What do you think about ASIMount integrated with ASIAIR?: Page 2

What do you think about ASIMount integrated with ASIAIR?

retman

Also, where would the antenna be. Many customers have range issues. An antenna down loe, on the mount, would likely limit range

bobw55

Maybe for the limited users who tavel or need a grab and go setup. The down side is if the ASIAIR fails due to firmware or other issues you are now out a mount and a ASIAIR device.

BenBret-1

Please stop releasing new products here and there, and fix softwares/firmwares of your existing products.

Al_Loan

I'm a AM5N owning / operator.

I'm not sure if that's a good idea, I use my mount via ASCOM with CDC as the planetary software and SharpCap for the capture software. I'm not a big fan of the lack of functionality with ASIair when compared to SC or NINA. I would rather not pay for a device I would likely not use.

Swizerlan

ASIMount@ZWO a
Why dont we focus instead on getting a feature rich ASI air? There is a comically massive list of requests and you’re only only reply is we will take it into consideration. Nothing is ever done. The Indy drivers for example, for astrophysics mounts are completely outdated and they don’t work properly with a $10,000 mount.

If you want to bring to market a new product design a competitor to the RST 300

jimw85044

Worried about extra heat generation and TEC cooling. Also ZWO WiFi feels marginal. It drops out at times. There are also more things that can go wrong in an All-In-One package. I will pass.

charding

ASIMount@ZWO only if you solve the weak wifi issue by integrating the two and placing multiple antenna on it. And, it still has to be controllable by other computer programs in case I want to run it with something else.

ronht

Personally I would not be interested in this - too much integration only leads to bigger more expensive issues when something goes wrong.
At this point I would rather see ZWO work to expand software features within the ASIair app like -
Start exposures at time
Start exposures when target reaches (degrees) altitude
Stop exposures at time
Stop exposures at altitude
Filter focus offsets to minimize focusing time
Ability to copy sequences to a different plan for the night
Ability to copy .fit files into Dropbox or Windows Cloud for more efficient file transfer
On the hardware side -
A ZWO compatible USB expansion module (with the CAA many of us are out of available USB ports)
A ZWO attachable flat panel
Basically encapsulate software options similar to what NINA has into the current ASIair simplicity and ease of use app and see how many NINA users you can bring over to the ASIair ecosystem - You might be pleasantly surprised!

AstroDude42

While some might like this idea, i don’t. Mainly because

your product line will be even more fragmented: AA standalone, AA inside camera, AA inside mount… what next? AA inside filter wheel and EAF?
once one component is dead the other will be too. Think of an iMac where the CPU dies and the still working display will get unusable
what would be the lifetime of such a product? The AA's life/support is limited while (at least in my perception) a mount would much longer be usable because it doesn’t need to implement new features all the time once it’s implementation is rock solid and id it follows open standards.
in software development there is an old and well known pattern named separation of concerns – this is applicable to products as well. You would severely ignore that pattern again as you already do in your software implementations.

Just some of my 2 cents. There are probably more i didn’t write down.

Skolgi

Hara In Fact for the AM5N and AA+ you even dont need a Cable - you can get BT Connected inkl. Guide!

jack_heeley

No. The priority for ASIMount, needs to be an AM3/5/5N polar alignment feature for the visual use case (no cameras or asiair attached). That's where it MUST perform, and there it comes up short. You really NEED a multi star alignment process that models the mis-alignment of polar axis and provides decent/approximate one step goto that doesn't rely on platesolving. These mounts (without clutches) are nearly useless for visual observation without that. I'm into photography big time, but last night for example (with all 7 planets on view at sunset) I want to be able to go visual directly, without having to configure the rig build twice (and have to bring cameras I dont intend to use). I guess you'll say use AltAz for that? That unfortunately also involves using tools (much too slow and involved when software can do this).

paulitoweb

jack_heeley I hope ZWO will introduce what you asked soon. I am a new AM3 user and I am disappointed there isn't a polar alignment procedure in the Skyatlas app 🙁 I have an asiair too but sometime I would just use the mount as is without and asiair...

UnseenObservatory

Mounts generally have much longer life cycle than IT devices. Would the raspberry PI be still relevant in 10 years? I used my last mount for 12 years and ot was still going strong before switching to AM5.

What I really would want to see in an asi mount is integrated encoders to solve the only real problem with harmonic drives.

mhan

ASIMount@ZWO

Good idea. Please make it also possible to connect network cable , not only using wifi. Anyways, I like it.

rC8656un

We would like an automatic polar alignment please.

paulitoweb

rC8656un follow this post:
https://bbs.zwoastro.com/d/22147-feature-request-star-alignment-for-amx-mount
Paolo

talktogreg

Hi. Late to reply, but I think if you made a smallish mount (maybe AM2) with built in ASIAIR, you'd completely own the market between smart scopes (inc yours) and bigger ASIAIR based rigs.

As it stands, there isn't much in that space. I'd actually (personally) prefer the ASIAIR included in the mount as against included in the camera, as it makes for quick OTA changes. To be honest, I'd even like a guide camera in the mount too !!!

jimw85044

I agree. A little odd to have the ASIAIR built into the mount. A lot of people use the AM5N and do not use an ASIAIR. Merging the two would be a big marketing mistake IMO. What I would like to see in the next generation is as follows.

-Redesign Alt/Az mechanical controls. The existing design is a little crude and the thread size is too coarse. Too coarse for my liking. Design something simular to what Losmandy or Astro-Physics mounts use. Or even the WD-20.

Add an RA and DEC locking clutch design, something simular to what Sky Watcher did for their 150i mounts.
Direct drive RA. Eliminate the belt design.
Increase the weight capacity a little.
Increase the RA drive reduction ratio.
Increase the AZ adjustment range.
Ensure the mount can operate to 45C. At night where I image it can be 40C at midnight in the summer.
Make sure the saddle can handle 5 amps output and don't mark it as 3 amps.

talktogreg

jimw85044 I agree with you for larger mounts like the AM5(N), as flexibility is valuable, but for a smaller grab-n-go mount, it'd still be useful, especially as a easier 'step-up' point. If you think about the $$ difference between a S50 and AM3+OTA etc - there's a huge gap here not currently filled by ZWO.

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