![]() ![]() The rings on the disk match up to different sounding octaves, so the higher the pitch being measured, the higher up on the disk the pattern will seem to slow or stop moving, and because the tuner measures all of the incoming audio, you will typically see multiple rings looking active - higher harmonics in the sound will show, usually more faintly, on the other rings of the tuner disk. If the markings are moving to the left, your note is flat, if they are moving right, your note is sharp, and if they appear but are not moving at all, you are perfectly in tune. You set the note you want to play, make sure the vernier knob is set to the right reference pitch, and then play your note - when close to the right pitch, you will see some of the markings on the disk get darker. It sounds complicated, and I suppose it is, but the circuitry involved is comparatively much simpler than other electronic tuners, so when electronics were comparatively primitive, it could be an extremely accurate instrument without too much electronic complexity. This is the same sort of effect you can see watching a video of a driving car's wheels, where the wheel seems to rotate quite slowly, but in this case, the designers have done all the math needed for the speed of the motor and the patterns on the disk to look like they stop moving when the incoming audio frequency is in tune. When the rotation speed of the disk, which has its speed precisely governed by a separate circuit, and the speed of the flashing of the light match up in the right way, it looks like the markings on the disk are moving very slowly, or not at all. ![]() What that means is that a strobe tuner converts an audio input into a blinking light - neon lamps in this one - and shines it on a wheel with patterned markings that a motor is spinning at a constant speed. ![]() How a strobe tuner works: A strobe tuner, at least traditional ones, is an electromechanical tuner that relies on the strobescopic effect (surprise surprise!) for its display. I replaced a few parts, made a couple modifications, and added an internal mic to make it quicker to setup and use. In developing my own precision tuner and being interested in strobe tuners, I found a working-but-needs-refurbishment Peterson Model 400 inexpensively on ebay, so I bought it with the intent to fix it up, calibrate it, and use it. ![]()
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