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Astrophotography Beginner's Guide - How to connect a (MINI) PC to your Equatorial Mount
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- Опубликовано: 8 авг 2024
- Hey all, in this rather long video, I will show you how to connect a (MINI) PC to your equatorial mount. There are many benefits to using a PC to control your mount. You'll be able to take advantage of image acquisition software such as NINA and APT, and get into the world of autoguiding and plate solving!
The setup can sometimes be challenging and difficult, and I haven't seen a good source of it. So, I thought I'd put together a video where I can show you step by step on how to set up your PC, connect and control your equatorial mount with it.
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Excellent job. I agree and like the optional approach. Anyone doing this for years (in my case 30) knows your view and approach is spot on.
Wonderfully helpful with detail. Thank you.
Hey buddy….
You produce the best Astro-video information. I have been all over the internet looking for help and many others just talk in circles. You are straight forward and give great info. Thanks so much. Guy
Awww thank you! I hope this was helpful!
That's a GREAT Piece of Advice.. Dont let people GEAR SHAME YOU.. Use what you have to it's fullest ability. If you enjoy the results you can always add more gear down the line.
Thank you! :) Yeah, I unfortunately am seeing more and more of this sort of behavior. I don't know why people do that.
Using mini pc is real good idea, thank you for sharing the idea!
Yeah it is, especially if you can get a barebone Mini PC for less than $200. And you can remote into it from anywhere in your house.
Awesome, thank you for the tutorial, this is exactly what I was looking for!
Sorry for the late reply, but I hope it's still going good for you!
Great info!
Thanks Jefffey! 🙂 Clear skies!
Great information. I'm new and looking into this. So would this set up enable live stacking like in the asiair?
Thanks for the video. Can you mention the mini pc specs?
Good video. If you skip the hand-controller entirely (as in: not even connecting it) you don't have to setup Utility Mode. I found that out accidentally. Some forums also say to set the baud rate to 115600 (both in the driver and the software), but if it works fine with 9600 I don't see a reason to change it. Also, make sure you run any program that uses EQMod as a normal user (not "run as administrator"). I did that, and what happened was that two instances of EQMod launched, where one of them was obviously unable to connect.
Your mount also assumes that whichever position it is in when you turn it on is the "home" position (also something I found out the hard way). I always make sure to leave it pointing North when I turn it on and return to park before I turn it off.
Very good points!
1) I have the older model of HEQ5 where the USB port is on the hand controller itself. So I am not sure if bypassing the hand controller will apply to me. I wish though.
2) yeah I remember I had to use a different baud rate last time, I think I had to either 115600 or 128000. Either way, 9600 worked this time and I am not touching that again 😅
3) my home position is usually point at/near Polaris.
Thanks for the visit! If my skies don't clear up, I may do another video on how to set up NINA, autoguiding, and plate solving for people's imaging needs.
Thank you for sharing the video. I only wish I saw this a month ago after I purchased my laptop and installled ASCOM and EQMOD . I had issues installing the EQmod but after watching this video I will try to reinstall it and follow your guide. During my Ascom EQ mod installation I do believe I got a message saying the that it does not work with AVX mounts? Maybe I read it wrong🥴🥴 I am hoping that I connected to the wrong port like you explained in this video. I will go home tonight and try it out. Thanks again as always.
Don't beat yourself up. Last Halloween weekend, I took advantage of the full moon to try and learn this stuff, I thought I could be done with it in a night. It essentially took an entire weekend for me to get it all figured out.
Thanks for making this video. Is the mini PC connected to the mount through the hand controller … or some other way. Also, do you have a suggestion for the type of mini PC to use? Thanks.
Hey ! Thank you Angus, this was the video I was waiting for !
Actually i'm using the first version of asiair (i got it second hand for a few bucks) but I will definitely give it a try. I have already downloaded all the ascom drivers for my gear and mount (an ioptron) and the ascom plateform : now I just need to put all the things together and look if it all communicates correctly.
Do you use a specific eqmod cable to connect the mount to the pc ?
Is it possible (and correct) to connect the main camera, the guiding camera and the mount, to a powered USB hub and then go with one USB cable from the hub to the mini pc or laptop ?
Again, good job and very easy to understand video ! You rock !
No, I just use normal USB cables for everything that I connect to. As for the USB hub, that's exactly what I (had) to do. Because my old surface pro 2 only had 1 USB port.
Great video. I personally built a LattePanda delta with a 265gb nvme running windows and connected to a USB ASUS monitor and Rii keyboard/mouse. The screen is for live stacking at star parties that we do once a month. When at home I have no screen connected. Blows people away what they are actually looking at through the other scopes. Would you consider having a go with a Raspberry Pi and AstroBerry??? Another cheap option to get into controlling your mount. Was a consideration before I went the LattePanda route. Another Raspberry Pi option is StellerMate OS. Basically a paid for astroBerry option.
No, not really... Mainly because I don't want to redo setting up the mount 😅
Good video Angus. My only critique regards the Baud rate to the serial controller. I’d wager you that you could set the Baud rate in the COM port properties to 38,000 and it will work just fine. I’ve done this with my Celestron mount and with the focusers that I use and I haven’t had any issues. Just make sure that these rates the same in any software that provides the setting. In the case of my focusers (Moonlite $ ZWO), they use the system settings.
What's the benefits of increasing the rate higher? EQMOD actually recommends 9600. (Though I have had to use different rates in the past too)
@@nocturneastro2539 increased polling rate. For me it was a process of experimenting with 19200, then 38400 so that my combination of equipment and settings allows a stable connection for apps. Set the COM port setting by doubling it and monitoring bits/sec in RESMON ( Resource Monitor ). The data should see an increase versus the baseline at 9600 Baud. If it works well go for it. In most cases the baud rate defaults to the system settings. In experimental practice you find out right away where the limit is, when it stops working. Then you back it off. 😁 It’s always good practice to follow the directions… as a starting point.
Angus...thank you so much for the excellent instructions...I am anewbie to astrophotography..question? I have a celestron cgem 2 Mount...Would I follow the same steps as you presented? Also I do not see PC Direct on my celestron Hand Control...Perhaps there is another command within this celestron hand control...Thank you again...
If your Celestron uses ASCOM to communicate with a computer, then yeah I think you can try and follow the steps. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with the Celestron hand controller or mount.
How do you get to the command prompt of the mini PC? Is the mini PC initially connected via cable to the laptop?
What do I do if I get a timeout error on ascom
With your software setup can't you just plug directly into the mount bypassing the hand controller?
Great video and very helpful. I just bought a new laptop and HEq5 mount and will try this.
1) I'm not sure how you got the IP address of the mini pc from the laptop since you didn't remote desktop into it yet. It looked like you already knew the IP address some other way. Did you connect by an ethernet cable first?
2) Also, when I am out in the field away from home, how do I remote desktop into the minipc from my laptop? They both have wifi adaptors built into them, so do they see each other somehow? Will I be connecting to someone else's minipc who is nearby accidentally on the astronomy field?
1) I hooked up the mini-pc first to a monitor just so I can get the ip address.
2) I can't speak for field work. I only do this when I'm at home using my internet. When I'm out in a dark site, I don't even use a computer. I usually use my old Sky Adventurer and an intervalometer.
Great video I'm hoping to to do the same for my observatory so I can remote image indoors although the dome itself will never get to be fully automated as it's home made & heavy to move, the only problem I have is my camera must be way to old to work in NINA as it won't work so unable to plate solve, I don't suppose there's anything else that can be used to plate solve with older cameras as I can still use PHD Nebulosity 3 to capture. The camera I have is an old QHY8 OSC but it hasn't got the issues like the first batch & other than being old still works very well.
Or will I just have to sell my soul for a new camera?
You should hit up NINA's discord channel. They should be able to help you. But it's likely that NINA can't support your camera 😕
Check out my video on the Altair Astro 26C, it may be interesting to you 😃
I guess I may have to sell my soul for something newer I have been looking at the Altair 26C & the ASI2600MC Pro as both seem to have the same specs so I better get saving.
@@tichwykes they're both using the same Sony IMX571 sensor. The difference between the two I believe is the buffer memory. But I don't think that's relevant at all unless you do videos/planetary imaging.
@@nocturneastro2539 I did have a bit of an idea although I'm not sure it will work but use the finderscope & camera to platesolve & if the main scope is pretty well aligned it should put me in the ballpark for now, well that's if this madcap idea will work, as for the 26C & 2600MC Pro there's about a £300 difference in price between them so I'll probably go purple ;-)
Other than compatibility with a limited set of guide scopes, are there other such hangups for using a ASIAIR? Does it not talk to your HEQ5?
The ASIAIR should talk to my HEQ5. I just don't care to be confined to ZWO branded stuff
Thank you for this video! How do you connect between the two PCs? That is, are both on the same wireless network? Or do you have a hotspot?
They're both on the same home wireless network.
Great detailed video!! What sort of cable do you use to connect the skywatcher mount to the mini pc?
Thanks! I think it's just a USB 2.0 Type-B. Basically a printer cable
@@nocturneastro2539 cool.. thanks for the response!
Thank you for great video Angus and your time/effort spent on it! Followed your instructions and got everything working, Intel NUC + Skywatcher EQM-35 Pro. I tried more than a year ago and I somehow failed, then I had no time until now. What I have noticed is that when I hit slew to the target in Stellarium and then start tracking, it stops after a couple of minutes. Once it was approx 5 minutes, next time over 20minutes. Any idea why?
Few things to check:
1) EQMOD - make sure it still says sidereal tracking
2) Whatever image acquisition software you are using - make sure it still says sidereal tracking
3) any other software that may interact with your mount - make sure it still says sidereal tracking
@@nocturneastro2539 it will require more investigation, because 1) EQMOD is set to sidereal tracking 2) No image aqusition software turned on (at the moment only testing inside before I take everything out) 3) No other software turned on. Just EQMOD and Stelarium....
Hi Angus,
Thanks for the video ! :)
I’m looking for a way of setting the mini-PC as a hotspot when starting up, even without an internet connection (for those times you’re out it the field without any network). This way I could connect directly with laptop/tablet use windows remote connection.
Any idea of how to do that ? (I’d like to avoid buying a mini router to avoid additional power draw on my battery)
I don't think you can remote desktop without wifi? At least I don't know how.
@@nocturneastro2539 Hi ! I figured it depends on the wifi card of your mini pc. It needs to have the ability to host networks (type command "netsh wlan show interfaces" to figure it out).
Mine doesn't, so I eventually bought a mini router for 20$, and it works fantastically: now I have a lan network with doesn't require internet connection for those times i'm in the middle of nowhere.
Otherwise I sometimes share my cellphone connection and use Teamviewer to pilot the whole thing. Thanks again for your video: it pushed me into that direction and I now have a truly complete and portable setup !
Have you done anything to pretect your mini PC from dew or dust? Did you attach the mini PC to the mount or telescope? I'm assuming you have to attach a keyboard and monitor when to first get the IP address for the mini PC. Thanks for the detailed information.
Unfortunately, since making this video, the mini-pc featured here has died on me. The power connection failed and I cannot turn it on. But when it was working:
- no protection from dew/dust.
- I did not attach it to my telescopes. I ran a wire to the mount, and the mini-pc rested on a separate chair
- Yes, I gathered the IP address by attaching it to another monitor
So, if I understood that right, you connect your astro devices (mount, camera etc.) to the mini-pc via usb and control the mini-pc via remote desktop wireless from your laptop with all drivers and software needed installed on the laptop? Thx for this very informative video!
All of the drivers, softwares are installed on the computer in which your gear is physically connected to. Which in this case, the mini-pc. You only use the laptop to remote into the mini-pc to control the mini-pc and to monitor your session.
I have run into a rather frustrating problem running my HEQ5 PRO mount remotely. I have two Intel NUCs that are less that a year old and a seven year old HP Envy laptop. The laptop runs both NUCs remotely without any problem until I try to run my HEQ5 PRO. EQMOD does not recognize the COM port on either NUC. The second NUC was bought just for running my mount with EQMOD. Of course the COM port on my seven year old HP laptop is immediately recognized by EQMOD and I can run everything just fine from my living room. The intent was to connect a mini PC so I could put all the electrical transformers and other stuff in a plastic container to protect everything from the rain and snow that sometimes just happens. No such luck so far. Any suggestions? Like, what kind of mini PC are you using and were there any issues with the COM port not being recognized by EQMOD? A pretty good video in spite of not sharing/showing the SF FOG - I was stationed at the Presidio some 50-years ago and I only remember the FOG :)
Exactly the same for me. I’ve tried a Mele 3Q but couldn’t connect the Skywatcher mount using the same cables and software as on my laptop. The laptop is working great. I just did not want to let it outside whole night at minus 20.
Forgive me for I am terrible with anything network related, but for Step 0 how did you find the mini pc's ip address if you don't have a monitor connected?
I should have been more clear, thanks for asking! Plug the mini PC into a monitor first before starting so you can see the IP address. I hope that helped! 😃
@@nocturneastro2539 yeah but the IP address changes periodically, so you are going to have to bring a monitor along when you go to a dark site? doesn't that defeat the purpose? why not just use the cheap laptop you're using to log into the mini pc... what a stupid idea...
How do you connect mini-PC to laptop to get IP address?
You need to connect the mini-pc to a monitor first to find the IP address. After that, you can connect your laptop to your mini-pc with the IP address.
@@nocturneastro2539 Thanks. Monitor of desktop? Could I connect to laptop via hdmi cable? Thanks again.
FB Group isn't working
It isn't??? Hmmm let me try and update the link.
Try this link please
facebook.com/groups/4016103608443464/?ref=share
@@nocturneastro2539 This one worked, thanks :)