"Portable" Remote Video Astronomy setups

Normally I keep my main Remote Video Astronomy setup covered in my garage and just roll it out onto my driveway, perform an alignment, and I'm ready to go in just a few minutes time. 

I run a single USB cable from the telescope to inside to control the equipment from my laptop and can see the view through my telescope on my computer screen inside in near real time.

In about a week, my wife and I will be heading to Virginia with our camper to attend the ECVAR star party at Cool Breeze campground, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I was wondering just how "portable" my main RVA setup might be.  So this week I disassembled my RVA setup and figured out how to best package everything up for ease of transport and reassembly at the camp site.  

I then began thinking about how long it might take me to set everything back up again once I get there.  So I decided to find out...and recorded a time lapse video of the process.  I had never used the time lapse video option on my iPhone but thought it was worth a try, and it worked great!  I determined I could put my telescope wheel platform in the bed of the truck, so I used it as the base of my assembly.  I could do without it, but it will give me the flexibility of easily moving my setup as needed at the campground.

So how long did it take?  45 minutes.  

Once I had it set up, I rolled it from my patio to a viewing position in my backyard to verify everything worked as expected.   I initially checked everything out next to the telescope with a single USB cable providing the link to control the scope and cameras.  My laptop is a Microsoft Surface Pro2 with a single USB port, running Windows 8 using a Bluetooth mouse.

I then added an active USB extension cable between the telescope connection and the laptop to make sure I could control and view everything remotely from under a canopy, or even from inside our camper. I can power the setup from an AC extension cable or from two battery Power Tanks.  

You can watch the time lapse video of my assembly process on You Tube for your entertainment by clicking the image below.

I also have a grab-and-go Remote Video Astronomy setup that I keep out in our sunroom.  It is has a SkyProdigy mount (with StarSense built in) and is usually configured with a Celestron 5" telescope, JMI remote focus control and a MallinCam Micro-Super camera.  It also uses a powered hub at the telescope and a single USB cable from the telescope to my laptop.

It obviously packed up in fewer carrying bags.

I again recorded a time-lapse video of setting it up.  This was same song, much shorter second verse!

So how long did it take to set up? 7 minutes.

Once I had it set up, I carried it from my patio to a viewing position in my backyard to verify everything worked as expected.   I checked everything out next to the telescope with a single USB cable providing the link to control the scope and cameras.  I normally power this setup with battery packs instead of AC. 

You can watch the time lapse video of the assembly process of my grab-and-go RVA setup by clicking the image below.