Winding Without A Counter

[tonedeciple]

Call me crazy, but after my counter broke, I decided to try winding a pair of humbuckers without one. Instead, I used a stopwatch to time how long it took to completely fill a humbucker bobbin. It took 11 minutes 30 seconds with my simple, power drill winder. For the second bobbin, I ran the drill for the same amount of time. The first bobbin tested at 5.07K Ohms of DC resistance and the second at 4.69K Ohms. This pup will be used in the bridge position. For the neck, I ran the winder for about 9 minutes with each bobbin. They tested at 3.35K and 3.15K Ohms. I'm pretty sure I could replicate these results over and over.

Does anyone else use this approach? It seems a lot cheaper and easier than making my own reliable high-speed counter.

[chevalij]

That will work as long as your speed never changes. Power fluctuations in your house voltage may vary the drill speed enough to screw up your winding though. And as you've already seen, your coils can be off by as much as .4k, but I wind different sets based on specs that change by around .2k But, I guess it also depends on how many pickups you want to wind etc. I've found that with a counter, I can wind a set of pickups that are within .05 tops. YMMV

[tonedeciple]

Power fluctuations in your house voltage may vary the drill speed enough to screw up your winding though.YMMV

Boy are you correct. I heard my drill slow down and speed up at least twice during the winding process.

[other1152]

lets just say you have a power regulator of some kind... would this theory work with any kind of accuracy..?

it sounds like a decent way to do things if you dont have a counter, or before you wire one up. i might try it when i get my winder built.

[David Schwab]

I change speed while I'm winding, so that would never work for me.

Counters are cheap.

[tonedeciple]

I change speed while I'm winding, so that would never work for me.

Counters are cheap.

And that's why I ended up making a winder with a $5 phototransistor triggered counter. Works beautifully.

I just wish there was a way to check DCR as the winder is at speed instead of stopping, sanding, metering, and reinsulating. If I could do that, I'd chuck my counter in a heartbeat.

[JHow]

Stupidly Lo-Buck Counter

I improvised a counter using an old calculator by wiring the "=" button to reed switch (window security switch), which I tripped from a small neo mag. The calculator was free, the switch and mag were less than $2 at surplus store. " +, 1, =" will start it counting. I'm not sure how fast this will count, because my winder doesn't have high rpm, but I tested it with 100 winds and it seemed to work.

[David Schwab]

I just wish there was a way to check DCR as the winder is at speed instead of stopping, sanding, metering, and reinsulating. If I could do that, I'd chuck my counter in a heartbeat.

I don't wind to DCR. There's no reason to do so. I check a wound and wired coil and know what it should read for a particular pickup model, but that's about it. Everything I do is by turns.

Think of it this way, what if you want to wind the same pickup, or one coil on a humbucker, with a different gauge wire? How will you know when you have the right number of turns? You wont because it's not going to read the same.

[tonedeciple]

I'm not sure how fast this will count, because my winder doesn't have high rpm, but I tested it with 100 winds and it seemed to work.

I tried this same approach, but it ended up way too unreliable. What I finally made (based on the advice of a lot of guys on this forum) was to use a Fairchild QRB1114 phototransistor (free from Fairchild), a $5 counter from American Science Surplus and a couple of resistors. It counts all the way up to my winder's full speed, which is about 2,250 rpm. I'm loving it!

[tonedeciple]

I don't wind to DCR. There's no reason to do so.

I have found that variations in the winding pattern and tension result in different DCR readings for identical turns. For that reason, I have always wondered what might happen if we could watch the DCR climb as we wind. As you approach a target number, you'd slow down the winder and stop when you hit it. Or, it could be set-up via programing to shut off at a pre-determined DCR. As a result, you could wind any bobbin with any wire to the exact same DCR.

I realize DCR tells us very little about a pickup, but in a way, neither does turn count. After all, most boutique pickup makers stress DCR in their marketing. Why? Because that's what pickup buying consumers understand.

Of course this is pie-in-the-sky thinking since as far as I know, you cant measure DCR through the insulation while winding. But I can't help but wonder what would happen if we could!

[JHow]

I suspected that my method is not fast enough, which is why I qualified my comment. I am (mis-) using a small metal lathe, running in approx. 200 rpm.

It's not fast, but hey, the torgue is amazing!

It's probably time for me to get off my butt and make a real counter.

[tonedeciple]

It's probably time for me to get off my butt and make a real counter.

I just check with American Scientific Surplus, and they don't carry that counter anymore. It's a Redington 7600-731DC. Bummer, it really works well for only $5. SMC has it for $20 at the bottom of this page:

SMC ELECTRONICS - Electronic Modules & Circuit Boards

Anyway I attached a schematic of the wiring I used.

[JHow]

Wonder if this could be hacked...

EXERCISE COUNTER/TIMER W/ MERCURY SWITCH | AllElectronics.com

[tonedeciple]

Wonder if this could be hacked...

EXERCISE COUNTER/TIMER W/ MERCURY SWITCH | AllElectronics.com

It probably could in much the same was a people adapt pedometers as counters. Bonus: we could see how many calories we burn while winding!!

[other1152]

so is there a good cheap way to do it besides the reed switch pedometer thing..?

i'm still a ways off from building my winder but idk, i'm just gathering info before i make my plans..