4. Astro Session Workflows

ASIAIR Based Workflow

updated: 2023-08-03

Purpose	Final equipment set-up, calibration and picture shooting. For a detailed description of the ASIAIR Pro see the ASIAIR Pro Hardware chapter.
Output	hopefully many good raw pictures...
Previous Step	Equipment Setup
Next Step	Picture Post Processing

ASIAIR Installation and Activation Steps

Step	What to Do
1	Install all cables	and the power supply
2	Connect and power up the Mount	The procedure for connecting your scope (mount) varies by brand and model. WARNING: Some mounts require too much power to be controlled by the ASIAIR unit. A better way to power the mount is to use a 12V 5.5mm cable splitter between the power supply and the mount.	Please refer to the Connecting Your Mount section for the details
3	Check Cables Positions and Length	Manually rotate the telescope 90° left and right to make sure the cables are not caught, then return the telescope to its zero position.
4	Power Up	Turn on the power and wait for the ASIAIR to beep once
5	Start the ASIAIR App	Connect your mobile device to the same WiFi network used by the ASIAIR. On your mobile device, search for SSID ASIARI_xxxx (in AP mode). password: 12345678 *)
5.1.	ASIAIR Start Screen
5.2.	Connection Failed	If the connection has not yet been established, you will see this: In this case, please check your network settings on your mobile device, and also check if ASIAIR is ready.
5.3	Connection Established	Once connected you should see this screen
6	DST and Time setting	always set DST to NO on your mount	please refer to the chapter Time and DST settings
7	Check the detail settings	guide camera, main camera, mount or telescope Filter weel setting focuser settings	please refer to the chapter Setting up the ASIAIR Pro
8	Cooling	Start cooling the main camera to, for example, 0°C if temperatures are above 0°C, and later to -10°C or -20°C to reduce thermal stress.	In the Main camera section of the ASIAIR app
10	Zero Position Alignment	Check again that the Telescope is in the Zero Position and then set the Zero Position using the hand control of your mount to make sure the Zero Positions on the ASIAIR and the mount correspond with each other. Check again that the telescope is in the zero position and then adjust the zero position using your mount's hand control to ensure that the zero positions on the ASIAIR and the mount match.
11	Guide Camera Focusing	Fastest path: Fine Adjusting the Guide Camera Focus using the ASIAIR Focus Function	For a good start set: the coarse focus to 2.0 and the microspeed fine focus to 2.25
12	Main Camera Focusing	Set the focus of the main camera or Auto Focus with ASIAIR PRO and ZWO EAF Fast path (since V1.9): Perform a rough manual polar alignment Find a bright star to focus on Open the sky atlas on the ASIAIR Find a bright star (e.g. Arcturus in summer) Center the star in the display GoObject (will rotate to the region and start disk solving, may fail a few times but is often successful!) Align the coordinates to the mount as a rough first star alignment Start the ASIAIR autofocus function with the bright star in the center. Slew telescope back to Zero Position	EAF Position Examples by Optical Configuration TS600AS294: 20393 TS1624rAS294: 17062
13	Polar Alignment	With telescope in Zero Position: Perform a Polar Alignment using the ASIAIR PA function
14	Slew back to Zero-Position	Use the mount's hand controller to slew back to the home (zero) position. Check the final position against the markings on the mount, especially the R.A. Zero Position. If the R.A. Zero Position doesn't match the mark (see picture on the right), this will result in incorrect telescope pointing at the start of the alignment step and may be a result of incorrect DST settings. In this case, loosen the 4 R.A. Clutch Screws and manually rotate the R.A. Axis until the marks on the axis align.
15	Do a 1-star alignment	Fast Path: Go to a bright star to focus Open the sky atlas on the ASIAIR Find a bright star (e.g. Arcturus in summer) Center the star in the display GoObject (will rotate to the region and start disk solving, may fail a few times but is often successful!) Align the coordinates to the mount as a rough first star alignment.	Alternate method: use the mount hand controller to do a star alignment.
16	Camera Rotation Alignment	Make sure your camera orientation matches your intended target orientation. This is especially important if you plan to take mosaic images. Verify that the camera orientation is as shown on the right as the Initial Camera Orientation before starting the Camera Orientation Alignment Process.
17	Re-calibrate Guiding	Slew the telescope to theplanned target (by name, Sky Atlas, Hand Controller,...) Re-calibrate the guiding if the telescope has been moved or different equipment has been used.
18	Start Session Setup	Continue with the next steps like Goto and Preview, Autorun Session Plans Live Video Setup