An absolute masterclass in preparing a new automated imaging rig. I am sure this video will be recommended as the go to source material for newcomers. Thank you for investing the time and effort required to produce such an outstanding video.
I really, really, really, hope people use this video. LOL It took soooo much time to create. I feel like I did the best I could, but time and feedback will tell the real story! :) Thanks for watching and commenting!
I am retired and I have decided to try putting together my first rig. It looks daunting but I will do my best. Lots to learn and integrate software with all the hardware. Last year I just purchased a small astrograph and a couple planetary cameras and just took images of the Moon and Sun using a tripod and learned to process those images. This year I will learn how to set up a tracking mount and learn more about the software tools you mention in the video. Thank you for this video it’s a terrific guide and helpful for someone like me just starting out.
It can be overwhelming if you jum' into the deep end with all the gadgets and software. Patriot's videos are excellent, he's very clear and concise, definitely a good resource to getting you started. Best of luck and clear skies!
After a year of wasting night after night with my raspberry pi, I followed your guide and on my first night out with a minipc, everything JUST WORKED. Thank you!!!!
Yes Yes Yes Yes! Don't tell anyone, but I too want the Pi4b to work for this... and while it is possible, I don't find it to be worth it. Plus the prices aren't too far off these days. :)
Oh my God where was this amazing video when I was freezing my butt off, sitting on the floor of my observatory in the middle of the night, tearing my hair out trying to connect remote desktop and get everything working together? I absolutely love your methodical approach. This tutorial is an absolute gem. Makes me want to install everything again...
This is absolute gold. Getting all the pieces of software and the plethora of drivers to work together is nothing short of rocket science. This video covers all of it with an outstanding explaining to boot. R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
I ran into a problem with Remote Desktop and Chad went out of his way to try and help me through it. In the end, it turned out to be a content protection setting in my Dream Machine Pro router that was preventing me from advancing. Now everything is working great. Really like this Mele Q3. Chad's videos are must watch for anyone getting into amateur astronomy and really are beyond excellent.
I haven’t mentioned this anywhere yet, but I put together a step-by-step document on my webpage that can be used along with this video. You may find it handy. I believe it’s under the downloads and tutorials section, but I just manipulated a bunch of the menus, so I’m not 100% certain. :-) LOL
Oh my! I gave a like and I've only just started watching....60 chapters, 1 hour and 16 minutes?!? Dude, when was the last your family saw you? Having done just a couple, much shorter videos, I can't even imagine how long this took to put together. Incredible effort, thank you for your contributions to the community!
I'm trying not to think about the time I spent on this video. HaHa! It was one of those where the first 50% took forever, then I redid everything for a better flow because I wasn't happy with it, then I got back to about 50% and was happier,. Then came the next 40% to get me up around 90% complete which was challenging processing/editing and annotation work. But, the last 10%, ooh... that last 10% was the hardest to push through. Oh, and then I had to watch a 1h17m video of myself 2+ times to double check everything and create chapters... Fun!!! :) LOL
I'll be rewatching this video in full over the coming days. I just purchased a new mini-pc as an upgrade to my current one and I'll be using this video as a "follow along" when setting it up. Thank you for all your hard work and preparation putting this together!
I could not have done this without your three part video. I'm brand new to this. Recently retired and looking for a hobby, I bought a Celestron 6SE and separately bought the Celestron GPS, AutoAlign, Wifi Adapter, Lithium Power Tank, and the focus motor. I've used the scope manually but not totally connected with the extras. That was next until I spoke to someone recommending the MeLe 2Q but noticed the newer 3Q and that's when I discovered your TH-cam channel. It's been such a great help. Bought the extra SSD as shown (Samsung 980 Pro however) and have it configured from your guide up to the astro install. That's later. Thanks again and I'll keep going to continue with the video and other vids as I figured this all out. Oh, yes I subscribed!!
Knocked it out of the ballpark with this one! So much detail and great information. I’ve had my system set up but found a lot of new pointers that made it even more efficient! Thanks for all of your effort in putting this together!
This was absolutely one of the best videos of this type that I have seen. I got my system setup in a flash following your lead. Thanks for everything you’ve done here and keep up the great work. Thanks again!!!
Glad to hear it. I was really hoping to make a comprehensive set of videos that was more than just walking you through it, but gave you a process and some direction so that you can actually complete it regardless of your own hardware. Seems to be working and I’m glad it turned out for you as well.
I have a very similar setup. Basically took a year off because my mind melted and I just didn’t feel like starting over. Your videos are super helpful and are inspiring me to get the gear up and running once and for all. I look forward to the way when I can do this stuff in my sleep.
I watched so many videos about the mini pc for Astro but you are the only one that takes you step by step and everything, was going to just get an asiair plus and call it a day but as someone that works midnight shift I wanted something I can use Remote Desktop on so I can check up on everything or change things while I’m at work thank you so much just purchased a mini pc so when it arrives I’m going to have to watch this video from start to finish again
That was the plan for sure. I know way back when I could’ve use this as well. :-) Glad you found it helpful. If you run into anything, feel free to reach out here or find my email in the channel about page.
Exceptional presentation and execution. This will be a valuable asset for our astro community. One note about the ASCOM drivers on Windows 11. I just purchased a Lenovo Yoga 6 for a writing/astro laptop. The latest version is 10.0.22000 Build 22000 with the latest updates as of July 3 2022. I did *not* encounter the ASCOM install bug discussed at the 29:03 minute mark. Hope this holds true for others :D Keep up the great work and CS to you all
That’s great to hear. I never sorted out actually why it was happening. I saw it on multiple systems so assumed it was a code level issue which maybe has been addressed either in Ascom or in windows at this point. Thanks for the feedback though, it’s exactly what I was hoping to hear eventually.
I've only watched your 6 minute intro (so far) but I can already tell you are a terrific teacher. Came here to figure out what I needed to use N.I.N.A. with an old CG-5 ASGT. Thanks for doing this. Definitely subscribing!
Maybe late to the party but found this channel recently and used this video to set up a Morefine Mini-PC (also saw it recommended here) in my dome last week. Video is excellent, easy to follow and some tips/hints along the way that made what I thought was going to be a torture in to a great experience. SharpCap 4.1 is working perfectly with the setup and if I can just figure out how to get autofocus to work consistently, I'll be there. Thanks for doing this series!
I looked at this instruction video and it worked great for me. I just went from sharpcap to NINA and this helped A LOT. thank you for explaining in a clear way. Another follower here.
This is a wonderful video and simple to setup. I would prefer a setup like this compared to readily available out of the box solutions. Hope your video reaches many more people.
Thank you so much. Hopefully I can get a balance of both advanced and basics videos so I can help more people. I love the advanced stuff, but so many people need basic help as well and i hate for them to be left behind!
Fantastic tutorial! I followed it loosely to get my first goto rig (based on Az-GTi, for now in Alt/Az mode) up and running, worked flawlessly! Now just waiting for some clear nights to finalize the setup and get it´s first light captured :) Thanks a lot for this excellent tutorial video!
Thanks for quite an effort to produce this video. For sure, it will be helpful for both beginners and seasoned imagers. Important tip,for CEM60 users like me: the polar alignment plug in requires to change the speed to a different number than 3deg/sec. After that it will work flawlessly.
Many thanks for taking the time to produce this video. This is something I have been putting off doing for a while now. That is, summarizing the steps and involved in setting up a new installation for astrophotography. Its been a while since I originally set up my system, and I have been dreading ever having to do a fresh install if and when I change my astro laptop! Great work!
Man this is absolutely fantastic!! My Quieter 3Q arrived today and this was exactly what I needed (having never even seen a mini-PC before!). I wish I could buy you several pints!
Just wanted to comment and applaud your video. I bought a Beelink 4800u 32GB ram model and followed this just about to a T and I've been flawlessly imaging since. Figured the switch from the asi air would be more troublesome but you've made it a breeze! Thank you Patriot Astro!
I spent months struggling with a Pi4B. The wifi and powering issues seemed endless! I watched through tons of videos on a daily basis and even wrote commands in the terminal, when needed. Moving to a MiniPC and having such a definitive guide is an invaluable resource! Kudos to your efforts in making this entire playlist! Thank you!
Thanks for this video. You did a great job with the explanations and screen captures. Just. Did a test run with my 3Q to see how the 2TB SSD handled the Solarmax II and ZWO 174mm on my AZ GTI. Very impressed. Full 16bit and full res ROI. 65 frames per sec. Thank you for doing these videos.
That was a load of work on your part, Chad! Thank you! My take-away is the we need to be an astronomer, a photographer AND an IT expert to do astrophotography... Whew!!
Thanks Chad. My mini PC should arrive in a few days. This will be great for getting it set up. I have used NINA and PHD2 a lot but still found new things to check to improve my overall system performance. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into these videos. Thanks again and clear skies.
Absolutely loved the video chad, great work!.. a nice long and detailed video just the way I liked it!.. It will be a great help if I was to format my PC for some reason, and needed a reminder on which drivers to install.. My favorite part was the PHD section, as I really struggle with running that program. and all the videos I've found online and quite complex and I get lost so easily.. With a dedicated patriot astro PHD video I think ill know everything I need to know lol.. Minus the PEC curves, I'm still stuck on those too :( Awesome as always chad, love your work!
Hi! I just bought a BEELINK S Mini PC and followed your instructions for configuring it to control my Celestron Mak 127 SLT telescope. Thank's for sharing such important advices! And BTW I wish you a very good New Year!
Wow, thank you very much for the kind words! I don’t know if it’s the best ever, but I am happy with the way it turned out. It seems to be helping a lot of people get up and running more quickly without as many battles during the process. Hope to hear from you again soon!
I have learned such a lot from this. I only have a basic setup at the moment but have just bought a mele quieter 3q to automate what I have. This has helped me to get my basic setup working properly and I’m sure I’ll be coming back to your tutorials as I add more to my kit. Thanks so much.
Great, great, great.. Your efforts to do this and share are appreciated immensely. Just had to watch it once straight through. My NVMe drive arrives tomorrow hopefully and the choice between fresh start or a backup / copy awaits me this weekend. Just to your west here in Huntsville, AL so no clear skies anytime soon.
Recent weather is killing me. I’m glad I decided to do a couple videos that didn’t require a whole lot of clear sky time. Because we might not have videos for months the way this is going. :-)
Thanks !! your videos have helped me so much ,, I went with your Q3 and upgrade memory and we use the same software ,, well close ,, but it went so smooth . It took some time but it all worked!
A fantastic amount of information clearly explained, I have used it to set up my new imaging laptop and look forward to trying it out. Many thanks for your efforts.
Chad well done. While setting up my pole master, previously working on my laptop, the app "could not find the equipment". I think it took time for the mini to register the driver. Once I saw "AstroImaging Equipment" in the device manager, and the Polemaster under that heading, it all worked fine. Took several resetting of cables, etc, but got there. Hope this helps out the next one with the same issue. (Note: I've seen this complaint on other forums)
Absolutely fantastic video! The way you break everything down makes this daunting hobby a little bit easier. I appreciate the time and effort you put into all of your videos. One thing I noticed while following along is that at time 45:14, you say you have a ZWO EAF when I think you meant an EFW since you were talking about filters. Cheers and thank you again!
I had a real acid test of my Kamrui I7 mini computer with a Gl.Inet travel router. Took it to the Black Forest Star Party. Tried using Wi-Fi but it kept dropping. With 400 people on the field fighting for bandwidth, I figured I needed Ethernet. The cable worked. The router I used has 2 Ethernet ports so you don’t need Wi-Fi.
Definitely going to have to watch this again. Very to the point without a lot of rambling on that so many others do. Going from a Nextstar8 to Losmandy G11. Still using the OTA. Your explanations were very clear, which has helped me identify what I have missed in (a lot) of what should be my setup proceedures.
Wow you put some serious work in this video Chad, must say it's the best video on the net for setting up an astro computer. Thank you for taking the time to explain all this, very informative ! And I already use all these software, but I learned a few more things, great work 👍👍
Happy to hear it! It’s such a challenge to stay focused on creating a really good video when it’s this long, especially when you know the end to end video target audience is smaller overall. It’s good to hear people like you still got something out of it! That certainly makes me happy.
@@PatriotAstro well I very much enjoy your videos and find them extremely useful, family absolutely comes first, and I’m glad you can focus on that! Your pride as a father and your love for your daughter shines through! Keep up the great work being a great dad and eventually if you have time, a new video would be wonderful sometime too lol
WOW! This is a hell of a video! Your presentation and knowledge of the subject is amazing! I have watched a few other videos of yours and have gleaned a lot of information to help me become better in all aspects of astrophotography! Thanks again for making these videos. You have a new subscriber.
I just ordered a Neomax mini pc. Intel 6000 series cpu, 16gb ram, 500 gb hard drive, 6 usb 3.0 ports. Also ordered a travel hub. I can image from my back yard. New camera QHY 268m with cfw and oag due sometime after new years. I’m a retired IT tech so this won’t be a problem. Biggest concern is the Wi-Fi at Cherry Springs is pretty bad and the ATT cell coverage is even worse. I’ll have to download the sky atlas database before I go up. That would be in April.
Thanks for such a detailed tutorial. I already have everything setup up but watched the whole tutorial anyway. I'm glad I did because you showed some great quality of life tips that I implemented immediately in my setup. I did not find the tutorial too long either because it was so good.
Wow, that was a lot of information and oh so helpful. Thank you, many times over. Some of it was a little fast for an old man like me but that's what Pause was designed for. Yes, the video was very helpful in getting me set up with my new Mini PC and even getting the Remote connection to working properly. I have subscribed and liked the video, keep up the great work and clear skies to you as well. Just need some this way now.
Thanks for this comprehensive guide, which I'm sure I'll be coming back to in the future. I have one issue with my mini pc (which is the reason why is now in its box and not attached to my astro rig) : wifi works fine right until I connect my astro camera. So far I have not found a way to fix this (longer cable? Or connect through a usb hub, to keep the camera cable away from the pc?). I wonder If you have come across this problem and how have you gone around it. Thanks. All the best in 2024!
@@PatriotAstro me too and your blog post about initial pc setup is a big help too. Thanks again! Btw I bought of a couple shirts to help out your daughter! Hope she gets better soon!
I got all the software downloaded to the Q3 without much difficulty. But trying to connect Google Remote Desktop? Reserving an IP address? Sounded intimidating. Chad comes across like he is very familiar with networking. Oh well, I was able to reserve the IP address, I just used the one that currently appeared as they are all Greek to me anyway. 😁 I went the iPhone app for my home mesh routers. Online there were instructions for exactly which app buttons to push, and voila, in 1 minute I was seeing the desktop of my Q3 from my iPad! I think, in all fairness, I should now be able to get a high paying IT job with credentials like this!
Thanks you so much for this video. I am about to receive my first astrophotography equipments and this video clarify so much since I have a very similar setup.
I have a video somewhere on "bring the internet with you' or something like that. So you can use a small usb powered access point like I did in that video or even an ethernet cable could work. Of course wifi is friendlier and allows for tablet usage, etc. There are some other software options to create a hotspot with a phone or right in windows too, but i dont have experience with that.
Man...your videos are soooooo helpful. I followed this video and I have successfully switched from Stellarmate/Raspberry Pi to NINA/Windows PC. Game changer for me. Now, I'm trying to improve my power distribution setup and in one of your videos, you recommended a USB-C to 12v adapter...can you share that information again?
nice vid, what would be good if you install a .bat file to allow the mini pc to broadcast a wireless hot spot so you can connect wirelessly if you take your rig to the field. its pretty easy to do!
Hi Chad! Excellent video series. I’ve watched and liked them all. I bought both my 3Q and SSD using your links. I seem to be having two issues; heat and even with the ssd upgrade the computer seems sluggish. Still working through these issues.
I was surprised at the comment on the ASIAIR Pro. I am also using the ASIAIR Pro. Truthfully, if all your equipment is running well, it's hard to reason why to NOT use the Pro. It is, IMO, much easier to learn and use than NINA. It works seamlessly and predictably every time (right, IF you use a ZWO camera and EAF). It seldom disconnects anything. Its new sky atlas works very well. But ok, I for one DO have equipment issues, and the Pro isn't really set up or imagined to deal with those. I also, being a masochist, somewhat enjoy being frustrated by the tech problems that are sure to happen when using NINA. And I need to get my EAF working better. NINA has tools, so NINA is necessary. I am enjoying my new little Q3. I only wish it was made in the USA.
Thank you very much for the great informative video. My english is not so good that i understand the video in detail, but by and large yes. I have problems to connecting the other pc with the romote desktop app. That's why i use AnyDesk. But i think you adressed the issue. I will try it next time.
the problem with the remote desktop app is fixed. But the problem was not the sam which you have described. i had thinking that i have the right pw. But this what i'm have use was the pin, not the pw. Other question. Can you wake-up the pc with the remote desktop tool? At this time i must have wake-up the pc with my avm fritz.box.
Thank you Mark! I'm happy to help where I can. This one was a challenge from start to finish, but I'm overall pretty happy with how it turned out. Thanks for checking in!
nothing but masterclass! you just got a new subscriber. thank you so much for this video, it really helps to understand the entire process not worrying about what is the next step etc.. very well! In some cases shorter more specific videos about certain topics are of course nice but I also welcome long videos for entire processes as well that´s for sure, again very nice and clear easy to understand and follow video without a lot of jumping back and forth.. However I do have a question regarding the focusing part in the video exactly at: 1:00:39 you mentioned that the lower HFR the better focus right ? and then I see you are telling us in the formula to move the focuser until HFR is 3-4 that Lowest HFR, can you please explain me why ? if we multiply it we will get a bigger value of the HFR which is not better than lower radius number ... ? also if there is something I am misunderstanding here please just feel free to correct me. Thank you in advance!
Right, so I am talking about the graphed curve. The best focus at the middle bottom of the curve is the lowest HFR. At the edges of the curves (top left and right sides) this HFR value ideally should be 3-4x the bottom best HFR value. If the edge values are too high, you will lose stars and have a problem occasionally. If the edge values are too low, you aren't moving the focuser enough to guarantee a good focus.
This is phenomenally useful-thank you for going to the trouble to produce it! I do have one question (for now), though-how do you attach the Mele Quieter to your telescope? It seems the holes in the bottom are not quite suited to the sort of mount you can get for the ASIAIR. Also, what do you do about supplying power to all the 12V devices that don’t get their power from USB?
There are a number of ways people are going about this. Everything from making a bracket, to double-sided tape/velcro, but for me, I have mine at the base and run a single USB cable down to it (with a USB hub on the scope to split off the various connections. For power, I cut my own cables to length and run a single power cable down to the base where I have a power supply that runs everything. On my YT channel, go into my playlist section and look at the list for "Building a Portable Telescope Solution." In there, you will find a couple videos about simplifying 12v DC cables etc. Start there, then reach out if needed.
@@PatriotAstro I really appreciate the help! You have made one Kiwi's life remarkably better (and easier) thanks to the work you have put into all these videos! Thank you very very much, all the best to you for the holidays, and hope your daughter is doing well!
Thank you Chad for another fantastic informative tutorial, your grasp of this subject is awesome. Before finding your tutorial I set up my mini PC by following Cuiv's tutorial. I think I now have everything downloaded but as yet have not connected any equipment. However, after watching your video there appears to be a specific order sequence to download each program of which mine would have been installed in a different order. Is this an issue or could I still be OK. Just considering uninstalling all and following your order, would this be necessary? Thanks again and please keep the fantastic tutorials coming.
When trying to install PHD2, I ran into a problem about which I was clueless. At the end of the quick install, the computer gave me an error that was: VCOMP140.DLL. I had zero idea what that was about. But Googling that error gave me the instruction to download from Microsoft, "Visual C++ Redistributable". I again had no idea what any of that does, but I guess it fixes a Windows bug that prevents the computer from reading a program. I installed the 2 programs recommended and restarted my computer, expecting more failures. But it worked. PHD2 instantly installed and I was on the correct screen. I am in Windows 11 but I read that the problem affects Windows 10 also.
Hi Chad, amazing tutorial. Can you comment on the remote connection speed if you are far from the mini pc.? Mine is crawling Even though I am just 13ft away. Do you use any wifi booster?
Firstly, I hope your daughter is doing well! I got mele quieter PC which is now set up and running great thanks to your videos, so thanks for making that process so fool proof!! I’m curious how you power the pc? I currently plug straight in to mains, but I’m about to buy a Pegasus Astro Powerbox Advance and am finding it surprisingly difficult to find a suitable dc 2.1mm to USB C cable to power the PC from the Powerbox. So curious how you power yours? Thanks!
Someone might jump in here... but, I personally just cut my usb-c adaptor and wired a connector for the other end myself. I know some others found some solutions. Also, search for 'adapters' rather than cables. I know there are a couple usbc-to-2.1mm adapters to convert the end to usb-c. Let me know how it goes.
@@PatriotAstro thanks. I did find some adapters but they specifically say that that are 5v and can not be used with 12v supplies. I don’t know much about electrics so want to make sure I don’t damage the PC. I’ll keep looking.
@@brendanspelman It is tricky since you can’t get inside the adapters to see what they are doing in there. In my previous experience, our 12v low amperage draw isn’t dramatic as compared to a higher amp draw at 5V as the cable is ‘rated’. This isn’t a blessing or guarantee from me though. Just a passing thought. :)
Glad it was helpful! I truly love the concept of the ASIair, ... I just don't need it right now. I love how accessible it makes the hobby for people though. Great features that improve imaging with little technical knowledge required.
Great video Chad. Did you cover powering the Mele 3 from a 12v battery to USB-C as I cant seem to find it ? I presume you could use a 12v USB_C to DC 5.5x2.5mm which are sold on Amazon ?
I think I mentioned it in a follow-on community post. Go to my channel then the community tab. I basically cut the power cord that shipped with the mele and added a connector and run off 12v natively now.
Very nicely done thank you but I have a question my new scope mini has Windows 11 Pro but my inside computer has Windows 11 Home and it telling me I can't use the remote desktop because it is the home version how can I get around this different free software thanks for the video.
Did you find a solution? I'd say VNC, or teamviewer, or chrome remote desktop... but upgrading to pro is typically the best option (but comes at a cost and some effort, so a free option is just fine if you are happy with it.)
Did I miss something at beginning before setup? You advise connecting nothing to the 3Q, but how do you install the Crucial 2TB ssd drive and view the desktop of the 3Q? What about a mouse, keyboard and monitor connecting to the 3Q. ? please advise, I am confused!
You will need to use a keyboard/mouse/monitor(or tv) at the very beginning until you have RDP configured. I’m not sure if you watched the video(s) in the series prior to this one, it may have some of the answers. The links should be in the video comments (or look for my playlist on the TH-cam channel).
Great series. I am ready to take the plunge into a mini computer. I currently run a large format CCD (QHY600M) which generates HUGE files. Sometime NINA fails when I run hocus focus giving me an "out of memory" failure. NINA promptly closes. My computer has 16G memory. I'm concerned that the mini computers will cause additional failures with only 8 g memory. Any experience the the large format CCDs and and the huge files that are generated with a focus run with hocus focus?
I haven’t had this issue myself. It’d be interesting if you can open up the performance monitor on windows and see what else is consuming memory at the time. It may be that you need to update Nina or the plug-ins possibly? Or maybe there’s something else that’s running that is having a memory leak. May be a driver issue… Not sure
Hi, Chad...getting to the ASTAP portion, and found H18 is being phased out. It appears D50 or D80 (even narrower Field of View) would be the new equivalent would you agree? What advanced equipment would be needed to use the D80 DB? Hope this post helps others as well. Also, would you recommend a user download W08 for use if you are using a full-sky wide field of view cam? When would that database otherwise be used?
Awesome vid just starting out in my astrophotography journey. So I have an AVX(Celestron), I can’t find much if any info about how to connect it to ASCOM. Anyone have any info or help? Tia
I have run into a rather frustrating problem running my HEQ5 PRO mount remotely. I have two Intel NUCs that are less that a year old and a seven year old HP Envy laptop. The laptop runs both NUCs remotely without any problem until I try to run my HEQ5 PRO. EQMOD does not recognize the COM port on either NUC. The second NUC was bought just for running my mount with EQMOD. Of course the COM port on my seven year old HP laptop is immediately recognized by EQMOD and I can run everything just fine from my living room. The intent was to connect a mini PC so I could put all the electrical transformers and other stuff in a plastic container to protect everything from the rain and snow that sometimes just happens. No such luck so far. Any suggestions? Like, what kind of mini PC are you using and were there any issues with the COM port not being recognized by EQMOD? I have done everything that you suggest in this video with regard to what I have - pretty basic: APT and Stellarium which I can remotely control with my HP laptop but not with the Intel NUCs.
I have a Beelink U59 pro and will be using it with my astro rig in remote locations. I have a laptop, but how do I connect it wirelessly to the Beelink?
I just got the mele quieter3. I haven't set it up yet, but will definitely be following along with this video when I do. Question though... how do you mount the miniPC on your rig? I was thinking of using 3M command strips (I use them all the time for hanging stuff around the house that those things are STRONG), but amazingly I don't see them used at all in Astrophotography with some people using very complex brackets and drilling holes in their miniPCs, etc. Also where I live is very humid so moisture and dew are a problem. Do you know how well the Mele handles this and is there anything I should consider regarding blocking unused USB ports for example to avoid moisture getting in? Thanks
I have a real strange problem with the remote PC. All my astronomy software has been updated on the remote PC and when using it directly all the systems/softwares works. However, when I connect to the remote PC from my main PC, and open the different softwares on the remote PC, there are no updates there, that means, I have to start downloading the updates via the main PC in order to see the updated versions on the remote PC. As an example, the remote PC contains TheSKyX fully updated, camera and telescope information loaded in the equipment fields. The main PC also has a complete updated version with the same information in it. However, when I connect to the remote PC via the main PC the remote PC shows me the TSX software completely void of any information, no serial number, no nothing. I had to set up everything remotely and update the software remotely as well. What am I missing? I cannot believe that I have to always update or install a software on the remote PC via the main PC? Any idea what needs to be done. Thanks in advance for your help.
An absolute masterclass in preparing a new automated imaging rig. I am sure this video will be recommended as the go to source material for newcomers. Thank you for investing the time and effort required to produce such an outstanding video.
I really, really, really, hope people use this video. LOL It took soooo much time to create. I feel like I did the best I could, but time and feedback will tell the real story! :) Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@PatriotAstro Great vid man, are you going to make some phd2 vids as well?
I am retired and I have decided to try putting together my first rig. It looks daunting but I will do my best. Lots to learn and integrate software with all the hardware. Last year I just purchased a small astrograph and a couple planetary cameras and just took images of the Moon and Sun using a tripod and learned to process those images. This year I will learn how to set up a tracking mount and learn more about the software tools you mention in the video. Thank you for this video it’s a terrific guide and helpful for someone like me just starting out.
It can be overwhelming if you jum' into the deep end with all the gadgets and software. Patriot's videos are excellent, he's very clear and concise, definitely a good resource to getting you started. Best of luck and clear skies!
We haven’t even met but you’re one of my favorite people.
I get that a lot. LOL Just kidding! Hope I can be helpful (or at least my videos). :)
After a year of wasting night after night with my raspberry pi, I followed your guide and on my first night out with a minipc, everything JUST WORKED. Thank you!!!!
Yes Yes Yes Yes! Don't tell anyone, but I too want the Pi4b to work for this... and while it is possible, I don't find it to be worth it. Plus the prices aren't too far off these days. :)
Oh my God where was this amazing video when I was freezing my butt off, sitting on the floor of my observatory in the middle of the night, tearing my hair out trying to connect remote desktop and get everything working together?
I absolutely love your methodical approach. This tutorial is an absolute gem.
Makes me want to install everything again...
This is absolute gold. Getting all the pieces of software and the plethora of drivers to work together is nothing short of rocket science. This video covers all of it with an outstanding explaining to boot. R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Glad to help. :)
It was really worth going through all the video, as there's always something you've missed. Great job. Every day, school day.
I'm glad you got something out of it too! I'd hate to have you go through that much of me talking and come away without something useful!!! :)
I ran into a problem with Remote Desktop and Chad went out of his way to try and help me through it. In the end, it turned out to be a content protection setting in my Dream Machine Pro router that was preventing me from advancing. Now everything is working great. Really like this Mele Q3. Chad's videos are must watch for anyone getting into amateur astronomy and really are beyond excellent.
Wonderful!
WOW! What a gift to us noobs in this portion of AP. I've been struggling to learn it all and here it is. Thanks so much!
I haven’t mentioned this anywhere yet, but I put together a step-by-step document on my webpage that can be used along with this video. You may find it handy. I believe it’s under the downloads and tutorials section, but I just manipulated a bunch of the menus, so I’m not 100% certain. :-) LOL
Quite the extensive and detailed how-to. I wish I had this video back in the day when I was starting this hobby. Great job!
Me too! :) Thanks for checking in!
Oh my! I gave a like and I've only just started watching....60 chapters, 1 hour and 16 minutes?!? Dude, when was the last your family saw you? Having done just a couple, much shorter videos, I can't even imagine how long this took to put together. Incredible effort, thank you for your contributions to the community!
I'm trying not to think about the time I spent on this video. HaHa! It was one of those where the first 50% took forever, then I redid everything for a better flow because I wasn't happy with it, then I got back to about 50% and was happier,. Then came the next 40% to get me up around 90% complete which was challenging processing/editing and annotation work. But, the last 10%, ooh... that last 10% was the hardest to push through. Oh, and then I had to watch a 1h17m video of myself 2+ times to double check everything and create chapters... Fun!!! :) LOL
I'll be rewatching this video in full over the coming days. I just purchased a new mini-pc as an upgrade to my current one and I'll be using this video as a "follow along" when setting it up. Thank you for all your hard work and preparation putting this together!
I could not have done this without your three part video. I'm brand new to this. Recently retired and looking for a hobby, I bought a Celestron 6SE and separately bought the Celestron GPS, AutoAlign, Wifi Adapter, Lithium Power Tank, and the focus motor. I've used the scope manually but not totally connected with the extras. That was next until I spoke to someone recommending the MeLe 2Q but noticed the newer 3Q and that's when I discovered your TH-cam channel. It's been such a great help. Bought the extra SSD as shown (Samsung 980 Pro however) and have it configured from your guide up to the astro install. That's later. Thanks again and I'll keep going to continue with the video and other vids as I figured this all out. Oh, yes I subscribed!!
Knocked it out of the ballpark with this one! So much detail and great information. I’ve had my system set up but found a lot of new pointers that made it even more efficient! Thanks for all of your effort in putting this together!
Fantastic news! Let me know if you end up with questions.
God bless you Chad. This is a must watch and understand video for any astrophotography user who wish to set up or optimize the acquisition system.
Glad to help!
This was absolutely one of the best videos of this type that I have seen. I got my system setup in a flash following your lead. Thanks for everything you’ve done here and keep up the great work. Thanks again!!!
Glad to hear it. I was really hoping to make a comprehensive set of videos that was more than just walking you through it, but gave you a process and some direction so that you can actually complete it regardless of your own hardware. Seems to be working and I’m glad it turned out for you as well.
I have a very similar setup. Basically took a year off because my mind melted and I just didn’t feel like starting over. Your videos are super helpful and are inspiring me to get the gear up and running once and for all. I look forward to the way when I can do this stuff in my sleep.
Take your time and make sure you understand each step of the process and it all gets easier over time. You’ll get there!
I watched so many videos about the mini pc for Astro but you are the only one that takes you step by step and everything, was going to just get an asiair plus and call it a day but as someone that works midnight shift I wanted something I can use Remote Desktop on so I can check up on everything or change things while I’m at work thank you so much just purchased a mini pc so when it arrives I’m going to have to watch this video from start to finish again
That was the plan for sure. I know way back when I could’ve use this as well. :-) Glad you found it helpful. If you run into anything, feel free to reach out here or find my email in the channel about page.
Exceptional presentation and execution. This will be a valuable asset for our astro community. One note about the ASCOM drivers on Windows 11. I just purchased a Lenovo Yoga 6 for a writing/astro laptop. The latest version is 10.0.22000 Build 22000 with the latest updates as of July 3 2022. I did *not* encounter the ASCOM install bug discussed at the 29:03 minute mark. Hope this holds true for others :D Keep up the great work and CS to you all
That’s great to hear. I never sorted out actually why it was happening. I saw it on multiple systems so assumed it was a code level issue which maybe has been addressed either in Ascom or in windows at this point. Thanks for the feedback though, it’s exactly what I was hoping to hear eventually.
I've only watched your 6 minute intro (so far) but I can already tell you are a terrific teacher. Came here to figure out what I needed to use N.I.N.A. with an old CG-5 ASGT. Thanks for doing this. Definitely subscribing!
Maybe late to the party but found this channel recently and used this video to set up a Morefine Mini-PC (also saw it recommended here) in my dome last week. Video is excellent, easy to follow and some tips/hints along the way that made what I thought was going to be a torture in to a great experience. SharpCap 4.1 is working perfectly with the setup and if I can just figure out how to get autofocus to work consistently, I'll be there. Thanks for doing this series!
I looked at this instruction video and it worked great for me. I just went from sharpcap to NINA and this helped A LOT. thank you for explaining in a clear way. Another follower here.
This is a wonderful video and simple to setup. I would prefer a setup like this compared to readily available out of the box solutions. Hope your video reaches many more people.
Thank you so much. Hopefully I can get a balance of both advanced and basics videos so I can help more people. I love the advanced stuff, but so many people need basic help as well and i hate for them to be left behind!
Fantastic tutorial!
I followed it loosely to get my first goto rig (based on Az-GTi, for now in Alt/Az mode) up and running, worked flawlessly! Now just waiting for some clear nights to finalize the setup and get it´s first light captured :)
Thanks a lot for this excellent tutorial video!
Thanks for quite an effort to produce this video. For sure, it will be helpful for both beginners and seasoned imagers. Important tip,for CEM60 users like me: the polar alignment plug in requires to change the speed to a different number than 3deg/sec. After that it will work flawlessly.
Fantastic tip! Thank you for sharing!
This is Gold, Thank You! Look forward to your return, thoughts and prayers to you and your family.
Much appreciated. I am about ready to get back to it. I certainly miss it. See you soon!
Many thanks for taking the time to produce this video. This is something I have been putting off doing for a while now. That is, summarizing the steps and involved in setting up a new installation for astrophotography. Its been a while since I originally set up my system, and I have been dreading ever having to do a fresh install if and when I change my astro laptop! Great work!
I know what you mean. I was about to do a couple new installs so I figured it was time to document it all. :-)
Man this is absolutely fantastic!! My Quieter 3Q arrived today and this was exactly what I needed (having never even seen a mini-PC before!). I wish I could buy you several pints!
Just wanted to comment and applaud your video. I bought a Beelink 4800u 32GB ram model and followed this just about to a T and I've been flawlessly imaging since. Figured the switch from the asi air would be more troublesome but you've made it a breeze! Thank you Patriot Astro!
So happy to hear this!
I spent months struggling with a Pi4B. The wifi and powering issues seemed endless! I watched through tons of videos on a daily basis and even wrote commands in the terminal, when needed. Moving to a MiniPC and having such a definitive guide is an invaluable resource! Kudos to your efforts in making this entire playlist! Thank you!
Fantastic! What a treasure trove of information. Thanks for that. I have my new mini-pc built according to your previous video, now to configure it.
Great!
Thanks for this video. You did a great job with the explanations and screen captures. Just. Did a test run with my 3Q to see how the 2TB SSD handled the Solarmax II and ZWO 174mm on my AZ GTI. Very impressed. Full 16bit and full res ROI. 65 frames per sec. Thank you for doing these videos.
These little boxes are very surprising!
That was a load of work on your part, Chad! Thank you! My take-away is the we need to be an astronomer, a photographer AND an IT expert to do astrophotography... Whew!!
Thanks Chad. My mini PC should arrive in a few days. This will be great for getting it set up. I have used NINA and PHD2 a lot but still found new things to check to improve my overall system performance. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into these videos. Thanks again and clear skies.
Hope you enjoy it!
Absolutely brilliant Chad!
Thanks. Hope it helps!
¡Gracias! Thank you very much for your video series. They have served me too well. Your dedication to it is noticeable. Thanks again from Chile.
No idea how i missed this!!!! Thanks!!!!
Absolutely loved the video chad, great work!.. a nice long and detailed video just the way I liked it!.. It will be a great help if I was to format my PC for some reason, and needed a reminder on which drivers to install.. My favorite part was the PHD section, as I really struggle with running that program. and all the videos I've found online and quite complex and I get lost so easily.. With a dedicated patriot astro PHD video I think ill know everything I need to know lol.. Minus the PEC curves, I'm still stuck on those too :(
Awesome as always chad, love your work!
I'd like to do a PHD2 video as well. I'm sure that one will come at some point!
Hi! I just bought a BEELINK S Mini PC and followed your instructions for configuring it to control my Celestron Mak 127 SLT telescope. Thank's for sharing such important advices! And BTW I wish you a very good New Year!
Over 1h Video.. HOLY COW! Great Work and thanks for all the Informations! CS
HOLY COW is right! Whew... so glad to have this one off my plate... :) Thanks for watching!
It's the best video on astrophotography I ever seen ! Thank you very much sir!
Wow, thank you very much for the kind words! I don’t know if it’s the best ever, but I am happy with the way it turned out. It seems to be helping a lot of people get up and running more quickly without as many battles during the process. Hope to hear from you again soon!
Excellent tutorial Chad. Thanks very much for your hard work in producing this series and you have great delivery
My pleasure!
I have learned such a lot from this. I only have a basic setup at the moment but have just bought a mele quieter 3q to automate what I have. This has helped me to get my basic setup working properly and I’m sure I’ll be coming back to your tutorials as I add more to my kit. Thanks so much.
Great, great, great.. Your efforts to do this and share are appreciated immensely. Just had to watch it once straight through. My NVMe drive arrives tomorrow hopefully and the choice between fresh start or a backup / copy awaits me this weekend. Just to your west here in Huntsville, AL so no clear skies anytime soon.
Recent weather is killing me. I’m glad I decided to do a couple videos that didn’t require a whole lot of clear sky time. Because we might not have videos for months the way this is going. :-)
Thanks !! your videos have helped me so much ,, I went with your Q3 and upgrade memory and we use the same software ,, well close ,, but it went so smooth . It took some time but it all worked!
Well spent time for sure! Glad I could help out.
A fantastic amount of information clearly explained, I have used it to set up my new imaging laptop and look forward to trying it out. Many thanks for your efforts.
Glad it was helpful!
Viewing your channel for the first time today. Already got 2 gun related ads. Must be the "patriot" connection. 😊
Chad well done. While setting up my pole master, previously working on my laptop, the app "could not find the equipment". I think it took time for the mini to register the driver. Once I saw "AstroImaging Equipment" in the device manager, and the Polemaster under that heading, it all worked fine. Took several resetting of cables, etc, but got there. Hope this helps out the next one with the same issue. (Note: I've seen this complaint on other forums)
Absolutely fantastic video! The way you break everything down makes this daunting hobby a little bit easier. I appreciate the time and effort you put into all of your videos. One thing I noticed while following along is that at time 45:14, you say you have a ZWO EAF when I think you meant an EFW since you were talking about filters. Cheers and thank you again!
I noticed too... it kills me to hear me say the wrong thing! LOL
I had a real acid test of my Kamrui I7 mini computer with a Gl.Inet travel router. Took it to the Black Forest Star Party. Tried using Wi-Fi but it kept dropping. With 400 people on the field fighting for bandwidth, I figured I needed Ethernet. The cable worked. The router I used has 2 Ethernet ports so you don’t need Wi-Fi.
Definitely going to have to watch this again. Very to the point without a lot of rambling on that so many others do. Going from a Nextstar8 to Losmandy G11. Still using the OTA. Your explanations were very clear, which has helped me identify what I have missed in (a lot) of what should be my setup proceedures.
Wow you put some serious work in this video Chad, must say it's the best video on the net for setting up an astro computer.
Thank you for taking the time to explain all this, very informative !
And I already use all these software, but I learned a few more things, great work 👍👍
Happy to hear it! It’s such a challenge to stay focused on creating a really good video when it’s this long, especially when you know the end to end video target audience is smaller overall. It’s good to hear people like you still got something out of it! That certainly makes me happy.
I just got my Quieter 3q, thank you very much for this amazing video!!
Glad it helped!
Such a great video! Just set up another pc and used this video again. Hope you guys are doing ok
We are taking baby steps. Hope to be making videos again soon.
@@PatriotAstro well I very much enjoy your videos and find them extremely useful, family absolutely comes first, and I’m glad you can focus on that! Your pride as a father and your love for your daughter shines through! Keep up the great work being a great dad and eventually if you have time, a new video would be wonderful sometime too lol
WOW! This is a hell of a video! Your presentation and knowledge of the subject is amazing! I have watched a few other videos of yours and have gleaned a lot of information to help me become better in all aspects of astrophotography! Thanks again for making these videos. You have a new subscriber.
So happy to help! I hope to be back to making videos again very soon!
Thanks!
WOW! Thank you so much for this! It is definitely appreciated.
@@PatriotAstro well deserved.
Most helpful video for me 🎉 thx sir
Glad you found it useful!
I just ordered a Neomax mini pc. Intel 6000 series cpu, 16gb ram, 500 gb hard drive, 6 usb 3.0 ports. Also ordered a travel hub. I can image from my back yard. New camera QHY 268m with cfw and oag due sometime after new years. I’m a retired IT tech so this won’t be a problem. Biggest concern is the Wi-Fi at Cherry Springs is pretty bad and the ATT cell coverage is even worse. I’ll have to download the sky atlas database before I go up. That would be in April.
Pc purchased from Newegg for $309.
Great!
Absolutely fabulous! Great video. Really helped a lot! Thnx!
Happy to help!
Thanks for such a detailed tutorial. I already have everything setup up but watched the whole tutorial anyway. I'm glad I did because you showed some great quality of life tips that I implemented immediately in my setup. I did not find the tutorial too long either because it was so good.
You are the real patriot
Wow, that was a lot of information and oh so helpful. Thank you, many times over. Some of it was a little fast for an old man like me but that's what Pause was designed for. Yes, the video was very helpful in getting me set up with my new Mini PC and even getting the Remote connection to working properly. I have subscribed and liked the video, keep up the great work and clear skies to you as well. Just need some this way now.
Thanks for this comprehensive guide, which I'm sure I'll be coming back to in the future. I have one issue with my mini pc (which is the reason why is now in its box and not attached to my astro rig) : wifi works fine right until I connect my astro camera. So far I have not found a way to fix this (longer cable? Or connect through a usb hub, to keep the camera cable away from the pc?). I wonder If you have come across this problem and how have you gone around it. Thanks. All the best in 2024!
What an absolute epic video mate, thank you so much for this. Really appreciate the time you put into this, please know that it was worth it.
Glad you enjoyed it! It was time consuming, but I know it will be helpful to at least a few people! :)
Absolutely great video. Thanks so much for taking the time to put this together.
Glad I could FINALLY complete it. Not only was it so many hours of prep, recording, and editing... but the weather would not cooperate at all! :)
This is incredibly helpful. Thank you.
Such a great series of videos. Just got a mini pc set up!
Great! I though we all needed a complete process, seems to be helping so I'm glad I did it.
@@PatriotAstro me too and your blog post about initial pc setup is a big help too. Thanks again! Btw I bought of a couple shirts to help out your daughter! Hope she gets better soon!
@@ChristianPsencik :) Thanks SO MUCH!
I got all the software downloaded to the Q3 without much difficulty. But trying to connect Google Remote Desktop? Reserving an IP address? Sounded intimidating. Chad comes across like he is very familiar with networking. Oh well, I was able to reserve the IP address, I just used the one that currently appeared as they are all Greek to me anyway. 😁 I went the iPhone app for my home mesh routers. Online there were instructions for exactly which app buttons to push, and voila, in 1 minute I was seeing the desktop of my Q3 from my iPad! I think, in all fairness, I should now be able to get a high paying IT job with credentials like this!
Thanks you so much for this video. I am about to receive my first astrophotography equipments and this video clarify so much since I have a very similar setup.
Awesome extensive and detailed video it helped me set up my mini PC, Thank you!! How do I remote control my mini PC without internet on the field?
I have a video somewhere on "bring the internet with you' or something like that. So you can use a small usb powered access point like I did in that video or even an ethernet cable could work. Of course wifi is friendlier and allows for tablet usage, etc. There are some other software options to create a hotspot with a phone or right in windows too, but i dont have experience with that.
Man...your videos are soooooo helpful. I followed this video and I have successfully switched from Stellarmate/Raspberry Pi to NINA/Windows PC. Game changer for me. Now, I'm trying to improve my power distribution setup and in one of your videos, you recommended a USB-C to 12v adapter...can you share that information again?
I think this is the video with the info you are looking for: th-cam.com/video/W6uJN8Ra98U/w-d-xo.html Let me know if that isn't it.
nice vid, what would be good if you install a .bat file to allow the mini pc to broadcast a wireless hot spot so you can connect wirelessly if you take your rig to the field. its pretty easy to do!
Hi Chad! Excellent video series. I’ve watched and liked them all. I bought both my 3Q and SSD using your links. I seem to be having two issues; heat and even with the ssd upgrade the computer seems sluggish. Still working through these issues.
Let me know how it goes. Did you move the OS to the NVMe?
@@PatriotAstro I did. I figured out what I did. Works great. Thanks for your helpful tutorials!
I was surprised at the comment on the ASIAIR Pro. I am also using the ASIAIR Pro. Truthfully, if all your equipment is running well, it's hard to reason why to NOT use the Pro. It is, IMO, much easier to learn and use than NINA. It works seamlessly and predictably every time (right, IF you use a ZWO camera and EAF). It seldom disconnects anything. Its new sky atlas works very well.
But ok, I for one DO have equipment issues, and the Pro isn't really set up or imagined to deal with those. I also, being a masochist, somewhat enjoy being frustrated by the tech problems that are sure to happen when using NINA. And I need to get my EAF working better. NINA has tools, so NINA is necessary. I am enjoying my new little Q3. I only wish it was made in the USA.
Thank you very much for the great informative video.
My english is not so good that i understand the video in detail, but by and large yes. I have problems to connecting the other pc with the romote desktop app. That's why i use AnyDesk. But i think you adressed the issue. I will try it next time.
I'm trying to figure out how to best use subtitles/CC so maybe that will help in the future. :( Hope the Remote Desktop portion fixes your issue!
@@PatriotAstro Yes, I think subtitles can be helpfully for the future. Information which I don’t understood I can read up.
the problem with the remote desktop app is fixed. But the problem was not the sam which you have described. i had thinking that i have the right pw. But this what i'm have use was the pin, not the pw.
Other question. Can you wake-up the pc with the remote desktop tool? At this time i must have wake-up the pc with my avm fritz.box.
Well done
Thank you Mark! I'm happy to help where I can. This one was a challenge from start to finish, but I'm overall pretty happy with how it turned out. Thanks for checking in!
Bedankt
Thank you so much!
Very well done! Thank you!
nothing but masterclass! you just got a new subscriber. thank you so much for this video, it really helps to understand the entire process not worrying about what is the next step etc.. very well! In some cases shorter more specific videos about certain topics are of course nice but I also welcome long videos for entire processes as well that´s for sure, again very nice and clear easy to understand and follow video without a lot of jumping back and forth.. However I do have a question regarding the focusing part in the video exactly at: 1:00:39 you mentioned that the lower HFR the better focus right ? and then I see you are telling us in the formula to move the focuser until HFR is 3-4 that Lowest HFR, can you please explain me why ? if we multiply it we will get a bigger value of the HFR which is not better than lower radius number ... ? also if there is something I am misunderstanding here please just feel free to correct me. Thank you in advance!
Right, so I am talking about the graphed curve. The best focus at the middle bottom of the curve is the lowest HFR. At the edges of the curves (top left and right sides) this HFR value ideally should be 3-4x the bottom best HFR value. If the edge values are too high, you will lose stars and have a problem occasionally. If the edge values are too low, you aren't moving the focuser enough to guarantee a good focus.
This is phenomenally useful-thank you for going to the trouble to produce it! I do have one question (for now), though-how do you attach the Mele Quieter to your telescope? It seems the holes in the bottom are not quite suited to the sort of mount you can get for the ASIAIR. Also, what do you do about supplying power to all the 12V devices that don’t get their power from USB?
There are a number of ways people are going about this. Everything from making a bracket, to double-sided tape/velcro, but for me, I have mine at the base and run a single USB cable down to it (with a USB hub on the scope to split off the various connections. For power, I cut my own cables to length and run a single power cable down to the base where I have a power supply that runs everything. On my YT channel, go into my playlist section and look at the list for "Building a Portable Telescope Solution." In there, you will find a couple videos about simplifying 12v DC cables etc. Start there, then reach out if needed.
@@PatriotAstro I really appreciate the help! You have made one Kiwi's life remarkably better (and easier) thanks to the work you have put into all these videos! Thank you very very much, all the best to you for the holidays, and hope your daughter is doing well!
Thanks Chad!
Glad to do it for everyone!
Thank you Chad for another fantastic informative tutorial, your grasp of this subject is awesome. Before finding your tutorial I set up my mini PC by following Cuiv's tutorial. I think I now have everything downloaded but as yet have not connected any equipment. However, after watching your video there appears to be a specific order sequence to download each program of which mine would have been installed in a different order. Is this an issue or could I still be OK. Just considering uninstalling all and following your order, would this be necessary? Thanks again and please keep the fantastic tutorials coming.
Thanks
Thank you soooo much Matt! It is greatly appreciated, truly!
@@PatriotAstro You're most welcome.
When trying to install PHD2, I ran into a problem about which I was clueless. At the end of the quick install, the computer gave me an error that was: VCOMP140.DLL. I had zero idea what that was about. But Googling that error gave me the instruction to download from Microsoft, "Visual C++ Redistributable".
I again had no idea what any of that does, but I guess it fixes a Windows bug that prevents the computer from reading a program. I installed the 2 programs recommended and restarted my computer, expecting more failures. But it worked. PHD2 instantly installed and I was on the correct screen. I am in Windows 11 but I read that the problem affects Windows 10 also.
Hi Chad, amazing tutorial. Can you comment on the remote connection speed if you are far from the mini pc.? Mine is crawling Even though I am just 13ft away. Do you use any wifi booster?
I don't and haven't had an issue. You have anything mounted on top of the box? That could weaken the wifi. Even an added heatsink.
masterclass video...!
Firstly, I hope your daughter is doing well! I got mele quieter PC which is now set up and running great thanks to your videos, so thanks for making that process so fool proof!! I’m curious how you power the pc? I currently plug straight in to mains, but I’m about to buy a Pegasus Astro Powerbox Advance and am finding it surprisingly difficult to find a suitable dc 2.1mm to USB C cable to power the PC from the Powerbox. So curious how you power yours? Thanks!
Someone might jump in here... but, I personally just cut my usb-c adaptor and wired a connector for the other end myself. I know some others found some solutions. Also, search for 'adapters' rather than cables. I know there are a couple usbc-to-2.1mm adapters to convert the end to usb-c. Let me know how it goes.
@@PatriotAstro thanks. I did find some adapters but they specifically say that that are 5v and can not be used with 12v supplies. I don’t know much about electrics so want to make sure I don’t damage the PC. I’ll keep looking.
@@brendanspelman It is tricky since you can’t get inside the adapters to see what they are doing in there. In my previous experience, our 12v low amperage draw isn’t dramatic as compared to a higher amp draw at 5V as the cable is ‘rated’. This isn’t a blessing or guarantee from me though. Just a passing thought. :)
Great work. Thanks for doing this
I am soooo happy it is completed and finally published. That was some effort right there... :)
fantastic video. Nice work and thanks
Thanks for watching!
Chad, great tutorial! Thank you! Agreed on Asiair. I have one but I just never use it because of this free miracle software called Nina.
Glad it was helpful! I truly love the concept of the ASIair, ... I just don't need it right now. I love how accessible it makes the hobby for people though. Great features that improve imaging with little technical knowledge required.
Great video Chad. Did you cover powering the Mele 3 from a 12v battery to USB-C as I cant seem to find it ? I presume you could use a 12v USB_C to DC 5.5x2.5mm which are sold on Amazon ?
I think I mentioned it in a follow-on community post. Go to my channel then the community tab. I basically cut the power cord that shipped with the mele and added a connector and run off 12v natively now.
Very nicely done thank you but I have a question my new scope mini has Windows 11 Pro but my inside computer has Windows 11 Home and it telling me I can't use the remote desktop because it is the home version how can I get around this different free software thanks for the video.
Did you find a solution? I'd say VNC, or teamviewer, or chrome remote desktop... but upgrading to pro is typically the best option (but comes at a cost and some effort, so a free option is just fine if you are happy with it.)
Did I miss something at beginning before setup? You advise connecting nothing to the 3Q, but how do you install the Crucial 2TB ssd drive and view the desktop of the 3Q? What about a mouse, keyboard and monitor connecting to the 3Q. ? please advise, I am confused!
You will need to use a keyboard/mouse/monitor(or tv) at the very beginning until you have RDP configured. I’m not sure if you watched the video(s) in the series prior to this one, it may have some of the answers. The links should be in the video comments (or look for my playlist on the TH-cam channel).
Great series. I am ready to take the plunge into a mini computer. I currently run a large format CCD (QHY600M) which generates HUGE files. Sometime NINA fails when I run hocus focus giving me an "out of memory" failure. NINA promptly closes. My computer has 16G memory. I'm concerned that the mini computers will cause additional failures with only 8 g memory. Any experience the the large format CCDs and and the huge files that are generated with a focus run with hocus focus?
I haven’t had this issue myself. It’d be interesting if you can open up the performance monitor on windows and see what else is consuming memory at the time. It may be that you need to update Nina or the plug-ins possibly? Or maybe there’s something else that’s running that is having a memory leak. May be a driver issue… Not sure
Hi, Chad...getting to the ASTAP portion, and found H18 is being phased out. It appears D50 or D80 (even narrower Field of View) would be the new equivalent would you agree? What advanced equipment would be needed to use the D80 DB? Hope this post helps others as well. Also, would you recommend a user download W08 for use if you are using a full-sky wide field of view cam? When would that database otherwise be used?
I just started, and having difficulty finding info on NINA+Nikon, in particular mirrorless Zf.
Do you have any video on this or references?
Awesome vid just starting out in my astrophotography journey.
So I have an AVX(Celestron), I can’t find much if any info about how to connect it to ASCOM. Anyone have any info or help? Tia
I have run into a rather frustrating problem running my HEQ5 PRO mount remotely. I have two Intel NUCs that are less that a year old and a seven year old HP Envy laptop. The laptop runs both NUCs remotely without any problem until I try to run my HEQ5 PRO. EQMOD does not recognize the COM port on either NUC. The second NUC was bought just for running my mount with EQMOD. Of course the COM port on my seven year old HP laptop is immediately recognized by EQMOD and I can run everything just fine from my living room. The intent was to connect a mini PC so I could put all the electrical transformers and other stuff in a plastic container to protect everything from the rain and snow that sometimes just happens. No such luck so far. Any suggestions? Like, what kind of mini PC are you using and were there any issues with the COM port not being recognized by EQMOD? I have done everything that you suggest in this video with regard to what I have - pretty basic: APT and Stellarium which I can remotely control with my HP laptop but not with the Intel NUCs.
I have a Beelink U59 pro and will be using it with my astro rig in remote locations. I have a laptop, but how do I connect it wirelessly to the Beelink?
I just got the mele quieter3. I haven't set it up yet, but will definitely be following along with this video when I do. Question though... how do you mount the miniPC on your rig? I was thinking of using 3M command strips (I use them all the time for hanging stuff around the house that those things are STRONG), but amazingly I don't see them used at all in Astrophotography with some people using very complex brackets and drilling holes in their miniPCs, etc. Also where I live is very humid so moisture and dew are a problem. Do you know how well the Mele handles this and is there anything I should consider regarding blocking unused USB ports for example to avoid moisture getting in? Thanks
I have a real strange problem with the remote PC. All my astronomy software has been updated on the remote PC and when using it directly all the systems/softwares works. However, when I connect to the remote PC from my main PC, and open the different softwares on the remote PC, there are no updates there, that means, I have to start downloading the updates via the main PC in order to see the updated versions on the remote PC. As an example, the remote PC contains TheSKyX fully updated, camera and telescope information loaded in the equipment fields. The main PC also has a complete updated version with the same information in it. However, when I connect to the remote PC via the main PC the remote PC shows me the TSX software completely void of any information, no serial number, no nothing. I had to set up everything remotely and update the software remotely as well. What am I missing? I cannot believe that I have to always update or install a software on the remote PC via the main PC? Any idea what needs to be done. Thanks in advance for your help.