© 8-2-02 Dr. Neale Monks

• Product Name/Version: Scope Driver 1.2
• OS 9/OS X ?: Both
• Company: Stephen E. Hutson
• URL: http://www.adpartnership.net/ScopeDriver/
• Category: Astronomy Tool
• Price: $35 Shareware
• Requirements:
  • Any Power Macintosh (including the iMac)
  • 5 MB available ram (8 MB recommended)
  • 12 MB available hard disk space
  • 640 x 480 resolution monitor (14") or larger
  • Classic Mac OS: Version 8.1 or later
  • Mac OS X: Version 10.1.2 or later
• Bounces: 4 Bounces - Pure Lust

Ratings Legend
One Bounce: Lustless	This product is uninspiring and not only lacks lust appeal, but it also lacks even the possibility of lust-production.
Two Bounces: Lack-Luster	If you need what it is that this product does, look elsewhere or wait, it lacks lust-appeal.
Three Bounces: Lustworthy	A few rough spots here and there, but overall a high quality item worthy of lust.
Four Bounces: Pure Lust	Unalloyed lust.

The computerised go-to telescope is the big thing in amateur astronomy right now, however much the purists might decry them. Instead of having to learn how to 'star-hop' the night sky from object to object, the user simply aligns the telescope using a few bright stars, and then the on-board computer takes over. A handset allows the user to select any one of thousands of objects, which the telescope quickly slews across to. It couldn't be simpler. Better yet, there are go-to telescopes of all types and prices. Though the base models cost a fair bit more than conventional beginner's telescopes of the same optical specification, many newcomers to the hobby have eagerly paid the differential to get a telescope that promises a guided tour of the night sky and no steep learning curve.

But if these telescopes are designed to be used in the field using the built-in handset controller, why would anyone want to connect such a telescope to a computer and drive it from there? The author of ScopeDriver clearly believes that for many users doing precisely this makes a go-to telescope an attractive tool for advanced amateurs with serious observing programmes, and not just newbies to the hobby.

Installation and Setting Up

The ScopeDriver installer is downloaded from the website and installing both the OS 9 and OS X versions was quick and simple. Besides the application itself, ScopeDriver comes with a very detailed and well-written user's guide in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. One nice thing about the guide is that it has been designed and optimised for viewing on screen. The pages fit the screen perfectly on the 1024 by 768 screen of my iBook, with the text remaining crisp and easy to read. There are two other useful documents. One describes the construction of the LX 200 to Macintosh cable. The second is an advertisement for a supplier of Mac to various telescope cables, priced at $17.50 a piece. A USB to serial adapter such as those made by Keyspan and Belkin will be needed as well, which cost from $40 upwards.

ScopeDriver is compatible with the LX and Autostar series of go-to telescopes from Meade. Connecting to the telescope is very straightforward. The telescope needs to be setup first, which means using the handset to enter the time, date and location and then to align the telescope. Once this is done, the computer and the telescopes are connected with the required cable, and then ScopeDriver is launched. ScopeDriver is now able to use the serial cable to communicate with the telescope.

Using ScopeDriver

At its simplest, ScopeDriver can mimic the Autostar functionality. Buttons, keyboard shortcuts and menu items all speed up the operation, and ScopeDriver's find object services are quite sophisticated. It can find objects based on text strings, either at the start of names or anywhere within names. There are also quick shortcuts to the planets and to Messier, NGC and IC deep sky object search screens. These all work very well and are much nicer to use than scrolling down lists of categories and objects on an Autostar handset. ScopeDriver also allows the user to find objects by astronomical coordinates. Used like this ScopeDriver certainly improves upon the basic go-to telescope, but these sorts of functions can be found in many planetarium programs. What sets ScopeDriver apart is its ability to produce detailed observing lists.

Observing lists can be thought of as travel itineraries for serious celestial travelers. While many backyard astronomers are happy simply to amble from one interesting sight to the next, others prefer a more structured, goal-drive approach. This demands the use of some sort of plan so that everything we want to see can be seen in a single observing session. These can obviously be planned in advance, and ScopeDriver allows the user to craft as many of these as he or she requires. It is easy to imagine having a list for the globular clusters of midsummer, another for a tour of the Scorpius, Sagittarius and Scutum star-fields, and a third for the myriad galaxies of Virgo in late spring. Below is a picture of a list devised for the Messier marathon many astronomers undertake in March, based on the marathon described by Robert Garfinkle in his book 'Star-Hopping'.

Producing these charts is easy, and involves choosing objects from ScopeDriver's catalogues (which includes all the Messier, NGC and IC objects) or by adding objects manually. This latter requires that the user know the objects astronomical coordinates. Using the lists involves nothing more than opening the list, selecting an item and then clicking the "Go To Object" button.

The Observing Log

This is another really nice feature. Essentially this is a window that keeps track of items that the telescope moves to. It can be used as a freestanding utility, but if combined with an observing list together these make ScopeDriver an indispensable aid to the amateur astronomer. As described above, each time an object is selected in the observing list, the telescope slews across to it, but now once it is there the observing log notes down the date, time and coordinates. The user can further enhance the records by adding comments and details such as the eyepiece used. Below is an example of a log entry for the Messier marathon outlined earlier.

Conclusion

ScopeDriver is a well thought out application with an intuitive user interface, a well-written manual and a decent feature set. Many shareware applications try to mimic or repackage features otherwise seen in the heavyweight planetarium programs, but sensibly ScopeDriver avoids doing this. Instead the author has looked at how amateur astronomers work, particularly those who have graduated beyond simple celestial sightseeing, and offered them a tool to that works with them.

As I have discussed elsewhere planetarium programs work within the point and click paradigm of telescope control. Although undoubtedly simple and attractive, this system is not always the most systematic, and the list-based ScopeDriver approach may be a very attractive alternative.

- Dr. Neale Monks

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