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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Guide: StellarMate OS on Raspberry Pi4 step by step with tips and tricks

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Thought I'd close the loop with this. I've resolved my issue. Again, I want to thank you for the guide it was very helpful for me.
For reference, it turns out the issue was insufficient power. I hadn't receive my powered USB hub yet so the SSD was plugged directly into the pi (powered by a cheapo wall wart). I got the exact same problem the second try. dmesg command revealed insufficient voltage. Tried again with the new hub and it copied all the files over.

When it was time to bootup, it still did not work because I use a Sabrent SATA USB adapter. After some reading, I used the quirks fix and now everything works great. I have a new adapter ordered.
Thanks again.
Vince
The following user(s) said Thank You: Stefan R.
3 years 9 months ago #54930

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Thanks for a really good guide!
Wavemon is a nice tool to test WiFi Signal Strength:

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install wavemon
$ wavemon
3 years 9 months ago #55283

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Great guide, very helpful for Astroberry as well! Used it to install a SSD mounted at boot time, works perfectly. Lots of space now and fast, especially important for FireCapture when it writes the video files. On the SD card, this was nearly impossible.

I have two questions: How can I back up the SD/SSD combo to an external image file? It‘s a bit different from the situation with just a SD card. And how would I restore this backup, just in case?

Thanks and CS, Bernd
3 years 9 months ago #55510

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Thanks for an excellent guide !

One comment regarding external USB 3.0 Realtek WiFi. When I was configuring mine I had problems with building the source code. After some digging on this forum I managed to get it to work by running this set of commands:

sudo apt -y install raspberrypi-kernel-headers
sudo ln -s /usr/src/linux-headers-$(uname -r)/arch/arm/ /usr/src/linux-headers-$(uname -r)/arch/armv7l # this was the missing link that made it possible to build Realtek driver on StellarMate
sudo apt -y install git
sudo apt -y install gcc
cd /usr/src
sudo git clone https://github.com/EntropicEffect/rtl8822bu
cd rtl8822bu
sudo nano Makefile -l
# Update lines 100 and 101 to this and save the file:
CONFIG_PLATFORM_I386_PC = n
CONFIG_PLATFORM_ARM_RPI = y
sudo make
sudo make install

I hope this will help others who experience the same problem

PS My WiFi dongle is connected through USB 3.0 passive hub
The following user(s) said Thank You: Joaquin
Last edit: 3 years 5 days ago by Perunwit.
3 years 6 months ago #59381

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Could you give more details on the model of your wifi device ? I am searching for one with compatibility with stellarmate/raspbian
3 years 6 months ago #59389

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It is the same one as posted on the first page

Flybiz USB3 WiFi adapter to get USB3 speeds (Chipset: Realtek 8812BU)
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07S23DBBY/
The following user(s) said Thank You: Joaquin
Last edit: 3 years 6 months ago by Perunwit.
3 years 6 months ago #59390

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Should update to specify that with the new bootloader you can avoid using a microSD card entirely and boot and run off the external M.2 drive. I've got it working right now. One less failure point and allows you to do everything off the SSD.

Additionally, you can always keep an updated microSD card around in case of disk failure - but SSDs are pretty robust.

It's as simple as just blowing the Stellarmate image onto the SSD and then plugging it into the USB3 port on your Pi (I'm using a Pi4 for this). If your bootloader is post Sept 2020 and you have no microsd card in it'll boot directly off the SSD.

Reference: www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/hardwa...ypi/bootmodes/msd.md
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3 years 2 months ago #65397

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I thought it might be helpful to share my experience of this, it was not quite this simple.
Using a Pi4 8Gb, updating the boot loader (see www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/hardwa...errypi/booteeprom.md ) was simple, but the result was not an 'automatic' change to being able to boot from USB.
I needed to edit the boot loader config (see www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/hardwa...bootloader_config.md ) which seemed to be simple, but the changes I made did not ever seem to be applied when I rebooted.
It turns out that despite the linked EEPROM page saying otherwise, I had to remove (actually I just renamed) the existing bootcode.bin file before I could successfully apply any changed to the boot loader config. It is still a pretty simple change overall, but the information provided seems a little misleading.
3 years 2 weeks ago #68075

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Update on my end. 

I actually swapped my old RPI case to this one
Argon ONE M.2 Case for Raspberry Pi 4 • RaspberryPi.dk

Together with an M.2 drive it can now run without an SD card.

Performance boost is insane :) 

Also, I swapped from a passive 4 port USB 3.0 hub to the 8 port active one [exactly same model as has been described in the previous posts] 

That said, adding a 30000 mA battery and running with Pegasus Pocket Power Box made it really slick with only 2 cables that are not mounted on the OTA :) 
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jasem Mutlaq
Last edit: 3 years 4 days ago by Perunwit.
3 years 5 days ago #68607

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I now use a 12-to-5V DC converter (and a USB-C charging cable) to power the RPi 4 from a Pegasus Powerbox (which is attached to the telescope dovetail). No need for a dedicated RPi power supply.
Very convenient, I only have a quite thin 12V power cable made of silicon connected to the gear. Not much that mechanically disturbs the guiding.
Here's a link to the DC converter

 
Last edit: 2 years 11 months ago by Åke Liljenberg.
2 years 11 months ago #69836
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Hello,

Thank for this RPI4B guide with StellarMate. I appreciated the pictures. As I reviewed aliljenb’s picture, I tried this with my setup. I abandoned this design because of moments of inertia, radius of gyration, and center of gravity issues. I had a counterweight on the Vixen rail and still could not keep the motors from overworking.

I just picked up an 8G RPI4B. I like the idea of SSD use. I also like the idea of the OTA becoming the carrier. Not getting tangled up is the goal. I distribute my USB load between 2 4 port powered USB.

My first question is “How easy is this setup to achieve CG in X-Y-Z? 

My my second question is “What is the total weight of this package with all of its components?”

Thank you.
2 years 10 months ago #70997

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Hello,

Thank you for this guide. I will be reviewing its recommendations. Last night was beautiful, cool and dark. I just went from a 4G to 8G RPI4B with the new StellarMate installed on 120G SSD. StellarMate is very inviting from the WEB. Setting up my rig looked easy. I kept it very simple. I didn’t push my configuration to take in more items. One OTA, GPSD, joystick, and QHYCCD. 

I had several problems of my own making. I didn’t setup fully by this guide. Thank you again for this guide.

1. location.

I am at the latest update and current revision. GPSD works wonderfully. StellarMate asks if I want to use it for time keeping. Cool. I will use this guide in establishing location. 

2. Disconnects.

In the past, (AstroHub, AstroBerry, and StellarMate), I always went to the OS under VNC to set the OS location, time, and the TTYACM dance with my gear. Udevadm is my friend. Under the Web interface, creating a config was not possible. Creating a saved profile was not possible.

When I went to the OS, all that work was not remembered. No profiles were created. KSTARS web was running. KSTARS and INDI OS knew nothing about the web except it was running. No web profiles were created despite clicking saved. OS KSTARS complained about “ no telescope config found”. In KSTARS OS, Devices is the singular place with establishing configuration. It’s state had 0 configs. No problem, I can use this guide to establish saved profiles. I will look at INDI logs to see if this is a permissions issue. 

3. Bare bones screen and updates

Under Indiweb, SM said, updates were needed to be installed. I click on “yes”. The download was said to be successful. Silence. ATAPI and another app were options to install. They downloaded and installed as submitted. Cool. Under VNC, I used APT-GET to update. 

StellarMate application works well from iOS. I have an antenna and the rest of my gear to setup. Thank you again for this guide. 
 
2 years 10 months ago #71299

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