AstroBox M4

A new toy: NanoPi M4,

brand new development board, similar to RPi but better(!) in quite a few areas. It has 2GB RAM, speed Rockchip Rk3399 processor and a lot of other goodies (WiFi, 1G ethernet, 4 USB3.0 and 3 USB2.0 ports, etc).

I decided to make a new AstroBox with it because the former built on OrangePi had not enough processor power and too little RAM. Now it is ready and runing great.
It is self contained with INDI, Kstars and Ekos. You have to connect to it to initiate the session, but while it is running (making photos, guiding, focusing), you can disconnect and it does not disrupt the session.

It provides the following conectivity to telescope and other astro devices:

• 2 x 7.4V switchable power outlets for DSLR cameras
• 1 x shutter release mini jack for Canon or Pentax DSLRs
• 1 x RS232 with RJ11 socket (for simple 1 to 1 connection to Celestron mount)
• 1 x 12V PWM for heater
• 2 x 12V switchable power outlets for other devices
• 4 x USB 3.0
• 2 x USB 2.0
• 1 x USB3 socket (but USB 2.0 speed only)
• 1 x 1G ethernet
• HDMI (not used)
• headphones (not used)

From the PC side, one can connect to it using VNC or RDP.

Basically it covers all the AstroBox v1 did, but just better...