I started using acp in 2009 as it seemed the best all around solution I could find.
Straight away it saved me a lot of work and I got into the routine of making a plan by looking through carte du ciel and deciding the targets through the night.

The interface was great and I could easily add targets and then wake up during the night to see the latest picture and tracking. I even added the security camera feed so i could watch the telescope move.

I have used maxim dl pro for the processing with focus max for focuser control which have been great.

So, feeling lazy I upgraded a few years ago to expert to try out scheduler, as t.b.h planning seemed a bit boring.

my god that took it to another level and 2016 was just spent putting targets in scheduler then letting it sort out the er.....schedule.

It's fun checking on scheduler to see which targets it's done and what it chose next.

plus I got to wake up in the middle of the night and watch both acp and scheduler do their stuff.

Having been waylayed by work and now having a very servious illness I figured it was time to give the astronomy one last go - and I can't wait to get ACP and scheduler up and running again (they are working in simulation until my observatory roof is fixed)

ACP and Scheduler are well worth the money and considering that the rest of my gear totals probably >10k well worth the investment.

Start with ACP if it's all you can afford but I'd still highly recomend it and you can always upgrade later as I did when you have the money.

Oh and don't forget Bob, worth the fee just for his excellent support and the premium forum.
It's more accurate if you think you are getting excellent software AND top notch support - very rarely do you have someone get back to you as quickly and efficiently as he does.

I've rambled a bit but I thought that it was about time I did a mini report after the number of years I've used it.