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Install on your SBC

Debian 13 on a ZWO ASIAIR Plus

Install the OS and required dependencies on a first-gen ZWO ASIAIR Plus CM4, the model built before ZWO moved to Rockchip.

ZWO ASIAIR Plus
Debian 13 (Trixie)Raspberry Pi CM4Linux, macOS & Windows host
warning

THESE INSTRUCTIONS WILL NOT WORK ON ZWO ROCKCHIP DEVICES. For those, see ZWO ASIAIR Plus (RK3568).

Prerequisites​

You can flash from any computer. RPIBOOT runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and the Raspberry Pi Imager does too. Windows users get an installer; Linux and macOS users build the tool with a few copy-paste commands from the RPIBOOT page.

Flashing the ASIAIR Plus​

Download the Raspberry Pi Imager for your operating system.

Before proceeding, watch the following video to back up your ASIAIR Plus in case you want to use it with ZWO software in the future: Backup ASIAIR Plus

Steps​

  1. Install RPIBOOT on your computer (Linux, macOS, or Windows)
  2. Connect the ASIAIR Plus to your computer via USB and run rpiboot (use sudo on Linux and macOS; on Windows the installer runs it for you)
  3. Open Raspberry Pi Imager
  4. Click Choose Device and select your Raspberry Pi model
  5. Click Choose OS and select Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit), Desktop or Lite depending on your preference
  6. Click Choose Storage and select your SD card
  7. Click Next and apply OS customisation settings. Configure the following before flashing:
    • Hostname
    • Username and password
    • Wi-Fi credentials (if not using Ethernet)
    • SSH (under the Services tab)
  8. Click Save, then Yes
  9. Click Write and wait for the process to complete
  10. Once verified, remove the SD card and insert it into your device

Remote Access​

Two options are available for remote access:

  • SSH: Configured during flashing. Works on a local network without internet access. Connect using Terminal (macOS/Linux) or PuTTY (Windows).
  • Raspberry Pi Connect: Browser-based remote access that works without being on the same local network. Requires an active internet connection on both devices. See connect.raspberrypi.com for setup.

Keep the System Up to Date​

note

Note 1: RPi Connect may disconnect during the update. Reconnect once it completes. Note 2: If prompted about master references, choose Y.

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y && sudo reboot

USB Fix​

On Trixie with kernel 6.12.75 or higher, no kernel patch is needed. You only need to install the Renesas firmware for their custom xhci-pci-renesas USB controller.

  1. Reconnect via SSH or Raspberry Pi Connect
  2. Download the Renesas firmware to the kernel firmware search path:
sudo wget -O /lib/firmware/renesas_usb_fw.mem \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-astro/uPD72020x/master/UPDATE.mem
  1. Rebuild the initramfs and reboot:
sudo update-initramfs -u
sudo reboot
  1. After rebooting, confirm the firmware loaded successfully:
dmesg | grep -i renesas

You should see output similar to:

[   10.786393] xhci-pci-renesas 0000:01:00.0: xHCI Host Controller
[   10.786433] xhci-pci-renesas 0000:01:00.0: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 2
[   10.795505] xhci-pci-renesas 0000:01:00.0: hcc params 0x014051cf hci version 0x100 quirks 0x0000000100000010
[   10.798696] xhci-pci-renesas 0000:01:00.0: xHCI Host Controller
[   10.798714] xhci-pci-renesas 0000:01:00.0: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 3
[   10.798732] xhci-pci-renesas 0000:01:00.0: Host supports USB 3.0 SuperSpeed
[   11.073384] usb 2-1: new high-speed USB device number 2 using xhci-pci-renesas

Boot Config Update​

We need to add a few lines to /boot/firmware/config.txt to enable the 12V GPIO output for the ASIAIR's power pins.

sudo grep -q '^gpio=12,13,26,18=op,dh,pu' /boot/firmware/config.txt \
  || echo 'gpio=12,13,26,18=op,dh,pu' | sudo tee -a /boot/firmware/config.txt
sudo reboot now

Install AlpacaBridge​

Your board is ready. Continue to Install & Configure AlpacaBridge to add the OpenAstro APT repository, install the service, and set up your devices.