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INDI Library v2.0.6 is Released (02 Feb 2024)

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Ekos from Pi or from laptop to indiserver?

  • Posts: 18
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Hi there,
I have been using Astroberry for the last 6-8 months and the way I do it (I believe I read it somewhere or saw it on a video):
1. Setup the indiserver on the Pi running
2. Use Kstars on my Mac to connect to astroberry.local server (lan/wifi etc)
3. Imaging guiding etc all through my Mac connecting to the Pi but images downloaded remotely to the Pi only.

I am wondering how most people do it? Do you actually have Kstars/Ekos running on the Pi and just view the Pi through VNC etc and let it run that way so you're not reliant on the external laptop?
Would my imaging/guiding be impacted due to the way I do it..?

Love to hear what's best practice.
Thanks
2 years 2 months ago #79290

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I run the Kstars, EKOS and PHD2 in the Pi. I use my laptop only to connect over VNC to manage the session. Practically my laptop is just like a remote monitor.

In your setup, every guide camera frame has to be sent over the network to your laptop. Then a guide decision has to be made in your laptop and sent back over the network. I would assume that this might create a lag or put pressure on your network. Also, why rely on two compute devices when one can do the job. Unless of course you are running indi on a very low powered rpi. I personally would like to reduce the number of points of failure for a productive session.

Regards,
Arun
 
2 years 2 months ago #79291

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That's great to hear. I am going to attempt that on my next session. I kind of got into the habit of the current way and didn't explore it as I was also unsure if it's toomuch for the Pi. I'm on Pi4 4GB.
2 years 2 months ago #79292

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I have been running two systems, side by side for a year and a half, each RPi/Astroberry running autonomously. So with a single PC laptop I control both RPis via VNC Viewer, and swap between them from time to time to monitor results, and to initiate the next capture session. So far I haven’t used the Schedule module since both systems are readily transportable from storage to outside, and I have no observatory or shelter for weather protection.
Each Astroberry runs as a 5GHz WiFi hotspot - I distinguish between them by renaming the SSIDs as AstroberryRed and AstroberryGreen. I use astronomical twilight to carry out the physical tasks of placing/orienting the mounts and polar alignment, and initial focusing, before retreating indoors (only about 8m away) from where I set targets and monitor results.
I often download image files during capture sessions to the PC via VNC File Transfer, and more recently by setting up Network Drives in Windows File Explorer, relying on the Samba server in Astroberry. This permits me to examine the image files more in detail and for instance, to live stack them using SharpCap Pro on the PC.
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2 years 2 months ago #79293

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The Pi4 with 4GB will easily handle the fully autonomous operations. I use the same configuration. Give it a try!

Regards,
Arun
 
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2 years 2 months ago #79294

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Definitely concur. The Pi 4 plate-solves in seconds, which was always the bete noir of Ekos on the Pi 3 for me. I work in the field often and it's a real comfort to know that my sequencing doesn't depend on my laptop battery, or for that matter on me not pulling a USB cable when I'm using the laptop. In fact, unless it's cold I usually get through a session even with my Mac's old battery. And if that dies, I can connect with an iPad. Or if *that* dies, with a phone!
2 years 2 months ago #79304

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I previously ran everything on my PI, but recently changed to operating on my Desktop. There are advantages and disadvantages. Plate Solving takes seconds on both setups, the only issue I find at this point in time is download times for saving images. I have recently started Live stacking and prefer to do that on the PC for streaming purposes.

I had a lot of crashing using Pi for everything, so far no crashes on Windows. I have a Pi 4 with 8G RAM.
2 years 2 months ago #79373

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I swapped to having everything run from the Pi. I used to run Kstars on the Mac and the rest on the Pi but I have found the whole setup to be far more reliable if I let everything run on the Pi. Also if I get any network issues it doesn't matter as the Pi carries on.
I had also used VNC from a Macbook Pro but have recently switched to using the Stellarmate App. The great thing is you can use them both at the same time but as I become more comfortable with the App I am doing more and more with the App.
2 years 2 months ago #79394

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