Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i Pro & the ZWO ASIAIR Plus

Struggling to pair your Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i Pro Kit with your ZWO ASIAIR Plus?

Connect all of the relevant power cords to the camera, ASIAir and the Star Adventurer. 

Connect the ST4 cable and the USB2.0 cable to the camera.

Connect the ST4 cable to the Star Adventurer to the Autoguider port.

Connect the USB2.0 cable to the ASIAir.

Open your tablet and connect the ASIAir to your WiFi.
I recommend turning off any home WiFi and Hotspot to avoid confusing the device. Also note that if it asks for the WiFi password to the ASIAir, it is 12345678. If the below screen shows up, go to Settings, Privacy and ensure that the ASIAir is checked green.

Open your phone settings and ensure that you allow access to Location Services. 

When everything is working well, the app should open to this screen.
Notice the settings entered: Mount: On Camera ST4; Main camera the guide camera, not the camera you’ll be using, assuming you aren’t using a dedicated Astro cam; Select None for the guide cam. Also,ensure check that your Latitude and Longitude are correct. Hit ENTER.

I recommend increasing your Gain on your guide camera for the next steps. You will also need to ensure your guide camera is in focus or nothing mentioned below will work.

When you go to PA (Polar Alignment), this will show up on your screen. Click Skip.

When you hit the circle, it will take a series of images and establish the focal length and FOV (Field of View).
It will then ask you to rotate the camera 60 degrees. 

You will need to manually rotate your mount as shown in images below.

Once you have rotated your mount about 60 degrees, hit the Let’s Go button and check the Refresh box. Your face will be neutral until your PA is good.  Under the face icon, you will see coordinates.
This tells you how large or small adjustments you need to make. The top reading is your vertical inclination and the bottom reading is your horizontal rotation.
If your bottom reading is 14 00 34, for example, you will need to move your mount significantly by adjusting the direction of the mount. (I pick mine up and turn it in small increments until the values are less than 00 07 00, for example). 

Use the following knobs to make adjustments to your mount.

 This knob moves the top coordinates.

 There are two knobs at the back. You will need to move them in opposite directions to each other (loosen one and tighten the other) to adjust the bottom coordinates.

When you’ve achieved the ‘Smiley face’, you can click Finish and you will get this screen.

You are now ready to move the mount back to its home position (the starting position) and switch the camera from Main to Guide.
You’re now Polar Aligned!

When you’re ready to turn on your Star Adventurer and begin tracking, find your object and frame it up, then turn to the star function on the Star Adventurer.

It’s important that you turn off your ASIAir Pro correctly.
See the below screenshots to see how to do it.

You can now power off the ASIAir Plus.


Special thank you to Kelly Clitheroe for spending time writing this article and the associated photographs that accompany this post.

OpticsCentral sells the Star Adventurer in 3 packs.

Skywatcher Star Adventurer 2i – Photo Kit – $579.00
https://www.opticscentral.com.au/skywatcher-star-adventurer-2i-photo-kit.html

Skywatcher Star Adventurer 2i – Astro Kit – $599.00
https://www.opticscentral.com.au/skywatcher-star-adventurer-2i-astro-kit.html

Skywatcher Star Adventurer 2i – Pro Kit – $849.00
https://www.opticscentral.com.au/skywatcher-star-adventurer-2i-pro-kit.html

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