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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

NUC10 vs RPI4b/SSD

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Replied by AstroNerd on topic NUC10 vs RPI4b/SSD

Yes my power supply to mine is 13.7v actually not 12v…
2 years 5 months ago #76120

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Replied by Jose Corazon on topic NUC10 vs RPI4b/SSD

I guess it's time to retire my old Cray 1.  It was getting a little heavy for the rig, I have to admit.  And it was sucking a lot of power....   

 
2 years 5 months ago #76137
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Replied by Jose Corazon on topic NUC10 vs RPI4b/SSD


The network issue I found was mainly a problem with the onboard wireless.  I put an external 1200 Mbs adapter on the powered hub and then everything is instantaneous from 60 ft away.  

The compiling, yes, that does take a long time.  But once it runs, downloading to the SSD and running Ekos can only be marginally better with the NUC.  I see very little lag there. 
2 years 5 months ago #76138

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Replied by Scott Denning on topic NUC10 vs RPI4b/SSD

I also use a miniPC (mine's AMD not Intel) for my home imaging setup. I find KStars/Ekos to be perfectly comfortable on the Pi4, but occasionally I do lunar and planetary and for high-frame rate video capture the Pi just can't come close. I can get anywhere from 3x to 5x or more frames per second on the miniPC. Once it's out there under the scope there's no point swapping it back out for the Pi.

On the other hand, I use a Pi all the time up at my cabin or on the road because it's so much power efficient. I have no line power at all at the cabin, so everything has to be charged off solar, and I just can't see wasting watts on a miniPC.

I rarely compile anything on the Pi, and just work with the ubuntu repositories. Running KStars is just no trouble at all on the Pi, especially when I'm asleep! The interface is just a little bit laggy compared to the mini, but not so much that it bothers me.
Last edit: 2 years 5 months ago by Scott Denning.
2 years 5 months ago #76140

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Replied by Ron DeBry on topic NUC10 vs RPI4b/SSD

Planning to acquire a mini-PC.

With an external usb wifi adapter, can one create a wifi hotspot for remote setups? Or should I get a travel router instead?
1 year 8 months ago #84086

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Replied by Jose Corazon on topic NUC10 vs RPI4b/SSD

You should be able to do that using the internal WiFi on the mini-PC, but you can also use an external dongle to do it.
I have used either approach and both work. I usually use a dongle to create the external hotspot as a backup, just in case I get frozen out by my Pi4 on the internal network.
I have also used the travel router, but if you are out in the dark, that is just one more thing that consumes battery power.
All of these solutions work.
1 year 8 months ago #84088

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Replied by Ron DeBry on topic NUC10 vs RPI4b/SSD

Thanks, Jose. It finally dawned on me that, although I've always thought of the 'Astroberry hotspot' as being some magic done by Astroberry, the hotspot functionality is probably built into the linux distribution. With the pi I have both wifi interfaces when at home and, of course, only the hotspot when remote.
1 year 8 months ago #84091

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Replied by Davide Maino on topic NUC10 vs RPI4b/SSD

Hi. Just to know. Still with your RockPi 4B? Where did you buy it from? Did you install ubuntu and then kstars/ekos? Was it simple?
Thanks.
7 months 2 weeks ago #94710

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Replied by Jose Corazon on topic NUC10 vs RPI4b/SSD

Hi Davide,
Yes, I continue to use the Pi4. But I got my Pi4s before they had the chip shortage. If you are planning to buy one now, you pay double the price for an 8GB version (definitely get 8 GB) and at that price, it is no longer competitive to NUCs, I would say.
Perhaps a better alternative would be an 8-core OrangePi with 16GB RAM for $132 on Amazon plus cooler ($20). The downside there is that the Ubuntu image for it is not the generic US Ubuntu version, but a Chinese version. I am not certain whether that might throw an error when you are compiling kstars on it. Have not tried that. I am using it mainly as a mail and video server so far. It also sucks a lot more power. You need a 4A power supply to run the OrangePi.
I gave detailed instructions somewhere else here on how to install Ubuntu on the Pi4. It was pretty straightforward. In fact, now you can just download a complete image from the RaspberryPi.org website. Even simpler. After that, it is just a matter of installing kstars.
The main problem I have with kstars is that after updates often some of the drivers fail and I need to recompile everything from scratch. That can be a major pain, so NEVER update before an imaging session. You may just end up missing much of the night.
Hope this helps.
Jo
7 months 2 weeks ago #94712

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Replied by Simon Andersson on topic NUC10 vs RPI4b/SSD

I am right in the midst of switching from RPi 4 8GB to a Mele Quieter 3Q mini PC. I noticed some people earlier on in the thread mention HDMI dummy plugs. Are they necessary? What am I missing out on by not using one of those? I seem to be able to remote into the Quieter just fine. Could it help speed things up even more? Is it perhaps a Linux thing, since I have only dabbled with Windows so far?
7 months 1 week ago #94854

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Replied by nou on topic NUC10 vs RPI4b/SSD

I bought Orange Pi5 8GB as miniserver for home use. It is much better than RPi4 and it have more performance than my 7year old laptop.
I installed 1TB nvme drive in it. I compiled INDI/KStars on it with my script and did some capturing with ASI camera. Download and save speed is comparable to my desktop PC. Also power draw is less than 5W (my power meter doesn't show anything less than 5W) which is IMHO interesting for battery guys.

HDMI dummy plugs can be necessary to be able reliably use VNC as without attached monitor there is no desktop to show. These mini PC tend to have build in dummy plug. So if it works then you don't need it.
7 months 1 week ago #94857

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Replied by hades on topic NUC10 vs RPI4b/SSD

Simon, there is no need to use the plug when you are able to remotely connect to the desktop. I am using NUC and it has possibility to enable virtual display in the BIOS. I know there are some miniPCs that doesn't have this functionality and for them the plug is an option.
And instead of VNC, try to use NoMachine, for me it is much better and stable than VNC.
www.nomachine.com/
Last edit: 7 months 1 week ago by hades.
7 months 1 week ago #94858

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