UK - A step too far ?

Hi, Guy`s,

I`m looking to build a joystick controlled CCTV pan & tilt unit without the need of a computer. With that in mind I bought some parts, all in one bundle, and mainly for the stepper motors, on ebay and wonder if it is possible to achieve my goal using only these (which I doubt), or would I need additional parts?

The ebay items, which were knocked-up by B.I.C. Electronics, England, were part of a film viewing/editing setup and is not complete.

There are 3 stepper motors, all the same, as in the photo - Two have a 15-pin connector and the other, 25-pin. There are also 4 Airpax 12 vdc motors which were made in Holland.

The lens I am using weighs just over a kilo, so with camera attached, it should work out less than 2.5k and these motors appear adequate.

There is probably a lot easier way and I would appreciate any help, or advise, you can give me.

Cheers

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Unit1 - Front panel:

Has `FILM SPOOLS` printed on it and under that, two switches, one marked `TOP LOAD` - `BOTTOM LOAD`, the other `OFF - ON`, there is also an ON/OFF mains switch.

Rear panel has two leads marked `PRINTER` and `VIEWER`, also two 15-pin connectors marked `WINDER` and `CONTROLLER`. When I connect the joystick to `CONTROLLER` and one of the stepper motors to `WINDER` it goes through all the motions ie. fast, slow, forward, reverse, and speeds in-between depending on position of joystick. When pressed, two buttons on joystick unit (PAGE BACK/PAGE FWD) run the motor for a short/fixed time.

Inside are two boards, one on top of the other:
Top board has 4 relays and is marked: 930601-01-4 MOD1 and 930601-14-4 ISS 1 Side2
Bottom board is marked: RS 332 - 098 4-Phase unipolar stepper motor drive board

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Unit2 - Front panel:

(See photo) Two switches marked TOP LOAD/BOTTOM LOAD and SPOOLS OFF/SPOOLS ON. I haven`t any leads to test this unit but when switched on the `WATCHDOG` LED if flickering as though in readiness.

Inside there is the main board marked B.I.C. 970400 - 14 - 4 ISS-3 SERIAL NO. 97 ... (custom made?). There is also a seperate board marked `RS 240 - 7920` (4-Phase unipolar stepper motor drive board ?).

The rear panel has on/off switch, 15-pin, 25-pin, 9-pin female connectors and 2 DIN connectors , 5 and 7 pin.

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Stepper motors - 8 wires:

25-pin and 15-pin stepper motor connector has 10 wires attached, although 2 black wires have been cut toward the motor end.

Joystick:

RS 162-732 - 2 axis joystick carbon pot,10K linear

You definitely can do that without a computer, though you almost certainly need a microcontroller, say, Arduino-based.

That aside, this is rather strange choice of motors. You clearly should be looking for servo motors, which are much simplier to control from an MCU.