Are there alternatives to the ZWO ASI AIR?

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The mini-PC astrophotography revolution is well underway and ZWO is a clear favourite - if you use a ZWO Camera. But what about the rest of us?
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Опубликовано:

27 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 251

@CuivTheLazyGeek 9 дней назад

Great video Dylan! We need more open alternatives to the ASIAir that are as easy and straightforward to use!

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Thanks Cuiv! I have hopes!

@egratudo1974 8 дней назад

with tested updates! :)

@cjuk81 4 дня назад

Amen to that Cuiv!! :)

@robertcarroll5036 8 дней назад

Hey, I'm a boomer! I started my astrophotography hobby 45 years ago, unfortunately that hobby came to a dramatic end 45 years ago, when I lost all my photographic kit. So my Celestron 8 went into moth balls until I sold it and purchased a computer. So here I am today trying to revive that hobby and putting a kit list for the family CFO to approve. This hobby is vastly different now, more complex and way more expensive. The results look way better than what I could produce in my black and white chemical lab in the bathroom 45 years ago.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Amazing .. quite the journey! Sounds like you’re on the right track already!

@davidletz9123 8 дней назад

I'm a "boomer" as well! I bought into the ZWO eco-system due to portability and my unwillingness to destroy my knees and neck in order to polar align my mount, LOL! Thank goodness for YT and online forums, as documentation for their product (as well as other manufacturers) is very poor.

@joeshmoe7967 2 дня назад

I disagree with 'more expensive'. I bought my C-8 in 1978 for $1500 1978 dollars, that was pretty expensive. Didn't end up doing much astrophotography, due to the complexity of long exposures on film gear. Did use the C-8 as mount for piggy backing by SLR, for some spectacular Hale-Bopp shots. Fast forward, I got back in to astro, and started with my DSLR, tripod and 300mm telephoto. All gear I already had. Lots and lots of 3 sec subs. Then I forked out $500, for a Skywatcher Star Adventurer, and started stacking 2 minute subs. Tracking but zero guiding. Guiding is absolutely not require for a 2 minute sub. Stack on an old Toshiba PC laptop with Deep Sky Stacker. Tweak in photoshop, that I already had. If one had zero kit, you could do camera, small refractor (or telephoto), Go To mount For $3500 easy. Shop for good used and get more kit for less money. Compare $3500 2024 dollars to $1500 1978 dollars. For $1500 2024 dollars you could have a great Go To mount, and use what ever camera on hand, and get mind blowing results. Of course you COULD drop $10K....but then you would get results like NASA pre-Hubble Not meant as a rant, just letting folks know, you can drop a wad on astro gear, but you can also start small and add to your kit. I already had the Canon 60D and 300mm telephoto tripod, from bird photography adding the Star Adventurer was my only expense. I am not yet shooting through the C-8, as the old fork mount, wedge and tripod make for a less portable and more complex rig. Any way, regardless of kit, get out under dark skies and have fun. 2019 was my first time under Bortle 1-2 skies and it was mind blowing. - Cheers

@robertcarroll5036 День назад

@@davidletz9123 I agree, the kit I am looking at is all ZWO except the mount and stand. I like the automation side of things. LOL. Photoshop is where I draw the line, I can't justify $32 a month, as I will not be doing that many projects. So I have opted out for the software that comes with the ASI Air, Deep Sky Stacker and Siril. I have a set budget and any other kit I would like and dream of, is a Lotto job!

@ADCar 8 дней назад

Ideally, this will force ZWO to open source their code.

@astrofromhome 9 дней назад

Interesting that QHY is picking up on their control device again. There is also a great competitor to it. It is the Touptek Astro Station which I am testing already which is already quite advanced. I have some videos about it on my recently started channel. I own a mini PC, AsiAir and the Astro Station to control my rigs. What I like on the QHY device is the open source approach that will boost the capabilities of the software massively. The Touptek Astro Station will be a strong compatitor to the AsiAir as well. It also supports everything that is available in the INDI Libary too. Since a few updates ago I can run my imaging sessions almost the same way like with the AsiAir. I really like the fact that some other major brands come out with easy to control mobile devices next to the dominant red box at the moment. If the final retail price of the QHY StarMaster is not too high I think I will also afford one of these. Better to have one device too much than missing one for a multi rig night. 😂

@AstroFarsography 8 дней назад

@astrofromhome I'm certainly intrigued by this Touptek version. I've seen photos of it and it looks almost identical to the Air. Probably is almost identical inside also. Will be interesting to see how your testing with the Touptek goes

@Grabacr 8 дней назад

Thanks for the video. I wasn't aware of this alternative. Looks very promising. Open source is the way to go in the astro community. Keep up the great work, Dylan!

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Thanks mate!

@azcharlie2009 8 дней назад

Welcome back, Doctor Dylan! Haven't seen any videos for a while. I'm a leading edge boomer. 77 years young. Still loving astro imaging. I'm interested how these would work. I've always hated leaving my laptop out under the night sky. Here in Arizona, you don't have to worry too much about rain.. But, you never know. Sometimes, I'll go to bed and let the scope run for a long time. Then, wake up later and shut everything down. Although, sometimes I haven't awakened until it's light... It would be nice to be able to have everything automated.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Definitely! And I’ve been posting every week for a while now so there might be some interesting videos you’ve missed :)

@txdave2 8 дней назад

I'm a 70 year old tech geek. I've loved tech stuff since I was a kid. I got into astrophotography a few months ago and am having lots of fun. I played around with the Stellarmate OS on a Raspberry Pi, but found it to be a little too "quirky". Bought an ASI air Mini last week. It's a pretty awesome little device. Looking forward to QHY's offering. Thanks for the heads up.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

It’s true .. there is no age limit for true geekdom. Glad you liked the video!

@django1364 7 дней назад

yes Stellamate OS is a bummer since I bought it, pain after pain, I cant never get it to run properly

@DonDayR 7 дней назад

Age 71, started in the '60s with a 4" Criterion Dynascope, struggled with usability of other scopes through the years, finally bought a proper tracking mount (iExos-100) that changed my life. Now there are so many more options. Thank goodness for EAA, which suits my floater eyes. I would love to run everything from indoors, so I think this new OS and a mini PC are in my future.

@TevisC 7 дней назад

This is fantastic. I hope it offers a web interface instead of using an app. Being open source, there is real hope.

@DylanODonnell 5 дней назад

Yeh I think it has both :)

@MrMrduke1975 5 дней назад

I struggled with NINA coming from ZWO, but then NINA just clicked for me and I am absolutely in love with the program now! Once I started doing my plate solve and polar alignment off from the object I’m actually imaging that night, it became a breeze! Thanks for the video!

@DylanODonnell 5 дней назад

I had a very similar experience ! Took me ages for NINA to click.

@michaeltortola9476 8 дней назад

Dylan the content you speak of makes my mind drippy,... but I keep coming back to listen to your soothing Australian accent. It makes me think I can learn something !

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Haha thanks Michael :)

@richardwitzke5492 2 дня назад

There have been alternatives for many years now. I purchased a mini computer before the ASIAir was released. Still using it today. I communicate with it over wifi using an old router which creates a closed network (then I can use it without an internet connetion).

@skesinis 9 дней назад

Thank you for that update Dylan! I’ve been looking on building an AstroBerry myself with a Raspberry Pi 5, and the most useful functionality it’d be adding to my old Celestron NexStar 127SLT, would be plate solving for accurate pointing, because if the alignment isn’t great, it’s easy to fix it when the target is visible to the naked eye, but if it’s quite dark, you’ll be wandering around in order to find it. I’ve already used an Arduino and a stepper motor to build a focuser, and an ESP32 microcontroller to add WiFi to its hand controller, so I can connect it to SkySafari Pro, but a Raspberry Pi would integrate all that into one. The QHY StarMaster solution now also sounds very interesting, and I wasn’t aware of it.

@Darren_71 8 дней назад

Astroberry is dead, Try AstroArch or install Kstar/INDI onto your own OS yourself. Kstars is free, and runs in anything linux based, RPi or MiniPC

@AstroDenny 8 дней назад

I may play with this a little. I love that there are some good alternatives for the ASIair. I've got my mini-pc/NINA combo set up pretty good right now and I don't want to mess with that too much. I tried a few different Indi options (IndigoSky, Astroberry) with mixed results. Thanks for the content! This is why you're one of the great ones on RU-vid!

@keithhanssen7413 8 дней назад

Excited about the qhy effort! Thanks again, Dylan!

@calimark7448 7 дней назад

Mele Quieter Mini PC, Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox and NINA. Not super cheap but very solid. Clear skies!

@dadwhitsett 8 дней назад

Thanks Dylan. Interesting. I bought a min-pc to run NINA after my scope pulled on a cable during a flip and crashed my laptop to the (very) hard ground one night in the dark. But NINA is Soooo hard to run off a cell phone. I now have 2 ASI Airs and I can run both of my rigs from my cell phone in my bed. I hate being locked down in ZWO world but running NINA from a cell phone does not fly. I pray that QHY provides an open source alternative but until then I am flying ZWO.😮

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Yeh NINA really needs a remote mobile interface.. then it would be perfect for me.

@robertdavis7499 9 дней назад

ASI Air is all a bit 'Isildur's Bane' to me. Stellarmate Pro for the win :-) Seen a new one coming out called AStarbox Kit too

@dumpydalekobservatory 8 дней назад

I'm so pleased you've done this video Dylan as I've had a bit of a beef with the ASI air for quite some time, when I saw the first version I were like that's a neat bit of kit only to find out you can only use it with ZWO cameras & some DSLR's yet it can connect to any mount. I really don't like what they have done in the open source community either basically taking other peoples hard work then closing other companies out, I'm actually surprised there hasn't been any legal challenges about this. I remember seeing QHY putting up a picture of a Quarc or a similar designed box quite a while back on their Facebook page then it all went quiet hence why I'm waiting for the Toup Tek Astro station to finally arrive. I have thought about a Stellarmate but they are still a bit buggy which has put me off buying one. I do use NINA with a mini PC in the observatory & just use Chrome remote to keep an eye on things at home but lugging a laptop out in the field is a real pain in the ass so I hope more companies start doing the same.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Glad you enjoyed it! Yep, I want to see qhy succeed here and if it does and it’s open source it means any number of hardware vendors can make boxes for it.

@achebwahs1111 8 дней назад

Happy dance and a woot woot! Great update Dylan.

@blobrana8515 8 дней назад

If the starmaster is cheap it will be the 'killer app' that will dominate the market.

@OldGirlPhotography 8 дней назад

Another boomer here. Only reason I got into the hobby two years ago was because of the emerging automation. And no comment on the legality of ZWO's offerings - all I can say is that it just all works perfectly at least so far for me. I use both a fully kitted ZWO ecosystem on one scope and a mini PC with NINA (and ZWO products) on another scope. The only reason for the mini PC was that I was curious about NINA. When I watch vids on the emerging alternatives, many include words like "quirky", "kludgy", "funky", "workaround", etc. At this stage of my life, I'll leave the tinkering to you young folk. Don't need the hassle. Just let me know when it works.

@seriousbassface 8 дней назад

36 here and honestly same lol. When first trying this automation thing I started with kstars which was such a frustrating experience. The ASIair has been such a welcome relief to this hobby. If this new device proves to be as reliable and includes a lot more options, some of which that zwo says "the people don't want" (even in a thread of multiple people requesting said feature LOL). I might make the switch, it would be nice to have the portability, convenience of the ASIair without being locked into ZWO and having more features that NINA has for example.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Agree .. this is why zwo asi air is so popular and they need some competition! I remember asi air v1 and it was a nightmare.

@_snoot 8 дней назад

It's pretty crazy that the new ASIAIR costs $300 while the Raspberry P it's built on is only $60. Even taking into account the power hub, Deep Sky Dad sells one for ~$50 so you can DIY a solution for less than half the price. I know for some people controlling everything from their phone is main reason to use the ASIAIR but that many dollars for a closed ecosystem is just "too Apple" for my tastes. As others have mentioned, windows mini PCs are totally viable, especially if you already have a laptop you can use for remoting. Notable examples are the MINIX Z100-0db and the Mele Quieter 4 which are both fanless, use Intel N100 chips, and are priced around 250 at the moment - add in the DSD power hub and you're outclassing the ASIAIR at the same price. Oh, and both can run off of 12v.

@RobertKarlBerta 8 дней назад

The newer version of ASI AIR don't use the Raspberry Pi. They bulild their on boards and it is their own mini Pi design. This was mainly done due to supply chain shortages.

@RobertKarlBerta 8 дней назад

Good video. As a 77 year old imager (since I was 12 using hypered film.... remember that). My normal setup is a couple of Astro Phuysics mounts supporting a 6" APO refractor and 11" SCT/Hyperstar. Camera is a fuill frame mono/filter wheel SBIG camera. While it it a gorgeous setup.... it is not ideal for remote imaging. For that I have a ZWO AM5 and ASI Air Plus in 32 GB and also 256 GB versions. Generallty I shoot OSC wit the ZWO gear but wit NB filters. I use a 8" SCT/Hyperstar or 80mm APO with theat setupThat setup is a breeze to transport, setup, take down and of course use. My other gear takes a long time to transport, setup, use and take down.Frankly it is a PITA and unless I am going to be in a remote location for a few days ti don't use it. The ZWO gear is super easy to transport and setup and later take i all down. Instead of wasting time in the setp part of the issue, I have all that tie now for imaging. The bgig advantage other than it all works well.... the setup time. I have my scopes on a dovetail with

@XShadowAngel 7 дней назад

I'll gladly try it anyway.

@CenturionGMU 8 дней назад

The bulk of my astrophotography is done by lugging my kit to the roof of my apartment parking deck or out to my in-laws on a Sunday so, despite the ethical questions, the ASIAIR has been a absolute essential component. ZWO make decent hardware so I don’t mind being tied into the ecosystem for now. But if a new mini controller comes out that can take my ZWO hardware and let me expand into more inexpensive brands then that would be stellar.

@rtpman1953 8 дней назад

Great Video, Dylan, and the item I hoped would soon emerge. I have numerous ZWO cameras, and filter wheels, but as a retired boomer software engineer, I've not taken the proprietary ASI route. Nothing wrong with it, but I don't want to be locked into only ZWO hardware. I've considered a micro PC but the Starmaster might be a better fit. Thanks.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Thanks, and I agree!

@siberx4 8 дней назад

I use a Raspberry Pi 4 running Astroberry, and it works absolutely great for me. I can customize it to do anything I want, it supports _all_ hardware (the same cannot be said for the quite closed ASI AIR) and was very cheap. With a 3D-printed case that clamps onto a spare bit of Vixen dovetail, it stays out of they way and has been very reliable. I interact with the unit either using an old Android tablet (over local wifi) if I'm in the field, or simply over VNC from my desktop computer (from the comfort of inside!) if I'm at home and have it connected to my network. I might upgrade it to a Pi 5 at some point just to make frame capture and write-out a bit quicker, but I'm otherwise very satisfied with it as a solution.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Nice work !

@old_photons 7 дней назад

Your best friend, Dave from Alabama - Gen X'er - only two years into the hobby - started with NINA and miniPC / ZWO imaging + accessories. Nothing but dumb luck, watching good RU-vidr's and the expected growing pains for me - but growing with Apple II and Commodore 64s - now an engineer - been all up in this stuff for a bit.

@DylanODonnell 5 дней назад

I loved the commodore generation :) I think it’s cool we grew up on tech but without internet. We saw it all happen.

@drunk_astronomy 8 дней назад

Good to see competition in this space. I got that Astropc from astro gadget out of Ukraine and I absolutely love it. Even though I have a zwo camera, I’m on the same page that I don’t want to get locked into it closed ecosystem.

@Jhongerage 9 дней назад

EKOS is the dog's bollocks. It has the best polar alignment routine I've ever seen, it takes about 3 minutes. BTW no need to buy a prebuilt, a rpi5 with indi/ekos/kstars works well. I've added hats and custom drivers for a lightweight diy focuser and flip-flat. I prefer roll-your-own to Astroberry. I might add that QHY isn't exactly.renowned for the quality of their Linux drivers. I'd hate to rely on them for a distro that you could just as easily set up yourself.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Sounds cool :)

@astroimagers 9 дней назад

Exciting times! Astro hobbyists all tend to tinker with gear, computers, guitars, have a bookshelf full of books they hope to read one day, and a box full of USB cables and all the wrong power adapters for obsolete devices. Cable management is key.

@DylanODonnell 9 дней назад

Haha guilty

@PafMedic 9 дней назад

I Just Keep It Simple,lol..Control The Mount With My Ipad Via Skywatchers Wifi..And The Camera’s On The Laptop😂I Dont Have All The Fancy Things On Mine Like You Guys,And My Laptop Im Capturing With is 7” Long,lol..I Havent Been Out All Summer Due To Heat And Humidity..Clear Skies Dylan

@AstroFarsography 8 дней назад

This was good to see. I've kind of begun getting tired of feeling locked in with the ZWO ecosystem. Sure, I have the laptop. But it's like you said - why use all that if a nifty little box that fits neatly on the free finder shoe bracket does it all anyway. Also, never knew the Air was just using PHD2 for its guiding. Huh...

@wh0sthatgirl 8 дней назад

If QHY can produce something with fewer connectivity issues than the ASIAIR, I'm in!

@jameshcox 8 дней назад

Hi Dylan. Boomer here. I tried astrophotography 25 years ago and it sucked because I couldn't find any stars and then couldn't photograph them. Just come back to it a couple of months ago due to Stellarmate and astro-specific cameras and goto mounts. In my day job I am a software developer for a well known jet engine manufacturer and was using computers literally before you were born :-) So please keep up the work, but please step away from the ageism.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Just a gentle ribbing .. like I say we are dwarves on the backs of giants.

@craiglowery4427 2 дня назад

Very good explanations and observations. I use the PLL Eagle mini computer which is a Windows computer mounted to your scope. You pretty much have to install your own software

@DylanODonnell День назад

Yep and I could install Nina on a mini pc and it would be amazing .. but I like the idea of something a bit more casual and mobile friendly.

@kevinburke8608 8 дней назад

I use a mini pc with NINA and Stellarium. I like this combo. I used to remote in with Team Viewer but now Remote Desktop . It would be great (if there isn’t) if NINA had a plugin that helped set up something like team viewer or allowed you to control with an app or something.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Yeh I’ve been saying the same thing for ages ! A Nina remote mobile browser control would be awesome.

@AstroQuest1 8 дней назад

Awesome video Dylan! I like the ASIAIR but have not liked any of the alternatives up to this point because they aren't as simple to use out of the box - meaning you have to download stuff. I can get an AIR and start imaging ten minutes after opening the box and connecting the wires to it. This QUARC system would be a great alternative and may cause ZWO to rethink their closed system policy. Cheers

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

100% !

@pompeymonkey3271 8 дней назад

I use a cheap NUC (nuc6cayh) with a 1 GB SSD (total about 140 English Dinar). I can put any operating system or software on it that I like. :) If you want to use windows, I highly recommend the Windows LTSC edition. It absolutely will NOT restart itself automatically for updates and can be had for about £20 on the "grey" market...

@hanimehrez9423 8 дней назад

I saw this unit at neaf a few years ago at the QHY booth, but they said it wasn't ready and not for sale. QHY said they needed licensing permissions. There were no specifications at the time. Looked exactly as shown. Great news.

@astroguimo 8 дней назад

I just wish the ASIAIR was an open platform so we could use any camera with it

@jamessydenstricker2342 9 дней назад

As always, great video!

@DylanODonnell 9 дней назад

Thanks James !

@michaelw6173 8 дней назад

I am an offended BOOMER, I use emoji's all the time at School. My dad is 90 and he uses them, so there is hope for you as you get older. But I understand where you are coming from, it can be difficult 'keeping up with the Jones'.' Keep up the great videos.

@DylanODonnell 5 дней назад

😅🫡🍷🔭💀

@MrGp3po 7 дней назад

As I am the same age as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, I grew up and experienced the full breadth of the computer age. As an undergrad chemist, I programmed in BASIC AND FORTRAN IV on an RCA computer that took up an entire floor at the college library. Yes, we have come a long way baby (boomer). Although I am comfortable with all the tech, I really enjoy the experience of setting up and gathering data, as opposed to endless computer tinkering. The ZWO ecosystem suits me just fine and I've outfitted a variety of telescopes with those handy little ASIAir gadgets. We really are living in the golden age of amateur astronomy gear!

@DylanODonnell 5 дней назад

Agree!

@Martin1335 5 дней назад

I asked QHY if they planned to make a similar product to AsiAir in 2020, they said yes and sent photo of StarMaster saying it will be ready soon..:D Well, better late than never. 😂

@Nobodyfubb 9 дней назад

Cheers Dylan.

@britainthroughmylens 2 дня назад

67 here. Yep I was born in the Jurassic. I'm tired of ZWO. I have a beautiful incompatible mirrorless camera (as well as the 533MC Pro and a 622MC ) and it just sits there in the box. Trying to use it with no functionality is a monumental pain. Bring it on. It'll be interesting to see if ZWO changes its commercial stance when such alternatives arrive.

@peterbaldwin6573 8 дней назад

Nice one Dylan very interesting info.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Thx Peter !

@ronm6585 8 дней назад

Thank you.

@tmrdarkstar85 9 дней назад

An this is exactly why I love QHY. Ever since I heard about the ASI air being locked to only ZWO gear I was not interested. Also why I only run Nina. I have several brands of gear and can not be locked into 1 manufacturer. I remember the SGP days and all of us telling you to come over to Nina. I started running Nina back in the early early days. The only time i run other software is for terrestrial imaging.

@DylanODonnell 9 дней назад

Agree! And Nina was a great jump. If it had a mobile interface for mini pcs its would be perfect for everything.

@nikaxstrophotography 8 дней назад

It will be good to see where the QHY will go, From the images the imagery is a little pedestrian and not as polished as the asiair version, particularly the planetarium and histograms. Hopefully it will be more visually appealing. Am looking forward to how it will all come together.

@fabriziocanale9768 8 дней назад

I normally use NiNA with a miniPC connected via Wi-Fi to a laptop. Besides, I’m trying to learn using Kstars/Ekos on an iOptron iMate but, getting used to it, it’s a bit touh as I prefer Nina. My main problem would be how to connect my miniPC to my laptop or the iPad out in the fields without Wi-Fi network. This why I am playing with the iOptron iMate, it creates a Wi-Fi of its own.

@DanielKennedyaeos 5 дней назад

I fiddled with Astroberry for a long time. That was a couple of years ago so maybe it's better now. I preferred N.I.N.A.

@DylanODonnell 5 дней назад

Yeh Nina rules.

@prnzssLuna 8 дней назад

Looks interesting at least. I tried all the things. Bought a ASI Air, but I only have a smartphone and no tablet, so it was very clunky and uncomfortable to use because the screen was just too small. When I first started out, I used my laptop until the dew and the freezing did it in unfortunately. To me the most comfortable option is still a mini pc permanently tied to the astro rig (I'm using an old Intel nuc I bought used for like 50€ and made somewhat dew proof), then remote into it. But it's also clunky and kinda annoying at times.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Agree! iPad would be a dream really.

@Microtonal_Cats 8 дней назад

I'm a boomer (barely) and love using computers with all aspects of astrophotography.

@DylanODonnell 5 дней назад

Not all boomers :)

@ricardoabh3242 8 дней назад

Thank you for link

@godrey100 8 дней назад

I've used Astroberry for a long time since 2021, until this year when I switched to NINA. While its a bit of a learning curve, it has been nothing short of amazing for me to use, and the major point of it was how small the Pi was compared to hauling my laptop outside now. Interested in how QHY handles its product in competition to ZWO.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Yeh Nina is the GOAT

@deepskydiving8940 9 дней назад

5:56 Chinese items: Power management Connect all devices Disconnect all devices Calibrate polar axis (polar alignment) Image files

@deepskydiving8940 9 дней назад

Interesting project and great to see competitions 😁. I myself have tried to use raspberry pi since 2017, but that wasn't easy until ASI air. I remember the connection wasn't stable, no dedicated app, just a web interface

@NautilusCL 8 дней назад

Im a bit sceptic about QHY software. Im really like the QHY hardware quality, heck, their cameras feels so solid that i think you can use them as a hammer, but their software have much to be desired. For example i bought their Q-Focuser and the configuration window constantly crash. Hope a new team is developing this alternative. I use NINA and a mini PC, you can buy a meele quieter for about $150 and is very small, comparable to a ASIAIR. I use a Ipad to remote desktop it without problems.

@DylanODonnell 5 дней назад

Yeh and software is so important now. More important than ever before.

@georges.5612 5 дней назад

I bought a ASIAir with dreams of traveling from the observatory to dark sites for broadband. It turns out, I was too lazy even for the ASIAir. Neat kit, I guess, but I like NINA in the observatory.

@DylanODonnell 5 дней назад

Nina in the OBS is the goat :)

@brandonporter4227 8 дней назад

I never liked that ZWO locked you into the ASI ecosystem, but I understand why they do it. You plug in an ASI device and it generally just works. The troubleshooting is at least minimized compared to having to integrated other manufacturers equipment and drivers and ensuring they are compatible. I personally have gone the mini PC route. I can remote into it from my laptop indoors or if need be from a phone or tablet. I can polar align a lot easier with the iPolar software of my Ioptron mount than some of the other methods as well. IPolar is stupid easy, but requires a PC. I will say, I also need to move on from my current acquisition system to something like NINA that is a bit more streamlined. My current method and software suite I'm using are a bit clunky and outdated. Now if I could just get some clear skies when I actually have time on my hands to do astro stuff.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Nina is great. I might eventually just use that on a pi but I’ll give quarcs a look in first to see if it’s potentially going to be a more grab and go kinda deal.

@Wombatzone31 9 дней назад

I've tried a few PC alternatives, ease of control while at the rig can make things messy with PC having keyboard, mouse and monitor cables. I did try one of those 4k 14inch touch screen panels, but got more frustrated as still needed virtual keyboard which is clunky in windows. This would be great to install on existing mini PC's also.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Yep honestly Nina would be perfect if it had a remote mobile interface.

@chriscausseaux4793 8 дней назад

Intel NUC for the win!

@MrStacaz99 8 дней назад

What is a "beater" version that you keep talking about?

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

🇦🇺

@tomaszwroblewski811 8 дней назад

Screw it! Only Primaluce Lab Eagle computer!

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Hehe different league but yes

@C40V15 7 дней назад

Astroberry is already out. Since like, 2022?

@DylanODonnell 5 дней назад

I’ve never tried it but it still lacks a proper mobile app interface from what I hear? Sounds like it does ok if you like hacking stuff tho.

@jedidiahwest4619 7 дней назад

Must have been a long week from the looks of it. Three bottles of wine😅

@DylanODonnell 5 дней назад

And that’s just before Friday haha.

@jedidiahwest4619 5 дней назад

@@DylanODonnell and that’s why we love your channel

@richhudnut5110 9 дней назад

I am contimplating hitting the easy button with picking up a celestron origin, any chance you got one coming for a review?

@DylanODonnell 9 дней назад

I wish! I’d love to know what it can do with my hemisphere/skies

@videotrexx 9 дней назад

And when the electronics die in it, then what?

@richhudnut5110 8 дней назад

@@videotrexx Yea, that is a real concern, but most things hardware relatedcan be replaced with a bit of work, same risk as other gear. It's the custom software interface to phones which would be difficult at some point

@ekalbkr 8 дней назад

This 72 year old boomer is not so certain he appreciates your 💩-y comments about us 😡. I employ emojis quite well, thank you! So, if you don't want me to go 🦇💩crazy on you 🤚it!😘😘 Yes, computer skills are critical for modern astrophotography. And while I'm no slouch in that arena, the XYZ generation were using their Mum's phone to send gibberish texts to potential day care interests while they were still in nappies. Yeah, I'm jealous. In the end, I would like to leave the ASI Air environment so I could employ other brand's equipment - but when I have a controller that is remarkably solid, reliable and frequently updated, it is hard to venture off in a new direction. Good video and definite food for thought.. 😊

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Haha apologies for the gentle ribbing :) I stand corrected .. you’ve got emojis down pat haha

@mojojojo7923 3 дня назад

Can you even buy this ?

@DylanODonnell День назад

See latest video :)

@DSOImager 9 дней назад

I think I'd still rather run a regular mini PC than one of the little appliances. They sacrifice versatility in the name of simplicity.

@DylanODonnell 9 дней назад

True 👍🏼

@pantoqwerty 8 дней назад

One thing they do offer if power control of higher output ports than USB as they’re custom boxes. Can you get power distribution boxes with greater than 5V, 1.5A (or whatever the USB A spec is) that can be controlled by software to remove this limitation?

@xunbinggong 3 дня назад

I am just so curious that since many things in the astronomy community nowadays are coming from china now, why it still seems that astro community in China has so little interaction with you guys in the other part of the world? It seems that I am the only chinese guy watching your channel😂

@DylanODonnell День назад

Thank you for watching my China my friend !

@KevinRudd-w8s 8 дней назад

As a boomer that actually doesn't mind new tech, I prefer the PLL Eagle because I can load and run any software I want on it. It is of course a lot more expensive that the others but you get what you pay for imo. At the other end, my grab and go set up uses an ASIair Mini, I love it, easiest thing in the world to use and so far I haven't had a single issue with it. Of course the down side is you can only use ZWO cameras and most Canon and Nikon DSLRs, but that's all I need for the grab and go rig. I bought a Stellar mate Pro 128 GB a few months ago, not an easy pc to start off with that's for sure. Still haven't managed to get the guiding to work yet, perhaps it doesn't like Sky Watcher mounts. It's a great pity because imo this pc has the potential to give the ASIair a real run for the money, you can use almost any hardware with it, theoretically, and it has a decent power management function including built in dew heater controls. I haven't even got round to testing the auto focus yet, the goto/ plate solve works really well though and setting up an imaging schedule is pretty straightforward. Looks to be well built as well. If only I could get the guiding to work. Anyway good video Dylan, it really would be nice if someone did bring out something like the ASIair that was simple to use but could be used with any hardware.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Yeh hopefully this new competition generates some innovation !

@ricardoabh3242 8 дней назад

Not fast enough… Since I wanted to start ~2019… I just now started But still… most power/data do not use usbc and from what I see in me pc, we should not need a pc. iPad App… is enough for anything… goto mount don’t auto aline to polar

@johnmcbryde715 8 дней назад

nanu nanu 🖖

@AshA-ww8hc 8 дней назад

Once you NINA, you can't go back

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

I feel that

@NestorColter-n6z 7 дней назад

Aimee Hollow

@entropytango5348 9 дней назад

The big problem I found with QHYCCD is their software. How old is the Polemaster? and that software is just terrible and 3rd world. A large text box covers your non expandable mini screen. One reason I don't think the new QHYCCD software will make a difference based on their track record so far. And after all those years they still haven't fixed it up! Try finding a driver on their website...English is definitely not even their second language. I want to like it but the personal frustration cost is too high.

@DylanODonnell 9 дней назад

Yes will be interesting to see if the open source idea makes a difference !

@hael8680 8 дней назад

ZWO stuff? No thanks since they ghosted me when I asked for support with my now useless still under warranty AM5.

@radwest86406 8 дней назад

My Dwarf II, ZWO SeeStar, and ZWO ASIAir has everything covered.

@radwest86406 8 дней назад

Nice bottle of Saki!

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

🍷

@HertyAugus 8 дней назад

3297 Trantow Turnpike

@briantheprimateastro 9 дней назад

Will be interesting to see how StarMaster shapes up. First time hearing of it here.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Fingers crossed!

@markalot 8 дней назад

61 years old, AM3, AM5, Melee Quieter 4C on both, NINA for control. Young boomer I suppose. Punk. :) Always enjoy the videos, thanks.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Killing it brother :)

@davidswan4083 8 дней назад

I won't use the ASIAir on principle as I refuse to be constrained to one ecosystem. In my collection I have cameras from SX, QHY, Moravian, as well as a few ZWO. I use various mini PCs running an ad hoc collection of software. My main equatorial mounts are ASA so use the ASA control software, with PinPoint for plate solving and Maxim DL for capture. The new QHY offering looks very interesting for those who want an all-in-one solution that isn't a closed system. Oh, and I'm a 68 year old boomer.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

You know it !

@ohwell2790 9 дней назад

Am I the only person that still uses a Meade XL70 with motors on dec and ra and Sky and Telescope star charts. Now 80 and this stuff is expensive and not to many years left to learn all this new stuff.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Good on you :)

@TheWonkyAstronomer 8 дней назад

In my astronomy club there's a 90 year-old who has taken to the ASI-Air like a duck to water.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Says something about how usable the UX is! Well done.

@aaronsastronomy9236 8 дней назад

One big issue I have with ASIair is they only natively display on mobile devices. Yes I can use an emulator to make it work on my PC but have tried and the emulators or the ASIair OS don't like each other and they constantly crash. I've asked about PC support and the air community just scoffs at the notion of having this natively support PC's. For that reason, i'm looking at other mini computer options. This is one i'll put on my radar.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Yeh that’s odd. I’ve always thought a browser based solution would make it responsive for any OS mobile or not.

@aaronsastronomy9236 8 дней назад

@@DylanODonnell browser based solution would be even better. Could take it anywhere or even control it from anywhere.

@andrewweller5119 4 минуты назад

Great content as always Dylan. I use an ASIAIR for my small scope and nina for my eq8-r pro with a mini PC mounted on the scope permantly. i love the AIR but NINA is just so much more sciency 🤣🤣🤣

@Patrick_McFadin 8 дней назад

Open Source dude here. ASIAir using code from the PHD2 project seems completely within the bounds of the BSD-3-Clause license. If they were shipping a download of software, then they would need to include the copyright notice, but as it is in an embedded device, the BSD 3 license is pretty YOLO. GPLv3 would be the license if you wanted to restrict that sort of usage. There's a saying in OSS. If you aren't uncomfortable, you aren't doing it right. Anyone can use PHD2 without restriction. You just have to maintain the copyright. ASI or any other company or person can use it as they wish.

@michaelklemm-abraham7298 8 дней назад

The actual problem is not PHD2 (as far as I know) but they essentially ripped off stellarmate.

@Patrick_McFadin 8 дней назад

@@michaelklemm-abraham7298 Dylan mentioned PHD2, but Stellarmate is a collection of OSS software like Ekos and KStars. It's all open source and not proprietary so I don't see the issue here. Android is an open source OS but Samsung will sell you an Android device. When you make your software open source, you are telling everyone they are free to change it and do what they want. Some licenses aren't open source that let you see the source code but not use it in a commercial application such as the Business Source License. You can't rip off open source software. It's completely against what it is.

@saundby 8 дней назад

They're using FOSS code from multiple projects without sharing their modifications to the code as required in those using the GPL licenses. It's a violation of contract. They've intermingled their code with the FOSS code, which makes it FOSS per the terms of the contract. They could have maintained the code they claim as proprietary separately, e.g. as modules that call the FOSS code components, but it's obvious they didn't. Stellarium is among the problematic items they're using in their code.

@simonhooper2458 День назад

Planetarium and camera rotation etc in Quarks looks similar to Stellarmate and EKOS. You definitely need to get your hands on a Stellarmate PRO like Cuiv did and have a play. I'm loving mine and wouldn't have ever known about it if it wasn't for Cuiv doing a review. The Stellarmate guys are really responsive with live chat on their page as well if you get stuck and will talk you through anything you don't understand in real time. The only issue I have noticed is if you don't own a pier you will need to change the meridian flip parameters so that it doesn't crash your camera/scope into your tripod legs. The staff seem to be online to chat around 3pm Western Australian time.

@mattbalkham1219 8 дней назад

Primalucelab eagle and voyager for me. Not really comparable with the asi air system, but worth looking at if you want to do power control and a heap of other functions. Not cheap tho!

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Yep .. I looked at it for this video but the price point puts in in another league hehe

@PdTCH 8 дней назад

however it can be 'recreated'. Use a mele mini pc(runs on 12v) and combine it with a pegasus power box..if in need, add a usb powered hotspot and you have only the power cable running to your rig...Patriot astro has a great series how to setup the mele from scratch, with ascom etc..tried my luck with pi, astroberry and alike but nina, mini pc & pegasus, i have a nice grab n go setup, just need to add power

@KevinRudd-w8s 8 дней назад

I totally agree with you, but I think they shot themselves in the foot discontinuing the entry level LE version that was a lot more affordable and was still a very powerful pc, though a bit slow compared to newer models. Mine still works great, does everything I need it to.

@radioparisment628 4 дня назад

I'm agrre with Cuiv. The only think I need to switch to another brand is the ability to accept any brand. Thank you for the video.

@CodeLeeCarter 9 дней назад

anything Chinese would have to be open source or I'd never use it, just saying!

@simonhooper2458 День назад

Other than Cuiv, you all ignore the Stellarmate Pro. Not sure if thats on purpose or not. The Stellarmate will pretty much run any mix of equipment. It will also run either through a mobile device or laptop/desktop and can be run on a Macbook and can be controlled with EKOS. It is larger and pricier but is an all in one controller that can also power your mount and dew heaters etc and has both WIFI and GPS etc

@DylanODonnell 21 час назад

I did mention it in this video as one of the alternatives.

@jesuschrist2284 8 дней назад

Tiny win11pro pc is $70 on ali express

@TheBignick243 7 дней назад

This could be a game changer! ZWO is getting to big for their britches. Hopefully this will run on anything...Android, IOS, MacOS without using emulators, Winders without using emulators, Linux, Fisher Price speak and spell....You picking up what I'm putting down QHY?

@DylanODonnell 5 дней назад

Yep!

@viniguez487 8 дней назад

The future is now old man. Embrace the ZWO takeover. -1000 social credits.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Shakes fist

@WideField 7 дней назад

I recently asked ZWO support about opening up the ASIAIR to at least support QHY cameras and their reply ad verbatim was: “Thanks for reaching out. Sorry, but we currently have no plans to open up to cameras like QHY. We like to keep our platform to our products so we can keep bugs to a minimum in our operating systems. Hope you understand.” Very disappointing! Looking forward to purchasing a StarMASTER Pro when QHY release it.

@DylanODonnell 7 дней назад

Yeh you can see it’s a business decision more than anything else which … I can’t blame them for .. that’s just business! But if the community can build something better for free then.. that’s economics too!

@retiche 5 дней назад

Stellarmate has also a DIY version. As much as I could understand there are some projects for power output ports, you could easily integrate it with a weather station, cloud monitoring, and all things you might want to automate the whole observatory. It is also the commercial version of the Ekos (the developer of ekos is also the brain behind the stellarmate). Also, Stellarmate has a very nice phone/tablet interface and has support for most of the mounts and cameras. Yuck, I just realized that I might be a little biased :D

@DylanODonnell 5 дней назад

Hehe it looks like great stuff !

@otoskope 8 дней назад

This is a field of amazingly rapid development. But I don't think you're giving the complete picture here. Stellarmate has been around for quite long, and I got the Stellarmate OS (a RPi distribution) for $50 back in 2018, got a cheap RPi3, and it worked quite well. Later upgraded to a RPi4 with the same OS. Still use it. I never used an ASIair, as I understand it is pretty much a Stellarmate knock-off, based on the same software. I think Stellarmate did a lot of the groundwork for this kind of miniPC-driven home setups, but you only mention them in passing, with their upcoming Stellarmate Pro. But there has always been the very cheap solution of just installing their OS (or rather, complete Linux distrib with Ekos/Indie/etc) on a cheap RPi of your choice.

@DylanODonnell 8 дней назад

Interesting, to what to do you attribute ASI airs rapid success over stellar mate?

@otoskope 8 дней назад

@@DylanODonnell I don't know (as I never tried it). But I guess it requires less tinkering, more a plug-and-play solution. But even though I indeed have ASI cameras, I refuse to be locked in. Also, some people think Stellarmate has been buggy, but I haven't had so much troubles (I am confident with computers and alectronics). I just think it should be mentioned, as it ihas been around for quite some time now, and works well for a lot of people.

@pantoqwerty 8 дней назад

@@DylanODonnell My guess is that they “Apple-fied” the process. Limit it to just your own devices (in the main) and ensure the process is smooth, logical and controlled. By not having to worry about compatibility you have more time to refine things. When you try to support just about any device you end up fighting fires the whole time. That they make pretty good cameras probably hasn’t harmed the take-up…I already use their camera, so if I get a guide camera and the controller I’m all in and automated without issue etc.

@otoskope 8 дней назад

@@pantoqwerty That was what I was thinking, but didn't want to write. I dislike Apple for exactly this reason - locking in the users, and they think they know what I want, but they are always wrong. Sigh. And yes, Apple are known to package others' inventions like they were their own and make them simple by 'smart' defaults (according to them), limiting the degrees of freedom.