Hybird wire winder and seismic cables

A method of controlling a wire winder, said method including:

• as a tower travels around a tank, generating a square wave from the wheel drive;
• feeding said square wave to a counter and counting a number of said square waves;
• comparing the number of counts with a number selected by an operator for a spacing location;
• powering a proportional hydraulic valve, and thereby pressurizing fluid into an elevator hydraulic motor;
• thereby rotating the motor until the spacing counter has counted the pre-selected number;
• and
• shutting the hydraulic flow.

A wire winder system, including:

• a tower for traveling around a tank,
• a square wave generator for generation square waves as a function of motion of a wheel drive;
• a counter for counting a number of said square waves;
• means for comparing the number of counts with a number selected by an operator for a spacing location;
• a proportional hydraulic valve, actuated in response to said comparing means,
• an elevator hydraulic motor;
• actuated by pressurized fluid from said proportional valve to thereby rotate the motor until the spacing counter has counted the pre-selected number and shut the hydraulic flow,
• motor are from segmental commutator rings and fed to a counter.