Hi Ving
Most hand controller/software/motor/mount configurations are set by a manufacturer to their specific mount.
Typically, there are the following interfaces that need to be managed:
- Software
- Hardware
- Electrical
- Encoder
Variables can be as follows:
- Software protocol.
- Number of teeth on worm wheel, worm gear, etc.
- Pin out connections on the connector.
- Pin out values and sign.
- Resolution of encoders that measure and report back on the shaft or gear rotation.
- Location of the encoders - are they on the DEC shaft or somewhere else in the gear train (like on the Vixen MT2 motors).
etc. etc
So, it is usually not possible to interface e.g. a Meade controller with another manufacturer's mount, as you have no way of knowing if the interfaces align. That is:
- Software to software
- Hardware to hardware
- Electronics to electronics
- Cable pin out to cable pin out.
You could damage something if the mechanical interface tries to force the mount to do something it is not capable of, or it there is an electrical incompatibility, you could blow up a device in the circuit.
I have read that some people have successfully fitted the Vixen Skysensor 2000 controller and motors to a Losmandy G11 mount, but they had to fit custom brackets for the motors and change some motor set up parameters in the Vixen Skysensor 2000 controller to tell it how many teeth the worms had on the Losmandy mount, etc.
I guess if you understand each system's interface fully, and can cater for them in the hybrid system, then it should work?
Cheers
Dennis