Asi air and e.a.a

CHR15

Hi,
I'm looking to start venturing into the world of e.a.a.
I have a camera (asi178mc) and a goto mount (skywatcher az gti).
I like the simplicity this box seems to offer, being able to use my phone compared to having to set up my laptop. Is it really simple to use? My mount doesn't seem to be the most accurate so plate solving looks like a nice feature. Can anyone point me in the right direction or link to a tutorial on how I'd go about setting this up for e.a.a? Any tips advice would be greatly appreciated.

elpajare

Asi Air is a good option for the EAA. The only thing you have to check is that it is compatible with your mount.
I've been using it since it came out and I'm very happy

CHR15

elpajare thanks for replying.
I've had a look on the Internet and it seems my mount is compatible. Would I need to install software and drivers to the asi air or is it all preinstalled? I'm mostly interested in the plate solving and live stacking.

johnpd

I have been using my ASIAIR Pro for public outreach for a couple of years. I have my mount (RST-135) set up in Alt-Az Mode. No alignment is necessary. I initially {Home} the mount and then plate solve to any object I want to show. It is fantastically simple.

JohnD

CHR15

johnpd thanks for your reply.
When you say home position, is this the same as park? What do these mean? I'm used to using a manual dob so the az gti is a bit of kit I'm still getting used to. I like how you say fantastically simple, I'd like to have this kind of setup also for outreach, well friends and family.

johnpd

CHR15

Chris,

By {Home} position I mean the starting position of your mount. If your mount is an equatorial, then {Home} would be pointing towards the North Celestial Pole (near Polaris). Alt-Az mounts can have various {Home} directions.
The ASIAIR comes with just about everything you need. No additional software or drivers are needed.. That's the beauty of it.
You don't really need SkySafari. The ASIAIR has a pretty good list of objects. The only thing you might use SkySafari for would be as a reference. If you know what objects you are looking for, just bring up the appropriate list, select the object, click "GoTo", and your mount is off and running and will plate solve to center it.
If you have the Skywatcher AZ-GTI, it looks like the ASIAIR will not handle it in AZ mode. There have been numerous complaints about this, but it has not yet been fixed.

JohnD

elpajare

Take a look at this

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/703289-instructions-connecting-asiair-pro-and-azgti/

CHR15

elpajare Thanks for this link. I'll admit the networking 101 went over my head as I'm not very tech savvy, but I can follow instructions.
If I didn't want to use sky safari, is their any difference between connecting asi air to az gti or vice versa or is it just personal preference?

CHR15

johnpd thanks for explaining John. I'm starting to understand it now. I'll definitely be using the mount in eq mode as I've read alot about it not working in az mode.