Electronic counting requires spoke-counting or marking the rim. This was a feature of bicycle measurement before the Jones counter was invented. I wanted to get some information about two of the precursors of the Jones counter, notably the Senechalle counter and the Veeder-Root star-wheel counter. Remembering that Rick Recker has been a spoke-counter for many years, I asked him for a photo of his counter.
He replied that his bike was in storage awaiting the departure of the zero degree weather in his Minneapolis home, but he sent pictures of his counter. He said:
A fellow measurer, that was quite handy in the workshop, made one for me in 1983, and again in 1986. The one you see is 23 yrs old, and hasn't missed a count. The one from 1983 was smashed when I was hit by a speeding taxi. His name is Dale Mattson, and I can still find him. I was impressed by his ingenuity.
The counter is mounted on the left side, and a spoke-mounted striker hits the lever each revolutiom, advancing the revolution count by one digit. From there on, spokes are counted to get the fractional revolution.
This counter style is identical to that on my Rolatape measuring wheel. Note that Rick's counter is resettable.