Release notes for Astrometric's Maestro 4 user interface software
Version: 0.09.017
Date released: 14-Apr-2026
For all devices
New Features
Password protection of hardware settings
From the Settings --> Common --> User Interface dialog, the protection of hardware settings can toggled on/off after successfully entered a pre-set password.
When "Protection Enabled" is checked, then when clicking into, or typing into, a settings dialog that involves hardware settings will result in the message
"Settings are password protected. Go to Settings --> Common --> User Interface to un-protect settings.".
Changing the protection password:
- The default/first-use password is "default" (without the quotation marks). The password is case sensitive.
- Click the "Change Password" button and the following dialog box allows the password to be changed...
To change the password first enter the old password and then enter the new password twice. If the 2nd entry for the new password (i.e., the "Confirm Password" entry)
does not match the new password then the "Passwords Differ" indication will be provided.
Note: The purpose of this feature is to prevent inadvertent settings changes. The purpose is not to bulletproof against malicious intent which should be protected
against via more secure means such as controlling access to the PC.
Note: If the password is lost it can be recovered by inspecting the user.config file as follows:
- Type the following into the File Explorer address bar and hit Enter: %localappdata%
- Click into the sub-folder named "Astrometric_Instruments_".
- From there, click into the sub-folder the begins with "Maestro.exe".
- Finally, click into the folder for the Maestro version that you are presently running. There you will find a "user" config file (real name is user.config).
Open this file in a text editor (e.g., Notepad) and search for "KeySettingsPassword". The password will be listed there.
Save and restore of Mastro software settings
Prior to Maestro 0.09.017, the hardware settings for connected devices could be saved to a file of the user's choice from the File --> Save Settings to File menu. These
settings could then be restored from the File --> Restore Settings from File menu. Hardware settings comprise the bulk of the system settings for Astrometric products
since the functionality is predominately in the hardware. However, there are some user interface related settings in Maestro software.
Maestro 0.09.017 now saves and restores Maestro's internal (software) settings to/from the selected file. This includes communications settings, network settings,
notification settings and Maestro's device-specific settings. With this new feature, all settings associated with the software and hardware system are saved.
Misc
- When Maestro is run with an ASCOM driver that is the incorrect version, Maestro would report this error:
"Telescope Warnings: SocektServer error: Unsupported protocol version"
Maestro 0.09.017 expanded this error to:
"Telescope Warnings: SocektServer error: Unsupported protocol version: Likely driver version mismatch."
- LED brightness for all devices has been combined into one control under the Settings --> Common --> User Interface Settings dialog. This has replaced the
following LED brightness settings:
- For Dome: in Settings --> For Dome --> Input/Output Settings
- For Telescope: Settings --> For Telescope --> Miscellaneous
When the LED brightness is changed it is changed to the same value for all connected devices.
- Added a note to the Network Settings dialog: "Note: Networking is disabled for the default passcode of 0xFFFF0000.". If the passcode entered is the default
(0xFFFF0000) then the background color is displayed as yellow.
- On the Communications and Device Selection dialog: Added pop-up help tips to the "Use Ethernet" checkboxes stating...
"Network settings for PrimeTCS-U are made, when connected via USB, from the Settings --> For Telescope --> Network Settings dialog." and...
"Network settings for DomeProU are made, when connected via USB, from the Settings --> For Dome --> Network Settings dialog."
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug where certain operation would not occur if the target of the operation was 0. For example, GoTo 0.0 degrees azimuth for dome or rotator or
GoTo 0 steps for focuser.
For telescope control
New Features
Bug Fixes
For dome control
New Features
Misc
- For azimuth coast compensation: Changed bounds checking...
- Previously: up to 20 degrees of coast was allowed.
- Maestro 0.09.017: up to 50 degrees of coast is allowed however if the value is >20 a pop-up warning is raised: "Large values of coast can lead to
large errors in GoTo accuracy and stability issues slaving dome to telescope position".
- Previously, Guage CPR did not work for Step/Dir in Maestro... it was disabled and grayed out. In 0.09.017 this now works.
Bug Fixes
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.