Asiair kit or Revolution R2

[Steve Clay]

Hi,

Anybody have any first hand experience of the Asiair package or the Revolution R2.

They are both similarly priced.

I would like to be able to see realtime images of DSO's on my Tablet or the R2s screen that show colour in Nebula etc.

 Anybody have any thoughts on either package.

Thanks

Steve

[Space Oddities]

Hi Steve,

I'm not sure it's what you're looking for, but you might want to consider Stellarmate as well. I started using it recently, and it's very nice. It looks similar to the ASIAIR (same hardware: Raspberry Pi 3B+), but it implements much more features. It's an older and more mature solution, which relies on open source software (Ekos, INDILIB). The ASIAIR, on the other hand, is very new, and still a "work in progress" project, but it seems very promising.

From what I've seen, ASIAIR seems more tablet friendly (iOS or Android), due to the dedicated app, with a simplified interface. 

Stellarmate can be controlled via both a PC and a tablet, and gives you more control eventually, but there is no dedicated app like the ASIAIR. You can basically use the screen sharing feature from the Stellarmate, to broadcast it on your tablet/computer. So I'd say it might be less user friendly. Alternatively, you can use the Stellarmate only as an INDI server, and run all the programs you like to use on your tablet/computer. 

In the end, if you want to do EAA only, it might be easier and more straightforward with the ASIAIR, due to the dedicated app. If you have bigger needs, like autoguiding, filter wheel management, setting up capture sequences or even remote control of your equipment... Stellarmate would be the way to go.

I can't comment on Revolution R2, I have never heard of it.

Good luck!  

 

[Grant]

The ASIair cannot currently do 'live stacking' but it will certainly display the most recent exposure you have taken with colour if using a OSC camera.

I believe 'live stacking' and other EAA features have been requested so hopefully will be added in future updates to the ASIair app - it really is developing extraordinarily quickly and the developers are very responsive and committed to the product.

[Space Oddities]

I was interrupted earlier while editing my post, sorry!

Indeed, in the meantime, I found this post. Apparently, live stacking won't be around before a few months...

[Steve Clay]

Thanks for the reply's so far. It has certainly given me avenues to research to further my understanding of what I am trying to achieve. Every day is a school day as the saying goes.

[Space Oddities]

Also, you might want to check the ASIAIR group on Facebook. It's very active, and perhaps you'll find there people with similar needs  

[festoon]

The R2 was my first camera I bought for EAA and really got me hooked. I started to see so many deep sky objects that I only would have dreamed of seeing from my back garden.

Its uses a very sensitive IMX811 sony CCD sensor. Can do colour or mono. Can be used with sharpcap live stacking if you use the USB video capture card. Only down size is FOV limited by 1/3 chip sensor size

Here is a section of objects that I've imaged using this camera. They are not hubble..this is real time, no processing apart from stacking. It's worth noting these are taken with a C5 OTA from an urban backyard with sub 5 mins total stacking time.

Crab Nebula

M81 and M82

Dumbell Nebula

M2

M92

Andromeda

Bodes galaxy

Cigar galaxy

Needle Galaxy

Pinwheel galaxy

Orion nebula

Edited April 3, 2019 by festoon

[veteran neophyte]

Wow!  Those are indeed wonderful images.

I'm a new user of the Revolution R2 from California (the camera, not me!).  I have gotten lovely colour views of M57, the Blinking Planetary, and an OK view of the Eskimo/Clown Face.  I can't see any galaxies or star clusters at all.  The galaxies I suspect are just a matter of more practice, but  I think the problem with star clusters is the number of really bright hot pixels on my camera.  I've got 17 super bright ones, and quite a few more small ones.  Does anyone have any advice for how I might deal with this issue?  It's lovely to see the colours in the planetaries, but that's not my sole reason for buying this kit!

Forgot to mention, I'm using a Celestron Evolution 9.25 inch SCT (so I *know* those star clusters were in the FOV, even if I couldn't see them.)  From an urban location.  I don't know if it was necessary, but I used a Bahtinov mask to focus before observing with the R2, and that worked a treat!

 

Edited May 24, 2019 by veteran neophyte

[R26 oldtimer]

There is a submenu "maintenance" where there is an option to make a bad pixel map, but haven't used it this past year. I'll check it this weekend and report back.

[veteran neophyte]

Thanks R26.  Would that work for real-time viewing, or only for using recorded images/videos?

[R26 oldtimer]

Sorry it took me so long. It works for real-time. And it is in the submenu maintenance under wpixel mask were you can either do it by manually selecting the pixels or automatically by covering the sensor and taking a "dark". Check the manual on page 25.

VTC-IRA24F_Manual_final-v2.pdf

[veteran neophyte]

oops, now it's *me* who took so long!  I've been in hospital, but I'll check this as soon as I get the opportunity.  Very grateful for the reference, R26!