Unannounced ASIAIR v2.4.4

delpro

All good so far ... no issues noted

Northern hemisphere
Apple iPad
AM5N, connected to ASIAir mini via USB-C (which also provides power thru to ASIAir mini and devices downstream
William Optics RedCat 91
ZWO ASI2600MC-Duo (main and guide camera)
ZWO EAF, ZWO CAA
Normal Polar Alignment
Standard Plate Solve algorithm

Guiding has been excellent, CAA and EAF have been consistently flawless (so far). I've made no changes to any settings, still using those that worked in version 2.3.3, including when using dual-narrowband filters.

Luxo

What about platesolving, autoguiding and meridian flips ?
And at 1500-3000mm, not little rigs like RedCats.

Unless it does something better than 2.3.3 I'll stay with that, as it works.

delpro

No issues encountered with Plate Solving, Guiding or Meridian Flips ... so far, everything is working as expected but, as Luxo notes, this is on a RedCat. I'm also interested in how well (or poorly) the new build works with longer focal length equipment.

flappah

Whenever I get clear skies I’ll drop a note. I’ve got an Asiair plus on an Intes Micro M615 with 2280mm and have had inconsistent results with 2.4.2. Platesolving old style sometimes worked sometimes it didn’t. If the clouds go away at some point I’ll try out the 2.4.4 update and see if it has improved.

Corsair

RE: platesolving

In order to perform a Plate Solve efficiently, your focal length need to be set in the Main Camera settings (or check at connection page on app startup).
Plate solve may fail if your imaging parameters (Exp / Gain) return either too few or too many stars. Best range is from 100 to 400 stars detected during Plate Solve.
The usable range for plate solve function is based on Field of View (FoV - combination of focal length of scope and sensor size) which has to be within 0.2 deg to 33 deg.
Exposure settings are in Telescope Settings, under Center EXP Time and Gain in Main Camera Settings.

https://www.yuque.com/zwopkb/asiair/plate-solve

azskyguy

I can't get it do a proper Meridian Flip... it gets to the meridian, waits the allotted time, says it is in the proper position, starts guiding and then about 2 minutes later guiding goes wild. with the guide star leaving the FOV. I am using a rotator, and it is set to keep guiding parameters after the flip. I'm using the 2600MCAir with built in guider, AM3 mount. Guiding is perfect before the flip. Have had this problem for the last 3-4 versions of the software. Others reporting this as well. I have sent logs to ZWO, was in conversation with support via email, he said their techs would look at the logs. That was almost a month ago, and crickets since then.

Corsair

azskyguy have you tested what happens if you don't use the rotator? By that I mean don't even have it attached at all (not part of imaging train).

azskyguy

Havent tried that, but have tried with it powered off and not moving. Should be the same.

V5HL6Ecz

Ho aggiornato all'ultima versione 2.4.4 e per il momento tutto funziona perfettamente.
Dopo circa 1 ora c'è stata l'inversione del meridiano: dopo 4 tentativi di aggiustamento, il soggetto è stato centrato e ruotato perfettamente: la guida ha ripreso a seguire.
Prima dell'inversione l'errore medio di guida era di 0,7 rms. Dopo l'inversione l'errore medio era di 1 rms
Da considerare che il cielo da dove riprendo è di bortle 8,5
Autofocus senza filtro preciso e veloce con tempi di esposizione di 2 secondi. Con filtro a banda stretta devo aumentare l'esposizione a 3 secondi altrimenti non riesce.
Risoluzione delle piastre standard: tutto ok
Allinemanto polare normale: tutto ok
Ho solo notato che dopo i flat automatici, l'asiair si è resettato e ho dovuto accendere tutti i dispositivi collegati ( è capitato 2 volte nella stessa notte )
La mia configurazione attuale è:
Emisfero settentrionale
Asiair plus - Tablet Samsung android
Montatura star adventurer gti
Askar 71f - 490 mm
Zwo 30 mm f/4 + Zwo asi 120 mini
Zwo asi 533 mc pro ( a volte uso nikon d3200 )
Zwo eaf
Zwo caa

Un saluto

Sonixx

Finally a clear night, when I started the ASIAIR I was prompt to update, which I did.
The night went without the slightest issues with 2 targets, two meridian flips, two Filter Changes and two rotations in plan mode.

-Northern Hemisphere

-Apple
—AM5 N via Bluetooth
-Askar SQA106
-50mm F4 Askar Guide Scope
-EAF, EFE, CAA

Normal Polar Align
-Standard Plate Solve

So no issues found, I am happy everything works reliably and unattended.

Cheers,

Stephan

RUa7dc98

Sonixx thanks a lot for such feedback. I'm still waiting for more positive feedback before updating from 2.3.3. i really appreciate people like you, who give détails when everything is ok.
What about the sky atlas ? I hear they changed the UI of the sky for a bad one. Any though ?

Sonixx

RUa7dc98
The previous catalogue seemed a bit prittier, but no real issue with the new one.

delpro

update ... several more sessions with 2.4.4 and all have gone well. I've added another dual-narrowband filter (Optolong L-Synergy) to the mix and, as with the L-Ultimate, no issues with guiding, focus, meridian flip, plate solving, polar alignment at all, even for 8+ hour automated sessions.

Tracerocks

Drove 80 miles to dark sky during new moon window.

Unannounced upgrade loaded with no way for me to stop it.

Broke the driver to my LX200 mount. Couldn’t connect, couldn’t revert to earlier working firmware.
Had to pack up and drive home .

This is the second time this year ZWO has done this to me. Both times during a new moon.
You would think that a company that exists because of astrophotography would understand the value of the new moon window and release their buggy software at any other time, say full moon?

Corsair

Tracerocks
Why is it that despite so many posts over the years people still don't realise that if the ASIAIR App updates on your device the App will then update the firmware on your ASIAIR? It's why the ASIAIR App is the size it is.

The App on your device and the firmware on the ASIAIR are a matched set.

This is why it is recommended you turn off auto update for the ASIAIR App on your device.

Android: you can do this for the ASIAIR App via the Play Store App.
Apple: you can only turn off updates for all Apps. An Apple restriction unfortunately.

And, as you can see from the posts above, it's working for others. Even those on Facebook groups have had success with it.

You can downgrade:
Android: https://bbs.zwoastro.com/d/18885-how-to-downgraderollback-asiair-app-firmware-with-android
Apple: https://bbs.zwoastro.com/d/24898-asiair-v242-has-been-released/284

AstroDude42

Tracerocks sorry to hear that your sessions were interrupted twice. May i gently suggest to test the setup before traveling such a distance next time? That’s what i‘d do as one can’t rely on the quality of the software recently and it would save from a lot of frustration in advance.

Luxo

Tracerocks

You need to:

turn automatic updates OFF,
Revert PERMANENTLY to the last stable version (2.3.3) by following the instructions in ASIAIR:The Missing Manual available at https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/010wWOevZeXCOc79pGNNBWV9Q#ASIAir_Missing_Manual_0.8

Unfortunately it is pretty clear the people writing/testing the software are not imagers otherwise they'd have found the significant issues themselves.

fumiyuki.takahashi

Hello everyone,
I'm submitting a summary of the operational status of the equipment used during last night's imaging session, which lasted 4.5 hours. Most systems functioned successfully, but one accessory exhibited a significant issue, the details of which are documented below for record purposes.

Equipment Used
1.Location:Northern(Japan)
2.Controller: Apple iPhone 12 (Using ASIAir Plus)
3.Mount: AM5 (Connected to ASIAir Plus via USB-A)
4.Telescope: ZWO FF107 (Reducer used, 530mm Focal Length)
5.Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro(Filter: SHO 3nm Narrowband Filters)
6.Guide Scope/Camera: ZWO 30F5 / ZWO ASI120MM-Mini
7.Accessories: ZWO EAF, ZWO CAA, ZWO EFW (7x2")
8.Polar Alignment: All Sky Polar Alignment
9.Plate Solving: New Plate Solve
Functionality Check
1.Plate Solving:Good
2.GoTo:Good
3.Auto Guiding:Good
4.Meridian Flip:Good
5.EAF (Auto Focuser):Good
6.CAA (Camera Angle Adjuster)😛ROBLEM
Detailed CAA Issue
Commanded Action: Rotate 15 degrees Clockwise (CW).
Observed Result: The CAA performed an abnormal Counter-Clockwise (CCW) rotation, spinning past 360 degrees (a full rotation).

Thank you.