Atik base does this do the same as ASIair?

[Astroblagger]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section. I feel it's time to get rid of my laptop and freezing to death outside when imaging. Iv been away from imaging for quite some time and I see things have moved on somewhat.

Iv watched afew vids on YouTube of people using the ASIair box to get set up then monitor the imaging session inside (nice and warm). I own an Atik 460 and my guide camera is qhy, is there a similar product to the ASIair that will work both. Is the Atikbase the same thing? I don't really fancy changing my camera as I do like using  Atik.

From the vids iv watched the ASIair looks very simple to use. 

 

[ONIKKINEN]

Not heard of the Atik base before, but looks like the kind of thing meant to compete with the Asiair - a small scopeside computer. I see it mentioned in one article that it is based on the Stellarmate, which would be another option.

There are also raspberry pi based options, or a windows mini-PC. Personally i think the windows mini-PC has most to offer since you can run a full version of any normal desktop windows application on it, so really there is no chance that it could not be made to work with any combination of kit.

[Astroblagger]

Thanks Onnikken, excuse my ignorance what is a raspberry pi? The asiair gets rid of the laptop completely which is what I'd like to do. Unsure if stellarmate and atikbase need a laptop? 

[Dinglem]

Hi @AstroblaggerI use both a laptop and Asiair on my two setups. I run an older laptop using APT, PHD2 etc next to my main rig in a plastic box, once setup I use my latest laptop to remote desktop into it from inside, nice and toasty, I'm considering getting a mini pc to replace the laptop and fixing it to my scope to reduce the amount of cables going to it, therefore reducing the chances of snagging. On my small portable setup I have an Asiair clamped to the bottom of the dovetail bar and connect to it over WiFi with a tablet or my mobile phone. This setup I can put in the back of my car and run from a battery anywhere. Over the time I've had both setups I must admit I've had more issues with the Asiair, mostly after firmware updates, also poor WiFi connectivity, constant drop outs and difficulties reconnecting. Not had them out for a while due to it not getting dark till late and I need to be up early for work. If I was to start again I would not go for the Asiair as the cheepness of mini PC's and the fantastic software packages available, which means you can use any make of astro gear, makes it a lot more appealing to me.

Edited July 11, 2023 by Dinglem
grammar correction

[Astroblagger]

Thanks dinglem, will have to look into this further. The ASIair looks to good/easy to be true. I do have a asi planetary can I can use for guiding. Maybe I should make the jump to CMOS and get an ASI mono camera. Then the ASIair would work with both. Can you explain what stellarmate is it the same as the ASIair? Ie no laptop? 

[Dinglem]

I've not used Stellermate but looking at the website it's just a paid for software that you install on a Raspberry Pi giving you similar control of your astro gear without the additional power control of the Asiair.

There's also Astroberry which is very similar, which is free to download and use, which I have played with many years ago when it first came out, but wasn't very successful with it. Maybe it's a lot better now.

If you go for an Asiair and want a dedicated astro camera you will be restricted to using ZWO cameras, focussers, filter-wheels etc. There are several other manufacturers supplying similar products cheaper.

[StevieDvd]

Astroberry is a Raspberry Pi server so you need another computer/ipad etc to connect to it via a web page. Software is free.

Stellarmate provides both the server  and an app for iphone/android much the same as Asiair but not as user friendly. The OS can be bought on its own or with hardware. There is now both a PC and Raspberry Pi version.

The Asiair Pro has the OS on an sdcard so you can also run Astroberry or Stellarmate on the hardware. Both can use the power ports. You can revert back to the Asiair OS by swapping the sdcard.

The newer Asiar models have better wifi (external aerials) but have the software loaded on an internal memory drive so it can't be replaced with another OS.

When the Raspberry Pi came out so cheap, it was a low cost option for an astro setup, but with current prices the mini-pc has become an economic contender.

Very much like the Apple system ethos, ZWO has limited the Asiair to its own equipment, this reduces the support that would be need to be provided for the myriad of astro gear available.  And like Apple it lets them fix their prices. So f you were to need a fliter wheel or focus motor these would need to be ZWO brands too.

It would be a good idea, to load the PC software you would need onto an existing PC/laptop to see if that suits you first, before getting a mini-pc.

 

[Tomatobro]

You don't need anything special so consider an Intel NUC i3 or i5. Available second hand with windows 10 pro so you can connect via Remote desktop. Being windows you are not restricted to ZWO. They run quite happily on 12 volts. If your existing laptop is windows 10 pro you can connect the two together via remote desktop.

[StevieDvd]

57 minutes ago, Tomatobro said:

You don't need anything special so consider an Intel NUC i3 or i5. Available second hand with windows 10 pro so you can connect via Remote desktop. Being windows you are not restricted to ZWO. They run quite happily on 12 volts. If your existing laptop is windows 10 pro you can connect the two together via remote desktop.

You don't need Windows Pro version on both, it's only needed on the server version.

 

[Dinglem]

You don't need windows pro on either as there's other free software available to remote connect like Teamviewer etc. I do use Remote Desktop at work and find it the easiest to use though.

[ONIKKINEN]

19 minutes ago, Dinglem said:

You don't need windows pro on either as there's other free software available to remote connect like Teamviewer etc. I do use Remote Desktop at work and find it the easiest to use though.

Care to elaborate how this would work on a non-pro windows version? Using a mini-PC myself with windows 10 Pro and last i checked pro was still necessary. Mine is not the best in terms of performance so will likely upgrade one day and would like to know if pro really is needed or not.

[Dinglem]

Sorry if my reply was confusing but for non pro versions you can use Teamviewer https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/info/free-remote-pc/ I use it successfully at home as both of my laptops have Windows 10 home editions

At work we use W10 pro versions and I use the built in version of Remote Desktop.

[StevieDvd]

26 minutes ago, ONIKKINEN said:

Care to elaborate how this would work on a non-pro windows version? Using a mini-PC myself with windows 10 Pro and last i checked pro was still necessary. Mine is not the best in terms of performance so will likely upgrade one day and would like to know if pro really is needed or not.

For clarity

Windows Pro version has the server software as an option to be enabled so acts as the server you connect to. The other WIndows computer can be a non-pro such as Home and uses an app (mstsc.exe) or Remote Desktop Connector.  Many people online state that both Windows machines must be Pro version which is not true, but the mis-information is still being given out and people are updating to Pro needlessly.

As per Microsoft as mentioned here

And as many people may be aware the scammers that connect to victims computers can remote into them even if they are not a Win Pro OS. They get them to download apps like TeamViewer or AnyDesk.

[Elp]

If you want simplicity an Asiair is extremely difficult to beat. Recently it has issues with its latest software but when it works it's so simple. You'd have to weigh up your own needs and what you want to do. I started with an rpi and astroberry, it works but the session regularly crashes when using a web browser to control it as well as th software within, not to mention the multitude of things you have to prepare to get it ready. The asiair is so simple you really can just use it straight away without referring to anything. If you want more control or customisation and compatibility with your equipment a windows based mini pc might be better. For ME, I wanted simple to setup, easy to use, no computer to control it with, minimal input power requirements (so smaller batteries) and the air was my preferred option.