Obs30 I actually noticed that if the telescope is in between the ASIAIR mini and the receiving iPad, the transfer rate drops significantly.
This is why I have continuously recommended not to mount the ASIAIR on anything that moves. When the second generation ASIAIR came out (I don't know if you were on this forum yet), I had posted a measurement that I made (with the stand-alone ASIAIR mounted on an AZ-GTi mount which I use for my experiments like reorienting a distant artificial star, etc). It showed a directivity pattern that has dips which were dozens of decibels below the peak WiFi response.
Since by Reciprocity Theorem in antenna theory, the receive antenna pattern is identical to the transmit antenna pattern (deducible through conservation of energy), the acks of your tablet will also have signal-to-noise ratio that are dozens of decibels worse, causing even more packets to have to be retransmitted. Thus slowing down transfer to a standstill.
I do not use WiFI with ASIAIR (except for a non-critical all sky camera using a bare first generation ASIAIR in the all sky camera's ABS enclosure). I always connect to my various ASIAIR through Ethernet. In fact, with the third generation ASIAIR, I have terminated the SMA port with a 50 ohm terminator to make sure no nearby WiFi devices can disturb the ASIAIR.
The WiFi of the latter is not great at 5GHz unless you are sitting right next to it.
If you run an iPad or an Apple Silicon MacBook (which can run ASIAIR iOS app) out in the field, I still recommend using an Ethernet cable. With an iPad, use an Ethernet dongle -- for older or non-Pro iPads, you would need a Lightning to Ethernet adapter, otherwise, with the USB-C iPad pros, just use any USB-C Ethernet adapters. iOS will see it under Ethernet Settings without any manual intervention, and the ASIAIR app will see it if the app has been given Local Network permission). You will be floored by the speeds, especially on the M1 based iPads.
Now the ASIAIR mini with the WiFi is much slower as you stated.
The Mini is meant for people who don't want to, or cannot afford to, shell out for the regular ASIAIR. There is no other redeeming advantage. It is just ZWO's ploy to capture that remaining slice of the market (who would have been better off with INDIGO Sky anyway). As usual, "follow the money."
Chen
