EQMac

This update adds a couple of exciting new features. Firstly, I have finally finished enough of the Gamepad module that it can be usefully released. This will enable you to plug in a USB gamepad and configure functions for each of the buttons and joysticks. Once calibrated, it will make the task of slewing the mount while looking through the eyepiece much easier! The major new feature though, is the provision of an LX200 protocol emulation over an IP connection.

Some people have reported that EQMac sometimes starts up and crashes or just doesn't seem to get past the yellow LED stage when communicating with the mount. I have had a look into things and found a few places in the code that could have been causing these types of issues. This update therefore provides fixes for those issues and should hopefully result in a more reliable startup process and also initial communication with the mount. I would be grateful if people trying this release could let me know whether it improves anything.

I've just released v1.0.1 to fix the issue with Parking and Polarscope alignment not working correctly when upgrading from v0.0.6 (or earlier).

Once you have started using v1.0.0 or higher, please do not use earlier versions of the software again otherwise you may experience problems with the Parking and Polarscope features causing your mount to slew in an unpredictable manner.

WARNING

v1.0.0 contains a relatively serious issue affecting Parking and the Polarscope Alignment features. Due to a change in the way certain coordinates are stored between v0.0.6 and v1.0.0, Polarscope calibration and Parking/Unparking may not work correctly and may cause your mount to slew in an unpredictable manner. This will only cause a problem if your mount is parked using v0.0.6 and you try to unpark with v1.0.0, or you try to use the polar alignment feature without recalibrating.

Mount Limits are now available as one of the new features in v1.0.0 of EQMac, which has just been released. Further details on the release can be found in the Downloads section. Enjoy! - and as ever, please let me know if you experience any problems.