The ASIAir Plus Is Ridiculous
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- Опубліковано 3 лис 2022
- The ASIAir saved my night last night. In this video I share the story.
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The AAPro was changing the life to me: no cable, no laptop, no blasphemies, all in one, solving immediate, Atlas, focuser and much more.I’m thinking to buy an other AAMini for a second scope..very revolution.
It's a great tool to have in your astrophotography tool kit for sure. 👍
I'm an ASIAIR PLUS convert too. PC based telescope control is too much trouble. ASIAIR PLUS is certainly a big relief. I can finally enjoy astrophotography! Well worth the very affordable price. Until someone somewhere comes up with something better, ASIAIR will be my goto choice when it comes to telescope control. Praise be to the guy/s that designed/built it, this hobby is now truly a hobby and not a nightmare with pricey proportions!
Clear skies!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I agree hats off to those that designed/built it!
Do you really think advanced astrophotographers use ASAir? If you make tour in remote observatory site, you will find no single one ASAir or their ridiculous focuser. Yes, proper acquisition softwares tougher to set and manage. But, they are by miles superior.
You might want to take a second read of my product endorsement. Note that I'm viewing it from a curious hobbyist standpoint and NOT ADVANCED ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY. The operative words are "ease of use and instant gratification". Hopefully you'll get it this time around. Come down off your high horse of perceived technological superiority and take a gander at what lay users really expect to get from the hobby. Appreciable and tangible results wiith the least tinkering with hardware/software. Tools that HOBBYISTS expect to make things easier and fun and not leave us pulling our hair in the dark in utter frustration figuring out heads and tails of your so called ADVANCED ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY. Leave that out to the pros!
@@CmdrPusa You don’t get it do you. Authors and many others problem that they jump from equipment to equipment at every problem. Fact is ASAir supports very limited equipment, which is bought because of price.
Bottom line, ASAir is nothing compare to NINA and especially Voyager.
Couldn’t agree more. Even after imaging for years it’s a joy to use. Add your frames to pixinsight subframe selector and you can see all the info you need to kick out bad frames. !
Excellent point on the approach of adding the AA+ frames to subframe selector in PixInsight. As a new PixInsight user I'm aware of the subframe selector and have used it once to see what it provides. Many great tools in PixInsight for sure.
I finally found a channel that doesn't start out with a music production intro with all kinds of unnecessary content. You talk straight and to the point and also with a soothing like voice. I like how you talk plainly as I can follow and understand what's being said clearly. I just got my hands on the + and I'm building my astro system in steps. I have my ZWO filter wheel, Focuser, Guide Cam and the +. Now deciding on my first ZWO Cam. Looking forward to more informative content on your channel. This channel is a breath of fresh air as watching other channels is like watching 20% info and 80% Hollywood drama. Could you imagine Doing a power point report to board members with a music video on the topic first . LOL ,Keep it up Bill
Used a RaspberryPi4 with Astroberry/ EKOs for about a year. I struggled during that year. Took me anywhere between 1-2+ hours to get my gear set up and everything running smoothly on the Pi before I could start imaging. Just acquired a ASI AIR plus and oh my... Im set up and imaging within 30 minutes. Usually less if I have everything planned out. Crazy how seamless it makes the whole setting up process. There were features in EKOS/KStars I liked and might miss long term, but the fact I'm in and out in a quarter of the time is astounding to me. Clear skies!
Thanks and clear skies!
I just cut the cord to the laptop from my observatory. Spent today refining my startup process with the AA+. I have been using NINA for the past year and PhD2 for capture. Stellarium and a few other apps. I used to run a pair of USB extender cables from the observatory to the computer at the kitchen table. If my experience is like yours, and so many others, then it’s going to be a game changer. Cheers! Like the presentation style. Cheers!
You are welcome and thank you for sharing your update on the new direction you are pursuing. Much appreciated!
I completely understand. I've been through every configuration over the last 8 years. Starting with backyard eos and astrotortilla imaging solver. Then APT. Then tried kstars and indi on a raspberry pi for years... Refused to give up on kstars and refused to go near the asiair. After all it was just kstars and indi under the hood! .... But I decided to give the asiair a go after continuing issues with kstars. IT Just WORKS! It's difficult to give up on something that you've invested time and patience in. But as good as kstars and any Windows based acquisition software is, something always goes wrong, like always, at some stage. I would spend most of my spare time thinking about how to solve certain issues. Now it's ; plonk Am5 with asiair in garden, connect with tablet, polar align and that's it. Up imaging in 5mins. Just to think that it had to be me sitting at desktop. Anything else is not REAL astrophotography. Asiair type devices and tablets seem to be the future for astro imaging. Love the videos. Cheers!
Great feedback on how you moved to the ASIAir Jason. Much appreciated. 👍
I had my setup in 2016 windows based, I had all the programs used at that time, and lost all my gear in a fire. I just got back into the hobby because I saw how easy the asiair made the entire capture process. I setup and take down almost as fast as I can set up my 10 inch dob for visual. It is insane how far the hobby has progressed just in the last few years.
Hi Brian! My apologies for a late reply. Great feedback on your thoughts around the value the ASIAir brings to the hobby. Much appreciated.
The AA+ is the best bit of kit I have ever purchased for astro, I can go from nothing set up at all to imaging in 30 mins..I could never do that with nina..and I can sit inside the house and stay warm in winter and away from the mosquitos in summer.. I love it because it just works.. every time.
It is a game changer and as you say just works .. every time!
I have been using mini-PC's for control for the past year and went to my first star party last week. Before getting there. I updated Windows, NINA and ran everything through a test run and it worked just fine. Windows Update was 'paused for two weeks' and I shut it all down. Sure enough, I get to the first night at the star party and I had nothing but grief with the 'big' system. Offline plate solving, which I also spent time setting up, failed miserably. So, I just bought a secondhand ASIAir Pro and can't wait to try it out. Of course, there are thunderstorms outside right now!
I'm using NINA again on my EdgeHD and only issue has been a loose USB connection on my Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox Advance which took me a while to figure out as it was impacting platesolving communication. I'm just kicking off a project to move my RedCat 51 and new AM5 mount over to NINA.
Thanks for your honest feedback. I'm new to the hobby. I have the celestron nexstar 8se. Looking to upgrade mount and automate. It is a frustrating hobby at times. Sounds like a great unit to start with to make sessions easier. Maybe even keeping people in the hobby.
You are welcome Perry and welcome to the hobby. It is a good unit and I agree it may be helping people stay in the hobby. And yes it is a frustrating hobby at times because often when we begin we don't know what we don't know. In my case I was not even sure what questions to ask!! 😀 Hope you stay in touch and provide some updates as you progess. ~ Bill
for people that don't have zwo cameras, sharpcap polar alignment, fast and accurate. then all you need to do is plate solve and align on selected target. Keep your astro pc's lean and clean, turn off all the auto updates, make sure USB port are not allowed to suspend or power save. Lastly, when updating ASCOM, you must install ASCOM platform FIRST then everything else after. so that means a total reinstall of all astro software.
Great information and thank you for sharing. Much appreciated!
An amazing piece of hardware. When the AIR and AIR Pro came out I wasn't ready to take the leap and continued working with APT and occasionally with NINA to plate solve an object. It reach a point where there was to much frustration. Dropped the hammer and purchased the AIR Plus which runs my RASA 8. Doing planetary with the 8SE I decided efficiency was important which the AIR Plus definitely offers, so, I now have two ASIAIR Plus astro computers to support my addiction. With your BLink, you may want to check for temperature issues, even without a fan dust can build up inside creating program process issues. Clear Skies (currently raining in Tacoma) :)
Thank you Tacoma for the tip on checking for temperature performance. I do use the Beelink in dusty environments. I think I'll get a can of air and blow off the components. So far the Beelink when I touch it with my hand is not warm a layer of dust on the components could cause a thermal issue. Another thing I need to check is by powering the Beelink off my Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox Advance along with my camera,, filter wheel, and mount is it getting enough power. I may go back to providing the Beelink power directly from my Jackery as part of the troubleshoot.
I've been using an ASIAIR+ for a couple of months now. I used KStars for the last year with the 'scope remoted on a MacBook and controlling it from in the house on an iMac. I would take the scope out, make another trip for a little table and chair, another trip for the laptop and battery, then plug all the cables in. Now it takes one trip to one-hand my 80mm refractor out, second trip for the power station and plug in the power cable. That part I really like. What I didn't like about the ASIAIR+ was the WiFi didn't work well beyond about 30 feet. The Pro must be beyond horrible. Fixed that with a Vonets VBG1200 bridge. I also like the consolidation of the wiring, but you had that part with the Mini PC already.
Thank you for taking time to comment and share your experience with the AA+. Much appreciated.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
1) Upgrade your Plus to the new software release 2) Enable the "experimental" All Sky Polar Alignment algorithm. Try the mosaic feature.
And is it an artifact of your framing, but the guide camera looks crooked in the off-access guider.
Thank you Robert. I'll check the orientation of my 174mm mini to make sure I have it in an optimum position. I'm interested to find out what version of software will be on the second AA+ I just purchased which I should receive at the end of November.
@@AstroVagabond On whatever tablet/phone you use to drive the ASI AIR, go to the appropriate app store and update. When you start your Air for the first time, it will update the firmware and you're good to go.
I also can share positive experience with ASIAir but Version 1 running on Raspberry Pi3😂
It is still getting updated. I love it. It was my best purchase ever. Running smooth like nothing else. Saving my laptop from harsh weather too.
Thank you for sharing your experiences Lubo. Much appreciated!
Bill, could the elongated stars be caused be the image train 'bending' slightly? Just a thought. And also, I use an ASIair plus and it works. It does what I want when I want. Waiting for the weather/ time / light to be right can be frustrating enough without the technical issue messing with things.
Yes I'm open to all potential causes at this point. I'm looking forward to more troubleshooting once a few clear night appear which I think for San Mateo, CA should be around the 14th of November.
Have you tried native focal length with you ASIAir Plus? I have a C8 with AVX mount and first tried ASIAir on my C8 and had all sorts of issues with ASIAir being able to find selected targets and centering. I decided to try using ASIAir with my 6.3 focal reducer and ASIAir worked. It was able to find targets. I also tried setting up just using the AVX polar scope and skipping ASIAir PA and it found all three of my targets.Thanks
I've not tried the native focal length with my ASIAir as I've been using the 0.7X reducer. I've moved over to NINA for my EdgeHD 8 and I'm selling the ASIAir Plus so I will not have a chance.
Dear Bill
The latest version of NINA does indeed ask for the latest new ASCOM drivers but the new version of the ASCOM platform itself must also be installed and then the data from the telescope in NINA must also be set correctly so the focal length and the mirror or lens size and the right plate solve program otherwise it will indeed not work also always check whether the latest versions of the plug-ins you use in NINA is up to date.
Great feedback Frank. Much appreciated and I' sit down and go through the Beelink to make sure all the necessary items are up to date and the proper parameters are in NINA. Hope all is well in Belgium!
Nice and honest Bill. Man, you have a bunch of powerlines back there.
Thanks! Yeah a bad backyard for imaging which is why I hit the road. 🙂
@@AstroVagabond that makes sense.
@@AstroVagabond Just cut them. I shot two street lights, CPS Energy thanked me.
This is becoming my favorite astro channel! That red and white cover is terrific. I thought bunny is hidden under it. But came Edge! A lot of passion and drama are in this channel! No channel can compete. Others present boring tutorials. Here is pure passion. Channel could be renamed “Passion in astrophotography”. Subscribed!
You could try with small scope. I could sell you 70mm Stellarvue triplet with “Rolls Royce focuser” from Moonlite. But, you need to go back to NINA. As far as NINA problems, you need to write about it to Stephen Berg. By the way, I was setting NINA for 2 weeks. Every problem with NINA was problem with equipment software, and nothing to do with NINA. However, you are more experienced and deciding good or not good within 3-4h.
I agree I think my issue was with my Beelink U59 not N.I.N.A.. Good feedback, much appreciated.
You don't look like a vagabond, plus you are sitting behind over 5 grands worth of gear 😃
Love it! Might be the all time best comment. Thank you Jody!
If you’re willing to commit to ZWO cameras, focusers, etc. the AsiAir really works well.
I agree and you can use a DSLR with it as well. I'm releasing a video this coming Friday morning with my thoughts on the economics of the AA+ and also the power consumption benefit. Thank you for taking a moment to comment.
Bill, I ran into the same issue with NINA. Turns out my default NINA profile was no longer default and I was loading an old profile. I think this was due to the ascom update. I too have both options (NINA/ASI Air) and use both. When I go travel, I tend to use ASI Air. At Home, I use NINA. I just joined your FB group too.
Thanks for joining Andy! And thanks for sharing your dual track approach to AA and NINA. I think that is the road I'll travel for a while with my EdgeHD 8.
The elongation can be from the back focus. It seems you are using the Celestron OAG, be sure you have the good length. I have the 9.25 edge but using the OAG-L from Zwo
Appreciate the feedback! Just waiting for good weather to pick back up on finalizing my EdgeHD 8 setup.
You have a very useful looking plate mounted on top of your Edge. Please tell me the manufacturer and part number if you know it so I can get one for my C8. Thank you.
Here is the link for the part I purchased from OPT: optcorp.com/products/aa-dc8-losmandy-style-dc8-dovetail-plate
Well Bill, as the Germans say: "why should do things the simple way when you can do them so beautifully complicated" ... don't believe them😅
Du hast ja so recht! Hope all is well Kurt.
Do you think that your star elongation may be caused by not locking the primary mirror or focusing on the stars while in locked position and tilting the main mirror in the process? I am considering buying EAF but I am also considering to get GSO dual speed focuser for SCTs that would work with EAF
At this point I'm open to what root cause maybe. I have the mirror locks unlocked as I understood that's what should be done when adding the EAF.
@@AstroVagabond Small scope offer is still on table.
Nope that wouldn't be the cause
I have used NINA for a few sessions and then just stopped platesolving, I couldn't polar align, so I polar aligned with with my mount directly and then switched to NINA and yeah... then I bought Asiair Plus and everything is perfect :) Also, my setup is much simpler then yours.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Much appreciated. 👍
The best polar alignment is in SharpCap. Star alignment is also better to do in SharpCap.
Long focal length + Zwo camera = elongated stars ? Maybe vibrations from the cam fan.
I'm open to all possibilities! I do know I'm a bit out of collimation and will be addressing that next.
I think whether you use Nina or the ASI air plus it doesn’t make a difference it’s just what you feel comfortable with and how much freedom you want as far as programming your own profiles and using different brand equipment. I think you have a very heavy system and you may be suffering from flexure and you may be maxed out on your mount. The clutches may even be slipping a little bit under the weight. Something to consider.
Hi Louis that may be the case. My EQ6-R has a rated payload for astrophotography of 20kg (~44 lbs.). The weight of my rig as configured is 9.97kg ( 22 lbs.). Others I know with the EQ6-R mounting a similar weight are not reporting issues relating to maxing out the EQ6-R. But I keep an open mind and appreciate your thoughts. ~ Bill
I confirm this is not a weight issue. I have a Edge HD 9.25 with the same mount and gears (EAF, etc) and there is absolutely no problem with the weight and the EQ-6R. I use both the Asair and Nina on a mini pc, they answer different needs and have both their usage.
@@AstroVagabond It is rated 22Lb for astrophotography, not 44Lb.
I use NINA on a Mele Quieter2, in general I like it but have also had the occasional issue with updates causing long, frustrating nights trying to get things working. It is my own fault being on the Nightly stream and doing the updates. Once I get something that works I should just stick with it. Or perhaps buy a second Quieter2 that chases updates so that I can swap out to a stable first during times of update instability.
Thanks for sharing your experience Bruce. Much appreciated. 👍 I think what I need to do is monitor the discord more as a nightly stream user myself. I've just never been comfortable with how I have to access the discord and use its interface.
I asked this before and didn't act on the answer until after opt shut down. Could you please tell me the manufacturer and part id number of the plate on top of your Edge HD. Thank you.
ADM Losmandy Style DC8 Dovetail Plate - OPT SKU : AA-DC8. My apologies for the delay.
I have a nuc and I have asi+ I am still trying to get my nuc to work with help from my family. I now have asi+ with the am5 mount. I need zwo equipment now.
Congratulations on your AM5 mount and ASIAir Plus. I still have my eye on the AM5 to replace my Skywatcher HEQ-5.
I was informed from other Celestron CGX and Edge HD 11 owners that ASAIR will not work with Celestron equipment. But I continue to see videos of people using ASIAIR products. So whats the answer? I want to buy an EAF and guidescope. I was planning on celestron since I was told ASAIR was a no go. Will it work?
As an EdgeHD 8 owner my ASIAir Plus had no issue managing my EQ6-R Pro mount which is made by Sky-watcher. Unfortunately I have no experience with a Celestron CGX mount. The AA+ saw my mount as an EQMOD Mount. Other than that my Electronic Focuser, imaging camera, guide camera, and filter wheel are all ZWO.
Not sure about CGX mount but I have been using ASIAIR with my Celestron Evo 9.25 for a couple of years now, no issues whatsoever.
I spent ages thinking shall I go the NINA route or shall I go the ASIAir route? What sold the ASIAir to me were two things. Firstly being able to control it from your phone/tablet/PC (running BlueStacks) without having to use some sort of remote desktop application. Secondly, and this was the main thing for me, was the ease of use and how all the ZWO products just work with it. If you are happy to be tied into that ecosystem, in a way simiar to people being tied into Apple, then it is a brilliant solution. Clear nights are so few and far between, I don't want to spend two hours trying to get my system working. I just want power on and go. For me ZWO gives me that. I have an AM5 mount, a 533MC-Pro, 120MM guide cam and scope, with a RedCat51. I will get an EAF one day. I am happy to be in the ZWO ecosystem!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and pointing out what was key to you as a astrophotographer. Much appreciated. 👍
Does the ASI Air have a manual rotator or framing wizard, what about a flat wizard?
Hi Bill I'm not sure. I just started using the AA+ without reading the manual. There is an icon in the lower left that takes you to a view that looks like a Stellarium view. And there are two representations of the camera sensor, one red and one blue I think. I really need to read the manual to fully understand the capabilities of AA+ for the current version. It was just so intuitive when I turned it on I just keep exploring the UI and got up and running without reading the manual. I expect me already being familiar with the concept of a main camera and guide camera allowed me to advance without reading the manual. Maybe another viewer has a better answer.
Yep auto flats is standard , and sky atlas now has rotation assist
@@chrisoriordan6975 If the Air only works with ZWO stuff how would I use a Pegasus flat master?
@@Spaced_Out_Bill the Pegasus flat master is just a light source. Attach to the front of your scope then the Asiair auto flats function will measure determine exact exposure required for mid point of histogram and take the flats accordingly.
@@chrisoriordan6975 And what rotator does it support?
Bill... use what works for you. That's really all that matters. There's no need to have any kind of emotional attachment... it's just software :)
Call me nostalgic Jon! And that should be the message for everyone. There are many great solutions available and each of us should pick one that works best for our current needs.
I just realized we could be twins...
😀 They say we each have one! But I just chopped off my hair and removed the beard.
@@AstroVagabond So have I. Still have the mustache...
Same error I had, the image is not downloading from the ZWO camera!
Hi Paolo, were you able to resolve it and if so how?
@@AstroVagabond Not at all. With the ASI 533 MC Pro I can't take pictures even with SGP Pro. I had decided to try it to see if at least I could do something with that. Even with SGP Pro the camera shoots, but the photo is completely black. Even using Autostretch it can't even use plate solving.
I wrote on Discord to the authors of N.I.N.A. but without solving anything.
They told me maybe it was the cables etc etc. I switched to Astroberry / Stellarmate and there is no problem with cables!
I don't have the same mini PC that you have. I see ASI released new Ascom drivers on October 31st.
For a while I was unable to use N.I.N.A. because when I was shooting with my ASSI 533 MC, during the download it gave me an error. Now I have a new friend! Lattapanda 3 Delta !
Everything works, and it's really good ;-)
👍👍
Thanks!
Shame it only supports ZWO equipment though :-(
That would be a nice to have for sure.
Not true, it also supports Canon and Nikon DSLR.
@@mikewarkentin8736 note I said “equipment”.