counting the number of turns

[franklin01]

i was wondering if anybody has an inexpensive way of counting the number of winds when winding a pickup, i have built a homemade pickup winder with a motor and a speed control knob, the only thing i dont have is a way to count the number of turns, please help!
thank you

[Tom Phillips]

Check out the info at the following link and let me know if the idea helps you out.
http://europa.spaceports.com/%7Efishbake/counter/count.htm
Regards,
Tom

[franklin01]

this was the very first method that i tried and i was hoping it would work out, but for some reason the solder wouldnt stick to the board, it seems that one every calculator i had there was a protecting layer over all of the circuits, if you have any more info on how to get around this though i would be more than greatful, thanks

[Tom Phillips]

... for some reason the solder wouldnt stick to the board...
That protection layer is the solder mask. I ususally remove it by scraping with an xacto knife or carefully with a dremel tool. Another idea is to follow the trace to which you want to attach to an exposed solder joint that will take the solder.
Tom

[ken]

You can also try some acetone at the spot on the board you want to solder to.
Just put some on with a cotton swab, wait about 10 seconds or so, and scrape off with a razor blade.

Ken

[WolfeMacleod]

Look into KEP electronic counters. And Hall-effect sensors.

[ken]

I have a CUB4 around here somewhere I want to use myself.

I'm thinking about 'trading in' my infrared counter sensor for a Hall Effect one,
how do I interface the Hall sensor to the Cub4?

Ken

[Joe Gwinn]

I have a CUB4 around here somewhere I want to use myself.

I'm thinking about 'trading in' my infrared counter sensor for a Hall Effect one,
how do I interface the Hall sensor to the Cub4?

Ken

By picking the right Hall sensor. Many are designed for just this kind of thing, with an output that switches between open and closed. You need one that's able to handle the ~3-volt, 100-microamp sensing signal from the CUB4.

[ken]

I guess I better look at the Mouser catalog then, I like the big numbers the CUB4
has but I'm not overhappy with the IR sensor.

Ken

[MKB]

I'm using a surplus counter with a Hall-effect sensor. The sensor drives the gate of a MOSFET, which then pulses the +12V to activate the counter. Interfacing the winder with the Hall effect is super simple, just stick a Radio Shack rare earth magnet to the shaft of the winder, and then move the hall effect near the magnet. As the shaft and magnet spins, it then activates the hall effect. My winder uses a variable speed drill, the magnet is placed on the chuck. I usually run the winder not too fast, so the magnet does not try to fly off.

The counter is a surplus +12V pulsed counter bought from a surplus house for $1 or so. It does not have a reset function, but it is simple to add the number of turns desired to the count at the start of the winding. This system has worked extremely well so far.

[Brock Little]

Hmmm. Winders.
I remember my first winder was made by ripping the guts out of a cheap clock. I just hooked up the spindle to the seconds shaft and that was it. Some simple maths and it's a reasonable counter. I found that i could spin them well up to about 300 rpm in both directions without any problems.
Now i rely on mechanical counters rather than electronic digital counters. My winder's not fast enough to induce any problems with mechanical counters. It's not that I'm cheap, it's just that I'm..... well.... Yeah. Cheap.

[Spence]

Try this :

http://enmco.thomasnet.com/category/enm-counting-instruments-mechanical-counter

Should be OK even if you're winding at warp speed.

[Joe Gwinn]

Try this :

http://enmco.thomasnet.com/category/enm-counting-instruments-mechanical-counter

Should be OK even if you're winding at warp speed.Be sure to get a "rotation counter", not a stroke counter.

[ken]

Being cheap is no sin, after all not having money is a great reason to innovate.
Anyone can solve just about any problem simply by throwing money at it, IMHO being broke makes one think about the best way to do things.

I bet you will soon outgrow the mechanical counter, electronic counters are much more stable and will allow winding at higher speeds than the mech. ones.

Ken

[David Schwab]

Hmmm. Winders.
I remember my first winder was made by ripping the guts out of a cheap clock. I just hooked up the spindle to the seconds shaft and that was it. Some simple maths and it's a reasonable counter. I found that i could spin them well up to about 300 rpm in both directions without any problems.

How did you get an electric clock motor to spin at 300 RPM? The 60 cycle wall current sets the speed of an electric clock to 1 RPM (in the US anyway).

My first winder was made with a sewing machine motor, along with the variable speed pedal. Alas, it had no counter! I had to wind a bit and check the DC resistance.

I think I'll hook a speed pedal up to my current winder... it was handy.

[Brock Little]

It was a battery operated analogue wall clock with a traditional circular face, not a digital style or the old 'flick' style. These clocks are as cheap as dirt, I didn't even have to go out and buy one, it was in the lounge room all along.
It's just a matter of removing the single AA battery and yanking off the seconds hand. This exposes the small shaft in the centre. Just have a quick look at the centre shaft and it's easy enough to work out from there.

[David Schwab]

It was a battery operated analogue wall clock with a traditional circular face, not a digital style or the old 'flick' style. These clocks are as cheap as dirt, I didn't even have to go out and buy one, it was in the lounge room all along.
It's just a matter of removing the single AA battery and yanking off the seconds hand. This exposes the small shaft in the centre. Just have a quick look at the centre shaft and it's easy enough to work out from there.

Right, I got all that.... but how did you make it go 300 RPM? The battery powered clocks use a quartz crystal to set the speed. Second hands on clocks travel at 1 RPM.

[Spence]

I suspect he was using the clock as a counter, driven by the winder.

[Brock Little]

I suspect he was using the clock as a counter, driven by the winder.

Sorry guys. I thought that was kinda obvious.
The idea came to me because you can wind the hands of these clocks to set the time. by removing the seconds hand then you have the central shaft exposed and you have the means to count each revolution by running an extension from the winder.
I was in the process of making a reducer for the crappy old winder i was using so i could get higher speeds from the winder without having to run ye olde clock at warp speeds. Then a better winder made itself available (read: better funds became available for new winder).
It's not very hi tech, but as has been implied, nothing inspires innovation like a shallow pocket.

[David Schwab]

Sorry guys. I thought that was kinda obvious.

Ah, now I see it...

Nothing is ever obvious to me! Not even the obvious... the obtuse I see with no problem however!


...nothing inspires innovation like a shallow pocket.

I agree. I've invented some cool stuff because I couldn't afford to go out and buy something... I started building basses because I couldn't afford what I wanted.. only to spend much more on machines!