ASIAir Mini or ASIAir Plus

[StargazerUK]

Hi, I am looking into venturing into the world of eaa/eeva and was wondering if anyone could tell me is it worth spending an extra £100 for an ASIAir Plus instead of a ASIAir mini?

From what I can tell the only real difference is the USB ports (Plus has USB3.0). Obviously USB3.0 is going to relay quicker than USB2.0 but realistically how much of a difference is it going to make for eaa/eeva purposes?

Thanks

[Cosmic Geoff]

Depends on what exactly you want to do, but I have been doing EAA for a couple of years without the aid of any such device - I use a laptop connected by cables.

[StargazerUK]

That option did cross my mind, the trouble is I don't have a laptop anymore, all I have is an android tablet and android phone so I thought the ASIAir would be the best option as it allows connection to an android device

[Elp]

As with the gen2 Vs the gen1 I'd suspect the plus will be very slightly more responsive than the mini, the only other differentiating factor maybe if you need an ethernet port you only get it on the plus, and you can also install a micro SD card into the plus to massively increase its imaging storage. You can do that via a usb drive too though. Haven't had an issue with the mini, it's also much smaller and lighter than the plus.

You can also use an rpi4 with astroberry or Stellarmate installed and control it on android via a web browser, though this from experience isn't as good as the asiair interface.

Mini pc is therefore also an option but again the asiair interface may trump it for sheer simplicity of use.

The asiair since app version 2.0 is however plagued with issues, see the zwo forum. I've had them myself and reverted back to old firmware and android app versions.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Elp

[StevieDvd]

The Mini is a bit more basic apart from the lack of USB3 ports. Missing the network, usb-s port, sd-card port and power management the Plus has, and has a less powerful cpu.

I would rather go for the AsiAir Pro than the mini as it uses an sd-card so can easily be used with other Linux astro software. I mainly use the AsiAir Plus at the moment but am keeping my Pro.

But if you want to give the AsiAir Mini a try there's one listed on AstroBuySell for £165

[StargazerUK]

Thanks for the info guys, I think the mini maybe the way to go

[CHR15]

I was also in the same situation. I went for the plus in the end because its meant to be quicker loading for eaa, but also if I wanted to go more sophisticated I wouldn't need to upgrade the device.

[Celerondon]

On 17/04/2023 at 08:37, StevieDvd said:

The Mini is a bit more basic apart from the lack of USB3 ports. Missing the network, usb-s port, sd-card port and power management the Plus has, and has a less powerful cpu.

I would rather go for the AsiAir Pro than the mini as it uses an sd-card so can easily be used with other Linux astro software. I mainly use the AsiAir Plus at the moment but am keeping my Pro.

But if you want to give the AsiAir Mini a try there's one listed on AstroBuySell for £165

Does the ASIAIR Mini really lack the power management features that the Plus has?  I thought that it merely lacked the indicator lamps.  I have a Plus so I cannot check. Doesn’t the ASI app allow software control of the four 12 volt ports like it would on any other ASIAIR device?  On my Plus I can control the current supplied to an attached dew heater.  It is difficult to tell from the feature comparison chart on the ZWO website if the Mini can do this as well.

Don

[Elp]

In the mini all 4 12v outs are on all the time, I also don't think it monitors the draw either. With the plus you can turn each one on and off and it gives you feedback on energy usage. I still prefer the mini though, the WiFi range is much better, that's worth it alone as they've been blighted by the same issue since inception (the gen1 wasn't that bad though, plastic housing).

Edited May 29, 2023 by Elp

[StevieDvd]

5 hours ago, Celerondon said:

Does the ASIAIR Mini really lack the power management features that the Plus has?  I thought that it merely lacked the indicator lamps.  I have a Plus so I cannot check. Doesn’t the ASI app allow software control of the four 12 volt ports like it would on any other ASIAIR device?  On my Plus I can control the current supplied to an attached dew heater.  It is difficult to tell from the feature comparison chart on the ZWO website if the Mini can do this as well.

Don

The mini does not support the output voltage (as per the table on the bottom of the page you linked).

[david_taurus83]

I have the Mini. As already mentioned, they 4 power ports are all on by default, you can't switch them off. The app does tell you the input voltage and total power being drawn though.

[Celerondon]

27 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

The mini does not support the output voltage (as per the table on the bottom of the page you linked).

Right, but what does that mean?  The Mini has four 12 volt 5521 ports but no indicator LEDs for them.  It wouldn’t be reasonable to assume that those are dummy ports, would it?  Perhaps something got lost in translation.

The Mini apparently has the power supply capabilities of a Plus other than the source indicator LEDs (which are visible and clearly explained by ZWO) and some other distinction in the power supply system which ZWO is somewhat vague about.  Perhaps that “support the output voltage” means that the output voltages are unregulated. What do you think? 
 

Edit:  Thanks! DT83! I was apparently typing while you were posting. That explains it.  The Plus does have a more versatile power management system but the Mini can function as a power distribution device.  
 

I wonder though, if a Mini user specifies a dew heater as the load on a 12 volt port, will the app offer the option to regulate the current to that device?  This is how the Plus works. 

Edited May 29, 2023 by Celerondon

[StevieDvd]

The mini does not report the output voltages on the app like the Plus does.

[Elp]

From what I gather the asiair does not do power regulation, it simply reports usage. The reliability of your output depends on the 12v in on the air, and how much is being drawn by each 12v out. For example for my whole AP rig I cannot have a dew heater connected as it draws too much amps, I also cannot have a cooled camera connected and also use a 12v out for my GEM, the air does not control this, I have to consider this prior.

Edited May 29, 2023 by Elp

[david_taurus83]

9 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

The mini does not report the output voltages on the app like the Plus does.

If the input voltage is 12v say, then the output on each port should be the same or very similar. I doubt the Plus steps up if input is a bit lower. Whether you have 12v at the device is another question as 12v is very susceptible to voltage drop depending on the cross section area and length of the cable being used.

[licho52]

I have used both and Mini is significantly slower in platesolving and other operations, however if you just set it for capture then it doesn't make a lot of difference.  It works very well overall.

[Elp]

It is slower, but for me the better WiFi signal is more important to me so better overall. You can also power it via a usb power bank which is useful in cases where you want to use minimal batteries, the gen 1 was like this (as is a raspberry pi) and a feature which should never have been removed but I guess may be needed for better 12v output.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Elp