[GUIDE] - How to create an Astrobox with a Raspberry Pi 3

See this post.

If you have any questions, let us know below :slight_smile:

Thanks for the guide. I had some questions for setting this up without the WiFi dongle. Are there any other uses of the hotspot functionality, which you need the WiFi dongle for, other than initial setup?

Could you describe how to set this up without the WiFi dongle? First, I would connect by Raspberry Pi 3 to my network via ethernet, right? In this step: “Then head to http://astrobox-1085.local/ or http://10.10.0.1 to complete the setup.” Can I just go to the IP address my router assigns, via DHCP, to the Raspberry Pi 3 instead? Ex: Put into my browser 192.168.1.200, and continue setup from there? Should I give it a static IP instead of using DHCP? After setup, I wouldn’t need to connect it via ethernet anymore, right? Again, would I then need to assign a static IP to the wireless network, or is that not necessary?

Presuming you are planning on using your Astrobox in conjunction with the AstroPrint Cloud Platform AND that you are NOT interested in operating the Astrobox directly/locally via the hotspot, the short answer is NO, you don’t necessarily NEED the extra dongle for the local hotspot. [quote=“Robert_Neal, post:2, topic:1357”]
Could you describe how to set this up without the WiFi dongle? First, I would connect by Raspberry Pi 3 to my network via ethernet, right?
[/quote]

Yes.[quote=“Robert_Neal, post:2, topic:1357”]
Can I just go to the IP address my router assigns, via DHCP, to the Raspberry Pi 3 instead? Ex: Put into my browser 192.168.1.200, and continue setup from there?
[/quote]

Indeed. That should work. [quote=“Robert_Neal, post:2, topic:1357”]
Should I give it a static IP instead of using DHCP?
[/quote]

Static would be best. [quote=“Robert_Neal, post:2, topic:1357”]
After setup, I wouldn’t need to connect it via ethernet anymore, right?
[/quote]

Correct. Once the astrobox is setup, and you pair it with the local WiFi network and your cloud account, you should be good to go![quote=“Robert_Neal, post:2, topic:1357”]
Again, would I then need to assign a static IP to the wireless network, or is that not necessary?
[/quote]

Static would probably be the safest, but it shouldn’t be a problem. It’s been a long time since I setup an Astrobox in this manner, so I am not 100% sure about this one.

In either case, let us know how it turns out :wink:

Welcome to the club!

So how can I give astrobox the ssid and password of my own wifi network?

@Giovanni_Abrate: You should be able to do that in the Astrobox Settings page under CONNECTION.

Looks a bit like this:

Are there any known issues with the Rasberri Pi 3 B+?
I’ve gone through the setup process, the Pi boots, but there’s no hotspot showing on my network.

1 Like

No issues regarding the RPi 3B+ but for the hotspot you need a dongle (even on the 3). Here’s why: https://astroprint.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/203641685-Which-WiFi-USB-dongles-are-supported-


What am I missing here?

You’re not missing anything, the AstroBox Gateway doesn’t have a graphical User Interface on screen.

If you expected to see the touch UI (ABT) you need to purchase the software here, for the ABG version ( no touch UI ) you need to access it by going to its IP address using a web browser in a device connected to the same network.

Can I CONECT rasberry pi 3 model a with astroprint?

@Giorgos_Makaronas yes