Mouse controlled zither

[miken277]

Hi! I'm working on an unusual DIY project that you all might be able to help me with. I'm working on a slide zither, pictured below.



Since it's hard to move both slides and play at the same time, I've decided to automate them using servos via rack-and-pinion. These will be controlled by foot wheels.

The foot wheels will be adapted from the up/down, and left/right controls on a regular serial mouse. This will control 2 large MAE servos, control boards intact. They have a four-wire (digital?) input, but I don't have much more information.

I have looked at the all-in one controller at www.motionmouse.com, although it's for steppers, not servos. I'm also concerned about mouse sensitivity, since I will need to adjust that to get the right amount of slide travel for every mouse turn, and at different mouse speeds.

I would really appreciate any responses, suggestions on software/hardware, etc.

Sincerely,
Mike Nolley