slunk

Seems everyone recommends the TNC tachometers to get the best readings, but I can't seem to find these anywhere. Any other recommendations for an alternative that is readily available? I have a Globee but just can't seem to get it to give me a steady/accurate reading.

Thanks!

Jemo

My Feedback: (5)

They are now being sold by Skyborn electronics. Very good tach.


http://www.bktsi.com/

ChuckAuger

My Feedback: (12)

All the TNC links on the Skyborn page are busted..

slunk

Yea, the links have been down for some time now. I called a reseller (Don's Hobby Shop) and they say they have been on back order with a couple delivery dates having come and gone with no solid date on when they will get them. I guess Skyborn moved into new production building and is trying to catch up. I'll post if I ever do track one down...

Jemo

My Feedback: (5)

That's too bad, I hope they keep producing them. Mine is still working fine, but you never know. The original manufacturer gave it up because of health reasons, and Skyborn picked it up.

Sport_Pilot

Plain old Hobbico tach is pretty good. Better than the older ones, uses a double A battery and has automatic shutoff. Steady readings from over a foot away in bright sunlight. Just under a foot on a cloudy day.

crashland 73

My Feedback: (24)

I have a GLO BEE intelitach and I like it. it will do regular props, 3 blade and 4 blade with 3 memory I think. Seems to work pretty good.

PlaneKrazee

My Feedback: (14)

I Had a TNC and it worked great for about two months. Then the ring around the sensor fell off, then it would only turn on sometimes. Mine was a piece of crap. I now have a glowbee tach that was cheap and it works really well. It will take measurments from over a foot away.

wood

My Feedback: (2)

I have been using the Hanger 9 tach for over a year with no problems. It can read a 2,3, or 4 blade prop, and has a volt meter built in too. I use it every time I fly and has been working great. Not sure if would be the best though, this is the only one I have owned. Oh yeah, it has auto shut off too and uses a 9V battery.

WOOD

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

The newer Hangar 9 mini tach is pretty good, second only to the TNC. I had both the Glo Bee and the Hobbico tachs, and they did not come close to the TNC in terms of usability.

PlaneKrazee

My Feedback: (14)

Either you got a bad GloBee or I got a good one. Mine works great and does 2, 3 and 4 blade props, auto shut off and uses a 9 volt battery. It doesn't do voltaage though.

crazy4rc

It's getting worse! Now their phone is out of order and if you email them, your email gets returned. Looks bad! Especially since I just shipped back my TNC tach for repairs about 2-3 weeks ago. Last I heard from them, was a phone call a week ago from a guy named Amele (sp?), asking if I have my original receipt. He said they could not find me in their system. Strange, since I bought my tach directly from them just a few months ago!

I fear that they are belly up and my tach is gone forever!!!

Anyone know otherwise?

The PIPE

Dear Crazy4RC:

The PIPE Here yet again...and at http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_20...tm.htm#2011415 you can see I SHARE your concern!!!

I'm just NOT sure of the PT10S I WANTED so VERY much to get this year...when the MONEY became available (t will VERY soon!)...will EVER be made ever again, so I MAY have to beg, search around, whatEVER it takes to get one of the PT10S tachs for my FOUR STROKE engines' tachometer needs...(as four strokes are ALL that I fly with anymore)

My 1980s vintage Futaba "TachoTimer" IS getting a bit "long in the tooth" and I was REALLY looking forward to replacing it in my flight box WITH a TNC PT10S unit...but WHAT to do about getting one NOW that Powerflite seems to have gone off the radar screen???

Yours Sincerely,

A VERY worried "The PIPE"....

The PIPE

Dear Crazy4RC:

The PIPE here yet AGAIN...and at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MP8K/message/2020 , I'm asking the creator of the VERY advanced MicroStar RC transmitter encoder...GORDON ANDERSON...to see if the TACHOMETER function that's built right INTO his MicroStar encoder COULD be adapted for a new, "possibly-just-as-GOOD" standalone digital tach that COULD use a small bit of the MicroStar's internal programming and JUST the amount of circuitry needed to be a REPLACEMENT for the POSSIBLY discontinued TNC unit!!!

I've already got ONE complete functioning MicroStar "knobby" single stick radio I finished up the construction of last September, and even got some FLIGHTS with...and a SECOND MicroStar encoder in my possession is waiting to be the heart of my NEXT "knobby box" over next winter!

Gordon's website for his "primary" creation, the MicroStar RC radio encoder, is at http://mstar2k.com/ ...and if you've got the Adobe Reader software installed on your PC, downloading the "Programming" PDF file for his MicroStar radio from http://mstar2k.com/programming.pdf , and reading PAGES 7 AND 29 of the manual, will give you SOME idea of what a MicroStar-based standalone digital tachometer from Gordon COULD give you, if he can create one!!!

I'll try to get Gordon on the phone this weekend to let him know about the situation...and I'd bet he CAN eventually do it...but let me ASK him first, and then I'll let you know what I hear from him, as soon as I can get in touch with him.

Please CROSS your FINGERS FOR "SOME hopeful news"...

Yours Sincerely,

The PIPE!

The PIPE

Dear Crazy4RC and Fellow RCU'ers:

The PIPE here once more...and within the LAST HOUR I got on the phone with Gordon Anderson...and there's some HOPEFUL news from him about starting work on an all NEW digital tachometer for our needs!

The "MicroStar TX Man" told me that where he's been a bit BUSY with his day job this summer, AND since he's been a bit busy as well with his AMA RC Aerobatics (Pattern) contest schedule competition activity up in the American Northwest (Washington State), his time this summer to work on stuff for us fellow RC hobbyists HAS been a bit less than he'd like to have had...but he IS going to start planning in about a month or two on how to take the tachometer programming already built right INTO the MicroStar encoder, and start creating a STANDALONE digital tach that SHOULD be "the TNC replacement" that I and MANY other RCers will be wanting, especially IF the TNC tach truly is never made again.

I DID also relate to him, in that phone call earlier today, a couple of the major features of the TNC unit, like its two-to-three-FEET range away from the prop and still be able to produce valid and solid readings, AND the three times-per-second readout update rate that I remembered seeing at the old PowerFlite website page that's no longer reachable.

And Gordon DID admit to me, that where the MicroStar has SO many goodies already in its programming, he had forgot the actual readout resolution capability of his MicroStar's tachometer function... from the way he sounded, Gordon's fairly sure it's at LEAST as good as the "base" model that Tony Criscimagna used to produce himself before PowerFlite purchased it from him...and from MY guess, I'd bet he's already GOT the programming in place (and may not exactly realize it yet!) within the MicroStar's "guts" that CAN be adapted readily to create a tach every BIT as good as the PT10S model was.

Gordon's already created some interesting devices, like his "Lugh" flightbox power panel unit described at http://mstar2k.com/LUGH.pdf (get Adobe Reader to view this and MANY other PDF documentation files he's got for his goodies) which also includes a tach in there (and ALMOST everything except the kitchen sink!)...his "Maestro" device, which has a variable LOAD device in it for checking airborne battery conditions under load as well as many other capabilities at http://mstar2k.com/maestro.htm , AND his multifunction "MagicBox" airborne multifunction module at http://mstar2k.com/MagicBoxV1_0.pdf (THAT one COULD take a while to download)...so I'd imagine a standalone optical sensor, digital readout tachometer as a possible substitute for the TNC unit is something he could readily accomplish as well! Gordon admits he's NOT yet tested his MagicBox as yet, especially for its Autopilot functionality, but THAT could take place later this year...!

So WHILE it COULD take a bit of time, I'd bet Gordon COULD have a new standalone digital tachometer ready for usage (either in kit form to build up by oneself, OR completely assembled) available from SOMEone...my own guess would be through Marv Jensen (although DON'T hold me OR Marv to that, PLEASE)...no later than next Spring...and possibly even sooner than that...!

Just cross fingers, "press thumbs" as the Germans like to say, or "whatever" brings us good luck...for a Gordon Anderson designed (hopefully) REPLACEMENT for the TNC tachometer before very long...!

Yours Sincerely,

The PIPE!

crazy4rc

Funny you should mention that! Not to take anything away from your friend, but as of this weekend I have resigned myself to make my own tach. That's right, I want another tach as good or better than the TNC. Since it's not available, I'm going to make it. And I thought I might make it available to anyone else interested. Also, I don't think a good tach should cost over $100 USD.

So I will have to put a couple other projects on the back bruner and get right on this. So stay tuned.....

- George

hobbygroup

Is Skyborn out of Business? I know Kevin and Brian don't work there any more I want to get one of the TX li-ion pack

docsteam

George, count me in! I've been trying for months to acquire a TNC tach. I look forward to seeing and hearing about what you come up with.

Ron Brown

crazy4rc

No problem, I'll keep you posted!

Sportflier

I bought an Air Wild, "Wild Gage" tach at Toledo last April at a show special price of $35 and I'm very pleased with it. It will read 2, 3. and 4 blade props, and it comes with good quality test leads to use on the 2 VDC, 20 VDC, and ohmeter scales. It doesn't look very scientific in it's bright red, tough, plastic case, and it's resolution is only 100 RPM, but it suits my needs very well.

http://www.airwildhobbies.com/MoreIn...=product&id=12

scratchpc7

Wood

I have the same tach, and I cannot say that mine is as consistent. When I first start to measure rpm, I get good readings for about five seconds and then it goes to zero. It does not matter how close to the prop I am, where on the prop diameter I am trying to measure, angle of the tach, angle of the sun. Wood or APC props also do not matter. Do you have any ideas.

Thanks

Doug

Sportflier

Doug:

Sorry I didn't check back in here till now. All I can think is that you have a duff unit. Mine is working well and is very forgiving of angle, sun brightness, etc. The only thing that confused it was when I tried to get a reading of an engine running in my garage with the flourescent lights on!

I plan to make an anemometer based on it some day.

Allan

The PIPE

Dear Crazy4RC and Fellow RCU'ers:

The PIPE Here yet again...I managed to get in touch again with Gordon Anderson last weekend, and it sure seems like a "TNC replacement" digital tachometer, based on the MicroStar RC transmitter encoder board's built-in programming for this function, looks VERY "do-able" , and "should" be in Gordon's plans for this winter's electronic project list on his bench.

He's also going to be doing up the Revision K level of programming for his MicroStar transmitter encoder, and he's JUST getting to that...AND over the winter, on the TNC replacement, as I'm calling it...since he's a VERY active RC pattern flier up in the Northwest US, and his competition season JUST came to its end for 2004 within the last week or two.

And he's also got company trips to have to make for his day job...THAT can be a hassle sometimes, I'd bet...but Gordon likes the idea of a standalone version of the MicroStar's built-in tach function, which should be able to offer better performance than the original MicroStar transmitter board's tach function ever could...and I'll be "lining up" for one of these tachs of Gordon's, especially IF the TNC unit NEVER returns to the RC marketplace...which COULD be its "ultimate fate"......it certainly deserves BETTER than that!

But IF the TNC never returns to the marketplace...Gordon SHOULD be able to come up with a suitable replacement, "in time"...!

Yours Sincerely,

The PIPE!

scratchpc7

Sportflier, thanks for the reply.

I ended up with the same decision. It would work for a few seconds and then quit. Kinda hard to set up my Saito 1.00 without it.

Ended up taking the tach back to the LHS. They sent it back to Horizon and are getting me another. Hopefully I will get to pick it up tomorrow.

Doug

BillS

For gas engines a Stihl inductive tachometer works well and is very safe. The pick up wire only needs to be close to the plug wire. One can completely stay away from spinning knife blade. The reading is digital.

For glow I use a Royal tachometer. It has a standard 9-volt battery that has lasted over 12 years. Two Hobbico tacks used seem to fail to pick the prop without bright sunlight and even then they sometimes fail.