I have owned a WAKO multi-controller DRM-1 for some years now and it worked fine on my older Sony camera.
But it does not work on the Canon XA20. I connected it to the REMOTE terminal for connecting commercially available remote controllers (number 4 on page 14 of the manual).
Am I doing things wrong or should I buy another Lanc controller. And which one has shown to work on the XA20?

FWIW the remote terminal is item 4 on page 15 in the NTSC manual.

The XA20 is not specifically listed on a WAKO site, but the XH1A and others are, as is a general reference to Canon consumer camcorders.

First make sure it is fully plugged in and not stopping at the first detent which can happen.
I would check with WAKO to determine if the XA20 is supported.
I would verify that the controller still works with other camcorders.
If you can find a Canon controller, try it with the XA20 to verify that the remote terminal works.
I use a Canon remote (ZR-1000) with my XA20 that I bought years ago for use with my XL1 without problem.

I checked whether the remote would still work on my Sony and it did. And the pin went in the remote hole of the Canon all the way. So I see no reason to ask WAKO whether this remote works on the XA20. It simply does not.
I will see, what a Canon remote will cost me and whether they advice a later version than the ZR-1000.
Thanks for your help.

I have both the Canon ZR1000 and the Manfrotto MN523, and both are fully functional with the Canon XA20.

They both also worked with older Canons, e.g. XM1 and XM2, and with a Sony V1E.

I am not sure that Manfrotto still make the MN523.

Check
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xa-vixia-series-avchd-camcorders/518915-xa20-lanc-controller.html

There might be other applicable posts as well.

Interesting that Canon does not list a remote accessory for the XA20, but did list the ZR-1000 for the XA10.

There apparently was a short lived ZR-2000 offered by Canon.

It looks kind of like while supporting LANC on the XA20, Canon expects folks to use their PDA/smart phone instead.

I use a varizoom stealth with mine.

I use the Libec ZC - 3DV on my XA20, it controls just the record and zoom functions only.

This is all I wanted a remote to do, although I believe Libec do another remote which controls more functions.

Funny thing is I tried this remote on an old Sony Hi8 camcorder and it worked fine.

FWIW LANC is a Sony protocol they have licensed to other companies. It dates to the 1990s and uses a proprietary master-slave serial data protocol (at 9600 BPS). It was designed for home entertainment systems, and can carry a type of time code. There is a "standard" command set in the defining documents, but not all gear supports that command set, and in some cases may have expanded on it.

Sony, Canon, Richo, Nikon and perhaps a few others used it in their 8mm/Hi8 and HDV tape-based camcorders and VCRs, but generally speaking JVC and Panasonic did not. Videonics supported it in their video editing gear (e.g., Thumbs-up and AB1). Sony and Canon still appear to support it in some if not all their HD camcorders. Not sure about others.

The main issues are whether or not the controller implements the command set in the device being controlled, and the accuracy of the timing in the controller compared to the device beign controlled.

I checked the Wako site and apparently they do not have a remote that could serve my XA20.
Just received an answer from Canon as well. They do not have a remote in their program and therefor they refrain from advising one. They advised me to ask independant advisors and that's why I am here now . . .
Contacted my favorite suppier. He has the Varizoom VZ Stealth in his program. If he has one in stock, I will go there and check the funtionality on my Canon camera. I know, Kyle Root uses one succesfully, but I have the nasty habbit to go for certainty.

I got hold of a VariZoom VZ STEALTH today and it works fine!
Thanks for your help.

Does the power 'ON' control on the VZ Stealth actually work with the XA20 ? If so, it should work work with my HF-G30 also. Brought this up in another thread today:

https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xa-vixia-series-avchd-camcorders/537008-varizoom-vz-stealth-power-control.html