Is there a PCB pattern for infrared tach July 7 Servo?

[grant fair]

Has anyone made the tach with the revised N&V schematic? Did it work? Is there a PCB pattern available?<p>Grant

[grant fair]

Since I received no reply here or on the Servo list about a working PCB, when I found an RPM optical tachometer for $45 Can recently, I bought it from Princess Auto. It has a laser pointer beam which when it hits reflective tape, returns to the tach to be counted. So far it works just fine. Can't beat the price.

Grant

[jwax]

I agree Grant! I bought a photo tach from Circuit Specialists for $39 a few months ago.
This was waaay easier than building one!

[Robert Reed]

Jwax
What is the RPM range of your purchasaed tach? Also how far can you get from the target before it fails?

[jwax]

ROBERT-
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/searc ... y=DT-2234B
5-99,999 RPM, and the reading gets erratic beyond 6 inches distance. Good retroreflective tape is essential, although shiny foil works fairly well.
John

[Robert Reed]

Thanks a bunch, I will check it out. I was going to design my own, but at those prices I'd be better off buying one.

[grant fair]

The Princess Auto tach has the ability to read from 8 meters away! I haven't tried it but when I do I'll let you know how it goes.

It's at:

http://www.princessauto.com/_osn.cfm?CT ... Tachometer

Grant

[grant fair]

I tried out the Princess Auto laser beam tach today, and found it worked without problems at up to 6 feet. I did not test it beyond that, because of the size of the room I was in. As well, holding the beam steady on target becomes more of a challenge the further away you get, since movement is magnified at the reflecting end. I would not be surprized at all if it worked at greater distances. I don't know about the claimed 8 meters (about 25 feet) but if I try further I will post the results.

Grant