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ASIAIR Mini question

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#1 BlueMoon

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Posted 05 February 2025 - 12:21 AM

 

The ASIAIR Mini has built-in internal storage, but you can easily expand its storage capacity by connecting an external USB flash drive to one of its USB ports to save your astrophotography images; this is the primary way to use external storage with an ASIAIR Mini as it lacks a dedicated SD card slot. ~ Google AI

Howdy folks. I'm looking seriously at an ASIAIR Mini (not interested in the 256GB Plus model) and I'm wondering if anyone has actually used one of the 4 USB ports for plugging in an extra USB thumb drive for additional storage? If so, were you able to use the ASI app to configure the OS to save your images there instead of internally on the emmc? Did you notice any particular problems with transferring files to the USB drive? I'm pretty sure both adding an addition drive and configuring it from the app can be done but it's good to hear from anyone who has actually done it. Cheers and thanks. 


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#2 StellarHesk

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Posted 05 February 2025 - 12:41 AM

FWIW, I've been using an ASIAIR Mini for ~2 years now. I always have one of the ports occupied by a flash drive, and that makes it far easier to offload data. No issues that I've experienced.


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#3 John Berger

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Posted 05 February 2025 - 01:28 AM

Howdy folks. I'm looking seriously at an ASIAIR Mini (not interested in the 256GB Plus model) and I'm wondering if anyone has actually used one of the 4 USB ports for plugging in an extra USB thumb drive for additional storage? If so, were you able to use the ASI app to configure the OS to save your images there instead of internally on the emmc? Did you notice any particular problems with transferring files to the USB drive? I'm pretty sure both adding an addition drive and configuring it from the app can be done but it's good to hear from anyone who has actually done it. Cheers and thanks. 

I use an AA Mini, with a USB drive in one of the 4 USB ports for a while now, so I can easily answer these questions:

 

"were you able to use the ASI app to configure the OS to save your images there instead of internally on the emmc?"

Yes, all you need to do switch storage location in the app menu; it's an easy button to find

 

"Did you notice any particular problems with transferring files to the USB drive?"

When subs come in, the transfer is immediate, just as if you used the internal storage, no difference in speed as far as I can tell, and no problems with using a USB stick (for the immediate subs being captured); but if you're asking, if someone takes his subs for whatever reason using the internal storage, and wants to move his files in-app, from there to a USB stick, on the ASIair, then yes, but it's slow, so I recommend imaging with the USB stick from the start. So, overall, basically no problems with any transfers

 

The Mini works, and is perfect for beginners (all ASIairs are); I'm not a beginner, but I still enjoy using it; my most recent finished project using the AA was this: https://www.astrobin...ction&nce=32422


Edited by John Berger, 05 February 2025 - 01:32 AM.

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#4 Monel76

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Posted 05 February 2025 - 03:32 AM

Yes, I use it like that. If you need more USB in future you can use a hub.


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#5 CarlosOltra

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Posted 05 February 2025 - 08:40 AM

Works perfect using one USB port to attach a memory stick. Once in the app you must look for memory config menĂº (if I remember is the second starting on the right hand) and choose betwen eMMC or USB for storage.



#6 chvvkumar

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Posted 05 February 2025 - 10:06 AM

I want to chime in with a cautionary tale. I have the ASIAir+ and I lost a night's worth of Bortle 1 images while saving to an external drive. The drive got corrupted and none of the images were present. Data recovery tools basically did not find a single image there. The drive had to be reformatted and it worked file after. So keep an eye on the images and carry spare USB drives.


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#7 BlueMoon

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Posted 05 February 2025 - 10:14 AM

I want to chime in with a cautionary tale. I have the ASIAir+ and I lost a night's worth of Bortle 1 images while saving to an external drive. The drive got corrupted and none of the images were present. Data recovery tools basically did not find a single image there. The drive had to be reformatted and it worked file after. So keep an eye on the images and carry spare USB drives.

Interesting. Thanks. I've come across a few other posts with similar issues. The cause may lie in a situation where there's a significant voltage drop at the Air device. A couple of those posts mentioned running their mount and air off the same battery source (these were remote sessions so no ac power available). I wouldn't say it was conclusive but might point in a direction for more investigation. Cheers.



#8 chvvkumar

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Posted 05 February 2025 - 10:25 AM

Interesting. Thanks. I've come across a few other posts with similar issues. The cause may lie in a situation where there's a significant voltage drop at the Air device. A couple of those posts mentioned running their mount and air off the same battery source (these were remote sessions so no ac power available). I wouldn't say it was conclusive but might point in a direction for more investigation. Cheers.

In my case I was running off a LiFEPo4 power station that stays above 12v even when fully loaded with a Mele mini PC and two dew heaters at full (~4-5 amps constant draw) and I run my mini PC and ASIAir from a different 12V 5.5x2.1 socket than the mount and camera as each DC barrel jack on my power station can do 5A at max. So in my case at least, I am not sure if that was the cause. I chalked it up to a random issue. It also only happened that one time.


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#9 BlueMoon

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Posted 05 February 2025 - 10:40 AM

 

I chalked it up to a random issue. It also only happened that one time.

It seems to be that sort of thing. While I know how annoying it is to lose a nights imaging, happy to hear it didn't repeat on you. As I recall I never found any repetition of the problem in those other posts either. I'm still in the deciding phase of how I want to configure my power supply. I have a background in electrical and electronics so I may build a custom battery-based solution if I can't find a suitable retail power tank. Cheers.


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#10 John Berger

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Posted 05 February 2025 - 04:48 PM

It seems to be that sort of thing. While I know how annoying it is to lose a nights imaging, happy to hear it didn't repeat on you. As I recall I never found any repetition of the problem in those other posts either. I'm still in the deciding phase of how I want to configure my power supply. I have a background in electrical and electronics so I may build a custom battery-based solution if I can't find a suitable retail power tank. Cheers.

I use an Anker Solix C1000 with no issues whatsoever https://www.anker.co...=43827729268886, and it has a huge discount right now

 

everything gets powered by it:

 

my ASIair (which powers my EFW, guide cam, and EAF)

my LED panel (for flats)

my main camera

my mount

 

with full power, even with my biggest, heaviest scope, and all my electronic gadgets, I have never fully drained the power in one full night (dusk to dawn)

 

and it gets charged (%0 to %100) in a few hours, no more than 5 or 6 hours at most; it's good practice to keep the power station always plugged into the outlet, to be charged, when not in use (like daytime), so you're always ready to use it for astro

 

the only minor annoyance (to some people) about it, is that there is a fan that turns on sometimes when you charge it, and you can hear it, but it doesn't bother me, I like some white noise, lol, I'm the type of person who can fall asleep fast if I hear a fan running; it's really not that bad


Edited by John Berger, 05 February 2025 - 04:55 PM.

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