GW Staar
Member
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2009
- Messages
- 3,734
Finally a primer sensor for the rest of us! A few weeks ago I read a thread about a Round Counter that Dillon used to make, that the O.P. was looking for. He got several replies about how people count their reloading in other ways, including mine. But my wheels were turning, because there are other ways a reloader like me could really use a counter, not for counting rounds, which of course you can do if you want, but for me counting primers and counting powder would be really useful.
The following picture view of my RCBS Pro 2000 shows an APS primer strip about to be joined to the nearly spent one. The picture doesn’t show populated strips, just the perpetual procedure that must occur every 25 primers. You forget…you load brass without primers…heaven forbid! Tube loaders put off a similar procedure for another 75 primers, but if you forget to load another tube, you also can load rounds without primers.
So, I dreamed up a concept of using an electronic “down-counter” that for me has two presets. One at 15, which is the # of cases I prime on the first primer strip of the day, before I need to splice the second strip to it…and another preset of 25, which after 25 strokes of the press would beep at me to change all additional strips. So this counter would count 15 press strokes, beep, I would add strip #2, it would automatically reset to 25, then count 25 press strokes, beep, and I would add strip #3, repeating perpetually until I turn it off.
I knew a fairly simple microcontroller controlled circuit, with programmed presets, a reset button, a source of counter signal, and an on/off switch would do it, but I can’t program microcontroller chips. I went looking for such info on electronic forums.
I found Rick Harris of WWW.MoonTaj.com, who specializes in custom circuits and who also programs microcontrollers. He made me just what I envisioned for $30. (Next Picture!)
Put in a box (he supplied) and mounted to my press, and using a microswitch for input and an old cell phone power supply, the following picture is a video that shows the result of this first prototype kit and yes, you can actually buy the prototype! Click the next picture to play the video.
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Now I don't have to think about running out of primers. Just open a box of 1000 CCI strip primers and go...for a long as I want...focusing on load quality.
You can check out this newly available kit at MoonTaj.Com Obviously, if you can figure out how to mount a microswitch,or any other kind of switch: proximity, reed, magnetic to your Hornady, Dillon or Lee, , you can convert this to any press, and can count rounds loaded, keep track of primer tube level, powder measure level, what ever. Kevin Harris can provide an inexpensive solution, either in kit form, or whatever you want. Possibilities are pretty endless! Eventually I want to put together a tool with two back-lit LCD readouts and a couple more buttons to set it up to watch my powder level too.
Dillon and RCBS users who have tube primer systems have simple mechanical primer sensors available to them already, and Dillon has a mechanical powder level sensor, but as we develop the tool I want for my press, I can eventually accomplish everything those Dillon tools can do for their users, and more on one tool, and not have to add mechanical contraptions to primer tubes or powder measures.
If anybody's interested in how I made it work on my press read the larger account at http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=42&t=324316
The following picture view of my RCBS Pro 2000 shows an APS primer strip about to be joined to the nearly spent one. The picture doesn’t show populated strips, just the perpetual procedure that must occur every 25 primers. You forget…you load brass without primers…heaven forbid! Tube loaders put off a similar procedure for another 75 primers, but if you forget to load another tube, you also can load rounds without primers.
So, I dreamed up a concept of using an electronic “down-counter” that for me has two presets. One at 15, which is the # of cases I prime on the first primer strip of the day, before I need to splice the second strip to it…and another preset of 25, which after 25 strokes of the press would beep at me to change all additional strips. So this counter would count 15 press strokes, beep, I would add strip #2, it would automatically reset to 25, then count 25 press strokes, beep, and I would add strip #3, repeating perpetually until I turn it off.
I knew a fairly simple microcontroller controlled circuit, with programmed presets, a reset button, a source of counter signal, and an on/off switch would do it, but I can’t program microcontroller chips. I went looking for such info on electronic forums.
I found Rick Harris of WWW.MoonTaj.com, who specializes in custom circuits and who also programs microcontrollers. He made me just what I envisioned for $30. (Next Picture!)
Put in a box (he supplied) and mounted to my press, and using a microswitch for input and an old cell phone power supply, the following picture is a video that shows the result of this first prototype kit and yes, you can actually buy the prototype! Click the next picture to play the video.
Now I don't have to think about running out of primers. Just open a box of 1000 CCI strip primers and go...for a long as I want...focusing on load quality.
You can check out this newly available kit at MoonTaj.Com Obviously, if you can figure out how to mount a microswitch,or any other kind of switch: proximity, reed, magnetic to your Hornady, Dillon or Lee, , you can convert this to any press, and can count rounds loaded, keep track of primer tube level, powder measure level, what ever. Kevin Harris can provide an inexpensive solution, either in kit form, or whatever you want. Possibilities are pretty endless! Eventually I want to put together a tool with two back-lit LCD readouts and a couple more buttons to set it up to watch my powder level too.
Dillon and RCBS users who have tube primer systems have simple mechanical primer sensors available to them already, and Dillon has a mechanical powder level sensor, but as we develop the tool I want for my press, I can eventually accomplish everything those Dillon tools can do for their users, and more on one tool, and not have to add mechanical contraptions to primer tubes or powder measures.
If anybody's interested in how I made it work on my press read the larger account at http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=42&t=324316
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