FocusMax V4 - am I just grumpy?

[rogerg (Roger)]

Ok, so a couple of months ago a Windows 10 update stopped FocusMax v3 from talking to CCDCommander and CCDSoft. That triggered me deciding it's about time I use more modern software.

I already had TheSkyX so have been trying @Focus2 with mixed results. Sometimes it has workedc onsistently for a week but then I have periods where it just fails to focus the whole night. Enough about @Focus2 for this thread.

So I'm trying FocusMax v4. Why not, after all I successfully used FocusMax v3 for years and years and years reliably.

But ... I just can't work out FocusMax V4! I haven't even managed to attempt one focusing run! Here are some of my issues:

• The whole interface is non-standard GUI which makes it unintuitive
• I'm confused about the whole Sytems vs Configurations and how to open and save which of them I should be using. Opening my V3 system there's no profile/v-curve data even though I followed the instructions to be able to open v3 data. I click on the "File" menu and there's no Open. I click on the "Open" menu and there's no file selector. So I click on "File -> Configurations" and "Open" but it says I already have Default open! What if I just want to open a system froma file???
• I can't work out how to get TheSkyX connected to control the telescope and camera. I have installed the ASCOM link to TheSkyX but whenever I try connecting it says it's going to open a second copy of TheSkyX
• I can't work out how to get a camera selected at all. In the System "tab" there's focuser and camera text fields but they're empty and there's no buttons to add/specify them.
• Not being able to select a camera I click "Auto-connect" in the Camera menu, because it's the only available option, nothing happens
• I eventually find camera setup in Preferences. Here I choose "TheSKyX" but what's this "Number" field? should it be blank? 1? 2? I leave it as TheSkyX and blank, and it saying "please connect to get filter information", go back to the main screen but still no camera specified and the Camera menu still won't let me click Connect. So how do I connect the camera to get the filter information if choosing TheSkyX doesn't help?

So, if I can't connect to the camera, or the telescope, or seemingly can't even specify what camera to use, how am I meant to use it!?

I'm wondering if I should demand my money back, it wasn't cheap.

So sad after previously FocusMax v3 being such an easy to use piece of software.



I feel like I"m just being grumpy and am completely missing the point of how to use it ....but really, after 10+ years of V3 use, can it really be this hard? am I missing something obvious?

Roger.

[RickS (Rick)]

I upgraded and it just worked for me but I'm not using TSX Why don't you ask on the FocusMax support forum?

Cheers,
Rick.

[rogerg (Roger)]

Originally Posted by RickS

I upgraded and it just worked for me but I'm not using TSX Why don't you ask on the FocusMax support forum?

Cheers,
Rick.

Once upon a time IIS was a better go-to place for such information than other support forums

[RickS (Rick)]

Originally Posted by rogerg

Once upon a time IIS was a better go-to place for such information than other support forums

Worth trying here too, Roger, but FM is now a commercial product so we should hold their feet to the fire and expect a professional level of support

Steve Brady, the FocusMax author, has generally offered good support even back when FM was free.

Cheers,
Rick.

[Octane (Humayun)]

Rick, would you say that it's worth the $150 USD for the upgrade?

I'm in the process of building my observatory as time and money allows and am curious to know whether I will get any benefit out of it for my FSQ/STL combination. I was very happy with what FocusMax3 was capable of doing.

H

[PRejto (Peter)]

I use FM V4 all the time and I think it is great. But, in saying that, I think if I'd never used V.3 it would have been easier to get going with V.4. They are that different. Steve Brady will absolutely give terrific support. He spent literally months working with me to get the dual focuser script working correctly. The great thing for me about V.4 is that it will support two imaging cameras and that it works with TSX.

Peter

[RickS (Rick)]

Originally Posted by Octane

Rick, would you say that it's worth the $150 USD for the upgrade?

I'm in the process of building my observatory as time and money allows and am curious to know whether I will get any benefit out of it for my FSQ/STL combination. I was very happy with what FocusMax3 was capable of doing.

G'day H,

There's a new, more precise (and slower) focusing option and a bunch of incremental improvements. If you're still happy with FM 3 then I don't know that it's worth upgrading. I would have stuck with FM 3 but a new version of ACP caused me some grief and in the process of diagnosing my problems I upgraded everything in sight (and finally found the problem was fixed by another ACP upgrade...)

I would have upgraded FM eventually, just because I felt that Steve Brady deserved payment for his good work!

Cheers,
Rick.

[rogerg (Roger)]

Originally Posted by Octane

Rick, would you say that it's worth the $150 USD for the upgrade?

For what it's worth, the two reasons I have tried V4:

• Windows updates messed up V3, although I've temporarily resolved that last night!
• V4 does aquire-star functionality with TSX in theory. I've really enjoyed having Acquire Star while using @Focus2 in TSX (shame @Focus2 isn't giving me accurate focus reliably)

[Octane (Humayun)]

Hey Roger,

I won't be upgrading from Windows 7 for my imaging/control PC, so, things will continue to work... I hope!

Also, I have, but, don't use TheSkyX Professional for control. I use MaxIm DL and TheSky6/Starry Night Pro Plus 6.

Cheers.

H

Originally Posted by rogerg

For what it's worth, the two reasons I have tried V4:

• Windows updates messed up V3, although I've temporarily resolved that last night!
• V4 does aquire-star functionality with TSX in theory. I've really enjoyed having Acquire Star while using @Focus2 in TSX (shame @Focus2 isn't giving me accurate focus reliably)