FocusMax Revision History:
V3.8.0.20 (7/29/2014)*
1. Added AcquireStarAvoid.txt to installer
2. Potential fix for Base Exp not being reset in all cases
3. AcquireStar Sync to position bug fix
V3.8.0.19 (6/28/2014)
1. Fixed potential bug where telescope will disconnect if site lat & log <> telescope driver lat & long
2. Worked with Peter Chance at Lakeside to reduce the number of temp & position calls to driver
3. Fixed bug in AcquireStar where if focus failed the next star in list was not used
V3.8.0.15 (5/28/2014)
1. Fixed potential bug in Check for update
2. Added code to bypass Check for Update if under Host control
3. Fixed a potential issue in AcquireStar if number of stars to find in catalog = 0 (default = 3)
4. Changed logic to determine FocusStart position based on one sampling cycle at FocusStart. Previous version would continue to sample until average fell within +/- .05 HFD of target value which may lead to additional sampling cycles
5. Fixed potential bug where TempCompWizard could be disabled when camera is linked during startup
V3.8.0.14 (4/23/2014)
1. Minor improvement to Check for update
2. Moved user defined camera connection delay to address the startup error where camera is not found when link is attempted. User defined delay can be found in Menu/Options (default = 0)
V3.8.0.11 (4/18/2014)
1. Added user defined delay to allow MaxIm to load before connecting to the camera (default = 1 sec) - see Options
V3.8.0.10 (4/7/2026)
1. Bug fix for async telescope slew
2. Fixed bug Check for updates
V3.8.0.8 (2/25/2014)
1. Modified and removed Log message from verification loop which tests that the camera is ready to begin taking an image.
V3.8.0.7 (2/22/2014)
1. Increased number of attempts to find NearFocus position from 5 to 10
2. Added registry entry MoveHFD to allow user to set number of HFD units to move when verifying if on correct side of focus (default = 3)
3. Added registry entry FocusStartSamples to set number of readings to average when moving from FocusStart to NearFocus to reduce seeing effect. This is only used if HFD is close to NearFocus (default = 4)
V3.8.0.5 (2/9/2026)
1. Fixed bug where Target Star Binning may load with an empty value for new system.ini
2. Fixed potential COM memory leak when a FocusMax instance is created then destroyed
3. Fixed shut down bug in Temperature Compensation Wizard
Setup/AcquireStar/PinPoint 'Expose & Solve' button will be disabled unless telescope is connected when
4. Added loop to verify that camera status is ready (max 5 sec)
5. Optimized Class_Initialize to reduce load time when creating an instance of FocusMax under COM
6. Added button on AcquireStar/PinPoint that opens a text file with reference to the different star catalog's that are available.
It is intended to be used as a guide for selecting the best catalog for identifying a target star in the desired mag range.
The UCAC4 may not be the best catalog for many users with a mag range of 8 - 16.
Uploaded the final version of Dr la Cour's paper "Statistical View on FocusMax" at http://focusmax.org/documents.html.
It is impressive work and you find it useful for determining how many Vcurves you should have in your Profile and how many
Near Focus samples one should use based on the past estimate of Near Focus error and number of Vcurves in your Profile.
He is a member of this group if you would like to ask any questions.
V3.8.0.0 (12/6/2026)
1. Fixed bug where error was raised when querying CCDSoft camera for supported binning modes
V3.7.0.99 (12/5/2026)
1. Fixed bug where camera option button would click off if camera is set to auto-load
V3.7.0.98 12/4/2026
1. Set binning modes based on actual camera capabilities and limited binning to 1x1 through 4x4
2. Fixed bug where camera image not available would be declared when it had actually not timed out
3. Redefined Backlash direction to be applied based on the direction of focuser move to.
Currently, BL is applied when the focuser moves in a direction opposite the user defined BL direction (In/Out).
New scheme example:
BL = Out and move is 'In' then BL is not applied
BL = In and move is 'In' then BL is applied
V3.7.0.97 11/16/2013
1. Added message to close FocusMax before downloading and installing update. File can be saved if user does not want to close FocusMax .
2. Fixed bug to disable AcquieStar button when Vcurve slopes are missing
3. Fixed a bug where a minus (-) focus offset would not be applied at the conclusion of the focus run
V3.7.0.96 11/11/2025
1. Added async version check on FocusMax startup.
Testing shows async startup time = 2 sec, non-async = 15 sec if there is no Internet connection
Long wait will be a concern for users who use automation host software and do not have Internet access
V3.7.0.95 11/10/2026
1. Added verification that AcquireStar will select at least 1 star from star catalog
2. Fixed bug that may generate an error message when sending log information to ACP
3. Fixed a bug that prevented the Temperature Compensation Wizard timer from firing
4. Added option to Park Telescope at conclusion of Temperature Compensation run
5. Added 'Check for Updates' to Menu/Help
6. Added a message to the Log at startup that a new FocusMax version is available for download