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Post by davy on Apr 22, 2020 15:11:54 GMT
Hi folks, New project,,,, Follow on from the raspberry pi
The raspberry pi and astroberry was a good learning curve,, but life is a learning curve and on here I push things to the limit and don't do standard.
So the lattepanda,, time to put my money into something I think will be great for astronomy,, hopefully it will be of some use to others. I messaged lattepanda today nd told them I'm impressed with there product, a single board computer,, And said I think it has great potential for astronomy,, and explained my thoughts on how it could be used.
They contacted me back and told me they had not thought about the lattepanda getting used for astronomy and I was the first to speak to them about it,, we done some messenger chats and exchanged emails and I sent them a more comprehensive detailed explanation of how I would use in astronomy and that I believed others would as well,, We obviously cannot sell these and we aren't a seller of any kit, so I sent a message off to explore scientific explaining the product and how it would be a good opportunity for them to get in before any other astronomy vendor,, Got a reply back saying they have been working on a single board computer set up for three years,, interesting I thought 🤔 zwo has put out the asiair and the pro in that time frame or near enough,, so it must be some bit of kit..
To look out for it soon,,,
So back to the project I ordered the basic model,, I had spoken to uncle John about it and he offered to go half with me and get the flagship lattepanda alpha,, now that is a serious bit of kit. But its about affordable astronomy and I wanted to try the starter model in the range, This I'm positive will run my mount, focuser and cameras from its windows 10 operating system,, this is a game changer in my opinion because...
You can install Windows astronomy software you already have.
No learning new software
You know your hardware, mount, camera, focuser, filter wheel will work,, because it already works on Windows.
And the one I got was the Lattepanda (2g/32gb/ with Windows 10 It cost me £115.00+ £2.99 delivery from the pl shop. Should be here in a couple of days hopefully.
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Post by oldstash on Apr 22, 2020 15:22:04 GMT
Hi folks, New project,,,, Follow on from the raspberry pi The raspberry pi and astroberry was a good learning curve,, but life is a learning curve and on here I push things to the limit and don't do standard. So the lattepanda,, time to put my money into something I think will be great for astronomy,, hopefully it will be of some use to others. I messaged lattepanda today nd told them I'm impressed with there product, a single board computer,, And said I think it has great potential for astronomy,, and explained my thoughts on how it could be used. They contacted me back and told me they had not thought about the lattepanda getting used for astronomy and I was the first to speak to them about it,, we done some messenger chats and exchanged emails and I sent them a more comprehensive detailed explanation of how I would use in astronomy and that I believed others would as well,, We obviously cannot sell these and we aren't a seller of any kit, so I sent a message off to explore scientific explaining the product and how it would be a good opportunity for them to get in before any other astronomy vendor,, Got a reply back saying they have been working on a single board computer set up for three years,, interesting I thought 🤔 zwo has put out the asiair and the pro in that time frame or near enough,, so it must be some bit of kit.. To look out for it soon,,, So back to the project I ordered the basic model,, I had spoken to uncle John about it and he offered to go half with me and get the flagship lattepanda alpha,, now that is a serious bit of kit. But its about affordable astronomy and I wanted to try the starter model in the range, This I'm positive will run my mount, focuser and cameras from its windows 10 operating system,, this is a game changer in my opinion because... You can install Windows astronomy software you already have. No learning new software You know your hardware, mount, camera, focuser, filter wheel will work,, because it already works on Windows. And the one I got was the Lattepanda (2g/32gb/ with Windows 10 It cost me £115.00+ £2.99 delivery from the pl shop. Should be here in a couple of days hopefully.
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Post by oldstash on Apr 22, 2020 15:32:51 GMT
A couple of quick points
1. It needs very good cooling else it throttles back down to 400mghz - slower than a RPI1- Goodle heating problem with Lattepanda
2. 32gb is on the limit for Windows 10 std install if you include Ascom and most of the other Astro stuff BYEOS PHD etc. Than you have to add (more cost) a USB3 SSD or a SSD Sata extra cost. I guess the 32gb is EMMC ?
3. If It is running 32bit Windows you will be limited to 3.5gb of memory - and the std rule of thumb has always been "more memory more memory".
For just for DSLR,Mount,no stacking it will be fine!
All other bits you mentioned are true - so good luck.
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Post by davy on Apr 22, 2020 15:59:27 GMT
I've took a comparison of spec from my linx 10 " laptop / tablet and and I can operate the stuff I mentioned,, the cpu is faster on the panda,, but as said could quite easily went for top of the range alpha,, but wasn't the exercise,, will it for its price do a reasonable job, and how would it compare to the asiair Pro,, With it being Windows based,, it has potential to run most cameras that the zwo can't,, Yip going to come down to power,, will it choke,, can a fan be added,, should not be a problem,, modded plenty of scb camera's,, on the positive side if lattepanda keeps an open channel then we can give them feedback and get a version that suits ur needs without hitting £400 mark,, think without testing it shows promise,, and if I'm wrong like always on the forum,, we post the bad as well as the good,, this then stops the next person from going down that route.
Years ago I bought the qhy5lii colour camera was few folk raved about it,, and being of repute in the astronomy game I bought it,, yes and,, I believe I got my backside felt,, I didn't see any advantages over the Sammy scb2000,,,, Folk up the tree receive camera's and equipment to try and,, review,, and keep the camera's,, Ken is one of few who have gave a fair honest opinion of a piece of equipment given to him,, that is why if a review is submitted,, its kit you must have owned or used, we keep independent of any companies so we don't have to play politics,, you just get the info as we see it personally.
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Post by oldstash on Apr 22, 2020 17:40:35 GMT
A couple of quick points 1. It needs very good cooling else it throttles back down to 400mghz - slower than a RPI1- Goodle heating problem with Lattepanda 2. 32gb is on the limit for Windows 10 std install if you include Ascom and most of the other Astro stuff BYEOS PHD etc. Than you have to add (more cost) a USB3 SSD or a SSD Sata extra cost. I guess the 32gb is EMMC ? 3. If It is running 32bit Windows you will be limited to 3.5gb of memory - and the std rule of thumb has always been "more memory more memory". For just for DSLR,Mount,no stacking it will be fine! All other bits you mentioned are true - so good luck. Having spent over 45 yrs in IT - the bottom line is always "you are only as fast as your slowest component" so good luck and I will follow with interest!
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Post by davy on Apr 22, 2020 19:54:59 GMT
Cheers stash,, I can't say I've spent any Time in It, I just get idea's and if I think there right,, I give it a go,, years ago before I met Carol,, I doubted myself was content with the way life was getting laid down in front off me,, was I good at things,, no,, did I get by and accept my life,, yes I did. I joined the pipe band at 32 yrs of age,, never had a bit of rhythm in my body,, I stuck in because I wasn't a quit ,, four years later my life fell apart,, my wife had an affair,, devastated and suicidal to be honest, that was my life,, 5 months of hell I would not wish on my worst enemy,, your child turned against you,, not knowing who you could talk to,, without it getting back to the x wife and anybody who has been in that position knows,, words can be like knife cuts, I met Carol and I'm not going to say everything was made good by the love of a good woman,, yip she rebuilt me better and stronger with a will to live and not be a pawn in anybodys game of life. I got more into teaching in pipe bands and good at it, Carol brought out the creative side in me instead of what was there before,, I watched her drawing,, tried that and got better,, but I was more drawn to the tech side, and photography,, then astronomy, even embroidery, digitising designs,, I dived in and got this site up and running,, more folk said I couldn't more determined it makes me want to succeed,, had my accident a few years ago, that I ended up with a 10mm bar stuck in my arm, red hot and cooking me from the inside out, five and a half hours surgery to repair damage,, an hour after I came round I was exercising my hand and arm, I was signed off work for elghth weeks and to go back and be assessed before I could go back to work,, week 5 I was back at work, before Christmas I broke my wrist in two places,, I was back at work next day fixing cars,, not sitting at a desk answering phones,, so when folk say I can't or it can't be done,, don't take it personally folks,, I try it to see if it can be done,, I'm exactly the same at work,, boss says I'm a nightmare,, but I'm the type of guy you want working next to,, I don't quit to the last, and push it right out the box, take it up into a field and torch it,, But that how folk achieve things,, I'm no going to say I will make something of my life but will push harder to achieve more 😁
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Post by davy on Apr 23, 2020 21:24:47 GMT
Still waiting on my drive coupling appearing from ebay to fit to my focuser,, get that side up and running,, Think I will 3d print a case for the panda when it comes,, have seen the pins on the board the fan connects to,, read some posts about the heat build up and choking as stash mentioned,, nothing more once a fan was fitted,, messaged lattepanda today with more information on what my plans are and can only wait and see if it interests them,, if not can see me diving into the arduino stuff I got a while back 😄
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Post by davy on Apr 23, 2020 22:04:43 GMT
If the testing goes OK on the panda,, well I'm pretty shure it will,, hopefully on the entry level but if not there is four models above it,, that should. Thinking forward possible that a few of us tried the Intel pc stick to try this king of thing before,, my attempt just kept getting bigger and bigger and the pc stick wasn't the most rebust,, But if you think of it we were trying to copy some of the Eagle astronomy hub functions on the cheap bit of the old home brew method,, with a panda,, it become a reality,, if the panda can take a usb hub,, preferably a powered one and control some USB accessories,, then that would be pretty nice,, We need 12v dc to run the mount,, ( in most cases,, azgti one example that does not),, so if we used a jump pack for example,, a power socket from ebay has various 12v cigarette sockets and USB ports,, we could power the mount,, power the panda,, camera cooling ect,, a powered USB,, a while back I bought USB dew heaters,, never got to use them,, but checked astronomy forums and they have been used by others and work,, and astronomy retailers now sell them,, so dew control could be managed as well without going for 12v units with bulky pulse width modulation,,. Should make folk about what could be done with a bit of thinking,
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Post by davy on Apr 24, 2020 8:54:42 GMT
2 out of 2 today,, drive coupling came today, can now look into adding it to the new upgraded focuser on the ed80.. Panda came as well 😁
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Post by davy on Apr 24, 2020 11:08:32 GMT
The coupler for focuser,, diameter slightly big,, got a rub,, will take it down bit, ordered 16mm long,, 3mm Allen bolts to mount motor frame to focuser,, that's that job on standby
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Post by davy on Apr 24, 2020 11:25:38 GMT
Moved on to the panda,, initial thoughts Delivery from the pi hut,, very good Item boxed well, sealed packaging for board. Size wise about the case size of a zwo asiair Pro,, so not going to be much bigger than the raspberry pi 4 4gb. One complaint,, the WiFi ariel needs fitted,, me with hands like shovels struggled a bit,, should come pre fitted as I don't think there is an upgraded ariel,, . Power supply,, the b type phone charging type,, phone charger powers it no problem,, I'm using the fast charger. Video out is the standard big hdmi socket. Plugged it all in. Power up,, wait till red led goes out,, board initialization. Then hold power button for a second. Windows 10 pre installed on my version,, worked,, no problem.. So the minimum I have so far is windows 10 low spec computer, 😁 I downloaded cartes du ciel and it booted up fine,, no lag detected so far. Next up is the Ascom platform.. Downloaded,, but won't install. Microsoft (I net) missing,, Ascom required 3.5 in it's message,, currently downloading and installing . Net framework 4.8,, pretty slow 😬 and just cancelled itself.. Problem 1,, to solve
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Post by davy on Apr 24, 2020 11:50:03 GMT
Not done anything on Windows 10 apart from use software,, But seemingly, you can type in features in the search box, and enable the. Net from there,, doing that just now,, windows is doing an update after I had restarted it
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Post by davy on Apr 24, 2020 12:32:43 GMT
So,, type in,, enable windows features and it brings up a box,, tick the frame net one, ok it Box will come up saying needs to look for it,, click it,, will search and download and update Windows,
Back on Ascom an it's now installing.. All going well,, I will install eq mod and Software I use and if that is OK. Will try it on mount, cameras ect
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Post by davy on Apr 24, 2020 13:50:01 GMT
Pretty much installed most of Software,, only additional software will be the zwo asicap. So what have we got on it. Cartes du ciel Telescope control via eqascom Ascom Hitecastro,, focuser control Sharpcap pro Backyard eos. Booted up the software,, no problem. Backyard eos was the one I worried about,, so I tethered the Canon 600d to the panda,, went on planetary mobe and it operated live view. Next up will be equipment test
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Post by davy on Apr 24, 2020 14:04:26 GMT
Having a wee break from it just now,, done a fair bit of work so far. What do I think so far,,,, Pretty good,, just the one snag with installing Ascom and its solved,,
To be honest,, I wondered if it could be this easy at times,, I'm not a Windows 10 fan and would rather use my Windows 7 laptop,, but it's not going to go away..
The panda has been running for hours,, I've been on the net with it,, no hassle getting WiFi from my phone,, its downloaded software after Software,, and I checked the heat on the board regularly I didn't want to cook it,, and to my amazement its warm, not hot,, and certainly not needed a fan up to now,, but a fan is always good where electronics are involved.
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Post by davy on Apr 24, 2020 16:22:10 GMT
Up and running again 😁 Panda now connected to Heq5,,cartes du ciel,, eqmod,, Ascom Tested OK,, comm port 4 on my set up.
Hitecastro dc focuser,, Ascom and handset tested OK
Backyard eos,, does not like being connected to a USB3 hub,, i have a powered one to test to see if it makes a difference, but had the camera on live view 10 min and cdc on tracking mode.. Next is to try and image,, check download speed of image ect.
All going well will set up vnc for remote desktop.. Still going well. Very pleased so far
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Post by davy on Apr 24, 2020 16:48:46 GMT
Testing byeos on imaging mode,, it is slower,, getting the capture to the vlewer, an extra couple of gigs of ram would speed it up nicer,, but other than that still performing a mile better than the raspberry pi,, for easf setting up,, getting to use your preferred software,, this works far better at this stage than the pi did,, not knocking the pi,, but for £118 with a built in copy of Windows 10 an a hassle free this is good, definitely entry lelel,, the model above this would be a mile better and the delta better Again,, serious astronomers would spend £400 on the alpha in my opinion, Well so far 😬
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Post by oldstash on Apr 24, 2020 17:20:37 GMT
Glad you are having Fun with your new Toy.
What about using the SW Synscan App or Ascom Driver for your AZ GTI - should work fine but intrigued to know what the WifI "in real" conditions is like?
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Post by davy on Apr 24, 2020 19:11:16 GMT
It's on the test list,, may be same hassle because I can't switch between WiFi and hot-spot on phone. Used the panda most of today and heat wise its fine,, not trying gaming graphics so maybe it's that that makes it heat up,, so far I could not justify fitting a fan,, but I will as it will be better in long run.
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Post by fondofchips on Apr 24, 2020 20:10:01 GMT
Having a wee break from it just now,, done a fair bit of work so far. What do I think so far,,,, Pretty good,, just the one snag with installing Ascom and its solved,, To be honest,, I wondered if it could be this easy at times,, I'm not a Windows 10 fan and would rather use my Windows 7 laptop,, but it's not going to go away.. The panda has been running for hours,, I've been on the net with it,, no hassle getting WiFi from my phone,, its downloaded software after Software,, and I checked the heat on the board regularly I didn't want to cook it,, and to my amazement its warm, not hot,, and certainly not needed a fan up to now,, but a fan is always good where electronics are involved. Windows 10 has been around for years Davy! I know you live in a more remote part of the UK but hey even Windows 10 will work up there! Just having a laugh and on a more serious note Stay Safe.
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