I am wondering if you have to program a SSC-32 or if you could simply connect some sort of wirless controller. Can this be done?
If you search this forum you will find there are many ways to send commands to an SSC-32, including some wireless methods. The common denominator is that whatever device sending the commands happens to be it is where the intelligence or program-ability lies.
The SSC-32 is a controller that interprets text commands into the digital signals used to drive r/c hobby servos, and as such you do not program it per se. It has some simple capacity to store initialization values and even some sequences internally however commands from an external controller are required to tell it which of those sequences to execute. This external controller can be as simple as a basic atom or comparable module (usually programmed in a type of BASIC) hard wired to the SSC-32, to as complicated as a pc or mac workstation sending commands via a WLAN or bluetooth link.
Spend some time reading through the different topics on this forum and you will see much of this has been demonstrated by people across a multitude of robotic and computer platforms.
If you’re using a PC as the master controller in your project, you can connect via Bluetooth if you add an additional component to the SSC-32. More info: lynxmotion.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2408 . If you did this, you could then use the Lynxterm or SSC32 Sequencer software to move the servos wirelessly.
If want to use something like a wireless PS2 controller, then some more work is needed, like adding a small microcontroller with some custom programming and hardware connections. You would not be programming the SSC-32 directly, but there would be other significant work needed. Check out the more info links here.
Needless to say, it’s much easier to use the SSC-32, at first, by connecting a cable.