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NUC...Anyone using one? - Printable Version

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NUC...Anyone using one? - VK3LU - 06-08-2017

Hi all,
Anyone using an NUC as their shack computer? Any rf noise problems?
Does it perform well?

Nev


RE: NUC...Anyone using one? - VK2ZIW - 07-08-2017

No, I looked at the power consumption and went for Low Power motherboards with a built-in CPU.
Reasons:
A STANDARD power supply.
Space for more than one disk. Data on 1Tb o/s on 128Gb SSD
Upgrade possibilities, standard case.

Intel CPU, The ASRock N3700-ITX 2 boxes, one backs up the other with nightly copy.
AMD CPU ASRock QC5000-ITX/WiFi I run Linux and have never looked back. - Alan VK2ZIW


RE: NUC...Anyone using one? - VK3ALB - 07-08-2017

Being used to two and three screen environments I'm not sure how I could work on a single screen now. Do any have dual screen capability?


RE: NUC...Anyone using one? - VK2EHQ - 07-08-2017

I've been using one here for a while now. Hasn't been switched off or restarted in 4 months or so. has been totally reliable so far. Use it to run my weather logging, APRS, Planeplotter and Shipplotter. No, not running Windows 10. It's totally RF quiet. Fairly low spec. It's an Asus, 1.7Ghz i5, 8GB ram and a 256GB SSD. very low power consumption and totally quiet. With all that running, in hindsight, I could've gone next step up in CPU speed, but as is, runs everything just fine

Peter VK2EHQ


RE: NUC...Anyone using one? - VK3LU - 07-08-2017

Thanks everyone,
I should have given reasons why I have been looking at an NUC.
I don't have much room. I am using an  ancient laptop at the moment and apart from the fact it is a bit of a slug (XP and a core2 duo) it takes up a fair bit of room. I won't be using more than one screen.
The NUC box can be put on a shelf under the desk and the monitor can sit on a shelf above the desk and the keyboard and mouse leaves me more room. Plus they can be put away when not in use.
There is absolutely no room for a tower type box.
Peter, that you have no rf  noise from it is just what I want to hear! Now I will do some serious trawling and see what I can come up with. The only ham software I will be using is HRD and WSJTX.

73 Nev


RE: NUC...Anyone using one? - VK3HZ - 07-08-2017

I'm running 3 Intel NUCs here - one for me, one for the XYL and one as an HTC.

Mine is a fully loaded NUC6i5SYH with 32GB RAM, a 512G SSD and a 1TB HDD running Windoze 10.  It just ticks away 24/7 without any issues.

It has both HDMI and DisplayPort outputs so you could run dual displays.  I've also used Miracast (WiDi) to wirelessly display on the TV.


Upside is it draws very little power compared to a full PC.  One reason is that it uses an Intel mobile version CPU which is not quite as fast as the standard version.  It's certainly not slow though.  It can be powered from 12V.

You do need to add the cost of RAM, SSD and O/S to the base price so they end up being not so cheap.

Regards,
Dave


RE: NUC...Anyone using one? - VK3LU - 07-08-2017

Thanks Dave,
OK on the cost. I don't really need a full spec one. A 125gb ssd perhaps and 8 gb RAM at the most. If I need more storage  I can add an HDD if there is room inside which some seem to have.
I won't be using very demanding software.

73 Nev


RE: NUC...Anyone using one? - VK3ALB - 07-08-2017

If you are not bound to using HRD then a viable alternative for a simple ham computer can be found here. R-Pi pre-loaded with digi-mode software  You can land it in Oz for around $22 and a Pi can be got for around $50.

Has CAT control through hamlib and as long as you don't go overboard you could put it on a bigger MicroSD and install a Linux flavored logging program.


RE: NUC...Anyone using one? - VK3LU - 08-08-2017

Hi Lou,
I had thought of that but I cannot find a driver in linux that allows wsjtx to CAT control an IC7300. It does not exist.
So I will stick with Windows.

Nev