Stellarmate Pro - The underdog that keeps on winning (Full Tutorial)

[@TheTonyairaero]

Great friend, finally someone who did a review on StellarMate and not on AsiAir ;-) Thank you Tony.

[@AstraPharmaq8]

It seems such a shame not many people know that a perfectly valid alternative exists! Thanks for your comment and feedback!

[@TheTonyairaero]

@@AstraPharmaq8 I'm using a StellarMate Pro 8GB/128GB on a TS Optics Ritchey-Chretien RC 203/1624 Pro Carbon OTA. Stellar is a great PC. Your video helped me understand things I didn't understand.

[@KevinRudd-w8s]

I wish I had watched this last week when I bought one of these, took me a while to figure it out for myself. Due to the weather where I live I probably won't be able to fully set it up for a while. The biggest problem I have is with my tablet screen locking up, I'm not sure if this is due to the mobile app installed on my tablet or the Stellarmate Pro itself, sometimes it will clear if I close the WiFi connection and reconnect, sometimes I have to power everything down. I have tested the manual and goto functions and they seem to work ok but obviously can't test the plate solving, polar alignment and auto focus functions. The sequencer seems to work well but I haven't quite figured out the scheduler yet so look forward to your next video. Thank you for this very informative tutorial.

[@AstraPharmaq8]

Thanks for commenting and showing your support. I have had some of the same issues with the app freezing up at times. I mentioned on my latest vlog that it did while I was out in the field. I still see enormous potential though despite some of the shortcomings of the platform. I have not had an issue that I couldn’t report to the team and have it fixed. I’m waiting on better skies to take it on another run out in the field and test the scheduler, hopefully bringing everything along on the channel. CS, Ali

[@mathbyteacademy]

Thank you for this very good video! I've been wanting to switch away from ASIAIR (because of limited options for cameras, flat panels, etc), and there's very little good (and recent) content on the Stellarmate OS - your video has helped a lot, so thank you!

[@AstraPharmaq8]

You’re welcome, and thanks for taking the time to leave this comment. I’m just getting started! Hopefully I’ll have a field test within a week actually shooting something with it! Ali.

[@Bakrybaso94]

عاش العبيدلي 👌🏼👌🏼 بداية طيبة

[@roberteigenberger5064]

Very informative, I'm receiving mine tomorrow. Question though, watching you go through the initial setup I did not see you do anything with port assignments. Does that not have to done?

[@stevenickolls8016]

Thanks for sharing set up using Stallarmate. Do you know if the software works with the iOptron GEM28 mount, I couldn't see it on the drop down list during the video?

[@scotiaastro]

Awesome video buddy…looks like a great fit between ASIAIR and EAGLE…nice work and have fun with it! Best wishes from Scotland…👍🏻

[@AstraPharmaq8]

Thank you for the support! I love Scotland, visited Glasgow and Edinburgh multiple times while studying in the UK. Beautiful country! Clear skies!

[@luisrivera-lopez3648]

than you very much for sharing. I will seriously check this product.

[@AstraPharmaq8]

You’re very welcome 😁

[@mikeswift926]

A superb video the best I've seen on KZbin, it was just the right pace for a newbie and old personage like myself. Thankyou I have been trying to decide which to go with......Stellarmate or AISAir........so your video has helped me decide thank you.👍

[@AstraPharmaq8]

@@mikeswift926 Thank you for leaving this encouraging comment!

[@ian-lw9ns]

excellent .... I think you just helped me decide on StellarMate instead of ASIAIR+ or Pro. Can it interact w/ NINA ? and is Vixen Star Book (Orig version) an avail option in StellarMate for mounts (I think I read somewhere there is an INDI driver for Star Book (orig version), have hard time finding an ASCOM driver for Star Book (orig version) which has really thrown a spanner in the works for me.

[@harynjk]

I used mine for the first time (under the stars) last night. It was a complete disaster! I dont know which one i had more, when the app crashed or when something failed. Focusing completed "successfully" a couple of times, but none of them had anywhere near to focus. Even when i manually got it close to focus, it is just messed it up. Polar alignment after a few failed attempt was completed. Guiding calibration completed once, it was very bad. Tried to clear the calibration and calibrate it again, but it was always failed. PLatesolve also failed numerous times, but even when it was "successful" and picked a target, it turned the mount to a completely different place. Also, i took a few bias frames before it got dark, i set that images would be saved on a pendrive, but i cant view images through the app, the view sections say there are no images. The images are there on the pendrive when i check it on my laptop. It was a beautiful clear Bortel 4 night, wasted.

[@nojaysimpson]

Thanks for the video. Very informative. Can you walk through the Live Stacking features? Thanks again

[@AstraPharmaq8]

More StellarMate content on the way soon, thanks for watching!!

[@scottinharwood]

I have one, it sucks. Support is lacking or at best takes days to get a response and then it seems they do not tear the details you provide on the problem. I went back to a mini PC with Nina, etc

[@AstraPharmaq8]

How long ago did you switch?

[@scottturnquist9478]

@AstraPharmaq8 About 8 months ago when it first went to market and I saw its review on Civ the Lazy Geek's KZbin video.

[@AstraPharmaq8]

@@scottturnquist9478 I encourage you to give it another shot after the 1st of June. I was informed there will be a major bug fixing update 👍🏻

[@Luftbubblan]

@@AstraPharmaq8 Interesting. I thought i saw it was not supported any longer as well. Nina is gr8, will always be my first choice. The only nice thing about kstars / indi imo is the server option, super nice for lowpower hardware.

[@No_no83]

Hi. I have one too and had some minor issues. The IKARUS team has always been very responsive and helpful. This company isn't as big as ZWO,but they are constantly seeking for improvement. They are highly capable and the product is just awesome,firstly for the features which are far beyond what the ASIAIR is capable of, and secondly because of its price compared to PRIMALUCE EAGLE.

[@ddiver7908]

As-salamu alaikum. This is interesting! I'm thinking of ditching the ZWO ecosystem to something more flexible. This might be the solution

[@ian-lw9ns]

lazyGeek mentioned issues autofocusing a Newtonian. DO YOU KNOW if that's been resolved ?

[@macrodaz9831]

more videos please i have just purchased the stallarmate pro and need help

[@AstraPharmaq8]

More within two weeks hopefully!!

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

Nice to see a review of the Stellarmate pro although it does still seem a bit buggy which is a shame as I'm looking for something like this to control my setup. Do you know if the stellarmate will run ONstep mounts?

[@AstraPharmaq8]

Yes, it is buggy still but totally workable now. My experience is that the Desktop interface is a lot more stable, though the learning curve is bigger. I’m sure it does, if not, you can contact Jasem and ask for their integration. They are extremely responsive 👍🏻

[@nikaxstrophotography]

Finally a decent stellarmate video that explains things easily but that music!!!! please turn it down it is a tad repetitive

[@stephane153]

Top video, thanks.

[@steveg4iwr]

Enjoyed the video and found it useful but please get rid of the music its very distracting

[@AstraPharmaq8]

Thanks for the feedback Steve, duly noted. I'm still figuring out this whole youtube thing!

[@shakebeerify]

Bro, imho the chilled beats are great. Great video btw.

[@AstraPharmaq8]

@@shakebeerify Thanks for the feedback, and for dropping this comment!!

[@kellypowers849]

Have to agree about either dropping the music or lowering it to a level far below your voice.. great video, very well presented and simply explained. A lot of guys are way to wordy 🤙🏽

[@AstraPharmaq8]

@@kellypowers849 It seems many share the same sentiment. Won't go unaddressed. Thanks for watching and sharing your opinion!!

[@LogansAstro]

Great info and run through on the Stellarmate. It certainly solves the issue for those feeling like they will be trapped in the ZWO ecosystem if they even look at an ASIAIR 😅. Seems very feature rich and I guess that is reflected in the much higher price than an ASIAIR. This also looks like great competition to the Eagle which is great also but is quite lot more expensive than the Stellarmate. CS (subbed)

[@AstraPharmaq8]

Thanks for the Sub! I agree, I’ve been in contact with the team and they are working very hard to smooth out the rough edges and streamline the experience. I will be making more videos on the SM soon!

[@astro_maa1693]

عاش العبيدلي وبداية طيبة لاحتلال الآنت انبوب

[@DarkClearSkies]

Great Video

[@hanimehrez9423]

It's a good product but there are several issues that need to be addressed. I have this OS is running on raspberry p4 with 2G. 1. Updates often break one piece of software. Requiring more updates. 2. The app running on tablets has many bugs causing kstars to hang or crush. I have stopped using my stellermate. Maybe I will test the new version this summer.

[@AstraPharmaq8]

Yes, I have had a similar experience if I’m completely honest. I have been in contact with the developers however and the conversation was very encouraging! I would recommend giving it another go after the next update is released in june!

[@MrMrduke1975]

I’m curious. I’m pretty happy with ZWO at the moment. If in the future I’m ready to switch, will this still work if my whole setup is ZWO? Except. Y William Optics scope.

[@AstraPharmaq8]

Everything should work fine. The team are working hard on bug fixed recently which is very encouraging too!

[@MrMrduke1975]

@@AstraPharmaq8 yes, especially since the price is slightly higher than ZWO’s offering. I actually love the idea of using my laptop, with a device such as this, instead of my iPad Pro.

[@diogenes505]

Non-starter. Running Stellarmate OS on an RPi4. Started SW update from 1.8.1 to 1.8.2 and....CPU at 100%, the RPI over heated, now it's stuck at 79.9% Pretty sure I'll have to wipe the drive and do a clean install. OR maybe throw Stellarmate in the trash bin.

[@AstraPharmaq8]

A year or so ago, I had a OS on a RPi4 which I connected to using the windows Ekos Client. I got it working perfectly with no issues.

[@diogenes505]

@@AstraPharmaq8 I switched to a Mele Quieter Mini PC installed StellarMate and same. Optical train is a 80mm F7 refractor, camera uses a Sony IMX 585 chip. Controlling with an iPad Pro latest iOS. All current app and StellarMate updates installed. Verified camera focus with Bahtinov mask. Plate solving fails everytime. Any ideas as to what I am doing wrong? Could my train's FOV be too small for onboard astrometry files?

[@eugennaiman1195]

No doubt StellarMate is much more than AsiAir on steroids and it can do a ton more. What is making it not so popular is the complexity of setting it up and that bloody planetarium - on a Stellarmate Pro is sluggish as hell; found it to be extremely challenging. It is really killing all the joy for me. Another thing is most of the videos are years old (too old) to match the new versions. It really needs more love from the developers to get more popular.

[@AstraPharmaq8]

I couldn’t agree more, the potential is enormous and I hope the product can overcome its reputation of being buggy and unreliable. ZWO’s ASIair has a great planetarium but I don’t think StellarMate has the same resources, financial or otherwise, to match them. Things have progressed a lot recently, but not at the pace many see fit and understandably so. I am championing this product as much as I could but in the end it will come down to their team and the quality of their output 👍🏻

[@eugennaiman1195]

@@AstraPharmaq8 I admire your dedication and work and Stellarmate does deserve better representation. I know it does not have a financial power behind and big number of people working on it but maybe it is time to get some other people involved. It does need a bit of a kickstart and it got some momentum with the Pro and Plus hardware but that is not enough - it somehow aggravates the users when they see the same issues plaguing those new models too (and they aren't cheap).

[@yervantparnagian5999]

Nice video, but your music is too loud.

[@MrSnmpsniffer]

Great Vid!! Thank you!!! Very information and nice to see options other than the Eagle!!

[@AstraPharmaq8]

The StellarMate will hopefully reach maturity soon, I understand the hesitance from the community but the more we embrace other options the better those other options will get!!

[@scjnsn]

Good luck getting EAF to work

[@AstraPharmaq8]

Do you mean the ZWO EAF?? I had no issues with the my Esatto.

[@eugennaiman1195]

@@AstraPharmaq8 ZWO EAF works fine.

[@MrGuilletv]

I use qhy focuser without issues

[@clipper99]

I would like to know the basis for that statement. Is this just personal bias or real-world experience? I’m still researching components for my rig and really want to know.

[@eugennaiman1195]

ZWO EAF works just fine; been always working. If it is not working for you, you are definitely missing something.

[@AstronomeUK]

I would get one if it didn't come in ORANGE!

[@AstraPharmaq8]

I love the orange!!!! 🤣

[@Khalidsnd]

كفو كفو 😍

[@Paul_85-]

These people are ridiculous just look at the bloody price £600 FFS. This should cost no more than £200 these people are thieves

[@AstraPharmaq8]

You can buy the OS and use it with a cheap Raspberry Pi, they do offer cheaper alternatives 👍🏻