Back to forums

eagle connection from home to observatory

PrimaLuceLab EAGLECORE Remote Astrophotography
8 replies•334 views
Claudio Boicu avatar
Claudio Boicu avatar
hello everybody,
so ive been looking at the primalucelab eagle 5 and I know people use it for remote observatories, but could someone explain how you would access it from the perspective of, if someone has like a remote observatory in the dessert, how do they access it remotely? because as far as I heard the eagle has an ap mode, or you can connect to the same network, but I can't make out how you would connect to it remotely.
Brian Puhl avatar
Brian Puhl avatar
I can't speak for the Eagle specifically but you'll need a VPN to access the local network the telescope is on.    From there it will be no different than if it was on your home network.
Well Written Concise
Miguel A. avatar
Miguel A. avatar
Claudio Boicu:
hello everybody,
so ive been looking at the primalucelab eagle 5 and I know people use it for remote observatories, but could someone explain how you would access it from the perspective of, if someone has like a remote observatory in the dessert, how do they access it remotely? because as far as I heard the eagle has an ap mode, or you can connect to the same network, but I can't make out how you would connect to it remotely.

*** Hello Caludio, I found this online  https://www.primalucelab.com/blog/support/eagle-remote-control-windows-computer-controllo-remoto/  and https://www.primalucelab.com/blog/support/how-to-remotely-power-and-control-the-observatory-telescope-with-eagle/ ***
Norman Tajudin avatar
Norman Tajudin avatar
You will need to configure your firewall to ensure the proper ports are open for external network access.  Also, you should consider securing a static IP address via your service provider or subscribe to something like noip.com to simplify your remote desktop access.  Although I don't have a remote observatory, I'll often access my rig via my phone to monitor/manage it if I'm out-and-about.  Super easy to set up.  Look up the instructions on managing remote desktop in windows to get specifics on managing your ports and security.  Good luck and clear skies!
Well Written Helpful Respectful Concise Supportive
Obdulio Garcia-Nicolas avatar
Obdulio Garcia-Nicolas avatar
Hi there, 

I have my rig in a remote location (e-Eye) and I use a PrimaLuceLab Eagle 5pro to control everything, and it works really greatly. Little to add to what have been said, just check the links already mentioned, you will get a clear idea of what you need.

1. As commented, you need a fix IP, how to get it it would depend on the specific conditions of the place where you will have your rig. In my case, I only had to connect a router to the internet land at e-EyE and configurate my local network for my observatory. Lan cable directly connected to the PC. PoE connection for the survey cameras. 

2. Once you have internet, you need to power your PC (Eagle) and the rest of equipment, for that I am using a box for house automatization that works with ZigBee, as I use ZigBee automatic switchers to connect the PC, mount and survey cameras. I don't use WiFi there. Here there are many other options, you can use any Lan connected relay that you could activate it through an app from your smartphone (there are many for industry or even house automatization). Or you can go with a specifically designed device for remote observatory, such as the Dragonfly from Lunatico (which is a great option). To make start the computer remotely you need to activate in the BIOS the option to start it when receives power. 

3. You need a remote desktop service to access to your PC from a different location. Here also many options, from Anydesk, Chrome Remote Desk, whatever suits you better. By doing this you will have full control of the Eagle from any location, using a PC, smartphone, tablet…

A great thing about the Eagle 5pro is how much you can do with it. I can provide energy to all the equipment I am using on my rig (not to the mount, but I also could do it); it is a PC and a Power box in a very compact format. It has plenty of ports to connect everything, I never missed a thing. It is fast, and has power enough to do some processing in PixInsight (for calibration, to check whatever you want on site…). Really happy with it so far, and coupled with the Ecco2 the dew control is fantastic!

Another considerations, get a good service to transfer files, I use wetransfer (you can use whatever cloud service you want for this). I also have my equipment linked to an UPC, this helps to protect the equipment from fluctuations in the voltage of the electric grit, and in case of a blackout it allows my PC to stop the session and put the mount in parking position. I also have a cloudwatcher from Lunatico to evaluate sky conditions (basically if there are clouds or not, temperature, humidity), this is a good help to decide if you open or close your roof, and in case clouds are coming and sky is overcasted it sends a signal to the roof to close by itself after putting the mount in parking position. All-sky camera is also great, but I use the one from e-EyE directly. 

I hope this can help to clarify your question. From my experience, I only can recommend you the Eagle.

CS

Obdulio
Helpful
Reto Pauli avatar
Reto Pauli avatar
Obdulio Garcia-Nicolas:
1. As commented, you need a fix IP, how to get it it would depend on the specific conditions of the place where you will have your rig. In my case, I only had to connect a router to the internet land at e-EyE and configurate my local network for my observatory. Lan cable directly connected to the PC. PoE connection for the survey cameras.


There are ways around that, two come to mind:
  1. If you want a hub and spoke topology (a central firewall/vpn gateway, some NAS types, etc.) where you connect all other devices to and route all traffic through it, then you could use a Dynamic DNS (DDNS) service for the central device instead of a static IP. Essentially the central (=hub) device reports its changing IP address to the DDNS service provider which rapidly updates the DNS entry for that device. So you have a continuously updated hostname pointing to your central device even if the IP changes.
  2. If you opt for a peer-to-peer architecture like zerotier, you can do even do without the DDNS service provider. In case of an IP change it might take a moment however until the reconfiguration is complete / the P2P topology has converged again. In order to have an efficient topology without unnecessary relaying you should make sure that your devices can also be reached for incoming P2P connections. Activation of uPNP to open your firewall/router is probably the easiest way to do that, other options are available as well (you might want to check with the respective solutions FAQ and see what your installation(s) provide(s) as options).


Comparing the two solutions, #2 offers three advantages over #1: You don't need a DDNS provider, you don't need a central device of some sort and thirdly - if you have traffic not going to what would be the central location of a #1 type solution - it takes the the direct path without relaying/routing at the central location. All that being said, #1 is nonetheless the more common one as it has been around as various VPN service types for much longer. Same goes for the static IP solution hinted by the previous poster. 

Cheers, Reto
Claudio Boicu avatar
Claudio Boicu avatar
thanks for all the responses and sorry for the late reply, forgot about this post. one thing that I still can't understand is how you would actually use the eagle. I know you can use Nina and other programs on it but I haven't found like a video or sth that shows how to actually do it. how would you guys set up a night of imaging (for example if the rig is in the backyard)? would you just use a program like team viewer that lets you do control the eagle remotely? or how would you do it if its taken out to a darker sky, say like a star party?
Claudio Boicu avatar
Claudio Boicu avatar
or another scenario I would see myself in is maybe backyard shooting, I just want to polar align, could I use my phone for that, like controlling a pole master or sth like that? because I was thinking to also buy a new mount, more specific the Pegasus Astro NYX-101 wich doesn't have a polerscope but needs to use the pole master or sth other to polar align.
Claudio Boicu avatar
Claudio Boicu avatar
currently im "stuck" in the ZWO ecosystem being with the asi air making it so easy, but honestly I feel like at this point its holding me back to do some serious imaging. its still really good as a grab and go setup but I want something that keeps doing high quality photo after photo, and I feel like the asi air isn't giving me as much control as I would like. and also in the near future ill be making some big purchases, like new cameras and chroma filters, a c8 edge hd and a new mount. Pegasus Astro NYX-101 was the mount what I was looking to get and to control everything I still wanted the comfort of controlling my rig while being inside, that's why I would get the eagle, and probably the rotator and auto focuser from primaluche swell as the motorised flat panel. I want to create a rig that I just have to put down in my backyard( or cover it with something from the elements) polar align and then just head inside for the rest (obviously without polar alignment if I will leave it out there).