-------- Original message --------

From: sonnyedmonds@...

Date: 1/26/20 1:12 PM (GMT-06:00)

To: [email protected]

Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Astro-Imaging, the incurable disease !

Hi Gary, nice to meet you!
I'll be 70 this March, so I can relate.
When I started my adventure 4-5 years ago, I did a lot of figuring out how to get what I was after. Unfortunately I put my trust into brands I remembered from my childhood and younger years. And those had evolved and gone to China.
I can understand the unloading, many businesses were. Unfortunately it has come back to bite us in the butt, or wallet.
After 5 months of grooming lists, I finally pulled the trigger on my best list and here came the boxes. After my first year of failures, I began to find fruition. But it took until July of 2017 to realize I was doing things right after all, when I got a used Atik Infinity camera and got for the first time.
Along the way, I met a friend in North Carolina who has handicaps from a childhood fall from a tree. He wrote about his setting up, then retiring to his "Bat Cave" in the basement to run his mount remotely.? Well that was a quantum leap I had long wanted to make, so we talked about it. He uses a commercial version that can tie to computers together. I found if frustrating because the free version always dropped out to try and get you to pay $840 for the paid version.
But I found something called that is open sourced (FREE) and works great to WiFi connect my outside computer, to my inside computer.
In my case, my 2005 Toshiba laptop was too weak to WiFi reliably, and it died trying (It was also 12 years old). So several more stumbles and I had a Dell 2 in 1 tablet/laptop. (I call it my Baby Dell). It was working fairly well, and my router died. So I got a new one that has dual band. And here I finally sat with the baby dell running my mount and all outside, while controlling it all from inside. All Wireless over my Home Network. The connection gives the outside computers desktop to the inside computer. So it's like sitting out there, but you stay warm. ;^)
So you might like to approach running your new Mount wirelessly. And not be limited by wiring. Thus being able to set your G11 further out if it gains you sky real estate.

Mine sets out near the back block wall and WiFi's about 60 feet through stucco walls and interior walls to my Belkin router in my home office/mancave.
I mount my telescope and connect 5 wires, and two power connections to my big battery, and a single USB to my Baby Dell. Then check my polar Alignment, do an alignment, check Vnc's address, and come inside to connect and start my evening's imaging. I've done remote alignments, too. But find I like to be at the mount for alignments. Helps to check operations before going fully remote.

I'm headed to Losmandy in February for my new Losmandy mount in February. Probably a GM811G HD, but to be determined at the factory, Maybe a G11G. Like Deric sez, it's only a little more for the extra capacity, and bigger DEC gear. (I don't need it, but it couldn't hurt.)
I set it, and cover between sessions. Not a tear-down kind of guy. More of a retain my Polar Alignment lazy guy. LOL!