Ok -
The last few days I have been in contact with Bev at COAA via email and I
have been able to flesh out a system for my GPDX with his help. It may also
help those interest in Mel Bartels scope.exe program.

Bev says - Hook up the stepper motors (Josch - he confirmed that the CTC
will work with only steppers, not DC servo motors) to a dodgy laptop
running the CTC software then hook this up via a serial interface to the
Guide PC. Now Guide will communicate with CTC via the serial port in LX200
mode. ( OT Lets hope it doesn't turn into an LX200).

To quote "Yes, go for the dodgy old laptop, but do not worry about the
encoders. Hook the serial port on the CTC laptop to the serial port on the
Guide PC and the Guide LX200 functions will control the CTC."

This seems to me to be the same type of system that could be used with
scope.exe (just replace CTC with scope) as scope.exe has a "check for LX200
events command".
Bev said that the scope does not need encoders because CTC will read
positions from the steppers.

I was originally going to go for Mel's system for my Dob but with the
purchase of a GP that requires a certain Vixen/Celestron model motor, I
will most likely end up heading for the CTC.
I can always hook up the Dob later! More experience in all this by then I
hope.

Cheers

James
"An elephant : a mouse built to government specifications"
(or vice versa)