cheap counter

[David King]

Very stylish bottle cap guides there. What's the Veeder Root part number on that counter?

[Rich Rice]

Thanks! They are mounted to thumbscrews, for adjustment... The Gatorade was delicious, as well.
Here's a little clip of the maiden voyage. Worked perfectly, first time.


The counter worked great, too. I mounted it to a little piece of cocobolo, left over from one of my fingerboards. Gotta have some exotic woods to be a "Rice" LOL



Here's the first one we wound with the "new" machine, fresh out of the potting wax


7825 turns, 5.8 kilohms. Just what I wanted, like a '55 strat.

[David Schwab]

My wife is from Chicago and i`m from Northern Ireland, she defines it as two northeners in bum f*** egypt. The weather is beautiful and we love it down here.

We may be heading down there at some point. I like to be close to NYC, but I hardly ever gig anymore so...

[Amplexus]

a cheap calculator phototransistor and a led will make a simple counter. key in 1+1 and hit =, each time you hit = it increments by 1. replace the = key with the phototransistor drill a hole on the disc the pickup mounts to and shine the led at the phototransistor. the output will increment once each revolution.
Amplexus

[walcen]

Or you might even try this nifty little program, it's the cheapest and most accurate turn counter I've come across.

All you need is an old serial cable, your computer and an input of your choice, read switch, proximity sensor, photo interrupt sensor what ever.

It should count at at least 30 hertz or better for fast winding, it also has a rev counter and a pick up winding calculator.

I've tested it and liked it so much I sent a donation for the software but you can download it for free.

http://pickups.myonlinesite.com/serial.php

regards

Wal

[Bruce Johnson]

I still don't understand why some of you guys are so fascinated with electronic counters. A mechanical counter is dead simple, cheap, and super reliable. I've got nothing against using electronics, but for this application it just seems to be much more complicated than necessary.

For reference, what Rich used is a reciprocating-type mechanical counter, which he has linked up to the reciprocating upper shaft of his converted sewing machine. That's fine for a sewing machine conversion winder, although you may have to watch the RPM's a bit.

If you're building a basic motor driven winder, you want the rotary type counter, driven right from the spindle shaft, or with a rubber toothed belt drive. That will go as fast as you want, and will never miscount or fail.

[Eville-Tone]

Cheap counter...

I bought a cheap mechanical counter from China on ebay and connected it with a small v-belt that I took from an old key machine. I machined the pulley's on a lathe so it would be a 1 to 1 ratio. It worked great until I ignored the rated speed to see just how fast I could wind a pickup and I smoked it. Buying a cheap counter proved to be false economy for me. Still, I'm sticking with mechanical counters just for ease of hook up and use.

[Rich Rice]

Just a quick update- the counter has been fine, my linkage vibrated loose at one point. Luckily, it didn't do any permanent damage. A drop of Loctite on the nut seems to have solved the problem (at least for now).

There is a bit more vibration in the machine overall that I could do without, but it does a good job on the pickups. Doesn't seem to have a negative effect on the windings, and the pickups sound great. We have had good results, and our customers really love the tone. Many thanks to everybody here who has helped us along the way!

Rich

[Joe Gwinn]

Just a quick update- the counter has been fine, my linkage vibrated loose at one point. Luckily, it didn't do any permanent damage. A drop of Loctite on the nut seems to have solved the problem (at least for now).

There is a bit more vibration in the machine overall that I could do without, but it does a good job on the pickups.

Sounds like something is seriously unbalanced. Adding a cleverly-located counterweight should greatly reduce the vibration, and delay the day when it shakes something else apart.