Article Number: SBKB-10-10005

Meade Autostar Unable to Set its Date to the Last Day of the Month

• TheSky Astronomy Software version 5.00.000 and later

When communicating with the Autostar version 1.3 via its built-in serial port, the Autostar set date command (":SC MM/DD/YY#") returns an error when attempting to set the date for last day of any month.

To duplicate this behavior, run HyperTerminal (9600, 8, None, 1, No Flow Control) and send a ":SC 11/30/99" command. The return value from the Autostar is 0, meaning the set date command failed.

This is a limitation with the Autostar version 1.3. 

Use the Autostar's hand controller to set the date on the last day of the month.

Contact the telescope's manufacturer to determine if an updated version of the firmware is available.