>Does anyone have the power to force the scope manufacturers
>to agree to a standard protocol instead of this ridiculous
>VHS-Beta type affair? It is already too late...

To be fair, the LX200 command set is very much the "de facto" standard.
Meade use subsets of the same command set on all their computer devices -
the Magellan I, Magellan II, AutoStar, and (obviously LX200) all use the
same commands, albeit (in the case of the Magellans) at different
communications speeds. Several other manufacturers have also implemented the
LX200 command set - eg, both the Vixen SkySensor 2000, and the AP "goto"
mounts use it.

>Further, it is truly sad to see the NexStar does not follow the
>same manufacturer protocol for the Ultima.

Celestron appear to adopt a policy of introducing and new, and invariably
buggy, command protocols with every new device. They sell three different
computer devices - the Advanced AstroMaster, the Ultima 2000, and the
NexStar. All use different command sets and are mutually incompatible.

Regards,

Chris
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Chris Marriott, SkyMap Software, UK (chris@...)
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