@toddak So you are in Oz....... that explains the tiny window for communication each day.......
Quoted from the second link below.........
"Don't know if you want to try another VNC, but I use x11vnc and have lxde autostart it. I found x11vnc was better for me as I wanted to access the same session as being displayed via HDMI (console 0). Plus, it supports UVNC and TightVNC file transfer."
https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=59285 and then how to solve it....
https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=108862#p108862
..... that will serve up the desktop.......
..........if you need help then I can post some config stuff.
Then you need a client......... for your laptop.
You can open a client for each pi..... (see them all at once).
I use TightVNC on my windows laptop...... free and good (I always go for free and good if possible).
If you are using a mac then I think there is a built-in client, or you will have to google around for a better one.
Its a good idea to set up a password protected samba share as well. That way you can access your Pi just as if it were a nas server. Then you can "just" access any file on your Pi from your laptop and edit / copy paste directly from your laptop without the VNC connected. You cannot overwrite the Pi's own config files though. However, using the VNC you can edit them on the Pi, as you are effectively the local "user"......
David.