Thread: ZWO ASIair
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Old 08-10-2018, 09:06 AM
kens (Ken)
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Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 314
You may or may not realise that the ASIAir has two main software components. The bit that runs on the Raspberry Pi is the INDI server. INDI is the Linux equivalent of ASCOM but it is open source and designed to allow the drivers to run on any number of computers. It makes possible the bit that runs on IOS (the client application) which is the equivalent of SGP and other similar applications. http://indilib.org/
There are other client applications available that utilise INDI such as as KStars/EKOS and PHD2 amongst others.
The INDI server can run on other Linux devices. I run it on a x64 computer and also in a Linux VM. There is a also a device called StellarMate which is also a Raspberry Pi with INDI server installed. Unlike the ASIAir offering is is not locked down. This could be a plus or minus depending on whether you want to use non-ZWO cameras versus how comfortable you are maintaining a Linux system with updates and upgrades.

My view is that if you like the ASIAir client application it is a a good choice. If you want more freedom in your choice of devices and/or want to use other client applications you may be better off with StellarMate. If you are more bleeding edge then you can try one of the other bundled INDI offerings like Astroberry or even roll your own.
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