Hi is anyone good with circuits and drawing schematic?

[Michelle_K]

I am about to take on a project that will require a circuit with several things going on. The thing is I am completely rubbish at electronics so wondered if anyone would be able to help me draw a plan so I know what connects to what.
The projects is a guitar pickup winder and this is a run down of how I imagine it working,
So there will be a motor that runs in both a clockwise and anti clockwise direction, a tally counter connected to a reed switch. The counter will count the number of winds the pickup makes. A potentiometer which can increase and decrease the speed of the motor. A toggle on off switch and a sewing machine style foot pedal which will also be able to increase and decrease the speed of the motor. I read somewhere that a pwm switch may be a good idea but I am still trying to understand what that is.

I hope this makes some kind of sense and i would really appreciate any help or even advice or somewhere I could go to get help with this. I have googled it but not he much luck yet.

Thank you all

Michelle

 

[Alexam]

Just google'd it and the sample diagrams should show what you need

http://www.guitarelectronics.com/catego ... _diagrams/

 

[Kalimna]

Failing that, the luthiery forum, MIMF, would be a good starting point. They have some very knowledgeable pickup wonders and circuit makers there.

Good luck.

Adam

 

[bugbear]

I am about to take on a project that will require a circuit with several things going on. The thing is I am completely rubbish at electronics so wondered if anyone would be able to help me draw a plan so I know what connects to what.
The projects is a guitar pickup winder and this is a run down of how I imagine it working,
So there will be a motor that runs in both a clockwise and anti clockwise direction, a tally counter connected to a reed switch. The counter will count the number of winds the pickup makes. A potentiometer which can increase and decrease the speed of the motor. A toggle on off switch and a sewing machine style foot pedal which will also be able to increase and decrease the speed of the motor. I read somewhere that a pwm switch may be a good idea but I am still trying to understand what that is.

I hope this makes some kind of sense and i would really appreciate any help or even advice or somewhere I could go to get help with this. I have googled it but not he much luck yet.

Thank you all

Michelle

What sort of pickups are you planning to make in the end?

BugBear

 

[Eric The Viking]

A quick Google reveals a variety of coil winders available at pretty reasonable cost (tens and hundreds of quid).

Isn't it easier to start with one of those and mod it? You get all the basic things: wire feed, tension adjustment, turns counter and speed control. I appreciate that pickup coils can be ovals or whatever, but they're still basically coils, albeit with a range of cores.

If you're a small luthery, how many pickups are you going to need regularly, that the machine needs to be terrifically elaborate?

 

[mind_the_goat]

Hi
Just curious why it needs to be reversible?
There are lots of approaches to this, as above Google returns many options for either ready made or DIY coil winders. I found this which has a counter, but no motor: http://www.instructables.com/id/Coil-winder-with-automatic-counter/, adding a motor shouldn't be too hard.
The control type you chose depends on how accurate you need the speed control, using a foot pedal you probably don't need high accuracy as you can compensate, you could just buy a sewing machine motor with a pedal, overkill on the power but an easy way to get going. http://www.amazon.co.uk/SEWING-MACHINE-CONTROL-SCREWS-UNIVERSAL/dp/B00B9FTTLQ.
Next step up would be your suggestion of using a small motor with a PWM speed controller, something like this could work : http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/mfa-panel-mounted-speed-regulator-module-rn41u , you could replace the on board potentiometer with a foot pedal or find a controller that has an external voltage control input.
If you want more high tech then you can move on to stepper motors controlled via software, you could drive the coil rotation, wire feed and also feed the counter into the controller so it would be fully automatic. overkill if you main aim is to make guitars rather than learn programming and electronics but Googling 'Arduino coil winder' will get you some examples.

Edit: Just found this simple PWM controller circuit if you wanted build your own for small motor: http://www.gadgetronicx.com/dc-motor-speed-control-circuit-ic555/

 

[MIGNAL]

Hhhmm. . . . I could employ my hand crank grinder.

 

[Kalimna]

Well, having just finished reading the book on Brian Mays' Red Special, it appears he used a hand cranked winder for his first pickups...

Adam

 

[MIGNAL]

I did my first one winding by hand! It was my first and only one.
Wasn't there a Gibson? pick up that had legendary status because the windings were uneven? Probably another 'tone myth' to go along with all the others!

 

[bugbear]

For a Ukulele, just use a hot rail pickup to avoid string spacing issues.

BugBear

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

Hi
Just curious why it needs to be reversible?

For hum cancelling. As a broad generalisation, the middle pickup on a Strat-type guitar, and one coil in each pickup of a humbucker, is wound in the opposite direction, then wired in opposite polarity compared to the other coil(s). Then, when you combine two coils the noise picked up tends to cancel out, whereas the signals add up.

I assume that the winder can only mount the base of the pickup coil, so you can't just flip it over.