Astroimaging Mini PC Temperature Control Solutions

I've been using the mini PC at the telescope to control imaging sessions using Remote Desktop from inside the house for about 10 months. I've imaged during our coldest nights and during our hottest nights. I share my observations about temperature effects on the mini PC and what I do to get through a night's imaging. Enjoy!

[@Invisible_one]

Hey James! I run my mini pc on the back of the scope and have not had any issues with temperature. It gets very cold and hot in TN. I have my UPBV2 on the back of the scope as well. This mini pc is a Beelink U59 with 11th Gen Processor N5095,16GB DDR4 512GB SSD. I could watch that night sky camera all night! I love that view you put in. Clear skies!

[@Aero19612]

Thanks for the Beelink feedback, Charles!. I suspect all of my issues come down to build quality of my mini PC. Ha. Yeah, the "cloud cam" even makes clouds passing overhead look pleasant, even though they are the mortal enemy of astrophotographers.

[@stergiosfykatas624]

Quite informative Videos you sho on the channel. I took a lot of Information from them. I also use a mini pc beside the scope to take images. Allthough I live in an areaith cold winters, down to -20°C I never had issues. To be honest chrome remote desktop worked more stable than MS remote desktop. With team viewer I encountered issues when I first used Win10 pro. They instantly cut the connection, assuming I am a professional user, so I deleted it. Issues caused by low temperatures never produced any issues.

[@Aero19612]

Hi Stergios. Wow! -20C. No way my pathetic little computer could handle that. Or me, for that matter! Thanks for watching!

[@stergiosfykatas624]

@@Aero19612 OK, its not every day but it's not unusual. Our winters often go below 0°C. Greetings and clear skies

[@MakeAMark]

Love the videos you do. Just as another data point, I use the ASIAIR (plus and pro) and both seem to work flawlessly down to -20 degF (I'm in Colorado). I have seen them covered in frost and still working fine. This to me was a pleasant surprise.

[@Aero19612]

Hey Richard. My Pegasus Astro UPBv2 (on the scope) also works without a hiccup. I suspect my mini PC is not the best or most high-quality construction making its electrical connections a bit more susceptible to cold (parts contract from each other as the temp drops and lose solid contact - a theory). The ASIAIR is popular for a variety of reasons: good build quality looks like one of them.

[@Danwalters3]

Excellent information. I've been working on an external system myself and one other parameters I've been watching is CPU temp. On 90+ outside air temps I would see my CPU creeping upwards on 80C, nearing the danger zone. Some changes in fans and heatsinks knocked off nearly 30c. in those early experiments. Im also now using the Beelink U59 (N5095) and its been flawless.

[@Aero19612]

Hey Dan. CPU temp is a big concern. I may be skating by with no over-night issues only to be doing longer-term damage to the electronics. I just downloaded a free-ware app for CPU temp monitoring: "OpenHardwareMonitor" . I'll see if that gives me good feedback and make changes accordingly. I also suspect I have a mini PC with poor component/build quality and hear nothing but good things about Beelink PCs.

[@melhartline2963]

Another alternative to Remote Desktop you might look into is No Machine. This solution was originally developed on Linux but is not dependent upon operating system. I've been using No Machine for more than a year and have had no issues connecting the inside desktop to the laptop outside over WiFi.

[@Aero19612]

Thanks, Mel! Haven't heard of No Machine before. I'll look into it. My Remote Desktop works great. When I have problems, it's because of the electrical connectors to the wifi antenna at the PC. I also use SplashTop on my iPad to monitor what the PC is doing.

[@scottrk4930]

Hi James . More interesting data for us , thanks ! I was going to ask if your next step would be to add a pair of TEMP-est cooling fans to the back of the 9.25 OTA but I don't think your Model is equipped with spots for these . Only the EdgeHD Models seem to have the necessary holes . Too bad . Time for an Upgrade ? LOL ./SRK

[@Aero19612]

Right. The Edge has the vents. I'll monitor the temp on the PC CPU and see how "scared" it makes me before I look into active cooling.

[@lphilpot01]

A possible option for warm (hot) nights might be to install a high CFM computer case fan in one end of the box. Then with the lid on and forced positive airflow, you'd be "cool" more or less and protected from dew (if indeed it's an issue at all).

[@Aero19612]

Thanks for the suggestion, Len. I'll look into it. If there's high-speed air flow over the PC, then I doubt dew has a chance.

[@willswings]

very interesting, I'm also concern with those temperature problem and I put my mini PC in a box like you but mine is not a simple plastic box but an old cooler for camping , with some holes for the cables. In winter, it keep the heat of the PC inside and it never go below 2 degrées with some nights at -2. In south of France it's almost like Texas, no really cold nights and in summer, we have 25/28 ° at night . Just a thing: we have a lot of humidity and I'm afraid this can make some damage to the material and the cam...what do you think ? do you have a tip for that? BTW thanks for yours vids very instructives and well done.

[@Aero19612]

I just downloaded the free program "openhardwaremonitor" to monitor the CPU temps. You can record the temperatures to a file - I'm still experimenting with it. Supposedly, you need to start worrying about the CPU temp if they get up to 80C to 90C. You might want to try that yourself. Humidity is a problem here as well - that's why I use the box. So far, in the summer with the box open, I have not had a really humid night. I don't trust this PC with humidity. If it gets more humid, then I'll use the fan to get air flow over the unit. Thanks for watching!

[@MethiasZa]

I've just found the same thing with a RaspberryPI4 and astroberry. Went off to a dark site (its our winter now) and the temps dropped well below 0 (normally at home its 2-3c at the lows) and the pi's wifi would not work or would the external wifi work, pi REALLY didnt like the cold. I didnt really record and monitor temps (It was freezing outside and I was having mount problems so I eventually had to give up as nothing worked). I thought it might have been the cold as i've had no issues with the setup before, but this confirms then that cold air is tricky for the mini-pc's. Going to be a tad more difficult to heat mine as its attached to the scope so thats going to require some thinking.

[@Aero19612]

Thanks for the feedback, Wayne. I have no problems with my Pegasus Astro UPBv2. I suspect component and build quality of my mini PC is the main culprit. I have put my UPBv2 (it's on the scope) in a larger plastic food freezer bag to keep dew off of it. You might try something like that to trap warm air near your PC. Just cut holes/slots for cable pass-through.

[@MethiasZa]

@@Aero19612 Ye, I 3d printed the last case and that was filled with holes (Our weather is a lot more like yours, mostly warmer), I was thinking of creating a more closed off case with maybe a small PCB inside for heating (just a simple resistor heating) to provide some warmth if the temps dropped too low to keep the wifi functioning

[@Aero19612]

That's much more sophisticated than a freezer bag! Sounds like an awesome approach. Maybe a spare dew strap?

[@MethiasZa]

@@Aero19612 Don't have any heaters or dew straps. Never had a problem (yet, now that I say it, its going to happen) with dew. I do however have a bunch of nichrome wire that could also work as a heater if I attach it to the bottom of the printed case. Should be simple enough to put in a temp probe and monitor it to not get too hot and keep the electronics at a comfortable temp.

[@DavidCotePhotography]

James, I live in Arizona, and I am more afraid of stressing the ZWO ASI camera. How is your cooling for the camera going? Guess I am afraid of trying to get the camera down to 0 degrees C and running the cooling at nearly 100% all night long. Have you encountered any camera cooling issues?

[@Aero19612]

I'm right there with you, David. My ASI1600 cooler is operating at 90% to get the sensor to -10C. I have not had a problem yet. I'm about to start using my ASI294MM and will likely set my dark library at -5C or 0C to reduce the strain on the cooling system.

[@briangriffiths937]

It seems very strange that you have problems at -5. My temp goes down to -20 sometimes, I never had any issues at all with my PPB, or SGP on my laptop out on a table next to the scope, except the cables get very stiff in those temps. I also use Chrome Remote Desktop, never have any problems connecting to my laptop from inside the house.

[@Aero19612]

Agree. I don't have issues my UPBv2, NINA, or Remote Desktop either. I think it's the poor quality components/build of my mini PC that's at the root of my issues. The USB connections and internal electronics are just more susceptible to low temps. A lot of other people report no issues with PCs from Beelink (and other brands). That may be where I go in the future. Thanks for watching, Brian!