New AP Driver

After googling the web and posting messages to the ECU and Mathis Users Yahoo Groups, I finally found a reference to a new ASCOM AP driver written by Ray Gralak.  It is AP V2 (v4.99.58) and has been out since July 2009 (v4.99.9).

I don't know why this isn't posted to ascom-standards.org or why it wasn't supplied with the Mathis-supplied PulseGuide CD which had ASCOM and the old AP v4.1.25 driver on it.  Very frustrating.

Anyway, after watching three videos produced by Ray about the new AP driver, I downloaded and installed it.  There is no longer a need for POTH, since AP V2 is a hub.  The interface is very nice.  It shows the number of clients connected, the ability to specify Mathis as the mount type, and many settings that are otherwise available through PulseGuide.

Being cloudy and during the day, I was still able to test if this driver (or the absence of POTH) would not create the error of the telescope cursor position jumping randomly and inducing dome slews.  After 4 hours of connection time, this issue did not arise.

The AP V2 driver is a little different in that you cannot launch it or shut it down like POTH.  Connecting and disconnecting clients from it will launch or shut down the driver automatically. When the driver is launched by an app, the driver interface (Handbox) shows up in the system tray.