Have read odd times about people designing 'counters' for rope / chain going out etc.

[Refueler]

It occurred to me some time ago and for somer strange reason - the thought came back to me today ... there are various ways to count for example anchor chain going out ... by eye - that means markers on the chain / paint ... mechnical counters or electronic.

Ages ago - I used a bicycle speedo to do RPM of the engine ... once I had a ratio of crankshast puller to the readout on the bike display - it was a simple maths job ... not for daily use - but was good to test ...

The question of anchor chain if over a gypsy ... could use the same bicycle speedo ... it uses a small magnet on the 'wheel' and the 'detector' is fixed .. so the passing of the magnet causea a pulse. The 'speed' would of course be useless - its the 'distance' counted by the pulses that would be used ...

 

[rogerthebodger]

Any kind of mechanical counter could be used with a mechanical striker of magnetic striker can be used if you can do the calculations n your head.

 

[Mistroma]

I think the main problem with electronic (Arduino or ESP32) may be de-bouncing the mechanical reed switch. Easy enough to count pulses using an interrupt and logic is pretty simple. Monitor power to windlass and add or subtract depending on whether down or up is selected. If freewheeling then assume it's going down or owner has a problem and probably not bothered by chain counter error by then.

Probably the simplest component that gives most problems and the magnets also tend to rust away pretty quickly.

 

[NorthUp]

Now if you were to connect a reed switch to a NASA log, reading miles run, with enough magnets on the gypsy to calibrate it...

 

[Mistroma]

Now if you were to connect a reed switch to a NASA log, reading miles run, with enough magnets on the gypsy to calibrate it...

Thinking outside the box. I like it and NASA will have done the hard work as their log transducer probably uses a reed switch to count a magnet passing.

Minor point. Would it be any cheaper than a proper chain counter?

 

[simonfraser]

Thinking outside the box. I like it and NASA will have done the hard work as their log transducer probably uses a reed switch to count a magnet passing.

Minor point. Would it be any cheaper than a proper chain counter?

I just count numbers in my head whilst the electric gypsy turns, 3 counts = 1m
How exact does this anchoring need to be …….
The day I can’t do that sum any more I should stop boating

 

[Refueler]

Blimey ... I did not expect such positive replies ... I was expecting a bunch of replies poo - pooing the idea !!

 

[Mistroma]

I just count numbers in my head whilst the electric gypsy turns, 3 counts = 1m
How exact does this anchoring need to be …….
The day I can’t do that sum any more I should stop boating

I actually do the same from the cockpit. I count till the anchor will be on the bottom and start reversing. Then my wife drops a mark with the plotter. We use that to monitor distance to the anchor when reversing to dig in. No need to find a transit and also useful later to know where the anchor is located. Handy when wind changes a lot and a charter yacht anchors nearby, possibly on my anchor. Also leaves a nice mark to find or avoid same spot on another visit.

I get the actual amount laid from markings on the chain when I go to the bows to fit the snubber.

The log on my first boat consisted of me dropping a piece of wood from the bows and noting time to reach the stern. Mk2 consisted of a weighted plastic triangle on line with knots on it. Depth was by leadline with recess for tallow.

I've been sailing for a little while.

 

[andsarkit]

I think the main problem with electronic (Arduino or ESP32) may be de-bouncing the mechanical reed switch. Easy enough to count pulses using an interrupt and logic is pretty simple. Monitor power to windlass and add or subtract depending on whether down or up is selected. If freewheeling then assume it's going down or owner has a problem and probably not bothered by chain counter error by then.

Probably the simplest component that gives most problems and the magnets also tend to rust away pretty quickly.

Electronic de-bouncing is fairly easy but most sensors use a Hall effect switch. If it has 3 wires it will be a Hall effect sensor. Quite a lot of rare earth magnets are nickel plated so might last for a reasonable time.
I think the biggest problem is reverse counting if you shorten the scope.

 

[Mistroma]

Electronic de-bouncing is fairly easy but most sensors use a Hall effect switch. If it has 3 wires it will be a Hall effect sensor. Quite a lot of rare earth magnets are nickel plated so might last for a reasonable time.
I think the biggest problem is reverse counting if you shorten the scope.

I think my Quick windlass is probably a reed switch. It certainly only has 2 wires. I did make a start on an ESP32 based system and used a library routine to de-bounce. However, it would still desynchronise fairly often when going down and up.

Shortening scope was never a problem to detect. I simply monitored voltages on wiring for up and down and set a flag. The interrupt routine for the pulse counter was very quick. It simply added or subtracted depending on the flag. I had a trivial phone app that read the value and did the conversion from pulses to metres.

Of course zero volts meant manual winding but I always defaulted to running out more chain as that was most likely.

I didn't really follow up the random errors as I had a more serious problem with my voltage/current/water/fuel display failing. I had to build that from scratch with a custom I/O board and display.

The rare earth magnet under the windlass corroded to nothing very quickly. I tried potting them in epoxy, high modulus adhesive, etc. However, they still rusted away. I wasn't too bothered as manual estimate plus chain markings were actually fine. I always had to go to the bows to attach the snubber anyway.