Counter Idea

[tonedeciple]

This diagram is awesome! Thanks.

[tonedeciple]

So many choices, so little time. Maybe I'll try them all as it seems to be fairly low cost.

[MistaT]

Welcome!

I get a lot out of this forum. Its nice to be able to give back a little.

[CWalsh]

There are tons of people here that know way more than I do, I just thought I chuck my 2 cents in on this one. I have largely been "self trained" in the pickup winding arts. Until today, when I found this forum, I have found very little info and as a result have had to kind of figure it out myself. BTW, this forum is terrific! A group of like-minded nerds makes one feel really good. And I mean that in the nicest of ways. Anyway, I have used a reed counter from Radio Shack to make several pickups. I rigged up what I call my Ghetto Winder from an old drill and some mdf. I glued a magnet to the winding spool and mounted the reed counter to the supports. The leads run back to an old mouse and I use the calculator function on the computer. If I really rev the drill, the counter misses some counts, I just don't go full speed. Compared to the sweet rigs that I've already stumbled on here, mine is way more ghetto than I even thought. However, it works and since I mount the pickups in guitars that I build, and I only build a half dozen a year, half the fun is showing people my "hi-tech" equipment.

Thanks already for the forum. You guys make me feel like I was blind until today.

[MistaT]

CWalsh,

Welcome to the forum! I too am a noob here, but I totally get what you are saying. As far as nerds go, I'm coming to the realization that nerd is in fact the new cool.

You are right, this forum is amazing! As in there are true experts who really know their stuff.

Your ghetto winder sounds alright by me! As is often the case, there is more than one way to do things. My winder is pretty ghetto too, its an old sewing machine with a desk lamp on top that is held on with a bungee cord! Honestly I'm really feeling like its not complete b/c it doesn't have any duct tape on it.

[tonedeciple]

The Latest Twist in My Winder Odyssey

When I started winding my own pups, I used a so called ghetto winder as well. I used a pedometer/reed switch to count turns and when that failed (as the always seem to do) I timed and tested with a multimeter.

Now, however, as requests for pups have increased, I found myself needing a more reliable way to count turns for the sake of consistency. Then, a friend of mine offered to buy me a winder if I'll make him some pups for free. It's a good deal for both of us. I get a winder and he gets a bunch of custom pickups made to his specs.

I still plan to make a winder using the advice in this thread. If I start getting more requests than I can handle alone, I put my son to work with the homemade winder.

[David King]

Have you considered the CNC winder that a bunch of us are making for ourselves based on a PIC controller that elepro has programmed? There are a few hundred posts to read but the cost is probably less than an out-of-the-box schatten winder.

[Mathen]

On the subject of "ghetto winders" that was actually what I named my first winder. It was a ten dollar universal motor with part of a tap and dye set stuck on the shaft sticking out a metal mail box. Believe it or not... it worked pretty well, I just didn't have a counter so I've built a few new ones since.

I'm going to have to find a picture because it said ghetto winder on it big as day. My kids thought it was hysterical.


Edit: Gah, I found a couple of pictures but they were before I Christened it with orange paint pen. So now I've gone and de-lurked with an amusing anecdote that isn't nearly as amusing without the visual gag. I'll go ahead and post a photo of it anyway, because it really did wind a couple of decent (if inconsistent) pickups before I made winder II.

[tonedeciple]

It should work just fine and the price is right.
I tracked down a datasheet which is probably close enough:
http://www.redingtoncounters.com/lib...ry$0@492;Entry

I'm thinking out loud here so bear with me. It looks like this counter doesn't have DC supply output. Therefore I'm guessing I'd need and external power supply for the LED. Then I would connect the sensor side of the QRB1114 to the inputs on the counter. Does that sound right?

[David King]

Yeah just a dc wallwort or a couple of aa cells.
The Fairchild(1114) thing I linked to is a phototransistor. You can try it out and see if it works like that or you may need to build some sort of amp. There are guys here that actually know something about electronics and can read the datasheets for you an tell you if it will work or not. You can also call the companies involved and ask for tech support.

[BizzarGuitars]

Has anyone else tried the applications at this site?http://pickups.myonlinesite.com/programs.php

Using the serial port on a computer, a reed switch and a small magnet, makes it really easy.

That web site also has a Pickup Calculator application for approximating number of turns and total resistance depending on bobbin dimensions.

[-Elepro-]

I'm thinking out loud here so bear with me. It looks like this counter doesn't have DC supply output. Therefore I'm guessing I'd need and external power supply for the LED. Then I would connect the sensor side of the QRB1114 to the inputs on the counter. Does that sound right?

it works.....but first of all you have to find a wallwort and say its tension..... then QRB1114 needs a resistors on the anode of led..... and another one on the collector of sensor...

[tonedeciple]

it works.....but first of all you have to find a wallwort and say its tension..... then QRB1114 needs a resistors on the anode of led..... and another one on the collector of sensor...

This is a wall wart I found:

12 Watt 12 VDC Power Supply

Question is, how do I connect it to the QRB1114 and then the QRB1114 to the counter?

[David King]

Try your local Goodwill store for a wallwart, you needn't pay top dollar + shipping for a $1 item. Everybody has piles of these things lingering around the house anyway.
9VDC is probably fine but a 5VDC would be even easier I think and it could probably supply the counter as well.

[-Elepro-]

This is a wall wart I found:

12 Watt 12 VDC Power Supply

Question is, how do I connect it to the QRB1114 and then the QRB1114 to the counter?

bye