BeeLink U59 (W11 N5105 Jasper) StellarMate X OS install

[freddylq]

Hi Tracy. So with Stellarmate X you VPN in only ? There's no app like for the Pi version ?

 

[Tracy]

Hi Tracy. So with Stellarmate X you VPN in only ? There's no app like for the Pi version ?

No, it uses the same app that the RPi version does... I just prefer to VNC into the system since I have dedicated computers set up for both use around the house and also for when I go off-site.
For around the house I usually use either my desktop to control (especially since it's so hot right now) from inside the house, or when it's cooler I'll use my Surface Books or Toshiba laptop (these also get used for remote locations).

 

[freddylq]

I'm going to have to try this. I also have a Beelink U59...I'll keep Win '10 that's on it and just switch out the M.2 drive with another and install Stellarmate.

 

[Tracy]

I'm going to have to try this. I also have a Beelink U59...I'll keep Win '10 that's on it and just switch out the M.2 drive with another and install Stellarmate.

Yeah.. I may buy another M2 SATA to do the same. I am used to StellarMate and really like it... especially the fact that you can have the app to at least check regularly if you don't want to control the rig with it.
If yours is newer it will probably have the AX101 BT/WiFi chipset in it, and you will have issues. If it's an older one, it may have a different BT/WiFi in it.
Linux kernel 6.4 is supposed to have drivers for that chipset, but it is still in testing phase.
I did complete the Windows 11 Pro install on the U59 and then made a Windows recovery image... so all I have to do is grab another drive, install the recovery image, and I can play with N.I.N.A. on it, which I will probably do so I can create an article from a newbie aspect of using it after being used to StellarMate.
I've got a spare 512GB NVMe M2 from where I upgraded my Intel NUC to a 1TB, but it won't work in the U59 Pro since it's SATA. I was already planning on doing this with the Intel NUC.

 

[freddylq]

MY U59 is the version just before yours with the N5095 processor. Maybe I wouldn't have issues with the wi-fi on that one.

 

[Tracy]

MY U59 is the version just before yours with the N5095 processor. Maybe I wouldn't have issues with the wi-fi on that one.

From some research, it appears that it works with Ubuntu at least... so StellarMate X should work fine on it also as it uses Kubuntu.
Found this on a site where they installed Ubuntu on a U59 with that chipset. Looks like it has the Intel WiFi chipset.

In fact, it looks very similar to my Intel NUC 11.

At a "high" price of $129 on Amazon for an 8GB/256GB version of the U59 w/N5095.. it may be worth my time to simply get one of them for playing with N.I.N.A. on instead of having to swap out drives or run multi-boot on one of the devices.
I'm really jonesing for one of the Ryzen powered ones though honestly so I can see how the AMD chipset does.

 

[freddylq]

Hi Tracy, based on your experience do you think one would be better off with the NUC version of StellarMate compared to the Raspberry Pi version ?

 

[Tracy]

Hi Tracy, based on your experience do you think one would be better off with the NUC version of StellarMate compared to the Raspberry Pi version ?

I haven't gotten to play with it "live" yet. The benefit of the RPi 4 is the light weight of the unit if mounting directly on the telescope (which is what I do on my primary rig). Both NUCs that I have are about 1 pound each. The downfall of the RPi 4 (and equivalent) is that it is MUCH slower due to the processor. I will be using the Intel NUC for the first time tonight and I expect the plate solving to be much faster. The other benefit of the NUC is the NVMe/M2 SATA drives compared to an SD card or even EMMC storage.
I fabricated my own mount for the NUC and the Pegasus PBBADV (article will be written on what I did).

Comparing specs, the NUCs should outperform the RPi 4s by a noticeable amount. As for price... honestly the NUCs were not that much more (at the time of purchase) than what the RPi 4 kits were. The Orange Pi 3 LTS was much cheaper.

 

[freddylq]

Please let us know how it goes. I'm going to order a 2nd M.2 drive for my U59 to switch out.

 

[Tracy]

Tonight won't be any "heavy duty" captures as the moon is going to be in close vicinity to the two primary targets I've been chasing (Western Veil and M16) and is at around 93% luminosity... but I can will be doing some playing with both rigs.

 

[Tracy]

Wasn't able to play last night due to clouds... but have the Intel NUC out tonight and have found out... it's not really happy running on the power output from the Pegasus PBBADV.... it keeps resetting the VNC connection. Plugged the AC power supply in.. and it's working fine. Moved it over to the dedicated adjustable 5.5x2.5mm power port and it's been running now all night long without dropping VNC connectivity.

Got a feeling the BeeLink is going to be the same way if I go with a Pegasus power box with that system.

Not really happy so far.... but I realize that this is going to be a trial/error process when trying to run from a 12v battery setup with the newer systems.

The BeeLink is up and running working fine off of AC power now for about 4 hours. The 5.5x2.5mm M->M cables I purchased on Amazon are not passing power through, but there IS power at the female plug I installed on the battery box... so time to check on some more cables.

One think I've noticed... plate solving is a LOT faster on these than the RPi 4s.

 

[Tracy]

Just a quick screenshot from the captures I'm doing via the BeeLink U59 of the Western Veil nebula.

This is what is shown in the capture window of StellarMate. I'm still fighting the focusing with this unit... it's not playing as well as the RPi 4 did.

 

[freddylq]

That looks good. What do you mean you're fighting the focusing? My M.2 drive and extra uSD cards arrived.

 

[Tracy]

That looks good. What do you mean you're fighting the focusing? My M.2 drive and extra uSD cards arrived.

Mainly that you have to be close to your focal point when you start the auto-focus. If you are a few hundred ticks off, it won't focus well.
Once I got it near where it needed to be (use of the Bahtinov mask) the focusing worked fine.

One thing... even the NetGear USB device I have has short legs. I had to move it about 7 foot closer to the house to get a reliable signal. I'm going to need to put a mesh system in place here to get it to work well.

 

[Tracy]

So far, I'm liking the BeeLink U59 a lot better than I did the RPi 4 StellarMate OS solution.
Plate solving is MUCH faster. The entire system seems to be more responsive and doesn't suffer some of the lag time I get from the RPi 4's frequently. The downloading of the images from the camera to the drives is also much faster.

 

[Tracy]

I do have one recommendation for anyone thinking of using batteries with these toys.... unless it's a brand new lead acid battery, I'd STRONGLY recommend going with a LiFePO4 battery (I use a 50 amp) to run your equipment. The LiFePO4 keeps the discharge amount high enough to keep the WiFi on the U59 working... the lead acid battery I have (albeit a 5 year old one) dropped low enough on the voltage after 3 hours of use that the WiFi was regularly dropping.

 

[freddylq]

I'm glad I bought a couple of portable power boxes with LiFEPO4 batteries + the solar panel charger.

 

[Tracy]

Yah... I didn't want to "buy" one, as I could build one more fitting with what I need, and generally the battery would be a LOT larger. My current one has 4 "car adapter" (used to be called cigarette plugs before tobacco became taboo). Then it has 4 USB ports (5 amps each) and I just added (to both) 2 5.5x2.5mm and 2 5.5x2.1mm female plugs. The 5.5x2.5mm hook directly up to the NUC's with a male->male extension cable.

 

[Tracy]

I'm looking at a GMKtec Mini PC right now to play with... I really want to work with several different base systems to generate more data.
The one I'm looking at is the N5105 processor with 8GB RAM and a 512GB. The BIG thing that's keeping me from it is that this would be a Windows based system... and it only comes with Windows Home according one review... no RDP access... and if I'm going to use a Windows based server, I want to use what is built in and not have to install a VNC server into the stack.
But the Amazon listing for it shows Windows 11 Pro... so what to do?