Release notes for Astrometric's Maestro 4 user interface software
Version: 0.09.016
Date released: 2-Mar-2026
For all devices
New Features
Bug Fixes
For telescope control
New Features
Bug Fixes
For dome control
New Features
Features supporting DomeProU's input/output signals
Note: Specific DomeProU features, associated with these new Maestro features, are documented in the DomePro v.44 firmware "readme" file. The term "assignment"
in the descriptions below refers to the selectable function that can be individually assigned to DomeProU's input/output signals.
- Added the "Dome Input/Output Settings" dialog. From this dialog, the following settings are provided:
- Selection of DomeProU's IsoIn input signal assignment.
- Selection of DomeProU's IsoOut output signal assignment.
- Checkbox to set the "Flag out" state that would be present on the IsoOut signal if its function were assigned to "Flag"
For DomeProU-d shutter controller (if present)...
- Selection of DomeProU's shutter controller IsoIn input signal assignment.
- Selection of DomeProU's shutter controller IsoOut output signal assignment.
- Checkbox to set the shutter controller's "Flag out" state that would be present on the IsoOut signal if its function were assigned to "Flag"
Selection of LED brightness for controller boxes. The value can range from 0 (off) to 8 (max brightness).
- On the "Dome Diagnostics" dialog, the following input signal state diagnostics have been added in a new group box names "Inputs":
For diagnostics of Shutdown...
- Shutdown state: Indicates "Yes" if one or more of the possible shutdown inputs is active
- Shutdwon input: Indicates if the attached controller's shutdown input is active
- Aux Shutdwon input on IsoIn: If the IsoIn input is assigned to "ShutdownAux" then this indicates if the IsoIn input is active
- Shutter Shutdwon input: Indicates if the DomeProU shutter controller's shutdown input is active
- Aux Shutdwon input on Shutter IsoIn: If the IsoIn DomeProU shutter controller's input is assigned to "ShutdownAux" then this indicates if the
IsoIn input is active
For diagnostics of PowerGood...
- PowerGood state: Indicates "Yes" if all the enabled PowerGood inputs are asserted
- PowerGood input: Indicates if the attached controller's PowerGood input is active
- Shutter PowerGood input: Indicates if the DomeProU shutter controller's PowerGood input is active
Raw IsoIn signal values...
- IsoIn input: Indicates if the attached controller's IsoIn input is active
- Shutter IsoIn input: Indicates if the DomeProU shutter controller's IsoIn input is active
- In the "Dome Timeouts and Automatic Closure" dialog, added the "Close on shutter module power-fail" option. This enables the shutter module's Power Good
input to work identical to, and in parallel with, the azimuth module's Power Good input. Specifically: If this check box is selected then so long as the
shutter module's Power Good input is asserted then Maestro will indicate "Power Good" in the top right of the main window. When an enabled Power Good
input is de-asserted then the dome will close (so long as Auto-Close is not disabled... see below) and Maestro will indicate "Power Fail".
- Shutter status additions. On the main Maestro window for Dome, the following features have been added:
- If IsoIn is assigned to InhibitShutter1 or InhibitShutter2 then the status for each individual shutter will indicate if the shutter's motion
is inhibited by assertion of IsoIn. This is regardless of the state of the shutter. So, for example, if the shutter is Closed, but it is
inhibited, then the status displayed will be "Closed: Inhibited". The status background color will be red when the shutter is inhibited.
- If IsoIn is assigned, on either the azimuth or shutter module, to InhibitShutter than all shutter motion will be inhibited and the main
Dome Shutter Status field will display "Shutter motion is inhibited" with a red background.
Reporting for power-down detected
- When DomeProU's supply voltage dips below 10V it saves the present azimuth position to non-volatile memory. This is done only once when the voltage
passes through 10V on its way to off. Therefore, if the supply dips below 10V and then recovers, any subsequent azimuth movement will not be captured in
the position saved at power-down.
- Maestro now reports any spurious supply voltage dips (but not for a normal power-down) as the following Alert:
"Supply voltage drop below 10V detected and position saved. It will not be saved again this power cycle.",
Improvements to azimuth "gauging"
Improvements to display of progress of "Gauge CPR" feature on the Dome Azimuth General Settings window...
- The CPR values found during gauging are displayed to the right of the "Guage CRP right" or "Guage CRP left" buttons. Previously,
these values did not update until gauging was complete. New behavior is that prior to the first pass by the Home Index these values
are zero. After the Home Index is first found, and gauging has thus begun, these values increment (as an indicator of progress) until the
Home Index is found a second time signaling the end of gauging. When gauging is complete, as indicated in the main Maestro window by the Azimuth Move
Mode returning to "Fixed", the values become stationary and usable.
- Specifically, the status to the right of the "Gauge CPR right" and "Guage CPR left" buttons provides the following status:
- If gauging has not occurred yet: displays 0 with a white background color
- If gauging is in process: yellow background color and...
- Displays "Finding Home Idx" prior to the first pass of the home index
- Displays the running encoder counts registered
- If gauging is complete: green background color and displays the encoder counts that gauging found in that direction.
- The "Set CPR from gauged" button will not work unless the Azimuth Move Mode is "Fixed".
Azimuth motor stall/fault reporting for Drive Type of StepDir
- On the Dome Azimuth General Settings dialog, the "Detect motor stall" feature has been disabled. This is a factory-only setting and no longer user
assessable.
- If an azimuth motor fault occurs then Maestro now will display a message telling which motor stalled:
- "Dome Alert: Azimuth motor #1 fault detected", or, for systems with two azimuth motors, if the 2nd motor stalls...
- "Dome Alert: Azimuth motor #2 fault detected"
Disable auto-close feature
In the "Dome Timeouts and Automatic Closure" dialog, added the "Disable shutter auto-close" option. When checked, automatic shutter closures will be disabled until
they are re-enabled by either un-checking this option or clicking the "Re-enable" button below the flashing "Auto-Close Disabled" indicator in the main window.
Improvements to motor current reporting
In the "Dome Diagnostics" dialog, modified the Shutter motor current reporting to display current w.r.t the associated "per shutter" OCP limit. There is only
one current sensor in the controller however when shutter1 is running the current is compared to the shutter1 OCP limit and same for shutter2. When both
shutters are running the motor current field displays "Both" indicating that current w.r.t. OCP limit cannot be calculated.
Misc
- Added the following pop-warning when changing the encoder counts-per-rev value: "note to the user" has been added: Note: when the encoder counts-per-rev value
is changed then the home & park positions and rotation coast value will change proportionally and require re-setting.
- Added a alert message to signal when the connected Dome controller enters Local mode.
- Added sanity checks on dome slaving parameters.
- For the following, the entered value must be >= -25% and <= 25% of the dome diameter: all pivot offsets and Dec/Alt offset.
- For the following, the entered value must be >= 0% and <= 25% of the dome diameter: optical offset.
- The "Find and Set Home Position" feature on the Dome Azimuth General Settings dialog now will pop-up an error message to the user if the home switch is presently
active. The message states: "The azimuth home switch is presently active. Please start with the dome off the home switch.". If the dome home switch is
*not* presently active then the home switch polarity is incorrect.
- Added the ability to turn encoder stall detection on/off from the "Dome Azimuth General Settings" dialog in the "Encoders" section.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug where an azimuth timeout, stall or over-current event would only be reported, by Maestro as an alert message, the first time an event occurred.
- Fixed a bug for display of motor current: on the "Dome Diagnostics" tab the "Azimuth motor current" field had its background improperly colored per the
shutter motor current value. This has been corrected.
- Fixed a bug where when the Open of Close buttons on the shutter control main window, for classic dome, would clear any shutter error/fault when
they were released.
For focus and rotator control
New Features
Bug fixes
Known bugs
- When restoring telescope settings there will be some number of "Telescope Alert: unknown SSCN" messages that can be ignored.
Minimum recommended system
Maestro 4 is tested on the following minimum recommended system: Windows 10 running on an Intel i3-4130 CPU @ 3.40GHz with 4GB of memory.
If your application requires compute-intensive software running on the PC with Maestro (such as planetarium or camera control software) then consider a more
powerful PC than this minimum recommended system.
Contact Astrometric support with any questions or issues.
Copyright 2026 Astrometric Instruments, Inc.