Maslow Ground Control Computer

Maslow Ground Control Computer -MGCC

This is a work in progress and will be more fleshed out in the near future. I see this question so often this was the best way for me to address it. - January 2018

What are the options for running Ground Control?

The requirement is :

One of the following - Windows, OS X, Lunix

Python 2 (2.7)

Kivy (UI)

Open GL2 ( required by Kivy)

Arduino IDE ( for uploading firmware )

OS suggestions -

Windows 8.1 and greater are currently supported by Microsoft

OS X 10.9 or Greater is needed to use Kivy

There are too many versions of Linux to easy list the options

For inexperienced Linux users I suggest Ubuntu (currently 16.04) You hardware must meet the criteria above.

I strongly suggest all level of users review, learn, implement OS security measures. We are in a time of increasing cyber threats. This is presented because in general use of the Maslow you will download and move files to one or more computers. The threat of a malicious file getting into a computer from a download is greater when older computers are brought back on line to repurpose them because many if not most have known vulnerabilities and security holes that no longer are updated by the manufacture. The worst hacks will quietly sit and take your information and send it to bad people. You will not know it happened.

With this in mind this is a guide of my advice to Better / Best Experience for operating Ground Control the software used by the Maslow Router system.

I first will address operating systems then hardware.

With Ground Control I think the easiest deployment is Windows. This is because there is Windows Portable version that is self contained. You download it, uncompress and run a batch file.

There is a similar version for the OS X operating system on a Mac. However due to security restrictions built into the Mac you can receive a message that it won’t run. You have to take extra steps to get around this. Depending on you level of experience this can be a non issue but covering it fully is beyond the scope of this discussion.

Linux is a great operating system for what it is. If you're new to it, small things can greatly effect your experience. It can be much more intensive to setup especially if you have a unique problem. The strength of Linux is if you want to do the work, you can probably get older hardware to be useful. For users new to Linux you can’t beat a low cost computer called Raspberry Pi. Preface - The Pi is not a good first choice as a PC to operate a Maslow. This will be covered in the Hardware section below. The Raspberry Pi or RPI is a computer designed for learning. Because of this it is in wide use, very wide use. This means there is much more information available on problems and solutions. This is why it is the best system for someone learning Linux for the first time. Because there is more information there is also more information to sort through for the right answers.

The least expensive route

A Windows tablet in the area of ~$100 as of January 2018 This will be slow, crash and pause a lot. It will work, but not very well.

The Next Expensive route

A laptop -

This is because a Laptop includes screen, keyboard, power system including a battery so if power fails the computer is still capable of several options to “save” your work.

This can be anything you want but I’ve been suggesting a refurbished Lennovo T420 with Windows 10 from an online source called New Egg. It’s an older workhorse that has reasonable performance and is available for ~$130 at this time. The better the features of course the more the price will go up. I have one I got for $140 and it works very well. Windows 10 is included and as I stated at the top, if you are just looking to get going this is probably the easiest route.

A more expensive route

the Raspberry Pi 3 -

The other models of Raspberry Pi are to under powered to reasonably operate I would only consider a RPI3.

People tout it’s a $30 computer. The $30 price tag is a marketing Trojan Horse. The board with the CPU is $30. It requires more to be operational. So it is misleading. For the documented Pi install you need the official Pi Screen running $80. You will need a memory card to act as a hard drive ~$10 minimum. You need a keyboard and pointing device, we will say ~$25 at the low end. Then a power supply ~$10. If you cut corners you can trim $15 off this. You have spent well over what the cost of the used laptop is and what you get less functional and it will take you hours to set up. If you already own most of this then reuse can make sense. Basically a RPI3 is running at the edge of it’s capabilities to keep up. An used laptop as described above is barely breaking a sweat.

A better experience

An Apple / Mac running OS X 10.11 or grater

The hardware and software are made for each other and is in a mostly self contained eco systems with benefits and restrictions. In general much more stable environment because of the previously mentioned combination of hardware and software curated by one manufacture. It is relatively easy to learn the skills to use software for outside the eco system which Ground Control is. A new MacBook Air (laptop) is listed at $999 new. You can find deals on new and used Mac computers. I was able to find a used iMac ( 20 inch desktop ), Running OS X 10.11 for $198. As Apple like Microsoft tends to have an ~ 5 year product life cycle. Understand the $198 used Mac is about to fall off the list of support hardware for new releases of the Mac OS.

The more better option

A newer current , new system

Windows, Mac or Linux