ASIAIR PRO overheating

crispy5573

I borrowed an infra red thermometer and took some readings they did vary a little between 44.2C and 49.7C. This was under very low load with only my ASI290 MM and mount connected and nothing drawing power. I tried to get a photo but I couldn't work out how to keep the display on long enough. It isn't my thermometer and I didn't want to mess about with it.
So any chance tech@zwo can answer my question now please regarding a replacement ?

w7ay

crispy5573 they did vary a little between 44.2C and 49.7C

Not very different from mine.

I just took this... one of my ASIAIR (v2) sitting on a piece of cardboard on the carpeted floor of a room with room air temperature of 21.5ºC. 13.8V DC input. Nothing connected to the DC outputs (the PWM outputs in ASIAIR is best avoided). One Patriot Rage USB Flash card (hot power hog), one ASI462MC camera, and an Ethernet connector (cool).

Image is from a FLIR-One camera connected to an iPad. Pointed at the "top" surface of the ASIAIR (which should be the hottest part of the enclosure).

If you want the heat sink itself (the ASIAIR enclosure) to be cooler, you need to make it dissipate heat to the air better. This is what I did to another of my ASIAIR (top left of image):

The heat sink is attached to the ASIAIR enclosure using Arctic MX-4 and I never bothered to remove the tie wraps that I used while the cement was curing.

The eero 6 mesh router (the white rounded square box) is warmer (runs around 20 watts). And in fact, I glued the USB hub and Samsung T7 SSD to the eero to keep them warm during cold nights.

(Waterproof ABS box that is left outdoors 24/7/365 under my RainbowAstro mount and WO Mortar tri-pier, which are also left outdoors 24/7/365).

Notice a 16V voltage boost (for my mount) at the top right hand side of the image, also uses its enclosure as a heat sink.

Chen

crispy5573

You must live in a nicer place than me Chen lol. Where I live my iOptron CEM40 EC would be stolen and weighed in for the scrap value within a week !
This overheating thing has become a distraction from the real problems I have with my ASIAIR . I have built PCs for many years and know the damage inadequate cooling can cause so I assumed the heat it was producing was causing the problems. I still think it may be a contributing factor.
I bought the ASIAIR in April this year and it has been little used (I live in the UK so many cloudy nights) but the first few (3or4) sessions it was perfect, even the WiFi but then the WiFi started dropping out and gradually dropped out more and more. I bought the Vonets WiFi extender sold as ZWO in the UK but while I still have a good connection to the extender I keep getting connection lost messages on the app. When it reconnects either one or both cameras are disconnected and my mount and EAF aren't recognised. Since things started to go wrong I can't think of anything that hasn't gone wrong at some stage which led me to believe the heat had fried something.
Nice bit of kit by the way. If I ever got around to building an obsy I'll be coming for details 🙂

Ron

crispy5573

Incidentally I just checked the temperature of a low energy light bulb ....54C so if someone wants to try to tell me 49.7C is acceptable for a consumer product ..............

w7ay

crispy5573 Incidentally I just checked the temperature of a low energy light bulb ....54C

That sounds pretty much as expected too.

An "60 watt incandescent equivalent" LED light bulb from Philips consumes about 8.5 Watts, almost all of which is dissipated in the form of heat. (Some newer bulbs are a bit more efficient.)

The Raspberry Pi 4 consumes about 3.5 Watts at idle and 7.5 Watts at "full" load; again, all of which is dissipated in the form of heat.

So, unless the Raspberry Pi 4 enclosure has a larger surface area to dissipate the heat (or a fan to help move the warm air), I expect it to feel as hot as a 3.5W to 7.5W light bulb.

This is why I added a heat sink to my ASIAIR. The fins of the heat sink have a lot of total surface area. If I wanted even cooler, I would add a fan to remove the warm air from between the fins.

All that heat has to go somewhere, and if it is not radiated into the air (increasing the temperature of the air), it would increase the temperature of the device itself. If you want the device to be cooler, use a large heatsink (like I did) or use a fan to help help move the heat into the air.

Chen

crispy5573

@tech@zwo#49432 I borrowed an infra red thermometer and took some readings they did vary a little between 44.2C and 49.7C. This was under very low load with only my ASI290 MM and mount connected and nothing drawing power. I tried to get a photo but I couldn't work out how to keep the display on long enough. It isn't my thermometer and I didn't want to mess about with it.
So any chance tech@zwo can answer my question now please regarding a replacement ?

Tech@ZWO

crispy5573
The factory test of ASIAIR Pro:
At Max 6A+ load, the stable temp reading of the case is around 60C.

crispy5573

To be honest I really don't care what temperature you got to in the factory or what temperature my unit gets to I mentioned it because I thought it may have been the cause of the problems I have with my ASA.
If you read the thread I first started you will see what they are.
If you want to quote figures and facts what was actually plugged in and running to get to 60C ?

Tech@ZWO

crispy5573
You don't have to care because ASIAIR Pro is already discontinued, maybe some dealers in other country still got few stock but not much left.

crispy5573

OK this I already know which (if you refer to my original question) is why I was asking about it being replaced with the ASI Plus

Tech@ZWO

crispy5573
Keep the environment ventilated and test at Max6A load with an ordinary 12v 5A power adapter and prove it is much higher than our factory data. Please understand we only have the extreme data, so other situation/condition like your 44-49, we don't have any standard to measure if it is acceptable or not.

marcdota

@tech@zwo#49657 being discontinued doesn't mean you shouldn't support or address concerns about the ASIAir Pro - those devices still work, are still serviceable despite its shortcomings, and a lot of people are still using them.

Tech@ZWO

marcdota
Hello,
He was asking for the replacement of ASIAIR Pro, how are we going to manage if there is none left? I didn't say anything about we don't offer support anymore.

crispy5573

Just one of the many industry standards available around the world and easily searchable.
As you correctly replied to marcdota I was asking about the replacement and I STILL don't have any sort of answer !!

marcdota

@tech@zwo#49698 you did say OP don't have to care because it's discontinued.

IDK; how would you feel if someone said "eh, you don't have to care about something really useful to you because it's discontinued"? I get a sense that this part is a miscommunication (lost in translation?) and I hope there's no malice involved.

That said, this discussion is distracting from OP's main concern which is essentially a RMA. Given the ASIAir Pro is 'discontinued', what are OP's options?

crispy5573

It has already been agreed between myself and the retailer (and the UK main importer) that my ASA is faulty and will be replaced. The original question was regarding any extra payment, as the PLUS is slightly more expensive than the PRO and if, as there are no stocks of the PRO to replace mine, would I be given priority and get the PLUS as soon as it is available or would I have to wait until it was freely available in the UK.
I have three ASI cameras, the ASIAIR, an EAF and other ZWO products at a value of around £2000 and have been saving to buy an ASI2600 MM Pro but the lack of any definitive response from ZWO is giving me doubts about continuing to buy any of their products and I suspect anyone reading this will feel the same. As you say Marcdota it could just be a lost in translation issue but it feels more like the question is being avoided.

marcdota

crispy5573 honestly I think it's something @tech@zwo has to clear with higher ups (since it involves money and a possible RMA) and s/he still hasn't heard back from them. Which is totally fine! It just needs to be communicated to you, right?

I'd hold off judgment for now and let this play out. Hopefully it does before that rare clear UK night happens.

crispy5573

That's right even if @tech@zwo just said they were looking into it.
If I have to wait for a clear night in the UK it could be next year lol

Tech@ZWO

crispy5573
Is below picture how you do the test the whole process?
I won't call this ventilated environment and what is this power supply? Can you find a regular 12V 5A power adapter to test again? Different power supply can affect the result.

crispy5573

That is a picture sent by w7ay of his set up not mine !!
PLEASE answer my question ...............will have to pay more for the PLUS as a replacement and if I will get one as soon as available?
If you can not answer please ask someone who can.

Tech@ZWO

crispy5573
Hello,
If you are ask for a replacement because of lack of industry standards, first we thank for your suggestion and sorry for the nonstandard, but this is not sufficient enough that we should offer you a replacement ASIAIR plus. 44.2C- 49.7C under what environment/condition, and what power supply are you using? If you are not going to provide any pictures regarding this, the truth is we have the right to say this temperature range is fairly reasonable.