
For experienced users who already own a Raspberry PI3/Pi4 unit, StellarMate OS is a complete software package ready for deployment on your Raspberry Pi. It is provided as a compressed OS Image file (.img.xz) that you can burn to an SD card and fire it up immediately to enjoy the full benefit of StellarMate software stack. The following packages are included in addition to the base OS:
A 3A+ 5v power supply (3 Amps or higher) is required in order to properly operate StellarMate OS on Raspberry Pi 3/4. Using anything less than 3A would result in system instablities and possible corruption. Invest in a reputable power supply before you boot StellarMate OS.
After your purchase, you will receieve a link in the email to download the file. Since the file size is ~1.8 GB, it is highly recommended to use a dedicated download manager to download the file. After you download the file appropiate for your Raspberry Pi version, you can verify its integrity by computing its hash. Use Quick Hash GUI to verify the integrity of the image file. The following are MD5 and SHA256 hashes of the xz file:
If you need to download StellarMate OS again in the future, make sure you are logged in to the stellarmate.com website and then go to the Orders page. You should see a list of your orders. Click on your order link, then scroll down to see the downloads. Make sure to download the SM OS version appropiate for your hardware platform.
Etcher is a graphical SD card writing tool that works on Mac OS, Linux and Windows, and is the easiest option for most users. Etcher also supports writing images directly from the zip file, without any unzipping required. To write your image with Etcher:
.xz
file you want to write to the SD card.Once the image is burned to the card, insert the microSD card into Raspberry PI3 and power it up.
Note: StellarMate can take up to 2 minutes before switching to HotSpot mode on first startup.
StellarMate is a verstile OS that supports multiple methods to control it.
For new users, using StellarMate effectively can take a bit of a learning curve (like everything else) especially given the breadth of the features if provides. Here are some useful resources to get your started:
We are proud to offer top-notch support for our customers. Please make sure to checkout first the Frequently Asked Questions and Knowledge Base articles. To report any issues with StellarMate or Ekos, please submit a ticket and our support team should get back to you as soon as possible. Please make sure to submit the relevant logs to aid in diagnosting and resolving the issue efficiently.
I Just installed Stellarmate OS today on my RPi4 - I gave it a test run for connectivity and everything started right up and all drivers were working. SO far my setup includes the following: EQMOD, Canon DSLR, ZWO ASI EAF and ZWO CCD(guiding w/ 120mm Mini). Everything has worked as intended. I found it easiest to use a screen sharing program. Everything was a little bit slower, but not by much. Focusing maybe took an extra 3 or 4 seconds to download the image and capturing an image in the capture module maybe took an extra 2 or 3 seconds. However for focusing, binning is going to be an option. Nothing was laggy or too slow. It worked perfect and I am so excited to use this in the future.
Daniel DeSclafani
FIVE STARS! With this software I can control my Meade Maksutov Telescope MC 127/1900 StarNavigator NG 125 Mak AZ GoTo remotely! It only needs a serial Adapter cable from Raspberry Pi (4) to Handbox. With KSTARS, I can not only steer the telescope - when the guide is active, object tracking even works, which is also displayed in KSTARS. Thanks to INDI! Many thanks also to the Support. The possibilities are literally limitless!acenthyl