jsinon
sage
Reged: 06/20/07
Posts: 322
Loc: Farmington,NH
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My current laptop doesn't have high speed 2.0 usb and a new laptop isn't in the budget for quite some time. How much of a problem can I expect to have without the high speed? Are there any alternatives? I plan on keeping an eye out for a newer used laptop. But that may still be tough to get pass my better half since it will be used only for imaging and possibly scope control. I've already gotten "the look" as far as the rising cost of this hobby.
Thanks,
Jeff
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CPC 800XLT
JMI EV-3cM motorized focuser
OPT 2" Quartz Dielectric diagonal
24mm Panoptic
13mm t6 Nagler
9mm BO/TMB Planetary
The whole mess plus many extras is for sale. PM for details.
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Chris_H
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/24/03
Posts: 4634
Loc: Norway
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For deep sky it wont matter Jeff. For planetary USB 2 is better 
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Chris
Celestron C8 XLT
TS 65mm EDQ
Orion 80ST
NEQ6 GoTo Mount
DMK21AU618 with Astrodon LRGB filters
ASI120MC
Orion StarShoot Autoguider
Canon 550Da (modded)
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AlanT
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/20/07
Posts: 532
Loc: 122º36' W, 47º37' N, WA USA
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If your laptop is running XP and has a PCcard slot you could probably add a USB 2 card without much hassle. I've been using one on an old 600mhz laptop with no problems. The one that worked for my machine cost about $40.
Keep looking for that better laptop though, you might find other limitations that nag (disc size, screen res, memory, networking, etc.). I finally gave up and just bought a used Toughbook for cheap.
al
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al
Meade 80mm APO
Celestron 6" SCT
CGE, GM-8, & CG-5 GT
ST-4000xcm, ST-2000xcm, DSI Pro II, DSI Pro
( www.alberts-astro.com/astro )
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 11575
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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It doesn't have to be overwhelming as far as cost. For imaging I use an old 800 MHz desktop computer I literally pulled out of the trash at work. I like the USB card idea if that would work for you. I believe the DSI will work fine under USB 1.1, just very slow compared to USB 2.0. Being an old 1 MHz 6502 guy I prefer 'relaxed' to 'slow'. 
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-John
The best advice on imaging I've ever been given... don't forget to look!
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SprintCar Driver
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/19/06
Posts: 1402
Loc: SoCal.
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My DSI wouldnt work at 1.1 but I bought a PCM-CIA 2.0 card and it works fine.
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Bill
If theres someone you cant understand try walking a mile in their shoes. If you still dont understand them at least you will be a mile away from them and you will have a new pair of shoes.
C11 atlas EQ-G DsiI/Neximage
8" Coulter(red)dob.
PST Ha
Edmund Astro Scan
Sears Discoverer refractor/EQ(my 1st scope)
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Raven911
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/12/05
Posts: 1899
Loc: by Cloudcroft, NM
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My DSI Pro would not work with USB 1 either. Had to get a USB 2 card.
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http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v287/Raven911/Astrophotos/
http://www.eye-of-the-raven.blogspot.com/
My list of second-hand and home-made stuff:
Celestron SC6
Celestron C9.25
100mm F6/76mm F4.5/80mm F5/SV NHII 80mm F6 Achros
SBIG ST7/Canon 300D/DSI Pro Mono/Starshoot DSCI
8 inch F7 Newt on Edmund EQ
8 inch F4.5 Project Astrograph
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jsinon
sage
Reged: 06/20/07
Posts: 322
Loc: Farmington,NH
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It looks like I'm going to go to Staples and get a usb 2 card tomorrow. I'm also going to keep my eyes open for a newer, used laptop.
--------------------
CPC 800XLT
JMI EV-3cM motorized focuser
OPT 2" Quartz Dielectric diagonal
24mm Panoptic
13mm t6 Nagler
9mm BO/TMB Planetary
The whole mess plus many extras is for sale. PM for details.
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b1g bleu
super member
Reged: 11/14/07
Posts: 127
Loc: Lawn Gisland, NY, USA
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jandr dot com in NYC has used IBM laptops all the time for about $400 loaded with ports. We need real serial ports for our work.
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Paul
Nexstar 8 SE
OMNI 40mm 93325 - X-CEL 25mm 93302
GO SWA 15mm FOV 72Deg
Burgess 6MM TMB
University Or 9MM
GO ND96-0.6 Filter
Celestron stuff
94112A 45Deg Erecting Prism
94119-30 4PC Filter Set 96-0.3, 23A, 38A, 58A
94162 Solar Filter (real tight fit)
93626 2" Univ Camera Camera Adapter
Homemade 17AH portable power supply
Swift Ranger Model No. 706 - (6-18x30mm)
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Miguel Lopes
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 01/04/07
Posts: 912
Loc: Portugal
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DSI can work with USB 1.1 but it will degradate image quality.
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Astrology is the science for ignorants. Astronomy is the science for those who feel ignorant. - Miguel Lopes
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NeoDinian
Experienced Postmaster
Reged: 10/05/05
Posts: 14043
Loc: Rockford Illinois
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Quote:
DSI can work with USB 1.1 but it will degradate image quality.
No loss in quality, just VERY slow transfers, and as a result, you may be loosing frames.
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Neo... (Jeff)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
10" LX200-GPS/SMT UHTC "Draco"
 Rockford, Il.
NeoDinian's Eye on the Sky!
Coming soon:
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ccs_hello
Postmaster
Reged: 07/03/04
Posts: 5224
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To be honest, the design is based on these presumed requirements:
- USB2 high-speed (480 Mbps) transport mode
- modern PC (better/sufficient CPU, memory, and hard disk)
The reason: it's a simple "camera head" design while (almost) everything has to be done on the PC side.
It's good and bad.
Good: source image is as "raw" as possible
Bad: need to meet these requirements
Clear Skies!
ccs_hello
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Miguel Lopes
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 01/04/07
Posts: 912
Loc: Portugal
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Quote:
Quote:
DSI can work with USB 1.1 but it will degradate image quality.
No loss in quality, just VERY slow transfers, and as a result, you may be loosing frames.
Humm, no. That would be the expected behaviour but actually it degrades image quality. Not 100% sure, but i think it only transmits the odd or the even part of the image.
Check this CN review:
DSI Pro
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Astrology is the science for ignorants. Astronomy is the science for those who feel ignorant. - Miguel Lopes
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