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Here's a tip you might find useful...

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  • Here's a tip you might find useful...

    If you wind Fender-style pickups, you connect the magnet wire to eyelets. Simple.

    But if you make Gibson-style pickups, the magnet wire needs to be first connected to a short piece of 28AWG wire.

    You can buy black & white wire from Mojo, Stew-Mac, etc., and I wholeheartedly endorse these fine suppliers.

    But as I'm winding more & more, and as my "recipes" have morphed into a wider product offering, I was finding myself with a bit of a conundrum:


    "How can I tell the difference between finished coils that are on my bench awaiting assembly or sitting around as leftovers?"

    I mean, seriously...they all look alike! How many turns are on this one or that one? I was using my LCR meter to try and determine any unknown coils that had become mis-handled or confused on the bench, but that was just guesswork. There had to be a better way, I figured.

    I needed a uniform way to tell one from another. Then this idea hit me! It works great for me....maybe it can work for you.

    Recognize this? Bad pic, I know....but this is an old IBM-style "PS2" connector. Remember when they interconnected the world?



    Well, strip the jacket, and what do you find? Voila! Six different colors of 28AWG PVC-insulated wire!





    Monitor cables are the same thing, and they have even more conductors. Different brands use different colors, too!

    So I've standardized:

    5000 turns of 42 poly....."yellow"
    6000 turns of 42 poly....."green"
    4000 turns of 42 enamel....."orange"

    etc.

    This way, a "lone coil" on the bench will tell you what it is....zero doubt!

    Here's an extra / leftover coil from a recent Firebird order. See the brown leads? Brown = 4400T-42P. Easy-Peasy!!



    So 2 monitor cables & 3 PS2 cables later, I have a lifetime supply of wire...10 different colors, each of which immediately tells me at-a-glance what a particular coil is.

    Best of all....it's free! Wherever your local electronics recycling happens, you will find what you need. Guaranteed!



    Anyway......it works for me. Maybe it will work for you, too!

    Enjoy,

    mn

  • #2
    Great tips.
    I usually make mine all the same.
    I make one coil with White and Black 28 awg.
    The other bobbin I use Red and Green 28awg.
    Now days I wind one coil one direction and the other coil the other.
    I do that with humbuckers and side winders.
    T
    "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference of the Devil in the House of Commons." Winston Churchill
    Terry

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    • #3
      I just write the info on the bottom of the bobbins with a sharpie or paint pen and keep the full specs in a notebook.

      Comment


      • #4
        If you're like me, you have a boxful of non-functioning (or simply older) mice and keyboards in the garage or basement.. All their cables are similar to what the OP notes (great Marks think alike!).

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        • #5
          The smaller 28awg I use is in the 4 wire cable for pickups.
          It is smaller in diameter than the individual 28awg you buy separate.
          I still like to wind over the start lead on the bottom of the bobbin, and the smaller the wire diameter the better.
          3 inches of the cable is all you need per pickup, Black, White, Green, & Red.
          Thanks for all the tips.
          T
          "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference of the Devil in the House of Commons." Winston Churchill
          Terry

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          • #6
            Usefull tips ,maybe some sort of "sticky" is in order
            "UP here in the Canada we shoot things we don't understand"

            Comment


            • #7
              I think it needs more Tips, to justify a Sticky.
              As it grows, that could be an option?
              The Rewind Thread might be a candidate for a sticky?
              Does anyone have a tip for an even way to magnetize bar magnets with neos.
              Tips on Potting, tips for cover aging, etc. ?
              T
              "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference of the Devil in the House of Commons." Winston Churchill
              Terry

              Comment


              • #8
                OK
                Anyone who uses a meat thermometer to check the temperature of there wax pot know it is a slow process ,waiting to it to rise to correct reading takes a little while .
                eBay
                This thing is the cats meow ,accurate readings in about 2 seconds....I see them locally but at almost 5x the price
                "UP here in the Canada we shoot things we don't understand"

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by copperheadroads View Post
                  OK
                  Anyone who uses a meat thermometer to check the temperature of there wax pot know it is a slow process ,waiting to it to rise to correct reading takes a little while .
                  eBay
                  This thing is the cats meow, accurate readings in about 2 seconds....I see them locally but at almost 5x the price
                  IR thermometers don't necessarily measure what you want. I have one of the pistol-shaped ones with a yellow body, and it does work well for surface temperatures of things that are dark grey to black in the thermal IR band. It will not work through a window, and if used on liquids may be measuring the temperature of the pan below - this part is complex.

                  Don't trust its measurements until you've calibrated the IR thermometer against an old-fashioned thermometer sitting in the hot wax.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    My Meat thermometer is usually sitting in my wax pot so I have been using both to compare ,switch the pot off & you can see the temperature slowly decrease . I think the IR is more accurate . but I wall always both together
                    "UP here in the Canada we shoot things we don't understand"

                    Comment

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