New Imaging Set Up

[+Glafnazur]

I am thinking of changing my imaging set up, mainly because I seem to have so little time and having to set it all up every time I want to image. I've found that  messing about with laptops, etc seems a PITA so I was thinking of moving to an ASIAIR, I know this ties me in with ZWO but from what I've seen it seems worth it. Any advice is welcome.

 

If I go down the ASIAIR route it will mean buying a new/second hand ZWO camera, and I was thinking of either an ASI294 or an ASI533. I'll probably go down the mono route, again thoughts anyone?

[Bob Dobber]

I'd just get a mini PC (or even a dongle PC) and use the myriad free apps. My mini PC is permanently attached by a VESA bracket on one tripod leg and runs all that is required: EQMOD (free), NINA (free), PHD2 (free) and Stellarium (free). I guess ideally you would have a data/power box (I use a Pocket PowerBox Advance) to avoid multiple PSUs but it's been great, and in total all of that probably no more than an ASIAir and not tied to ZWO... The acquisition PC could be as little as £100 particular if going for a dongle/stick PC, and the PPBA could potentially be had for under £200 if secondhand like mine was.

 

As for the cameras, having owned three 533 OSCs, a 533 mono, and two 294 monos I would 100% say to go 533 just for the ease of use. The 294 can be a swine to calibrate, although plenty will sing its praises to the rafters. Each to their own! Then plenty will bemoan the 533 square sensor: really no big deal particularly given what a dream the 533 is to work with. 

 

HTH!

Edited October 27, 2023 by Bob Dobber

[+Glafnazur]

That's given me food for thought Rob, thanks.

[Bob Dobber]

42 minutes ago, Glafnazur said:

That's given me food for thought Rob, thanks.

 

No worries, I've also been on mono for about three years now. People say to get the biggest filters you can afford, I was considering upgrading to a 2600MM but my 31mm filters wouldn't have been big enough to avoid vignetting according to my searches, so that put me off altogether. Would've needed a new filter wheel and new filters all round. Other than that, being on mono hasn't really hindered my output (see my posts on here to confirm that!) although many will claim that it means you end up with fewer finished projects due to our weather constraints. I'm getting into using filter offsets in NINA with variable results, which should mean I can image each filter in turn very quickly, avoiding a re-focus every time, and just using the offset between comparable filters. It's all good fun!

[+Glafnazur]

Do you use an EAF Rob?

[Bob Dobber]

49 minutes ago, Glafnazur said:

Do you use an EAF Rob?

 

Yeah, by rights I _should_ be on ASIAir since I pretty much use all ZWO stuff but I can't bear the proprietary nature of it, and like to know what's going on. There's a whole culture war being fought out in meme form on the various astro FB pages over whether ASIAir or NINA (for example) is best. I'm sure if I'd started out with ASIAir I'd be pretty happy with it, but I didn't, so I'm not about to change now. Plenty achieve great things with ASIAir but if in your case it means having to buy a new camera, that seems a bit excessive to me. Although if you are committed to going mono and getting a new camera anyway, and if that camera is going to be a ZWO too, well maybe it's not such a crazy idea!

[+Glafnazur]

The cameras I have are second hand Atik CCD cameras and though they are nice I think it is time to move to a CMOS camera and the results with the ASI533 are amazing.

[+Bino-viewer]

As i'm only an occasional imager, i can't really add much to the thread, but if it was me,

i'd go down the ZWO route and not look back.

 

And by that I mean not just camera, but mount (AM5) and ASI-air as well. And ZWO EAF etc.

 

I can understand all the proprietary stuff, and some not wanting to be tied in to one brand and all that, but why complicate things ? 

Imaging windows are so infrequent nowadays, i'd really not want to go down the route of laptops running multiple programs, 

faffing around with drivers, configuring this and that and hoping everything works.

 

Thats just me though, but i'm at an age now where simplicity and reliability and ease of use are more important.

 

 

 

[+Glafnazur]

26 minutes ago, Bino-viewer said:

As i'm only an occasional imager, i can't really add much to the thread, but if it was me,

i'd go down the ZWO route and not look back.

 

And by that I mean not just camera, but mount (AM5) and ASI-air as well. And ZWO EAF etc.

 

I can understand all the proprietary stuff, and some not wanting to be tied in to one brand and all that, but why complicate things ? 

Imaging windows are so infrequent nowadays, i'd really not want to go down the route of laptops running multiple programs, 

faffing around with drivers, configuring this and that and hoping everything works.

 

Thats just me though, but i'm at an age now where simplicity and reliability and ease of use are more important.

 

 

 

That is exactly how I feel Rob. I can't do with messing about these days, and like you say we don't seem to get many chances to get out there. I think my mind is probably made up and I'll head down the ASIAIR route.

[Bob Dobber]

Each to their own 🙂 I don't recall the last time I ever had to faff with any drivers, but then again I do appreciate that setting NINA up (for example) the first time can be a little painful, ditto EQMOD if not already done. But then I've heard people curse their ASIAirs as well for various reasons, eg. poor wifi signal, but since I've never used one I can't really relate to how serious it was. I suppose the biggest thing putting me off using an ASIAir is that you have to control it via your phone (or tablet I guess) which just doesn't feel "right" to me somehow. I think you can run emulators on PCs to control via that, but by that point I'm not interested usually. My mini PC has no input devices or displays, and it I just connect to it via Chrome Remote Desktop on any device that'll run Chrome, works every time.

 

This guy seems to love his ASIAir (one of the first Google search results I came up with, and looks comprehensive): http://astronomy.robpettengill.org/blog210929.html#  

[Bottletopburly]

I’d consider an Asair it can produce quite a compact setup especially if your contemplating a 533 sensor and you need a autofocuser why not the Eaf anyway , yes it ties you in to zwo but to be fair they seem to have good support I have the zwo533mc and mini filter wheel and cmos images download a lot quicker, have a look at The narrowband channel he just done a video on the 294 which states the 294 mm and osc version are different sensors and why one is more a pita to calibrate.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by Bottletopburly

[Bob Dobber]

I wouldn't use another 294 if someone bought it for me, OSC or mono. I sent the first one back to FLO before 30 days was up and then stupidly thought I'd buy another because I thought surely it wasn't that problematic. I have at times thought "surely it's me" and have to tell myself never again. Life is just too short, but those who make it sing (and when it does, it is obviously nice) will maintain that it is the user who is at fault... Fair enough, each to their own, I'll stick to my 533 thanks 🙂 

[Bottletopburly]

8 minutes ago, Bob Dobber said:

I wouldn't use another 294 if someone bought it for me, OSC or mono. I sent the first one back to FLO before 30 days was up and then stupidly thought I'd buy another because I thought surely it wasn't that problematic. I have at times thought "surely it's me" and have to tell myself never again. Life is just too short, but those who make it sing (and when it does, it is obviously nice) will maintain that it is the user who is at fault... Fair enough, each to their own, I'll stick to my 533 thanks 🙂 

 I have to agree rob , I’ve read too much negativity on that sensor to take a punt on  especially when there’s better sensors available .

[+Glafnazur]

Ok, so I've decided on the ASIAIR and the 533mm, now I am thinking to myself, do I take the plunge now or wait to see if any offers come up seeing as Black Friday/Christmas is not that far off. I am thinking of waiting as I'll be kicking myself if a good offer appears but then again I'm itching to go for it, oh decisions, decisions.

 

Then again the weather is not looking good for a while so might as well wait.

 

Aaaarrgghhh 😱

[+Glafnazur]

OK now I've decided on the ASI533mm, next question - what size filters do you recommend 1.25" or 2"?

[Bottletopburly]

1 hour ago, Glafnazur said:

OK now I've decided on the ASI533mm, next question - what size filters do you recommend 1.25" or 2"?

1.25 “ is all you need  Dave , and a filter wheel if going that route one that takes 7 filters .

[+Glafnazur]

Thanks Dave.

 

I just did a quick tot up on the calculator and it certainly isn't cheap once you add everything in, it made me wonder if I would be better going OSC instead and just try mono on the Atik 428EX. I don't know the more I think about the more indecisive I get 😄

[Bottletopburly]

2 hours ago, Glafnazur said:

Thanks Dave.

 

I just did a quick tot up on the calculator and it certainly isn't cheap once you add everything in, it made me wonder if I would be better going OSC instead and just try mono on the Atik 428EX. I don't know the more I think about the more indecisive I get 😄

No it’s not  cheap dave , then duo filters not cheap either , then you can use those in a mini  filter wheel too with a osc 

camera , osc is less faffing that’s for sure 

[+Stu]

@Bob DobberJust a quick question on your mini PC. I've got a beelink mini that is mounted on the losmandy bar under the focuser. It's the only bit of kit I worry about leaving outside on a cold dewy night and was thinking about getting an active usb lead to have it in the shed, or make up a vented enclosure for it. Have you ever had any issues with moisture or do they produce enough heat to ride it out?

[Bob Dobber]

25 minutes ago, Stu said:

@Bob DobberJust a quick question on your mini PC. I've got a beelink mini that is mounted on the losmandy bar under the focuser. It's the only bit of kit I worry about leaving outside on a cold dewy night and was thinking about getting an active usb lead to have it in the shed, or make up a vented enclosure for it. Have you ever had any issues with moisture or do they produce enough heat to ride it out?

 

Mine has sat outside in all weather exposed, including sub zero, all good. There's no moving parts in it as far as I know so presume nothing to freeze up. Mine is attached to the leg of the tripod with a VESA bracket I've probably already said earlier in the thread, apologies if so!

[Bob Dobber]

15 hours ago, Stu said:

@Bob DobberJust a quick question on your mini PC. I've got a beelink mini that is mounted on the losmandy bar under the focuser. It's the only bit of kit I worry about leaving outside on a cold dewy night and was thinking about getting an active usb lead to have it in the shed, or make up a vented enclosure for it. Have you ever had any issues with moisture or do they produce enough heat to ride it out?

 

Correction, when I say "all weather" I mean while imaging warm and cold. Obviously if it's raining it'll be covered up... Watch it now fail next time I try to switch it on after I've bigged up its rugged qualities!!

[+Stu]

2 hours ago, Bob Dobber said:

 

Correction, when I say "all weather" I mean while imaging warm and cold. Obviously if it's raining it'll be covered up... Watch it now fail next time I try to switch it on after I've bigged up its rugged qualities!!

I took all weather as all imaging friendly weather. I'm sure it will be fine, the secret to having a PC that lives a long happy life is don't let me anywhere near it.