ASI120mm mini usb2 compatibility on a mac computer

Nicholas

Can someone tel me if the 120mm mini (usb2) works on a mac ??

On the website it states that the 120mm and mc - DO NOT WORK (without a workaround). Does this apply only to the older versions and not the -S versions ?
Here is a snippet….
“Our ASI120MM/MC camera is not compatible very well with Mac OSX.
– USB3.0 cameras is recommended for Mac users and fully compatible with USB2.0 host”
Can someone confirm that the mini is an option or do I need to purchase the items separately and get the 120mm-S version (usb 3) - I would rather not as its a little heavier and an older version to the mini, plus I does not come as a bundle.

I will be purchasing the ASIAIR plus as a kit that comes with guidescope and ASI120mm mini to be used for guiding on a skyguider pro. I have a mac running Monterey and in the future Ventura (when I am not using the ASIAIR PLUS), I have an intel MacBook Pro 16” at present but that may upgrade to an M1 version.
DOES Anyone know which versions works on a mac running PHD2 only as I am only a beginner and I will be using my nikon camera and lens with this setup.
Any information is much appreciated thanks.

w7ay

Nicholas Can someone tel me if the 120mm mini (usb2) works on a mac ??

The ZWO mini cameras use USB 2.0 protocols, wired with physical USB-C connectors.

I do not have the 120, but I do have both a 290 mini and a 174 mini, and both work on macOS.

Just go to openphdguiding.org and you should be able to find links to download either the macOS version, or the Windows version of PHD2. I haven't used it in a while, and don't know if it runs native code on an Apple Silicon machine -- however, Rosetta 2 has been working very well with other applications that use USB, so I am guessing that it should work too with PHD2.

Chen

Nicholas

w7ay
Thanks glad to know that both those cameras are usb 2.0 and work on a mac natively without parallels or in the WINDOWS environment. - is that correct ??
As I will not be using Rosetta as I dont have an M1 mac yet but an intel MacBook Pro 16” and I want to run PHD2 (which I have downloaded now - mac version) -

Nick

w7ay

Nicholas without parallels or in the WINDOWS environment. - is that correct ??

Hi Nick, that is correct -- no Windows emulation. Don't need Parallels or Wine.

On an Apple Silicon computer, Rosetta 2 kicks in whenever you run a macOS application that was built for the Intel architecure. Automatic with Apple Sliicon computers. If you do a Get Info (Command-I) on the PHD2 application icon, you should be able to see if it is built for the Intel architecture, or built as a Universal application (both Intel and Apple Silicon).

Rosetta 2 is pretty seamless and really fast; you won't even nothice it running. (Between my spouse and I, we have 3 M1-based computers, and one M2-based computer).

Chen

Nicholas

w7ay Thankyou for the info, so the 120mm mini being usb 2.0 should work fine on a mac ? Can I just ask as to my original question do you know why ZWO says to use a usb 3.0 camera/guider and not the 120mm/mc ?

w7ay

Nicholas Can I just ask as to my original question do you know why ZWO says to use a usb 3.0 camera/guider and not the 120mm/mc ?

ZWO no longer supports the older USB 2 cameras with the USB 2.0 Type B connectors. They are not really that old, but ZWO has abandoned support for it (probably too many problems). If it does not work, you are on your own (i.e., throw it in the trash).

The ones with USB 3.0 (blue) Type B connectors are supported.

Also supported are the "mini" cameras that have a USB Type C connector supporting USB 2 protocol. Note that it does not support USB Type C connectors with Thunderbolt protocol; so you cannot connect the USB C from the camera directly to the USB C Thunderbolt connector on a modern Mac computer -- you need to go through a USB C hub.

(USB C is simply a connector standard -- USB C can support USB 2, USB 3, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, and USB PowerDelivery protocols. If one end only supports USB 2 and the other end only supports Thunderbolt, you will need something like a USB Hub in between that can convert USB 2 to a USB 3.)

The difference between USB 2 and USB 3 is that a USB 3 connector has 5 extra pins (you can see it deep inside a blue connector). One pair of pins is for receive data, the second pair for transmit data (so fully duplex), and one pin for the shield drain. USB 3 depends on the Power and Ground pins of the original USB 2 pins. USB 2 has 4 pins, the aforementioned power and ground, and a pair of wires for half duplex data (which contributes to why it is so slow).

Chen