I am wondering if anybody has tried installing stellarmate x os on an external ssd drive (USB). Then plugging it into a mini PC and setting boot order to boot from USB if a bootable USB is found.
I know some Linux distros can run from an external ssd drives like this, but not sure if stellarmate will.
If this is not possible, is it possible to install another internal drive on the mini.pc and install it there, while keeping the original disk unchanged?
I don't have a spare mini PC but very much want to try stellarmate os x on my existingini.px but without losing windows.
Read More...
Kstars and ekos does not live stack, as far as I know. The stellarmate app does. I do EAA most of the time, and planetary imaging very occasionally. So the EAA functionality is more critical for me.
When I used stellarmate with the rpi it was quite unstable. Random crashes, the equipment profiles were especially annoying and didn't work. That's why I would like to try stellarmate x without destroying my currently working windows setup.
Read More...
I am happy with sharpcap.
My biggest reason to try stellarmate X is the same as my reason to use stellarmate (where I started): the ability to do live stacking and control my rig from a mobile device. The inability to control from my phone (unless I like pain) is the biggest limitations of my current windows setup.
Read More...
Thank you. This was exactly my doubt. I am using the mini PC as a way to control my equipment using sharpcap which is windows only.
I am not sure that taking an OS backup would work. The mini PC didn't come with a product key for Windows, so reinstalling it after the drive is wiped once may be complicated.
Read More...
Did any of you keep the original OS on the mini PC (e.g. by adding a second SSD and installing Stellarmate X on it, rather than just wipe the existing SSD)? I'm wondering if this is possible since I have a mini PC that I'm not ready to wipe yet.
Read More...
Hmmm, no replies! This is clearly not the place to get the attention of the developers. Any suggestions?
Read More...
I used to use Stellarmate but moved away from it due to stability issues. The more recent Stellarmate X OS seems appealing to me, but I have some questions about installing and using it. I hope this is the correct place to post such questions.
1. I have a mini PC with Windows 11 (it is a Beelink mini PC with a Celeron N5105). I am not ready to wipe it clean and replace it with Stellarmate X OS. I understand that a dual boot or partition is not possible with Stellarmate X OS.
However, I can add another SATA drive to the mini PC. Would it work if I tried to install Stellarmate X OS to that drive and leave the existing drive untouched? Or does Stellarmate X really need a whole new PC?
I understand that I would have to set the boot order in the BIOS for it to boot using the original drive (Windows) or the new drive (Stellarmate X), and change this order every time I wish to change what I want to boot into. But will this work?
2. Does Stellarmate X OS also create a wifi hotspot like Stellarmate does? In other words, will I have the option to either use the Stellarmate hotspot to connect to, or have the Stellarmate mini PC connect to my home network via wifi or ethernet? My current workflow using a windows mini PC does not have the option of creating a wifi hotspot (because Windows has no such feature). I'm hoping that with Stellarmate X OS I would be able to use this feature again.
3. I assume that the answer to this question is yes, but will the Stellarmate app on Android continue to work with Stellarmate X OS installed on my mini PC, as it did with the original Stellarmate OS installed on a Raspberry PI?
I am willing to try this primarily because the stellarmate setup could be controlled from a phone (a feature I miss), and I liked how so much hardware was supported by indilib. I am hoping that all of the problems I faced with stellarmate, including random crashes of the software, were because of the Raspberry PI platform (specifically its lack of computing power).
Thanks!
Amit
Read More...
I notice that there is a new stellarmate device coming out, that is Intel x86 based rather than rpi.
I am wondering if there are plans to release stellarmate os builds for this hardware separately, like one can just buy stellarmate os instead of the box right now? One could install stellarmate os on a mini PC like I have it currently installed on my own raspberry pi 4.
Read More...
The answer to this is probably yes, but I thought I would ask anyway...
Does the stellarmate app detect something unique to stellarmate on the server device? In other words it is not possible to manage a Linux or even astroberry server using the stellarmate app.
Read More...
Is it possible to connect the Stellarmate app with a Linux box running an INDI server?
My thinking is that some of the limitations of the raspberry pi are limited computing ability and its poor wifi performance. If both of these are addressed then the Stellarmate app usability would be improved. So why not connect a mini PC running Linux at the mount, instead of Stellarmate OS on raspberry PI?
It may be that the app is tailormade to interface with Stellarmate OS, but I'm wondering if there is a workaround that as Stellarmate OS itself is Linux-based?
Read More...
Thank you Jasem for your hard work.
For what my personal opinion/suggestion is worth, I think the following would really help with the live stacking:
1. Basic histogram control: adjust the black, mid and white point. Most other stacking software offer this, and these controls are enough for most adjustments. I have not used AsiAir, but I have read that it stacks on the pi but offers the histogram controls in the app. The existing controls in the Stellarmate app may be working this way too, I don't know.
2. Ability to use darks and flats. I know that Stellarmate has the capability to manage a dark library on the Pi, I don't know if a similar "flat library" exists. In any case, being able to incorporate that into stacking will improve the result (noise, dust motes, vignetting, etc.)
3. I don't know what it will take and whether this is even feasible, but if live stacking is incorporated into Ekos that would be great. Currently as a workaround I used to use Ekos to capture the images and save them in the remote folder, then use Sharpcap on Windows in folder monitor mode to stack. If that can work, so can Ekos on the remote computer.
I would also suggest to think about a workflow for EAA that runs like a wizard in the app. This is similar to how astrophotographers can set up complicated sequences and then just let it run. But EAA users want ease of use more than technical capability, and are often more unfamiliar with what needs to be done (e.g. I had no idea what a dark and flat was and how it would affect my result, I was just looking to stack. If an app guided me through steps on what to do for each session, it would make the experience much smoother for newbie users). I would like to think that Kstars/ekos and even the app already have most of the functionality needed for this, its a matter of presenting it in a manner that is easy to follow.
Time and again, users come on Cloudy Nights and ask if it is possible to do EAA using a mobile phone, without lugging a laptop around. There are only two choices that I can think of: Stellarmate and ASIAir. ASIAir is recommended to new users because Stellarmate is "buggy and looks like a work in progress" (not my words). ASIAir currently wins in ease of use. But Stellarmate supports so many more devices, can be installed on any Raspberry PI 4 and most importantly, does not force somebody to buy into the ZWO ecosystem. The stability and ease of use issue is what is pulling it back. Having used Stellarmate for about a year, I see the potential and want it to succeed. I hope you get there.
Read More...
Frederick,
My main usage scenario is mount + scope + rPI outside on my deck, with me inside the house. My area is too cold for me to be outside or to snake a cable through a door somehow. The rpi has direct line of sight to my router, and is no more than 20 feet away. I experimented quite a lot of times with where to sit inside my house to do EAA, and thought I had found some good spots. The behavior is very unpredictable. One day it will work, the next day from the same spot, it will take me 15 minutes just to get a reliable connection.
But I had learned to live with that. Waiting for live stacking to either be more powerful/feature-rich, and struggling through the latest "optical trains" feature and the forced OS update leading to flashing + re-setup is what finally broke my resolve. I teach programming for a living, so I understand the difficulties of maintaining software and debugging. But seeing new features like optical trains (which did not work for me) when so many users had been talking for a long time about existing stability issues and the need to develop live stacking further, just leads me to believe that the Stellarmate developers seem to have a different vision for the product and different priorities than what I had hoped. I have used open-source programs before, and know that they seem less polished than other commercial products. But since Stellarmate OS is a paid product, I expected a smoother experience and a more robust program.
There are a couple of very long threads on Cloudy Nights: one describing an EAA setup by "cuiv the lazy geek" using Stellarmate that got a lot of interest and likely Stellarmate customers (like me), and another equally long thread of users basically struggling and then giving up on trying to get a reliable setup using Stellarmate. "I am moving on to windows/ASIAIR, but I really like the idea of Stellarmate and will watch to see if it becomes stable and usable enough" is a sentiment that is repeatedly echoed on that thread.
Read More...
1. There is cable between pi and mount. There is no cable between pi and the app or the client computer. Using a cable between the pi and the device with the app seems silly.
I used my home wifi to connect because it seemed to be the stablest approach.
2. I thought stellarmate is precisely doing this? Stacking on the pi?
I agree with the updates and backups. I updated the Android app. But it forced me to update the OS. The app stopped detecting all my cameras and I interpreted that as a consequence of not updating the OS. So I did.
3. I am not criticizing kstars, ekos or Indi. But I paid for stellarmate OS, so it seems reasonable that I expect a working product.
I do not know how asiair based their work on the free work of everybody here. I think it is fishy too. I have not bought the asiair. But from a user standpoint the product is more usable, so beginners will choose that. That's all I saying, that stellarmate can actually be superior and I gave it time, but the problems never went away.
Read More...