Right i found this thing earlier today, but i dont know what it is.

Some kind of sender maybe, but it has 2 wires and a shield (see pic). It says orbit controls on it, tried a search but it revealed nothing helpful on google.

Anyone got any ideas?
Rescued attachment What is this.jpg

Looks to me like either a magetic sensor or hall effect.

Best way to tell is put a contuity tester across it's wires, put a magnet close and if it's read type it will show the wires connected together when the magnet is close and open when it's moved away. If it's the Hall effect type then it will require power as they are basically a transistor that is switched using a moveing peice of metal rather than small current.

Looks like a magnetic speed pick up to me. We use instruments like this at work. The tip is positioned very close to the flywheel teeth, and connected to a tachometer of some kind. When the engine is turning it counts the number of teeth (output signal is a voltage pulse). The tacho works out the engine speed depending on the frequency of the pulses. You'll need to know the number of teeth on the flywheel though (i.e. 145 pulses = 1 revolution)

As Pioneer X says, it uses the Hall effect to create the voltage. I think one wire would be the feed (small power supply) and the other the return signal. Can find out more detail if you wish.

Hope this helps
James

[Edited on 23-2-2004 by Donners90]

Thanks very much guys, when i get home i will stick a meter across it and try it out

Thanks again

Looks almost the same as mine which is mounted next to the prop shaft and picks up the two magnets that I have glued to the prop shaft.
Pat...

Was a handy find if it works then i 'found' it on my wander back from a lecture in the engineering department.

Also i may be in luck with some welding tuition from the technicians here at the uni, which will be handy

Cheers

Edit: $%^&ing H&S people...have no end of organising to do to get some welding tuition! Would you believe it! I know welding is very dangerous, but i am trying to learn and it seems no one wants to teach me...got passed around 3 people already! ARGH! And i dont have any money to do a course at the college! Bugger [i know its not in the right place, but i had to vent (dont feel any better tho )]

[Edited on 24/2/04 by flak monkey]

looks like a proximity sensor to me that

looks like an old proximity sensor - these include a permanent magnet & sense a varying reluctance as a ferromagnetic object(gear tooth, bolt) passes near the end. You get AC out so trying to spot anything DC won't work.
Hall effect jobs can (I believe) look similar and they do work at DC, generally with a logic or (more usually) open collector output - but they need a power supply.
If it's one of the old ones 2 of the wires will be resistively connected.
Bob C

Thanks v. much. I will try and work out what it is when i am feeling up to it. Maybe ill just ask the techys here to suss it.

Is it any use? For anything on a locost? Speedo? Rev counter?

Cheers