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| This is the desktop of the remote compute stick out at the scope, displayed and controlled by the computer in my living room. Click on image for a larger view. |
All these programs load and perform very well--even though the compute stick has only 2G of memory. Performance via TeamViewer is excellent, with very low latency. Given the limited storage of 32G, I would recommend buying a micro SD card (128G is the max for this stick). Even if you do, I would also recommend that you permanently delete the downloads for your software after you have installed it, and also to run a disk clean operation and delete old versions of windows and system files. You will free up a lot of storage
Installation of the various pieces of software is straightforward and simple--I don't need to go into too much detail. Connect the stick to a monitor, add a USB mouse and keyboard and power it up. If it's a new stick, set up Windows first and then download the software packages.
The ASCOM drivers can cause some problems--see the next paragraph.
One note of caution: During installation, the ASCOM platform will tell you that it needs version 3.5 of the .NET framework to function (it will also probably ask for some C++ packages to be installed, but more on that later--don;t worry about it at this time). The ASCOM platform will not install until it sees this package is present. DO NOT DOWNLOAD .NET 3.5 as you can corrupt your installation. You already have .NET 3.5 on your Windows machine, it is just not activated. To activate .NET 3.5, type "Turn Windows features off and on." You'll see .NET 3.5 at the top of the list in the window that appears. Check the box next to it to turn it on, then start the ASCOM installer again. It will, again, at some point stop and tell you it needs a couple of C++ libraries. Notice that you can click on an option that will allow the ASCOM installer to download and install them for you. Select this option.
When the ASCOM installer is finished, install the ASCOM Driver for your telescope mount and your imager, planetarium software, and, if needed, the remote control software such as TeamViewer (to say nothing of additional packages like focusers, filter wheels, etc., but I might suggest a "heftier" compute stick in such an instance, with at least 4G of memory--but they are significantly more costly ($300 to $400).
If you're using TeamViewer, you'll need to follow the instructions carefully. Set up the stick installation to allow remote control (the second radio button), and the main computer as a basic installation (the top radio button). When you have installed the software on the stick, start teamviewer and note the name assigned to the computer. Then click on Extras>Options. The following screen will appear:
Finally, make sure you check the option to have TeamViewer start when Windows starts:
One last thing. You'll need to set up the stick so it logs into windows automatically when it starts. There are many online articles on how to do this, so I won't cover it here. It's easy to do and takes seconds.
One last tip: Make desktop shortcuts for all the software you intend to use on the stick. This step is not necessary (you could add them to the Task Bar, for example), but it makes finding and launching programs a little faster. You could also add them to the Start group, so they start when the compute stick boots, but I prefer not to do this as the stick starts faster if it does not have to also start up several applications.
Power down the stick. The next time we power it up, it will be out at the scope!
In Part 4, we'll tie the system together and get it working!
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