pLeft: This small inline voltage convertor supplied with ASIair converts 12 volts DC to 5 volts,
providing up to 3 amps to power the ASIair. Velcro on the bottom allows attaching the convertor
to a telescope or mount. Right: Four USB ports and an Ethernet socket are clustered at one end
of the ASIair case. The USB sockets can accommodate an imaging camera, a guide camera, a Go
To mount connection, and a fi lter wheel or a powered focuser. The Ethernet port can be used to
download image fi les to a computer.tThe ASIair basic
package includes the
unit seen at center, as
well as the 12V-to-5V
DC Convertor and
cables (far left). A 32-
gigabyte MicroSD
memory card (top) is
where the operat-
ing software and up
to 25 gigabytes of
images are stored.
The USB card reader
to its left permits
offl oading images
to a computer. The
ZWO ASI120MM Mini
autoguider (middle
right) is also available
as part of a bundled
kit totaling $318.
The author’s ZWO
ASI071MC is seen to
the upper right.ing individual images of the Moon and
planets, it cannot record video fi les,
even if the ASI camera used with it is
capable of producing them. It’s intended
for deep-sky astrophotography only.
Wireless control is quite reliable with
ASIair, though the WiFi range is fairly
limited. The device offers either 2.4G
or 5G speeds, with 5G allowing faster
data transfer but over shorter distances.
Both speeds worked well when I was
seated in my vehicle parked next to my
telescope, but my iPad would often lose
the connection when I was indoors with
the telescope just 15 feet outside. ZWO
recommends a signal amplifi er (WiFi
booster) if you experience lost connec-
tions. Your controlling device must have
5G compatibility in order to achieve the
highest transfer speeds.
Two cables are included with ASIair:
a one-meter (39-inch) USB-to-RS232
cable for connecting the unit to a wide
range of Go To equatorial mounts and
a 50-cm Micro-USB B power cable.
ASIair requires 5-volts DC and a small
12-volt-to-5-volt DC transformer is
included. Several versions of the SkySa-
fari app are recommended to steer your
Go To mount to target objects, so be
sure your mount is among those that
are supported by this app. The list of
compatible mounts is fairly long, and I
had no problems controlling both my
Losmandy G11 mount with its Gemini
2 Go To electronics, and an iOptron
Z25 center-balance mount.
The USB sockets are used to connect
four devices, including an imaging cam-
era, a guide camera, the Go To mount
interface, and either a fi lter wheel or
electric focuser. Although some of
the compatible cameras have inter-
nal USB hubs, the manual states that
each device must have a separate cable
plugged into ASIair. This change forced
me to modify my usual setup in which
my guide camera is attached to an
off-axis guider and then connected to
my ZWO ASI071MC camera’s USB hub
using a short USB cable. A longer USB
cable was required for the greater dis-tance between the camera and ASIair.
Although image acquisition is con-
trolled from your iOS or Android device,
the actual image fi les are saved to an
included 32-gigabyte MicroSD card
inserted in a slot at one end of ASIair.
The MicroSD card is the “hard drive”
of the ASIair and contains its operating
system software as well as 25 gigabytes
of storage space. A keyword that should
be associated with this MicroSD card is
fi ngernail — the card is as small as one,
and you’ll need a certain amount of
fi ngernail length to remove it from the
ASIair card slot.
After imaging, you can transfer your
images to a computer for post-process-
ing using the Ethernet connection, or
by removing the tiny card and insert-
ing it into a supplied USB card reader.
Although removing the card from the
unit is rather easy, the MicroSD card
slot on ASIair requires particular care
when inserting the card back into its
slot. A space between the card slot and
the ASIair case makes it easy to miss
the card slot and slide the card directly
inside the ASIair housing. This hap-
pened twice when I attempted to rein-
sert the card. I was eventually able to
get the card to fall out without opening
the case by shaking the unit. After-
wards, I made sure to wear my reading
glasses so I would be sure to precisely
insert the card correctly.
The manual recommends backing
up the card in case it is lost or cor-
rupted, but a better suggestion may be
to purchase an additional card or twoskyandtelescope.com • SEPTEMBER 2019 67