OK, well, here's my data dump. And before I start, please do not take any of what I'm about to write as an attempt to Poo-poo this effort. I put hours and hours into this over the last year myself, so I get it. But here's where I am, personally.
I tried the Astropi3 install and ran into issues that I think I shouldn't have. I then tried the Astroberry image and it went fine at first but then all the icons on the OS went away when i started it up the next day and I re-started from scratch. Then, my browser complained about security certificates when I tried to follow the connection instructions given, so I couldn't connect. VNC viewer/server did work, so that's good and I pressed on from there but I don't think I would have known to try that if I didn't already have some experience messing with this system. Once I got the thing working, I connected my Canon 6D to EKOS and gave it a test drive. Within minutes I had a crash of some kind with EKOS. That's unacceptable to me. I wasn't doing anything funny and I am more familiar with the EKOS system that a total noobie would be that's trying to make this work for the first time. So, I simply gave up at that point - not worth it.
The reality for me is this......I've been using Astrophotography Tool for over two years now and it has astrometry tools embedded, etc. I point my scope, it plate-solves, syncs the scope, aims at the target on its own and off I go. I use EQMOD for my scope and PHD2 guiding along with Carte Du Ceil as my planetarium software. I have never had a problem with this setup. I installed the software, followed the instructions and have never had a crash or failure of any of the programs. The only issues I've ever had were hardware issues having to do with too many thing running off of an un-powered USB hub. This coming from someone that didn't know what he was doing when he set it all up the first time. Only down side was that it wasn't a handy-dandy package I could simply install and get going; which is what I think this effort is supposed to be all about. I don't have the luxury of an observatory setup so I have to be mobile and things need to work. I don't have an auto-focuser, either, so there's little point in having a completely remote operation. So as I sit here and pull my hair out over Indi/Ekos and pour a lot of time into trying to make it all work, I just can't risk my rare opportunities out under the stars trying to make something work that's not 100% and prone to glitches. I use remote desktop or VNC server to run my scope from in the house when it's too cold to sit outside and that works just fine. I love the whole INDI/EKOS concept and REALLY want to make it work! I'm all about technology and remote applications, etc. but even after over a year of progress/effort, I still can't simply install an OS onto my Pi3, plug in my equipment and get it working without headaches. I'm having a really hard time justifying the time spent.
My hat is off to all of you for your work and effort on this project as well as your help to me as I have struggled through this. I'm just left frustrated as to why this still isn't as fool-proof and user friendly as I believe it should be by now.
Again, I'm not intending to flame any efforts here. I just needed to vent out of frustration over something I REALLY wanted to make work and still can't.
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