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Re: Hardware needs for APCC #APCC

Greg McCall
 

Re 19v, many laptops also run on 19V so I don't think the choice is specific to the NUC. I've used the laptop car power adapters which are just a 12v to 19v adapter from the local computer shop (JBHiFi in my case) without any issues but now I use a sealed unit that just has 12v in and 19v out (from Aliexpress, Amazon etc.) with the appropriate plugs (and fused output) attached.

Re Teamviewer, I didn't think it compared to RDP or VNC as it needed a third machine (on the internet) through which both other computers communicate. It's an advantage of Teamviewer if you have firewalls but for astro, seems a waste to go out and back over the internet, particularly on a portable setup.

BTW, one advantage of RDP, is that it's just one less program to update as it gets updated as part of windows.


On Mon, Nov 21, 2022 at 10:43 AM Beau Gagne <beau.gagne@...> wrote:
You can just use a VNC server/client or something like Teamviewer.  These tend to have better additional features than the base RDP included with professional versions of Windows anyway.

Also the 19v requirement of the NUC platform is simply an Intel design choice.  Most PC power supplies provide 12V, 5V and 3.3V.  The VRMs on the motherboard will further step down voltage to the 1.3-1.4V range used within the processor cores.
Re: Hardware needs for APCC #APCC

Beau Gagne
 

You can just use a VNC server/client or something like Teamviewer.  These tend to have better additional features than the base RDP included with professional versions of Windows anyway.

Also the 19v requirement of the NUC platform is simply an Intel design choice.  Most PC power supplies provide 12V, 5V and 3.3V.  The VRMs on the motherboard will further step down voltage to the 1.3-1.4V range used within the processor cores.
Re: Hardware needs for APCC #APCC

Jeffc
 

Btw… in case it hasn’t been mentioned stay away for the “home” edition of windows.  (I think it is still offered.).  

There’s no Remote Desktop in the “home” edition.  Iirc my beelink came with windows 11 pro pre installed.  Which fwiw seemed like a bargain given the cost of windows if I was going to refurb an older i5 etc.  

Also.. from what I could tell all the i3 , i5, i7 (and probably i9 assuming that’s available) in the NUC form factor were 19v.  I suspect that’s a function of the “core i “ series. 

The u59 has a “Celeron” N5105 which is pretty obscure to me.. and in the bast I’ve always avoided anything “Celeron”.   But after checking the cpu benchmarks I found out the modern N5105 outperforms the 2012 i5 which I had been using previously.   So for a few bucks, I get a bit of a cpu upgrade and a big power saving (no need for inverter; the previous box had a builtin power supply). 


On Nov 18, 2022, at 9:19 AM, midnightsnacks <kevin.333.wood@...> wrote:

Hello,
I am hoping for guidance from some fellow Astro lovers.
I recently acquired a used mach1 with CP4 control and keypad.

I would like to start my APCC journey but first, require the appropriate hardware.
I am looking for input on what hardware setup I should use.
I am looking for input on what other software I should incorporate.
I am a mac user and haven't so much as looked at windows in 20 years.
I currently do remote setup about 200 yards from my house. I usually sit in an auxiliary building and control via wifi.
It gets very cold where I live.
I do have ethernet running from my house to the building. I could remote from the comforts of home, this is likely something I will tackle in the future.
Long term, I plan to build a small observatory.

My equipment is as follows.
Zwo cameras 183 mc-pro & 6200mm-pro.
Zwo EAF.
Zwo EFW.
Zwo 120mm min guide camera.
2 x dew heater straps powered through DC output of Asiair+
Nikon Z6ii

I have an iPad mini and M1 Macbook.

Any words of wisdom to get the most out of my mount would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance,
Kevin.
Re: IC 348, NGC 1333, VdB 12, VdB 13, Barnard 1, 2, 3, 4, et. al. - A Perseus Wide Field

Dean Jacobsen
 

On Sun, Nov 20, 2022 at 01:37 PM, Chris White wrote:
Really cool framing Dean.  You went the other way from NGC1333 from a recent image I did.  I didnt realize there was that nice HA area that you captured. 
Thanks for taking a look Chris.

Yes, your recent image of the other side of NGC 1333 is very nice... and you also had sufficient situational awareness to get Vdb 16 in the frame too.  :-)

The next project - hopefully in a couple of days if the weather cooperates - is north and just a little east and centered on LDN 1402.  There is a string of a bunch of dark nebula up there that the 5.5 degree wide field of view of the FSQ + reducer + ASI2400 should work well with.  This link is to a wide field image of that area - https://www.astrobin.com/20kzi2/B/   It looks like a potentially promising area to image.
 
--
Dean Jacobsen
Astrobin Image Gallery - https://www.astrobin.com/users/deanjacobsen/

Re: Hardware needs for APCC #APCC

Greg McCall
 

I have also seen those SCT reports but none using the celestron controller 

You can put the sensor wherever you want. I put it under the wire lead in before the heater element. I’ve also in the past made up a seperate elastic band for them but found no difference in performance 

If also gone around on a field night, measuring people’s setups with an infrared gun type thermometer and found that instructive. Also tried (with permission) to measure just inside the dew shield next to the front lens. 

Providing feedback to the controller seems a better idea to me and works towards not to little and not too much, just the goldilocks temp for each strap. 
This would also save power for portable setups 




On Mon, 21 Nov 2022 at 9:06 am, ap@... <ap@...> wrote:
On Sun, Nov 20, 2022 at 04:53 PM, Greg McCall wrote:
The feedback allows the controller to keep power applied until the surface reaches the desired temperature which is above the dew point. Otherwise it’s a guess. 

The problem I have conceptually with those which have temp sensors is that they measure what seems the wrong place. Most get attached to the OTA tube, some I've seen are actually underneath the power strip.  It's not at all clear that is indicative of the temperature of the glass.  The Celestron (on an SCT) is a bit closer, but its thermistor goes under the heating ring (though not part with the heat), against the glass. But it is still very close to the heating elements.

Having one that provides more power when the dewpoint is higher (irrespective of temperature) for me seems to work OK, but I have no idea if I am over-heating things (I know if I under-heat I'll find out).  It is unclear to me that one is better than the other; it is also unclear that anyone has every tried a methodical test to see which is better. 

The unknown is how hot is too hot, to the extent it starts distorting images.  I have seen that with the Celestron rings, and it is widely reported, by people NOT using their controller.  You get asymmetric flares, like diffraction spikes. 

I have often wondered why no one makes some kind of IR sensor you could aim at the relevant part of the glass, usually the center of the objective, maybe just outside the secondary on an SCT.  Then you could ensure that the glass in the most dew prone area is very slightly above ambient.  

Maybe it is just that current techniques are good enough.

Maybe you can't accurately read temperature off glass with an IR sensor.

My guess it's the "good enough" theory. 

It's worth nothing there's been a fair amount of work by others (I have not tried it) with low velocity fans as an alternative to heating, circulate air over the objective, smoothly enough not to affect seeing, and no dew with no heat. Never tried it other than some nights when the wind is blowing too hard to put up my SCT's dew shield.

Linwood
Re: Hardware needs for APCC #APCC

ap@CaptivePhotons.com
 

On Sun, Nov 20, 2022 at 04:53 PM, Greg McCall wrote:
The feedback allows the controller to keep power applied until the surface reaches the desired temperature which is above the dew point. Otherwise it’s a guess. 

The problem I have conceptually with those which have temp sensors is that they measure what seems the wrong place. Most get attached to the OTA tube, some I've seen are actually underneath the power strip.  It's not at all clear that is indicative of the temperature of the glass.  The Celestron (on an SCT) is a bit closer, but its thermistor goes under the heating ring (though not part with the heat), against the glass. But it is still very close to the heating elements.

Having one that provides more power when the dewpoint is higher (irrespective of temperature) for me seems to work OK, but I have no idea if I am over-heating things (I know if I under-heat I'll find out).  It is unclear to me that one is better than the other; it is also unclear that anyone has every tried a methodical test to see which is better. 

The unknown is how hot is too hot, to the extent it starts distorting images.  I have seen that with the Celestron rings, and it is widely reported, by people NOT using their controller.  You get asymmetric flares, like diffraction spikes. 

I have often wondered why no one makes some kind of IR sensor you could aim at the relevant part of the glass, usually the center of the objective, maybe just outside the secondary on an SCT.  Then you could ensure that the glass in the most dew prone area is very slightly above ambient.  

Maybe it is just that current techniques are good enough.

Maybe you can't accurately read temperature off glass with an IR sensor.

My guess it's the "good enough" theory. 

It's worth nothing there's been a fair amount of work by others (I have not tried it) with low velocity fans as an alternative to heating, circulate air over the objective, smoothly enough not to affect seeing, and no dew with no heat. Never tried it other than some nights when the wind is blowing too hard to put up my SCT's dew shield.

Linwood
Re: Hardware needs for APCC #APCC

Greg McCall
 

You might also notice the Celestron 4x unit has all that. 
The feedback allows the controller to keep power applied until the surface reaches the desired temperature which is above the dew point. Otherwise it’s a guess. 

Also with different size dew strips, as needed with say guide scope and main OTA, power is controlled separately to each reach the appropriate temperature above the dew point. 

I’ve also not had an issue with Kendrick provided you set the desired temperature about 5 degrees C above ambient, use the temperature probes under each dew strap and set at least 80% power to main OTA dew strip. 





On Mon, 21 Nov 2022 at 7:53 am, Joseph Beyer <jcbeyer2001@...> wrote:
I have to agree with Brian. I suppose the power efficiency aspect may be a real benefit if power was limited or the user was having some type of aberration created by temperature gradients. I have one of the Kendrick units I used a lot prior to getting a Pegasus Pocket Powerbox Advance V2. I've not had a dew problem with either unit. For me the benefit of the Pegasus is having the power distribution, USB hub and temp/humidity sensor all in one neat package. Maybe when I further upgrade my system I'll get the Ultimate box which would control my focuser as well - that'd strictly be a nice to have as everything works great right now.

Everyone has given great ideas. The provided list only seems a bit expensive until I think of the evolution of parts and pieces I still have in bins around the house - keeping them for ???.  If someone had given me the same list and said, "buy this stuff now and you're set", it would have been much less expensive and trouble in the end.

The use of a NUC, mine is an I5 and works great, has really become a no brainer.  The mount-computer-telescope are a unit and after starting, it just goes. Drop wifi? Forget to plug power in the imaging laptop? Not a problem with the NUC, everything is hard wired and powered with the unit.

Joe

Re: IC 348, NGC 1333, VdB 12, VdB 13, Barnard 1, 2, 3, 4, et. al. - A Perseus Wide Field

Chris White
 

Really cool framing Dean.  You went the other way from NGC1333 from a recent image I did.  I didnt realize there was that nice HA area that you captured.  I'll need to check that out sometime.  Very nice image!
Re: slew warning APPM with Mach2

Chris White
 

On Sun, Nov 20, 2022 at 09:39 AM, Ray Gralak wrote:
This is how the Horizon limit needs to operate. The controlling software needs to restart tracking because ASCOM doesn't allow slewing (e.g., to slew back inside the Horizon limits) and other operations while tracking is disabled.

-Ray
Gotcha.  Thanks Ray.  I was thinking that when you check the box to stop tracking past the horizon, that it would actually stop the mount from tracking below a horizon. I woke up the other morning and my scope was very close to crashing into a wall because it had tracked well past what I had intended.  Good to know. 
Re: savings GoTo positions - only two?

Brian Valente
 

haha brilliant, thanks

I'm an idiot

On Sun, Nov 20, 2022 at 1:19 PM karl.perkins@... <karl.perkins@...> wrote:

Hi Brian,

 

When you click on Save, you should see an option for “Save new”.

 

Karl Perkins

 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> On Behalf Of Brian Valente
Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2022 2:50 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: [ap-gto] savings GoTo positions - only two?

 

hi folks

 

If anyone is using the save coordinates from APCC Pro's GoTo tab, I can only save two total positions, is that correct?

 

When i try to save additional it overwrites the last one.

 

Curious what is the correct behavior here. Documentation does not appear to address this

 



--

Re: savings GoTo positions - only two?

karl.perkins@sbcglobal.net
 

Hi Brian,

 

When you click on Save, you should see an option for “Save new”.

 

Karl Perkins

 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> On Behalf Of Brian Valente
Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2022 2:50 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: [ap-gto] savings GoTo positions - only two?

 

hi folks

 

If anyone is using the save coordinates from APCC Pro's GoTo tab, I can only save two total positions, is that correct?

 

When i try to save additional it overwrites the last one.

 

Curious what is the correct behavior here. Documentation does not appear to address this

 
Re: Hardware needs for APCC #APCC

Joseph Beyer
 

I have to agree with Brian. I suppose the power efficiency aspect may be a real benefit if power was limited or the user was having some type of aberration created by temperature gradients. I have one of the Kendrick units I used a lot prior to getting a Pegasus Pocket Powerbox Advance V2. I've not had a dew problem with either unit. For me the benefit of the Pegasus is having the power distribution, USB hub and temp/humidity sensor all in one neat package. Maybe when I further upgrade my system I'll get the Ultimate box which would control my focuser as well - that'd strictly be a nice to have as everything works great right now.

Everyone has given great ideas. The provided list only seems a bit expensive until I think of the evolution of parts and pieces I still have in bins around the house - keeping them for ???.  If someone had given me the same list and said, "buy this stuff now and you're set", it would have been much less expensive and trouble in the end.

The use of a NUC, mine is an I5 and works great, has really become a no brainer.  The mount-computer-telescope are a unit and after starting, it just goes. Drop wifi? Forget to plug power in the imaging laptop? Not a problem with the NUC, everything is hard wired and powered with the unit.

Joe
savings GoTo positions - only two?

Brian Valente
 

hi folks

If anyone is using the save coordinates from APCC Pro's GoTo tab, I can only save two total positions, is that correct?

When i try to save additional it overwrites the last one.

Curious what is the correct behavior here. Documentation does not appear to address this
Re: Hardware needs for APCC #APCC

Brian Valente
 

>>>Re Dew control, I think Pegasus is inferior as it doesn’t have sensors to measure the effectiveness of power provided to the surface of a particular dew strap.

I guess it depends on how critical dew control is. I've not had any issues with dewing using the pegasus, it does set power level based on measured dew (via its environmental sensor). 

I have personally not had  a need for anything more than that


On Sun, Nov 20, 2022 at 12:14 PM Greg McCall <emailgregnow@...> wrote:
Re Dew control, I think Pegasus is inferior as it doesn’t have sensors to measure the effectiveness of power provided to the surface of a particular dew strap. 

The primaluci eco has that feedback as does the celestron 2x & 4x controllers (4x also a hub and power distribution). Both these units with the feedback loop can control heating based on the dew point. (Pegasus can also use dew point but as I understand it, has no feedback loop)

Another option with the temperature sensors providing feedback for the particular dew strap is the high end Kendrick controllers. These set their temperature so many degrees above ambient and not dew point but still better than manual dew controllers. 

On Mon, 21 Nov 2022 at 4:53 am, midnightsnacks <kevin.333.wood@...> wrote:
Hello, and thank you all so much for the input and advice, It's given me a lot to think about.

I've concluded for hardware I will need.
A. Power distribution.
B. Windows OS.
C. Something to the interface.

Software:
D: APCC 
E: Modeling
F: Voyager/N.I.N.A.
G: Windows
H: RDP

All in all, it's starting to add up $$$ so I need to streamline a bit as I can't afford the dream package off the hop. The best scenario is to start with the must-haves and build instead of replacing parts.

Intel NUCs and the Pegasus Ultimate have come up time and time again.
Some follow-up questions.
1. Is there a good reason why I wouldn't explore something from Primalucelab, their products seem to combine power distribution and Nuc in one. I assume I am missing something since it hasn't been mentioned.
2. Can I get away with something like the Pegasus advance over ultimate, or am I missing something here, is it a buy once cry once scenario?
3. What version of windows is necessary/ideal?
4. Is it worth starting with N.I.N.A. and then transitioning into voyager when I can afford to? Will the learning curve from the prior inform the latter well enough?
5. Should I seek a standard APCC license and step up when I can, or is it better to start with a pro?
6. With a NUC + power box set up, after I have remoted in and the sequence has begun. Do I need to leave the laptop or tablet connected and running through the night?
7. If I go the route of a windows laptop and power distribution box, can I connect the laptop to the CP4 via WIFI, or is it better to do so over LAN?

Thank you in advance for any feedback, as I know how valuable all our time is.
Kevin.



--

Re: Hardware needs for APCC #APCC

Greg McCall
 

Re Dew control, I think Pegasus is inferior as it doesn’t have sensors to measure the effectiveness of power provided to the surface of a particular dew strap. 

The primaluci eco has that feedback as does the celestron 2x & 4x controllers (4x also a hub and power distribution). Both these units with the feedback loop can control heating based on the dew point. (Pegasus can also use dew point but as I understand it, has no feedback loop)

Another option with the temperature sensors providing feedback for the particular dew strap is the high end Kendrick controllers. These set their temperature so many degrees above ambient and not dew point but still better than manual dew controllers. 

On Mon, 21 Nov 2022 at 4:53 am, midnightsnacks <kevin.333.wood@...> wrote:
Hello, and thank you all so much for the input and advice, It's given me a lot to think about.

I've concluded for hardware I will need.
A. Power distribution.
B. Windows OS.
C. Something to the interface.

Software:
D: APCC 
E: Modeling
F: Voyager/N.I.N.A.
G: Windows
H: RDP

All in all, it's starting to add up $$$ so I need to streamline a bit as I can't afford the dream package off the hop. The best scenario is to start with the must-haves and build instead of replacing parts.

Intel NUCs and the Pegasus Ultimate have come up time and time again.
Some follow-up questions.
1. Is there a good reason why I wouldn't explore something from Primalucelab, their products seem to combine power distribution and Nuc in one. I assume I am missing something since it hasn't been mentioned.
2. Can I get away with something like the Pegasus advance over ultimate, or am I missing something here, is it a buy once cry once scenario?
3. What version of windows is necessary/ideal?
4. Is it worth starting with N.I.N.A. and then transitioning into voyager when I can afford to? Will the learning curve from the prior inform the latter well enough?
5. Should I seek a standard APCC license and step up when I can, or is it better to start with a pro?
6. With a NUC + power box set up, after I have remoted in and the sequence has begun. Do I need to leave the laptop or tablet connected and running through the night?
7. If I go the route of a windows laptop and power distribution box, can I connect the laptop to the CP4 via WIFI, or is it better to do so over LAN?

Thank you in advance for any feedback, as I know how valuable all our time is.
Kevin.

Re: Hardware needs for APCC #APCC

Brian Valente
 

Hi Kevin

Here's my input below:

1. Is there a good reason why I wouldn't explore something from Primalucelab, their products seem to combine power distribution and Nuc in one. I assume I am missing something since it hasn't been mentioned.
PrimaLuce is more of a premium priced all-in-one. The cables tend to be a little difficult to get (at least in the US) so you need to rely on the vendor for them. Also PrimaLuce runs on Windows Enterprise, a lesser known fact that can interfere if there are windows updates that are required for your apps. Personally I think you can get more by selecting your own components

2. Can I get away with something like the Pegasus advance over ultimate, or am I missing something here, is it a buy once cry once scenario?
You just need to review the features of each of their units and decide what you want. The Ultimate has all the things you requested: USB ports (with selective power on/off), power distro, environmental sensor, dew heater. The other pegasus boxes have different features, for example no dew heater, just USB, etc. so find the one that best meets your needs

3. What version of windows is necessary/ideal?
personally i would go with the latest Windows 11. You don't want to get stuck on a platform that isn't forwards-compatible

4. Is it worth starting with N.I.N.A. and then transitioning into voyager when I can afford to? Will the learning curve from the prior inform the latter well enough?
I would start with NINA and imo stick with NINA. Voyager and NINA can do similar things. imo Voyager seems to be more technical in nature (scripting environ) and more flexible, but NINA has a drag-and-drop interface that would probably accomplish everything you need
5. Should I seek a standard APCC license and step up when I can, or is it better to start with a pro?
Simple: if you want sky modeling to improve your tracking, you want Pro. otherwise Standard. Spoiler Alert: you want sky modeling
Check out this video for some additional perspective: https://youtu.be/vhHGYYtL6BM

6. With a NUC + power box set up, after I have remoted in and the sequence has begun. Do I need to leave the laptop or tablet connected and running through the night?
no. it's standalone

7. If I go the route of a windows laptop and power distribution box, can I connect the laptop to the CP4 via WIFI, or is it better to do so over LAN?
Personally I would never connect a mount to the controlling PC via wireless. If you have a nuc you would just use USB or ethernet

hth

Brian


On Sun, Nov 20, 2022 at 9:53 AM midnightsnacks <kevin.333.wood@...> wrote:
Hello, and thank you all so much for the input and advice, It's given me a lot to think about.

I've concluded for hardware I will need.
A. Power distribution.
B. Windows OS.
C. Something to the interface.

Software:
D: APCC 
E: Modeling
F: Voyager/N.I.N.A.
G: Windows
H: RDP

All in all, it's starting to add up $$$ so I need to streamline a bit as I can't afford the dream package off the hop. The best scenario is to start with the must-haves and build instead of replacing parts.

Intel NUCs and the Pegasus Ultimate have come up time and time again.
Some follow-up questions.
1. Is there a good reason why I wouldn't explore something from Primalucelab, their products seem to combine power distribution and Nuc in one. I assume I am missing something since it hasn't been mentioned.
2. Can I get away with something like the Pegasus advance over ultimate, or am I missing something here, is it a buy once cry once scenario?
3. What version of windows is necessary/ideal?
4. Is it worth starting with N.I.N.A. and then transitioning into voyager when I can afford to? Will the learning curve from the prior inform the latter well enough?
5. Should I seek a standard APCC license and step up when I can, or is it better to start with a pro?
6. With a NUC + power box set up, after I have remoted in and the sequence has begun. Do I need to leave the laptop or tablet connected and running through the night?
7. If I go the route of a windows laptop and power distribution box, can I connect the laptop to the CP4 via WIFI, or is it better to do so over LAN?

Thank you in advance for any feedback, as I know how valuable all our time is.
Kevin.



--

Re: Hardware needs for APCC #APCC

ap@CaptivePhotons.com
 

On Sun, Nov 20, 2022 at 12:53 PM, midnightsnacks wrote:
1. Is there a good reason why I wouldn't explore something from Primalucelab, their products seem to combine power distribution and Nuc in one. I assume I am missing something since it hasn't been mentioned.
1) Maybe, but I think you will find your are buying nice pretty packaging more than lower cost, if you get equivalent features. No one seems to dislike their gear though.

2. Can I get away with something like the Pegasus advance over ultimate, or am I missing something here, is it a buy once cry once scenario?

2) I use the Pegasus Pocket Powerbox advanced, and frankly I use it more for dew control than anything else.  By running a couple more wires thru-axis I could provide power with just splitters, and USB via the Nuc's hub, but variable dew control is very nice, I think just running them all the time on full will overheat in many cases.  The difference in the PPBAdv and Ultimate are lots more ports and a bit more control, but honestly other than dew control I find no  need for "control" really, just distribution.  Now someone operating remote will want more fine control over DC power, to power cycle any given item.

3. What version of windows is necessary/ideal?
3) You need windows Pro not Home to properly use RDP (there's lots of people telling you how to break there licenses and fake it but that's the proper answer).
4. Is it worth starting with N.I.N.A. and then transitioning into voyager when I can afford to? Will the learning curve from the prior inform the latter well enough?
Depends on if you find a need for Voyager once you use NINA.  Both tools have enthusiastic fans.

6. With a NUC + power box set up, after I have remoted in and the sequence has begun. Do I need to leave the laptop or tablet connected and running through the night?
There is no need to leave it connected.  RDP will only connect from one device at a time, so for example if you set up and start with a laptop, you can check in when you wake up in the wee hours with a cell phone. Each new connection kicks the prior connection off (gracefully).  The NUC will run happily with nothing connected to it.

7. If I go the route of a windows laptop and power distribution box, can I connect the laptop to the CP4 via WIFI, or is it better to do so over LAN?
There is an aspect of the whole windows thing you need to be aware of (this seems on a tangent but is not entirely). Windows, in about 98% of the hardware you find, cannot form an access point.  So in a home environment, the NUC can join your windows home wifi network (if it reaches) and so can your laptop/cell and they can all talk and be happy.

But if you go to a dark site, the windows machine cannot "make" a network, it can only join (this was a microsoft "feature" that required specific wifi hardware to form an AP, and the vast majority of the mini computers now do not have it).  So at a dark site, you need something else to produce the network (be the Access Point). 

This by the way is a feature of ASIAir and maybe the Eagles... they can be an access point.

So what many of us do is buy a little "travel router".  These are real access points, but also frequently have 4 or 8 or so switch ports, and vary from maybe $40 to $80. You need to pick these by features; I went with Mikrotik as I do networking a lot, and it had a huge number of features, but is painful to configure.  There are lots of more use friendly versions that might be better choices (I wont' recommend one as I do not know which is best).  These also often have really good range, so you can roam quite a ways away (some of the ASIAirs keep you within 10' or so). 

WITH such a travel router, the best configuration (in my opinion) is a wired ethernet connection from it to the CP4, and from it to the NUC.  Then wireless to your home, to your laptop, or your phone.  You CAN hook the CP4 to the NUC (via the travel router) wirelessly, as well as the NUC to the travel router wirelessly -- but wires just work, are faster, and ... well, they just work.

I don't know enough to be sure, but while the CP4 can form an access point, I do not know if it can be a router (but I think not), so I do not think it can facilitate the connection from the laptop to the NUC.  Someone else will have to comment. Would be a nice feature if it could, save a box. 

Sorry... turned into a bit of a ramble... hope it helps rather than confuses...

Linwood
Re: Hardware needs for APCC #APCC

midnightsnacks
 

Hello, and thank you all so much for the input and advice, It's given me a lot to think about.

I've concluded for hardware I will need.
A. Power distribution.
B. Windows OS.
C. Something to the interface.

Software:
D: APCC 
E: Modeling
F: Voyager/N.I.N.A.
G: Windows
H: RDP

All in all, it's starting to add up $$$ so I need to streamline a bit as I can't afford the dream package off the hop. The best scenario is to start with the must-haves and build instead of replacing parts.

Intel NUCs and the Pegasus Ultimate have come up time and time again.
Some follow-up questions.
1. Is there a good reason why I wouldn't explore something from Primalucelab, their products seem to combine power distribution and Nuc in one. I assume I am missing something since it hasn't been mentioned.
2. Can I get away with something like the Pegasus advance over ultimate, or am I missing something here, is it a buy once cry once scenario?
3. What version of windows is necessary/ideal?
4. Is it worth starting with N.I.N.A. and then transitioning into voyager when I can afford to? Will the learning curve from the prior inform the latter well enough?
5. Should I seek a standard APCC license and step up when I can, or is it better to start with a pro?
6. With a NUC + power box set up, after I have remoted in and the sequence has begun. Do I need to leave the laptop or tablet connected and running through the night?
7. If I go the route of a windows laptop and power distribution box, can I connect the laptop to the CP4 via WIFI, or is it better to do so over LAN?

Thank you in advance for any feedback, as I know how valuable all our time is.
Kevin.
Re: slew warning APPM with Mach2

Klaus Völler
 

Hi Ray,

many thanks for your feedback.. Seems i have to update my CP5 first... My Firmware Version is VCP5-P02-08.
When that's done and the weather permits another attempt at building a model, I'll report back.

regards Klaus

Am 20.11.22 um 15:54 schrieb Ray Gralak:

Hi Klaus,

Would be happy to receive a description of how this is solvable.
If you are not running the latest Mach2 firmware (VCP5-P02-15), you should update it. If the firmware is up to date, or still haeve this problem after updating, contact Mike Hanson at Astro-Physics for further instructions.

-Ray
Re: slew warning APPM with Mach2

Ray Gralak
 

Hi Klaus,

Would be happy to receive a description of how this is solvable.
If you are not running the latest Mach2 firmware (VCP5-P02-15), you should update it. If the firmware is up to date, or still haeve this problem after updating, contact Mike Hanson at Astro-Physics for further instructions.

-Ray
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