Astro-Physics offers PEMPro 1.7 from CCDWARE

Dramatically improve guided and unguided imaging resulting in better images and fewer lost exposures.

Astro-Physics AP900GTO (Vintage 2000)
Peak-to-peak error of 7.6 arc-seconds before correction. (Red line)
Peak-to-peak error of 0.7 arc-seconds after correction. (Blue line)
Guiding RMS without PE Correction: 1.2 arc-seconds.
Guiding RMS with PE Correction Enabled: 0.4 arc-seconds

PEMPro is a Microsoft Windows application that will analyze the performance of any mount that is equipped with a CCD camera and compatible camera control software. No more exporting log files and Excel spreadsheets. PEMPro will reveal your mount's performance in real time regardless of seeing conditions. More information is available on the CCDWare site!

PEMPro gives you powerful tools to program your mount's periodic error correction firmware to achieve the best possible performance for your mount. PEMPro dramatically improves guided and unguided imaging resulting in better images and fewer lost exposures.

Collect Periodic Error Data:

Collects periodic error data using and CCD camera supported by CCDSoft V5 or Maxim DL (V3 or V4).
Data is collected using the main CCD imaging chip for a very wide field of view to select a suitable reference star.
Graphically displays periodic error in real-time.
No need to be perfectly polar aligned. PEMPro automatically detects and subtracts drift from the periodic curve.
No need to wait for steady skies. PEMPro fits the periodic error data to an optimized smooth curve.
Collects data over multiple worm cycles. The more you collect, the more refined your correction curve.

Analyze Your mount's Performance:

PEMPro uses advanced algorithms to analyze collected data to create a smoothed and fitted curve for your mount.
Eliminates the effect of atmospheric seeing to allow you to see your true mechanical error.
Measures your error in pixels and arc-seconds showing total peak-to-peak error.
Scalable graph allows you to zoom in and out on your curve for closer examination.
Displays a histogram plot of errors to determine the distribution of error points and goodness of fit.

Program your Mount's Periodic Error Correction Firmware:

PEMPro allows you to program any mount that has Periodic Error Correction firmware.
Program your mount via your CCD's autoguider relays (CCDSoft V5 or Maxim DL V4) or using a compatible ASCOM driver.
PEMPro has advanced tunable playback parameters including phase adjustment and pulse modulo widths.
Watch programming take place in real-time.

See the Results of Your Corrected Mount:

After programming your mount's PEC firmware, collect data with PEC playback enabled.
Shows you the results of your corrected PEC in real-time.
After data collection, PEMPro will show you your corrected mount's performance.
Compare before and after curves by loading both data sets at the same time.

Advanced Refinement Tools:

Phase shift the correction curve forward or backward in time to refine PEC playback.
Add or subtract one curve from another with a user definable scaling factor.
Create a new curve from your refinements to further improve mount performance.

PEMProAP Special Edition

From December 1, 2004, through February, 2008, all new Astro-Physics 1200GTO and 900GTO mounts were shipped with a Special Edition of PEMPro. PEMProAP works with the new GTOCP3 controller to give you complete control over your Periodic Error Management. Please note, this version of PEMPro was only available for newly purchased 1200GTO and 900GTO mounts that shipped during the time period outlined above. People who upgrade to the new GTOCP3 control box or have mounts that were delivered prior to December 1, 2004, will require a full version of PEMPro. For more information, please see the Feature Matrix below which compares the Astro-Physics Special Edition with the full 1.70 version. The current version of PEMPro - v.2.0 - has additional features and capabilities not listed in the table below. Starting in April, 2008, all 900GTO, 1200GTO and 3600GTO "El Capitan" mounts will feature the latest full version of PEMPro.

Feature matrix for AP Mounts for PEMPro v1.70

	PEMPro v.1.70 Full Version			PEMPRO AP
Feature	Quartz Micro Drive (QMD) Mounts	GTOCP1 and GTOCP2 (All firmware versions)	GTOCP3 (PEMPro Full Version)	GTOCP3 (AP Special Edition 1)
Collects and Analyzes PE Data with MaximDL V3, MaximDL V4, CCDSoft V5, AstroArt V3	YES	YES	YES	YES
Programs PEM in 6.4 minutes with Maxim V4.06 or later using Relays or serial port commands.	YES	YES	YES	NO
Programs PEM in 6.4 minutes with CCDSoft V5.00.170 or later using Relays.	YES	YES	YES	NO
Programs PEM in 6.4 minutes with AstroArt V3 or later using Relays.	YES	YES	YES	NO
Programs PE curve directly to Controller without having to wait 6.4 minutes for playback.	NO	NO	YES	YES
Measures PE after corrections applied and PEM enabled.	YES	YES	YES	YES
Compares, refines, and reprograms PE curves.	YES	YES	YES	NO
Exports raw and processed data to text files for analysis by external programs such as Excel.	YES	YES	YES	YES
Remotely turns PEM on and off with AP ASCOM Driver.	NO	YES	YES	YES
Automatically starts PEM Record with AP ASCOM driver.	NO	YES	YES	YES
Reads PE data from the Controller and graphs it.	NO	NO	YES	YES
Smoothes PE data read from the Controller and rewrites it back to the Controller.	NO	NO	YES	YES
Loads different PE curves at any time (phase is remembered), including if mount is moved in RA.	NO	NO	YES	YES
Works with other mount types.	YES	YES	YES	NO
Included with new 900GTO and 1200GTO mounts (12-04 to 02-08)	NO	NO	NO	YES

1 The AP Special Edition of PEMPro was included with all new 900GTO and 1200GTO mounts. It is not available for sale nor is it included with the GTOCP3 control box upgrade. Unlike the full version of PEMPro, the AP Special Edition will only work with the GTOCP3 control box. It will not work with the GTOCP1 and GTOCP2 control boxes or other AP and third-party mounts.

New features in version 1.7

Version 1.7 supports the new Windows Vista Operating System and maintains the following improvements from version 1.6.
New Calibration Wizard makes setup easier and more accurate. The Calibration wizard will obtain and set up important parameters including declination, camera angle, and image scale.
Now supports AstroArt V3 (In addition to MaximDL and CCDSoft).
Resizable main window and Create PEC dialog which allows for a larger graph area if desired.
Neater and more logical positioning of controls.
Many new options in the menus.
Menu links to the AP-GTO Support forum and ASCOM web site.
A menu item now gives direct access to the AP ASCOM driver dialog for configuring important settings such as COM port and startup paramaters.
Individual cycles of PEC data are viewable.
Optionally disconnect camera and scope when disconnecting from PEMPro.
New Settings summary dialog to quickly check settings.
PEMPro auto-synchronizes PEMPro to the mount’s running PEC Index whenever you start acquiring data so you will never have to worry about synchronizing the mount.
Ability to add comments to the log file.
Ability to see a graph of the periodic error fundamentals.
Ability to edit the periodic error fundamentals.
Built in checking for the proper version of ASCOM components, including the Astro-Physics ASCOM driver.
Improved performance reading PEC from the mount and writing PEC to the mount.
Improved “Modify PE Curve" controls are now more useful.
The actual periodic error value is now labeled on the top of the Program Mount graph.
The updated help file is streamlined to make it easy to follow and get quick results.
Miscellaneous other changes and enhancements.

System Requirements

Camera Control Software:

CCDSoft version 5.00.135
MaxImDL/CCD version 4.06
MaxImDL/CCD version 3.22

Mount Control Software:

ASCOM platform 3.0

Operating System:

Windows Vista
Windows XP
Windows 2000
Windows ME
Windows 98

Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1

Download 30 Day Trail

PEMPro v. 2.0 was released in July 2007! In addition to the features in v.1.7, PEMPro v. 2.0 has tools for accurate polar alignment and backlash removal. Additional features of v. 2.0 are a star finder and video interface. Version 2.0 will only be available as a full version. The AP Special Edition will remain v.1.7. For more details and the latest information on PEMPro, go to the CCDWare site

PEMPro Full Version 2.0 Trial

PEMPro AP Special Edition Version 1.7 Astro-Physics - Upgrade ONLY

PEMPro AP Special Edlition Version 1.70. This upgraded version (March, 2007) has all the features and capabilities of the full version (v. 1.7), except that it will not allow any other mount choices and will only work with one mount. IMPORTANT: Before you download, remember that this version is ONLY for those who have received a new AP1200GTO or AP900GTO with a PEMPro AP SE license key.

Purchase (If upgrading from a previous FULL version, scroll down the page to the "upgrades" section at the following link.)

PEMPro Version 2.0 ($149.95US)
Note: This link will direct you to the CCDWare e-commerce site. This item will NOT be in your Astro-Physics shopping cart. All orders placed will be for the most current version and the latest release.

Astro-Physics, Inc.
11250 Forest Hills Road, Machesney Park, IL 61115, U.S.A.
Phone: 815-282-1513 Fax: 815-282-9847