Astro System Update

December 27, 2018

I bought Stellarmate OS in October and installed it on a Raspberry Pi3b+ (The latest Pi with a 1.4GHz 64-bit quad-core processor, dual-band wireless, and Bluetooth 4.2/BLE). This system is now running the INDI server core of my astro setup, and I replaced the second Pi in my "distributed INDI-based astro-imaging setup" post with an iOptron StarFi wireless telescope (mount) adapter. For the Orion Atlas EQ-G mount I'm using the Shoestring bluetooth-to-serial adapter (BT2EQ6 Bluetooth Module with DB-9 connector). I bought an inexpensive GPS dongle to get position and system time for Ekos and KStars. So far, Stellarmate is working out well. The only downside I have experienced is common on any remote astro system, that's the delays in the capture and focus workflows for large FITS files. My Atik 414EX had larger pixels and lower resolution, and ended up with 16-bit FITS files around 3 or 4 MB, while my higher resolution ZWOs (ASI071MC and ASI1600MM-P) are ten times that size.