Scope Diagram

  Compatible Hardware


While it's impossible to guarantee compatibility of 3rd party hardware/drivers, the following are some items I have used. Remember that it is not uncommon for manufacturers to change hardware and/or drivers without even changing part numbers, so compatibility is always a gamble.

In all cases, think about the power requirements of all of the hardware you are plugging in. It is very easy to exceed the power which can be provided from the Raspberry Pi ports. An external USB hub with its own power supply may be necessary to support all of your devices.

USB keyboard and mouse

Standard PC keyboards and mice seem to work fine with the Raspberry Pi hardware and software. Note, however, that there are many different types of keyboard layouts. You may need to use raspi-config to configure the OS to recognize the keys properly.

Wireless keyboard and mouse

This is not a necessity since I usually access my Capture system remotely (via network), but when directly accessing the system, a wireless keyboard and touchpad combo reduces the tangle of wires. However, this is a MINI keyboard, so don't expect to be speed typing. I use the Gear Head KB3800TPW. The one shown in the Microcenter link doesn't look exactly like the one I have, but is probably compatible. This uses a 2.4GHz link (not Wi-Fi or Bluetooth).

USB Wi-Fi adapter

I have read that some USB Wi-Fi adapters do not work properly with Linux systems, but I have tried the TP-LINK TL-WN725N (Microcenter), which seems to work fine with the Capture system. Be aware that this type of adapter does not have a connection for an external antenna, so Wi-Fi range will be limited. A partial remedy would be to use a USB extension cable to place the antenna in a more favorable location.

USB GPS adapter

I am using the VANWEI VK-162 USB GPS adapter which I got through Amazon. I believe that any USB GPS device which is emulating a serial data stream with NMEA0183 strings will work with the Capture software.

USB thumb drives

No compatibility problems encountered and I am not sure what maximum capacity can be handled. Be careful about the formatting used on the thumb drive. It's possible that some formats may limit the file sizes that can be handled.


DAK - 14 May 2017 - ZWO Capture 0.2


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