I just purchased a ASIair Pro from a telescope shop. It sounds like they may not have known the unit I purchased does not work with my CGEM Mount and my StarShoot and my StarSense or my ATIK camera and my XAGYL filter wheel. So my question is, is there another “newer” product model that works with the Celestron equipment? I like the setup of the ASI equipment and programming but I don’t like the alternative of selling and buying all new equipment. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated
Surprising Discoveries
The current ASIAIR version (and most likely future versions) will only work with ZWO cameras (exceptions for some DSLRs), ZWO filter wheels, and ZWO auto focusers. It is basically a closed system for ZWO equipment only, but does support most mounts and as I mentioned DSLR cameras. It should work with a Celestron CGEM, although there has been some issues with Celestron mounts especially when running polar alignment. StarSense would not be needed as far as aligning the scope as proper polar alignment and plate solving gets you where you want to go.
The ASIAIR is an easy to use product. It is unfortunate that it cannot support more equipment. There are other similar options which may or may not work., such as StellarMate and a new one coming out from Toupek. Your other option would be a PC and camera control software such as SharpCap or NINA.
JohnD