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Hello, I’m slowly but surely automating my observatory, located about 16 km from home and running on a Win 10 computer. Wondering what remote imagers find is their preferred software for connecting to a remote observatory, and why. Disclaimer: I am not an engineer. CS, Bob |
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| My telescope is 350km away from home, and I control it seamlessly using the Remote Desktop feature of Windows Pro. |
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Hi Bob, While I certainly appreciate that it isn't the least-expensive software out there, I have had nothing but luck with the SkyX software suite from Software Bisque. I've actually used it and it's predecessor for some 25 years. It has performed flawlessly in all regards, from control of the mount, camera, focusers, filter wheels, etc. Image acquisition and control is easy, as well. While it offers guiding, and I've used it from time to time, I prefer PHD2 for it's ease of set up and use, and it guides effortlessly. I have a Paramount ME, and my friend uses a Losmandy II mount, which TheSky operates, as well with no issues. Hope this helps a bit. I know there are many choices. - - Steve |
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Hello, I’m slowly but surely automating my observatory, located about 16 km from home and running on a Win 10 computer. Wondering what remote imagers find is their preferred software for connecting to a remote observatory, and why. I use either Splashtop (subscription based) or Google Chrome Remote Desktop (free) to connect to my computer remotely. I use NINA for my image acquisition since I can turn on all my equipment using the advanced sequencer and my Pegasus Astor Ultimate Powerbox. |
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I use ZeroTier + Windows remote desktop as my primary and Splashtop Personal. Both have been amazing. If your aren't family with ZeroTier it's free and extremely easy to use. It basically creates encrypted P2P connections so that you can access remote devices securely and with little overheard. It is never advised to open RDP to the internet but with ZT you don't have to. I also use it to access my web power switch. My rig is 700 miles away yet I reach it as if it was still in my backyard. |
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Chrome Remote Desktop. Easy, free and run on my mobile phone as well. |
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Thanks, Steve and Terry. I should clarify: I’m running TheSkyX for navigation, MaxIm for camera control and guiding, FocusMax5 for what it does, APCC for its pointing model for my AP 900 mount, PinPoint 7 for plate solving and CCDAutoPilot for overall automation of all this. My question goes to how best to communicate between home and the observatory computer to run all this (chiefly CCDAP) from a distance. Best, Bob |
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I've used Chrome Remote Desktop for years to connect to DSW and now to Chile. It is nearly flawless, it's fast, it's free and it doesn't care whether I use a Mac or PC...or my phone or an iPad. The only flaw is that although I can see things running with my Android phone, I can't actually control anything, but that doesn't bother me. I always use my Mac to actually control things. John |
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| I use both Anydesk and Remote PC. I generally prefer Remote PC but both are fine. |
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John Hayes: I switched to chrome remote desktop after watching one of your videos and it's been great. Better than RemotePC which had a yearly sub and was pretty slow. |
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| Chrome remote. Stable, free, consistent. And most importantly of all you don't have to mess around with "elevated user permissions" problems you may get with stuff like anydesk |
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Thank you all for your quick and clear recommendations. Looks like there’s a consensus for Chrome Remote Desktop . Much appreciated, Bob |
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| RealVNC is the most secure that I can think off. It's the one that we use at work for access to sensitive data at our servers, but at home I've started to use it, but a few months after I feel easy to use the teamviewer. I know, that teamviewer uses a backdoor in their software and all, but I'm not using it to work with sensitive data, It's just for access to my mount's computer to work with. He's really straight foward and intuitive to use. |
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| An "issue" with both AnyDesk and Teamviewer is that they eventually will start charging you for a license, even if you claim that it is only private/personal use. |
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Sven, That’s useful to know about TeamViewer. The one feature of Chrome Remote Desktop I wondered about is a 30 minute limit to sessions before a revalidation is required. That wouldn’t seem to be a drawback if all one is doing is launching an automated imaging session, but what about longer puttering with one’s system from a distance? I suppose one could terminate and re-start a link to the observatory to start the clock running again, no? Bob |
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The one feature of Chrome Remote Desktop I wondered about is a 30 minute limit to sessions before a revalidation is required. That wouldn’t seem to be a drawback if all one is doing is launching an automated imaging session, but what about longer puttering with one’s system from a distance? Not aware of any time limit, I usually keep the session going all night. |
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Sven, I've never run into a time limit. Sometimes the connection might go "wonky" but I've run it all night long. Even if the connection gets flaky, it's trivial to reconnect. The guys at Obstech in Chile kept telling me to use TightVNC but after I showed them how well CRD works, they were impressed. I tried TightVNC once but it had display problems and so much latency that I tossed it out. TeamViewer also works really well, however the company is a PIA. I used it for a while, up until they started yanking my service because they declared that I was using their free service for commercial purposes, which was never true. That's when I fired up CRD and never looked back. CRD does have one minor quirk that's a little bug-like. The mouse cursor first shows up a dot and doesn't turn into a more easy to see arrow until you click on either a resize handle or on the screen sharing message that shows for about 10 seconds on the remote machine. The mouse "dot" is usable but it can be hard to find. It is easily changed but I've often wondered why the CRD team doesn't fix this. Regardless, I still give CRD 4.99 stars. John |
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I use RemotePC, mostly because it works well with my iPhone and iPad when I'm away from the house and want to log in. It's cheap at around $35 a year and reliable. But I'd start with Chrome until you have an issue that makes you want to look elsewhere. For transferring data files back to the processing computer I used my OneDrive account. It sounds like you've been using your software suite (TSX, CCDAP, etc) for a while. I used all of those for years on my remote setup. Once you get things going I'd think you might want to try NINA or Voyager for more thorough automation. But that's another thread... Kevin |
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Thanks, Kevin. Yes, I’ve been using this suite of programs for a long time, manually. I’d prefer to stick with MaxIm, which NINA appears not to allow. I’ve looked at Voyager, but it seems more complex than CCDAP which answers my needs for now. Also looked at RemotePC, and appreciate your endorsement. CS, Bob |
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I use Chrome Remote Desktop for both rigs in my observatory. Its free, easy to use and as many here stated just flat out works. Dale |
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I use TeamViewer and it occasionally complains to me to use it only for personal use, which is all I am doing, but has not charged me for anything so far. It is sporadic and not stable so I might switch to Chrome. I am only using it to connect from my backyard observatory to my home which is 200 or so ft away. |
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On Chrome Remote Desktop, I see now that the 30 minute session limit applies to the support version, not the access version we’re all talking about. Thanks Sven and John for prompting me to probe that point. Another plus for CRD. Bob |
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For my observatory I use VNC, it is free, secure, and can be used on different devices, PC, MAC, Linux, Android, IOS. I can't complain, never had issue... CS |
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| The 30 minute time limit with Chrome Remote Desktop is only for when you allow someone else to access your computer. I've used it for years without problems. |
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Thanks, Kevin. Yes, I’ve been using this suite of programs for a long time, manually. I’d prefer to stick with MaxIm, which NINA appears not to allow. I’ve looked at Voyager, but it seems more complex than CCDAP which answers my needs for now. To be specific.... With NINA you no longer need MaxIm in any form because you can use either the ASCOM divers or in many cases native NINA drivers for cameras and such. Trust me, it takes a few nights to learn NINA but once you do you will be kicking yourself for not doing it long ago. The experience of NINA vs MaxIm is like a 2023 Ferrari vs. a 1993 Chevy (if I had driven either, that is  )
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