Hi John (and all others here),
i think the way to control a (intact!) hiseq with a alternative Software to use for microscopy and even quantitative fluorescence measurements is not that long. I see most of the needed information is already there. OK, i know, it’s easy just to say this but harder to actually do it - i’m sure obstacles are lurking on the way i can’t see at the moment.
I assumed the most problems to control the line scanner with all it’s features, it was the last component left to reverse. But it’s possible to reuse the Hamamatsu software components you find in a Illuina installation. However, i did not found the time to test it yet and check out how much of the image processing is done in hamamatsu and Illumina binaries. And i don’t know if there are licence problems in the end when reusing software that came bundled with the illumina software here - hopefully not if it’s just science we do.
My main problem here at the moment holding me back from really contributing is time. I’m also working at a clinical genomics institute both technically and in research and it’s just too much at the moment. But my technical things and the hiseq hacks in the basements are tolerated here too, maybe because i build new microfluidic lab machines from the junk i treasured up from generations of sequences from ALF over Roche and ABI to Illumina.
To @jmarkham… if you can provide me some informations about what problems the control box is making maybe i can find out where to search and even send you the spare parts to get your project running, i have three sets here - minus one fluidic control board where the ARM controller died while connected to the JTAG adapter. First time that happened for me, don’t know what i did wrong. (BTW: The valves and drivers are already prepared to send to you, just drop me a mail with the address to ship to via private mail.)
Best from Kiel,
Teide.