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   Those with an LX-200 or Celestron telescope,  or a Sky Commander
or other encoder system connected to their computer,  or certain
other telescope control systems,  can control the telescope from
Guide, using the Scope Control menu item inside the Settings menu.

   Those with encoder-based systems other than the Sky Commander
will have to perform an alignment step,  and should consult the next
chapter.

   When you first enter the Telescope menu,  it will look like this:

  COM1
  COM2
  COM3
  COM4

No scope available
LX-200
Sky Commander
Dob Driver
AltAz
JMI/MG-III
ASCOM Scope
Compustar
Magellan I
NexStar
Astro-Physics

   Also,  controls over encoder resolution will be provided.  These
are required only for alignment of JMI/MG-III (Tangent Instrument)
compatible systems,  and will be discussed in the next chapter.
For all other systems,  Guide just relies on the internal alignment
of the telescope,  so be sure your scope is properly aligned in
the manner described in its user manual.

   The hardware issues in connecting a telescope to a computer are
quite varied;  you should check the instruction manual for your
telescope for details.   You should determine to which COM port
the telescope is attached,  and pick the corresponding port in
the dialog box.  If you don't know which port is used,  it's okay
to guess.  The worst that will happen is that, when you try to
control the scope,  Guide will pause for about fifteen seconds,
then report its failure.

   In general,  you can just pick the sort of telescope you're
using,  select the right COM port,  and you'll be all set.  Most
telescopes will either be in the above list,  or will use the
Meade LX-200 command language (so you can just tell Guide to use
that system).  ASCOM is a system that allows a wide range of
telescopes to be controlled,  including those in the above list
plus many others.  If you select ASCOM,  you'll be asked to

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