© 2015 alpenglow yarn - the skeinminder€¦ · good introduction makes life easier for everyone....

ContentsSetup your SkeinMinder ............................................................................................................................... 1

Unpack the Box ......................................................................................................................................... 1

Scope Out your Winder ............................................................................................................................. 2

Attach the Rotation Counter ..................................................................................................................... 3

Attach the Magnet .................................................................................................................................... 4

Check the Counter with your Winder ....................................................................................................... 4

Tidy your Cables ........................................................................................................................................ 5

Ready Your Winder ................................................................................................................................... 6

You’re done! ............................................................................................................................................. 6

It’s Time to Wind! ......................................................................................................................................... 7

Winding from Cones ................................................................................................................................. 7

Winding Minis, or Winding Smaller Skeins from Larger Skeins ................................................................ 7

Re‐skeining, or Re‐winding a Full Skein .................................................................................................... 8

Yarn Jam Detection ................................................................................................................................... 8

I Need to Shut the Winder Off! NOW!!! .................................................................................................. 8

The Buttons Explained .................................................................................................................................. 9

Up .............................................................................................................................................................. 9

Down ......................................................................................................................................................... 9

Menu ......................................................................................................................................................... 9

Zero ........................................................................................................................................................... 9

The Big Red Button ................................................................................................................................... 9

The Menu Section ....................................................................................................................................... 10

JAM TIME ................................................................................................................................................ 10

OVERSHOOT ............................................................................................................................................ 10

YO SENSE (an advanced mode) ............................................................................................................... 10

STOP @ SETPT ......................................................................................................................................... 11

AUTO ZERO ............................................................................................................................................. 11

Stop Codes .................................................................................................................................................. 12

Safety .......................................................................................................................................................... 13

Overload Fuse ............................................................................................................................................. 13

Technical Support ....................................................................................................................................... 14

Help us Get the Word Out! ......................................................................................................................... 14

© 2015 Alpenglow Yarn

1

RevolutionizeyourWinding withtheSkeinMinder

Thank you for purchasing a SkeinMinder! We’ve designed it to be as self‐explanatory as possible, but a

good introduction makes life easier for everyone. If you take a few minutes to read through this, you’ll

have a good idea of how the SkeinMinder works, and what to tweak to make your particular winding

setup as smooth as possible.

SetupyourSkeinMinder

UnpacktheBox

Included in the box is:

The SkeinMinder

Power Cord

Rotation Counter

Screw Eye

Magnet

Cable Guides (4)

1.

Power Cord

SkeinMinder

Cable Guides

Screw Eye and Magnet

Rotation Counter


2

ScopeOutyourWinder

The rotation counter and magnet work as a pair – when the magnet passes by the rotation

counter, it signals the SkeinMinder to add one rotation to the current count. The wired

counter should be attached to the fixed base of your winder, and the magnet should be

attached to the rotating hub or arm. There needs to be a 1/8” – 1/4” gap between them.

This is important. Please measure it.

A. Find a good spot to attach the

rotation counter and magnet. The

rotation counter goes on the fixed base

of your winder, and the magnet goes on

the moving arms, hub, or drive wheel.

They need to be 1/8” ‐ 1/4” apart, and

the magnet should pass directly in front

of the counter.

B. Make a note of where the counter

will attach to the base, and where the

magnet will sit on the arm, hub, or drive

wheel.

If you already have a rotation counter on

your winder, you may be able to

position the SkeinMinder counter to use

the existing magnet.

2.

Rotation Counter and Magnet on a Ball and Skein winder

1/8” – 1/4”

Rotation Counter on a Crazy Monkey winder, using the existing magnet


3

AttachtheRotationCounter

The screw eye is used to mount the rotation

counter onto winders with wood or plastic

bases.

A. Screw the eye into the winder base. Brute

force usually works, though you can also drill a

small pilot hole.

B. Unscrew one of the two nuts that come

with the rotation counter. Insert the counter

through the eye.

C. Thread the other nut onto the rotation

counter, firmly sandwiching the screw eye

between the two nuts.

3.


4

AttachtheMagnet

The magnet is adhesive‐backed and will stick to directly to the winder arm, hub, or drive

wheel.

A. Clean the surface with a lightly damp

cloth or isopropyl alcohol.

B. Peel off the adhesive backing.

C. Press the magnet to the arm or hub

firmly for 30 seconds.

D. Measure the distance from the

magnet to the rotation counter when they

are directly across from each other. If it’s

not in the 1/8” – 1/4" range, move the

rotation counter forward or backward by

adjusting the nuts.

ChecktheCounterwithyourWinder

A. Plug the SkeinMinder into a wall outlet with the

power cord provided. Note: at this time, the SkeinMinder

can only use 120V/60Hz AC power (North America

standard).

4.

5.

1/8” – 1/4”

Power Cord


5

B. Plug the Rotation Counter into the right side

of the SkeinMinder.

C. Manually move your winder arms back and

forth, so the magnet passes in front of the

counter. The count on the SkeinMinder should

increase with each pass, regardless of direction. If

it does not, check the spacing between the

counter and magnet.

TidyyourCables

Make sure all cables are routed clear of the winder’s moving parts.

Attach the cable guides to your winder.

A. Clean the surface of your winder with a lightly damp cloth or

isopropyl alcohol.

B. Peel off the adhesive backing.

C. Press each cable guide firmly to your winder for 30 seconds.

D. Gently clip the cable into each guide. The adhesive will firm

up after 24 hours, but the guides can creep or move before then.

6.

Rotation

Counter


6

ReadyYourWinder

A. With your winder still plugged directly into a wall

outlet, turn it on and adjust it to your preferred

winding speed.

B. With the winder still running, simply unplug it

from the wall.

C. The Big Red Button on the SkeinMinder should

not be lit. If it is blinking, press the Zero button.

D. Plug your winder into the SkeinMinder. As long

as the Big Red Button is off, your winder will not turn

on.

You’redone!

That’s right, you’re ready to wind! The SkeinMinder is set to 100 rotations by default, so if you want to

wind a 200 yd skein, set your winder to a 2 yd circumference and press the big red button!

7.Winder

Cord

Not Lit


7

It’sTimetoWind!

WindingfromCones

The SkeinMinder is set up to wind from cones by default. You won’t need to change the MENU settings

the first time you use it.

1. Under MENU, set:

a. YO SENSE to OFF.

b. STOP @ SETPT to ON.

c. AUTO ZERO to ON.

2. Set your desired number of rotations by pressing the up and down arrow buttons.

Minimum SET points for 200 and 400 yd skeins

Desired skein length Winder arms set to SET rotations >= 400 yds 2.0 yds 200 400 yds 1.5 yds 267 400 yds 1.0 yds 400 200 yds 2.0 yds 100 200 yds 1.5 yds 134 200 yds 1.0 yds 200

3. Press the Big Red Button to start the winder.

4. The winder will automatically stop when it reaches one less than the SET number.

WindingMinis,orWindingSmallerSkeinsfromLargerSkeinsUse the same workflow as above. The only difference is that you’re winding from another skein instead

of a cone, so you’re likely winding from a swift.

Tweaking: Every winder setup has a different amount of friction inherent in the system, and different dyers wind at different speeds. Both of these factors affect the amount of overshoot, or number of rotations that happen after the winder is turned off. Winders in some setups will stop about one rotation after power is cut. Others will continue rotating for 3 or 4 more turns before stopping. You can tune the SkeinMinder for your setup by adjusting the OVERSHOOT setting. Read about it in the Menu section.

Note: the SkeinMinder will stop your winder, but it won’t stop your swift. You’ll need to manually stop your swift, or suffer the yarn barf consequences! The SkeinMinder is still pretty handy in this scenario – instead of trying to juggle a winder and one or more swifts simultaneously, you only have to keep watch on your swifts.


8

Re‐skeining,orRe‐windingaFullSkeinThis can be done to change the way the colors within a skein are presented, or to just tidy a skein before

selling it. You may be re‐winding into the same skein circumference, or a different one. In either case,

you’re re‐winding an entire skein, from a swift to your winder.

We’ve developed YARNOVER mode to help with this scenario. It will automatically detect when your

yarn is “over”; in other words, when the entire skein has been rewound and there’s no more yarn on the

swift.

1. Under MENU, set

a. YO SENSE to MED.

b. STOP @ SETPT to OFF.

2. Press the Big Red Button.

3. Your winder will automatically stop a few rotations after the skein is done.

YarnJamDetectionNo matter how carefully we handle our yarn, sometimes it just doesn’t want to behave. The

SkeinMinder will automatically pause your winder when it senses that the yarn is jammed. The Big Red

Button will blink, alerting you to a problem. Take your time, and untangle the yarn. Note that the

rotation count will also be frozen, so if you need to manually unwind to ease the tension, you won’t add

false extra rotation counts. When the yarn is straightened out and you’ve manually re‐wound it back to

the point at which the SkeinMinder paused, press the Big Red Button to continue winding. Your winder

will turn on and the count will resume.

INeedtoShuttheWinderOff!NOW!!!Don’t panic ‐ all you have to do is press the Big Red Button. The winder will pause and the button

will blink. The rotation count will be frozen, the same as in the jam scenario above. Press the Big Red

Button again when you’re ready to continue, and the count will resume.

Tweaking: YARNOVER mode may require some tuning to operate properly, especially if you are re‐skeining multiple skeins at once. Read about YO MODE SENS in the Menu section. If you want to have a back‐up in case it doesn’t trigger, you can keep STOP @ SETPT ON and adjust your SET point to a few rotations more than what is required for your skein length & new circumference.

Tweaking: You can adjust the sensitivity of the jam detection. Read about JAM TIME in the Menu section.

Note: If your winder tends to overshoot, the rotation counter will miss those extra rotations. You can manually stop your winder arms if you want the count to remain accurate, or you can go ahead knowing that there will be a couple extra yards on that skein.


9

TheButtonsExplained

UpIncrements the SET point. Pressing once will add one to the SET point; pressing and holding will quickly scroll up.

DownDecrements the SET point. Pressing once will subtract one from the SET point; pressing and holding will quickly scroll down.

MenuAccess the SkeinMinder’s customizable settings. Press once to access the first setting, press again to access the next one. Use the up and down arrows to adjust each setting. When the last setting is reached, press the Menu button once more to cycle back to regular winding mode. Note: the Big Red Button is disabled when you are in the Settings Menu. To resume winding, cycle back to regular winding mode. To turn the SkeinMinder OFF, press and hold the Menu button for 3 seconds. To turn the SkeinMinder back ON, press the Big Red Button.

ZeroSometimes when the winder is paused, you may want to just start over. This resets the rotation count to 0, and clears any blinking lights due to jams or pauses.

TheBigRedButtonThe BRB does different things, depending upon what’s currently happening. Right Now, the the BRB is Pressing the Big Red Button will:

Winder is OFF Not Lit Reset the rotation count*, turn the winder ON Winder is ON Solid Freeze the rotation count, turn the winder OFF Winder is paused Blinking Continue the rotation count, turn the winder ON SkeinMinder is OFF N/A Turn the SkeinMinder ON *Automatically resetting the rotation count can be changed with the AUTO ZERO setting.


10

TheMenuSection

JAMTIMEThis is the number of seconds the SkeinMinder waits before determining that the yarn is jammed. After

this amount of time has elapsed, the SkeinMinder will pause your winder. To make it less sensitive to

jams, increase the number. To make it more sensitive, decrease the number.

The first 3 rotations are treated differently, to allow the SkeinMinder time to get up to speed, and to

allow you to quickly fix small tangles & yarn crosses on startup. The JAM TIME for those is the JAM

TIME setting plus 5 seconds.

Range: 2 to 20 seconds Default: 3 seconds

OVERSHOOTThe winder will stop this many rotations before reaching the SET point. Use this setting to adjust for the

amount of internal friction in your winder, and the speed you wind at. If your winder generally

freewheels and turns 3 more times after it’s turned off, set this number to 3. That way, it will cut power

at 97 if your SET point is 100. The rotation counter will keep counting even after the winder is turned

off, so you’ll see rotations increment to 100, and you’ll always have an accurate count.

Range: 0 to 10 rotations Default: 1 rotation

YOSENSE(anadvancedmode)This allows you to change how sensitive your winder is in YARNOVER mode. The SkeinMinder detects

the increase in speed that occurs when your winder is no longer pulling yarn off a swift. HIGH sensitivity

means that it will detect a small increase in speed, and LOW sensitivity means it will only trigger on a

larger jump in speed.

If your winder is not shutting off when the skein is done, you can:

Increase the sensitivity to MED or HIGH.

Keep STOP @ SETPT ON as a backup. Change the SET rotations to a number 5‐10 higher than

needed for your skein circumference and length.

If your winder is shutting off before the skein is done, it’s likely because the speed is varying due to re‐

skeining a messy skein. The skein may have crosses and temporary snags that slow the winder down,

then it speeds back up again once the cross or snag is pulled out, triggering a false YARNOVER. There

are a few things you can tweak to solve this:

Try making YO SENSE setting less sensitive (LOW or LOWR).

You can turn YARNOVER mode off entirely if you’re winding minis or winding from cones.


11

When YARNOVER mode triggers a turn‐off, the next time you press the Big Red Button to continue

winding, the count will zero automatically. If you’re re‐skeining a full skein and rotation count doesn’t

matter, this may not be an issue. But if you are keeping track of rotations, you can turn AUTO ZERO to

OFF. The next time you press the Big Red Button, the count will continue where it left off.

Range: OFF, HIGH, MED, LOW, LOWR Default: OFF

STOP@SETPTThis is the main SkeinMinder behavior – it stops your winder when it gets to the SET point. In most

scenarios, you’ll want to leave this ON. However, it can be useful to turn it off when re‐skeining and

using YARNOVER mode to stop your winder. In that case, it’s useful to ignore the SET point so you don’t

have to constantly readjust it for skeins of different lengths. You may also want to turn your winder

back into a “normal” winder briefly for whatever reason. You can still stop it manually by pressing the

Big Red Button.

Range: ON/OFF Default: ON

AUTOZEROFor most winding tasks, this should be left ON. It means the SkeinMinder will automatically reset the

rotation count to zero when you press the Big Red Button to start winding a new batch. Most of the

time this is a handy convenience – all you have to do after finishing a batch of winding is attach new

yarn, and press the Big Red Button. But occasionally, you may want to prevent it from automatically

zeroing. If you turn AUTO ZERO to OFF and want to wind another skein, you will need to press the Zero

button manually before pressing the Big Red Button. Otherwise the winder will not turn on.

Note that when the winder is PAUSED (due to a yarn jam or BRB press and the BRB is blinking), pressing

the Big Red Button will always resume the current rotation count. It will never automatically zero it out.

Range: ON/OFF Default: ON


12

StopCodesYou may have noticed that there’s an icon or letter to the right of the SET point.

This indicates the reason that the winder stopped. It’s useful if the SkeinMinder stops your winder

unexpectedly and you’re not sure why.

Stop Code

Reason Winde r is

Rotation Count is

When Big Red Button is Pressed, Current Count

Winder reached the SET point Stopped Counting Resets to 0, starts over*

J Yarn Jam detected Paused Frozen Continues

B Big Red Button was pressed Paused Frozen Continues

Y Yarnover! No more on swift Stopped Counting Resets to 0, starts over*

*Normal behavior, when AUTO ZERO is ON. When AUTO ZERO is OFF and the rotation count has reached the set point, the ZERO button must be pressed before the Big Red Button will start your winder.

Stop Code


13

SafetyThis device switches 120V AC electricity and there are certain shock hazards. Do not open the case. If

the SkeinMinder is damaged in any way, especially if the case is cracked, or if there’s a rattling sound of

something loose inside the case, immediately unplug it from the wall. Contact us to return it for repair.

OverloadFuseThere is a small fuse located in the input power connector. It’s a fast blow fuse designed to protect the

internal circuitry in case of an overload. If there is an accidental brief overload that blows the fuse, you

can replace it with the spare one in the fuse drawer. Always unplug the SkeinMinder from the power

outlet before replacing the fuse.

1. Gently pry the fuse drawer open with a small flat‐head screwdriver.

2. Remove the active fuse and replace it with the spare fuse.

Safety Note: DO NOT PLUG MORE THAN ONE WINDER INTO THE SKEINMINDER.

Safety Note: If your spare fuse blows as well, there could be a problem internal to the SkeinMinder. Immediately unplug it from the outlet, and contact us to return it for repair.

Spare Fuse

Active Fuse


14

TechnicalSupportWe want you to love your SkeinMinder! If you have any questions, or any problems arise, let us know.

Email is best, if you send us a question via social media, we may miss it.

[email protected]

We’re also developing the Support section of our website; check it out for FAQs, videos, and more!

www.skeinminder.com/support

HelpusGettheWordOut!Know another dyer who could totally use a SkeinMinder? Please tell them about it! This is a very niche

tool and dyers are a very disperse bunch, so we rely heavily on word of mouth to spread the news. We

also love it when you post your experiences on social media! You can find us on:

Instagram @alpenglowyarn #skeinminder

Facebook Alpenglow Yarn

Ravelry Friends of Alpenglow Yarn

Twitter @alpenglowyarn #skeinminder

Website www.skeinminder.com

Blog alpenglowyarn.wordpress.com search or the click the tag for: skeinminder

© 2015 alpenglow yarn - the skeinminder€¦ · good introduction makes life easier for everyone....

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