|
Hi Greg, NUCs have the benefit of a small form factor which means that they can be easily mounted on the dovetail mounting with the OTA. This can help with facilitating cable management. NUCs still require the 19v AC/DC power packs but there are 12v powered small form factor devices available as well.
I use the Intel NUC in my obs and have it mounted on the pier which works well. I don’t have a screen connected to the NUC so for access I use Google Remote Desktop from my main computer in my office inside.
If you are interested in USB and power hubs you may want to look at the Pegasus Power boxes. These provide a range of features including USB2/3 hubs, 12v power distribution, dew heater powers and variable voltage ports. Useful features that I use are the ability to turn USB and power ports on and off remotely and the dew heater ports use an environmental sensor for controlling the power to the heaters. The variable voltage port is handy for controlling a flat panel when taking flat frames. You can also connect to and control the device from SGP Pro.
To answer the question of how useful or necessary are NUCs and small form factor PCs, it is really the convenience of mounting the device on the pier or the OTA. If you have a spare lap top hanging around that will run your image acquisition software, this could be a much cheaper option.
|