althepal88

My Feedback: (31)

Sonic-tronics stands behind their stuff. Package up the unit and all of the wiring and send it in and they will either replace/repair the unit if it is their fault or charge you for repairs if it was installed improperly.

rabflyer

My Feedback: (74)

testing my ignition and rcexl opto switch. the led light will not light. how do I check if bad led or if system is working. hooking up the wires is fairly foolproof and trans switch is programmed correctly. I am no good at electronic trouble shooting. any pointers, thanks bob

Jeepindog

ASP FT160AR twin. Runs great, sounds great, looks really cool.

affas

Same engine in my H9 Super Cub. I had a Sullivan twin glow system but converted to CH ignition system. Fully electronic ignition with normal plugs. Excellent vs glow system. Runs better and more stable, less mess and lower fuel consumption.


www.ch-ignitions.com

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Plug a servo into the port and see if your switch is making the servo move from full throw one side to the other.

rabflyer

My Feedback: (74)

hi, tried servo, works ok, trans read out at full travel, still no light.tried different led , same result. thanks bob

John_M_

rabflyer get a hold of someone at rcexl or wherever you purchased it from... there's obviously something wrong with the unit.




John M,

HELI-MECH

speaking of these LED lights, i lost mine in a crash... actually lost it in the grass somewhere. Does anyone know if these are generic led? i have a light system for an rc plane that is LED and was going to steal one from there??

John_M_

As long as its not one of those Hi output LED's it should be find... a STD 5mm led draws about 20ma.




John M,

Mustang314

My Feedback: (1)

What are you using for fuel?

Thanks,
Fred

affas

I have used both gas and glow. Gas works pretty well on original carb but the engine runs quite hot so I now use glow 10% Nitro

HELI-MECH

Thanks. I may try the led then. Although I realized my LCD digital tach turns on and off with my ignition switch so that may work fine to let me know if ignition is live. Cheers

John_M_

A lot of these electronic devices today are buffered, makes it harder to kill them... I'm sure the led drive circuit is current limited... if you're unsure you can always get a std LED from radio shack, or electronic store, less than a buck, but I think you'll be ok... just remember to get the polarity of the LED correct or it won't light; can't hurt the LED or the circuit if you get the polarity wrong, it just won't light.


http://www.eleinmec.com/figures/006_02.gif


John M,

Jeepindog

I pulled my ASP FT160AR apart, checked valves (clearance was perfect) and rebuilt the carbeurator. It starts on the first flip now, runs great, and I am getting 8820rpm on the ground! Other than the non-functional McDaniel's onboard glow, the engine is finally running well. It had some crap in the high speed needle seat. Not sure if it came from the factory, or fuel. I have some good fuel filters on my jug. Now I need to get another onboard glow driver. Maybe I'll go with something else this time around.

John_M_

I use to have a old mechanical McDaniel's on-board glow drive on my Saito FA130TD, worked a treat... haven't used any of the digital units available to day... Sullivan makes one that has some neat features, but don't know which is the better brand to buy.

You could always convert to CDI spark ignition and not have to worry about the OBGD, but you'll still have another battery pak to maintain.

John M,

marksp

My Feedback: (9)

Couple of questions -

would you you happen to have a pic showing how/where you mounted throttle servo?
what size stand-offs did you use?

After summer, I finally going to swap out electric for VVRC40.

cheers

Acs_guitars

My Feedback: (3)

I used the standoffs that came with the VVRC 40. The throttle servo is located in the stock position and the flex cable easily routed to the carb through an existing hole in the firewall.

I took a few pics of this, but cannot find them at the moment. I'll post them if I can

John_M_

I'm going with the VV40cc twin as well (waiting, still back ordered)... Barracuda is right, the VV40 1/4-32 fits just right... I abandoned the idea of installing the OS GF40, it fits but if you mount it upside down, you cut away all the under cowl detail... and if you mount it on its side the valve cover will stick out the right side... I plan on mounting the servo up front in the forward tray under the control stick, then route a piece of the "Plastic n Plastic" Ny-Rod, (not the metal cable type) out through the firewall... I believe its a straight shot to the carb... I'm still waiting for the engine, so I haven't done any preparation for the engine install, or I could show you more in detail.

Just out of curiosity Mark, why did you abandon the electric setup.. I thought it flew quite well in your videos.


John M,

SkyPilot101

Since discussion on running CID on a asp 160, I have a question on converting a Gemini 240 to CID. Has anyone tried mounting the Hall sensor directly to the engine by drilling two holes until hitting the front bearing race and using two self taping screws. Of course a magnet in the drive hub will be needed. I contacted CH Ignitions for his bolt on conversion but he wanted me to buy a turnkey kit off him for $200 bucks!!! Guess he's behind on his bills. Any input appreciated

John_M_

It has been done SkyPilot101... there's a couple youtube videos on the OS ft160 and ft300 twins that were converted to CDI with the sensor drilled and mounted on the crankcase... you just have to be real careful drilling the holes... I wouldn't use self tapping screws if the holes are too close to the edge of the case casting as they may break out, but if you have 3/16" or more you should be ok.

This is what I did with my Saito FA130TD... I plan on doing something similar with my os ft160... the sensor will be mounted to a ring made out of some brass flat stock with two threaded studs silver soldered from the back side for the sensor to mount to, and then form the ring around the front bearing section of the crankcase with a clamp screw to tighten up the ring to clamp it around the case... never had any issues with the sensor mountings on the Saito FA130TD

***EDIT***
To get a better understanding of what I mean, like using a hose clamp around the front end of the crankcase, with the sensor attached to the hose clamp... something like this http://www.delcity.net/images/photos/210602_primary.jpg , but instead of using a actual hose clamp, make something more substantial out of some 0.032 or 0.062 x 5/16 wide brass strap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBV53PdtuhU


John M,

SkyPilot101

John, Thanks a lot for the info, the clamping mount is something that I haven't thought of, and looks to be a simple fabrication

John_M_

Oh yeah, it wouldn't take long... and if you put the magnet directly in the prop drive hub at 32 degrees advance from the TDC position, means you can't move the magnet to trim your timing... but using that sensor clamp method, you can move the sensor on the crankcase to trim your timing if needed... whichever way you do it, just remember to balance the prop drive hub... I would cut a piece of brass rod the same weight as the magnet and put it 180 degrees opposed to the magnet location... on that FA130TD, I used 2 magnets and 2 sensors... one magnet triggered the sensor with the north pole.. then I flipped the second sensor and magnet so it triggered on the south pole... so each cylinder ran as if they were a single cylinder setup... the north pole magnet would only trigger the sensor phased to detect the north pole... and the south pole magnet would only trigger the sensor phased to detect the south pole... long story, but it has to do with the odd firing order of that 130 twin.


John M,

marksp

My Feedback: (9)

flies fantastic on current setup...but since I need new batteries, I'm thinking now is a good time to experience gas.

cheers

John_M_

Interesting, how long did the batteries last you?


John M,

marksp

My Feedback: (9)

I went with Zippy's. The cells are actually fine, but both the gauge and stiffness of the balance wires suck. I had multiple balance wires fail. The higher end Turnigy, Turnigy Nano-tech, and Turnigy A-Spec have much higher quality wiring, as does the the Gens-Ace. The Zippy's lasted about a year.

Cheers