoPC_VC60/

kind regards. Alan

[Scorpius]

Been a while since I logged in, but this item grabbed my attention. Too often we try to re-invent the wheel and bash our heads against a wall trying to find "apps" for Tabs, Blueberries etc.

An ideal device which is small, extremely efficient and runs software like Carte du Ciel easily, is the magic little note book: "The ASUS Eee" I have been using one of these for quite some time, it never crashes, fails or lets me down. I recently had to replace the battery, but they are readily available on EBay and other battery outlets.
If you can lay your hands on one of these, do so, they are great.

Keep it simple and you will then have time to enjoy doing many things when you get a clear sky.

Cheers Dave. Perth.

[lazjen]

The only hassle I had with the netbook like the ASUS was the lack of CPU grunt for plate solving. Otherwise it was more than adequate.