Hello,
just surfing here is the news:
www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-3-on-sale/

It seems to be faster and have a wifi built in...could it be the right time to have Ekos running on it in a smooth way than ever?
What's your opinion? Someone to test ...

Giovanni.

The build-in wifi is defo a plus, I shall wait however for a few benchmarks to come out and real life experience from buyers.

Seems like Raspberry PI foundation is becoming the new Samsung! While the built in WiFi is nice (2.4 Ghz only, no 5 Ghz), my overall reaction is <em>meh</em>. Where is the 10 GB Ethernet? No more RAM? USB 3.0? And while the chip is 64bit, Raspian isn't yet.

I understand they need to keep the price down, but I think I'll hold off until they release Raspberry PI S4

Yes I know, your reaction is similar to other Raspberry fans, but I only wonder whether nearly 50% more of computing power would make smoother the indi+ekos execution. It consumes nearly 100 mA more than pi 2 and this could be a problem in case of vagabond setups so I should have a choice between pi 2 and 3.
Have a look at the benchmarks, if you will, and let me know your opinion on this focus.

Thanks in advance!

Giovanni.

I dont think the built in wifi is that great advantage that makes me buying the Pi3. For indi I prefer much more 5GHz USB wifi with external antenna.
My neighbourhood so so full in 2.4GHz that makes it nearly unusable for longer distances. And in the case of performance I would be interested how much faster
is the image download from raspberry to indi/ekos but I doubt It would beat the usbip method.

Here are the benchmarks:

www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/raspberry-pi-3-specs-benchmarks/

Good afternoon

Just to report in this forum that this weekend I could install the INDIserver on the Raspberry PI 3 without any problem. Here is the setup I currently could validate:

• Raspbian "Jessie", latest release from Raspberry Pi site. I started "from zero" with the minimum image
• SD card 8 GB (will expand to 32 GB later
• tightvnc server, latest version
• packages "lightdm" and "lxde" to add Xserver capabilities
• INDIServer 1.2.0 from this site, installed as documented
• lin-guider, installed as documented for the LodeStar X2

At this moment I cannot give all the install details, but if somebody is interested, please let me know.

I use the following devices:

• ATIK 383 L+ BW CCD (INDI)
• EQMod for NEQ6 Pro, cable version (INDI)
• LodeStar X2 guider (INDI or lin-guider, both works)

My observations are that the RPI 3 is faster, both in processing as in communication with WiFi. Download time for a 2x2 binned image from the ATIK 383 L+ is about 40% shorter that for the RPI2 with WiFi USB dongle.

Attention: The RPI3 really uses more than 2 amperes of current, so an ordinary 5V power supply sometimes is not sufficient: you will see the red LED on the board blinking if the power is insufficient.
Furthermore I could even activate the Bluetooth option. Not necessary to install any package, the device is already active at bootup.

One other hint: Attention with the WiFi: By default power saving is active, so after a couple of minutes the connection (ex: ssh or vnc) will be lost. Power saving can be switched off, just like the RPI2 with an USB dongle.

Finally I recommend this new RPI3 for astro work. It is worth it.

I hope that these comments are helpful for you. Please contact me, maybe I can be helpful

All the best and clear skies from Andorra

Alexander

Well done! About the power consuption I thought it was about 0.3A in idle mode and 0.6A in running mode, this is what I see from benchmarks...maybe 2A is a pick consuption? I was wondering how to create an adapter for 12V battery power. BTW it would be nice to see how Ekos works if run in Raspberry Pi3 ...
Thanks for your feedback I think I'll contact you when I get the rasp.
Clear sky!

Giovanni.