PathPilot: VFD selection

I'm researching VFDs (the drives themselves) and while it's a big, complex field, the range of readily available drives for 1 to 1.5hp (750w to 1.1kw) motors seems to have some consistent characteristics. If I understand correctly, many use a 10v range control signal for spindle speed. Do Tormach systems use this approach to communicate with the VFD, and do they use -5v full reverse/0v stop/+5v full forward?

I'm planning on using a Mesa 5i25+7i76 setup.

Are there issues to look out for when selecting a VFD to be used with a PathPilot-based system to make setup as simple as possible?

the mesa 7i76 has a analog 0-15v capable isolated output for driving spindles including direction and enable , this is just about every vfd on the market . the actual voltage can range up to 15v , this is usually supplied by the vfd .
10v is industrial standard , they allow up to 15v to allow for voltage drop , if using long cables etc

I realize I should clarify that I'm focusing on mills, but I realize that other readers would be interested in the same info for their lathe setup.

My overall question is: Is this analog signal the default means that PathPilot expects to use to control spindle speed and direction?

Following on: If yes, is it low end of voltage range is full speed reverse, mid point of range is 0 rpm and high end of range is full speed forward?

And related: PathPilot both has to interpret G code spindle speed/direction commands and (IIRC) displays spindle speed. On Tormach mills, what is the default means that this is handled, including how does PathPilot know which level the belt is on? I was looking at Tormach's schematic and I don't see an indication of an encoder or similar - but I may have missed it.

So, to the point: when using PathPilot on a non-Tormach setup, how do you get spindle RPM accurately back to PathPilot for display and G code interpretation?

I found this thread:

forum.linuxcnc.org/forum/49-basic-config...encoder-setup-in-hal

That discusses and example of setting up spindle encoding with LinuxCNC, but part of my question is wether PathPilot can use additional information like this by default or can be configured to do so.

I guess a different way of asking about how PathPilot controls the VFD is: what would I look for in the configuration and HAL files to see how PathPilot is interfacing with the VFD?

Spindle rpm and positionfeedback does not normally come from the VFD, it comes from the spindle encoder.

I would expect this to be exactly the same between PathPilot and standard LinuxCNC.

Pathpilot is no more than a GUI Front end to Linuxcnc abeit an old version , by todays .
treat it no differently to Linuxcnc version 2.6.3 ( ubuntu 10_04 ) vintage.
their are a few dissimilar naming used , but no more , this is only to connections to the GUI and not the underlying linuxcnc codebase .

Pathpilot again interfaces to VFD'S exactly as Linuxcnc does .
connections and of course your bit file will be different thats all .
( see the pathpilot tutorials to get round the mesa / bitfile issues
if your stuck connecting / configuring , let me know ,