Welcome to the SGPro 2.4 Public Beta! We have been through several months of internal testing and we feel like 2.4 is getting pretty close to release. That said… this is beta software and you should have two expectations when you use it:
- You cannot be too angry if it sets your sequence on fire
- If things go wrong, you should be willing to report issues, complete with reproduction steps and SGPro logs
Betas are not for everyone. If this sounds like something you would like to participate in please give it a shot.
A note about beta licensing: If you are a licensed SGPro user and you are using the 2.4 Beta release, the title bar will show an expiration date. The expiration ONLY APPLIES TO BETA FEATURES (in this case, just the notification add-on described below). When 45 days has elapsed, all of your paid SGPro components will continue to operate normally and the notification addon will self-terminate. Betas are good for 45 day periods… in all the years we have been releasing beta software, we have NEVER let a 45 day period elapse without releasing either a new beta or the final release. If you are interested, you will have plenty of (uninterrupted) time to test.
A note about data: You may use 2.3 sequences and profiles in the 2.4 software, but once you do, you will no longer be able to use it again on the 2.3 software (should you decide to downgrade).
A note about auto focus: We have made some pretty drastic changes to auto focus (for the better). That said, please do not ask for help on auto focus unless you can provide SGPro logs and either:
- A screenshot of the auto focus graph - OR, even better -
- An AF Pack. Auto Focus Packs can be turned on and collected via the auto focus settings (this is of great help to us when troubleshooting)
A note about documentation: We go through great pains to ensure that the documentation is relevant… this is also part of the beta test. While I will not tell you the documentation for 2.4 is 100% complete, it is pretty close. Please feel free to comment on any areas you feel are misleading, incomplete, missing or confusing.
A note about down-grading: If you install SGPro 2.4 and decide you want to go back to SGPro 2.3, you will need to completely uninstall SGPro 2.4 and then re-install SGPro 2.3.
Non Feature Changes:
- Dropping support for PHD1
- Must be using ASCOM 6.1 or better
Feature Changes
- New Notification system. This is the latest add-on in SGPro… With it you can monitor your sequence’s status, warnings, errors and alerts using Email, Text (SMS) or Good Night System. You can get a remote notification on the status of just about anything you can think of. Check the help file for more details. The addon is free during the beta, but will be a $19 upon release. Some people need this… some don’t.
- Auto Focus enhancements
- Auto continue when you are still outside focus at the end of your run
- Reset the focus run farther out when you start the AF run inside of focus
- Best fit method. Use all of your data! Auto focus will now perform a linear regression of your focus data in order to arrive at a more accurate focus position.
- Whole image HFR star cap. Prevent SGPro from trying to use more stars than you have available in your FOV (sometimes leading to noise dominated HFR values).
- Initial implementation of weather station (safe / unsafe). Auto park, close observatory and perform end of sequence options.
- Changing the way we use Elbrus to plate solve (hopefully more reliable)
- Adding a notes system to the equipment profile so you can remember why you created it!
- Adding support for various QSI fan modes (including quiet mode)
- Full support for PHD2 using new API
- Custom profile location (great for keeping your profiles in a known location… easier for transport between machines)
- Adding scope focal length field… adding to FITS header
- Delayed sequence start options
- Wait until camera cools to start sequence
- Camera will not cool until near image start time
- Keep observatory closed until sequence starts
- Removing auto focus option to use same stars
- Many, many small bug fixes
As always, you can find it here:
http://www.mainsequencesoftware.com/Releases
Regards,
Ken