WBG,

My intent was not to say that CH was not a good unit. Far from it because I have been a proponent for CH Ignitions, the best RC ignition on the planet, for many years. I was once involved in a process that proved that. More on that subject I cannot say.

CH ignitions last longer than any other, and have a far reduced in frequency of failure than any other. Unfortunately nothing electronic lasts forever, and even the best ignition coils have a finite life span. Older design coils have a shorter life cycle than newer. The later CH units can easily last well over a thousand hours of use with minimal care. Only the installation needs to be correct with the avoidance of impacting the ground for that to happen. The people that have maintained 5 volts or less to their CH ignitions would have a tremendous unit. Those using 6 volts or more would have a tremendous unit with a somewhat shorter lifespan. You just can't get better that a real CH ignition.

However, as mentioned earlier, nothing lasts forever and even CH has suggested replacing the old brown box units before they fail. Clearly the one in this thread has experienced some abuse, which does indeed impact the life of the electrical components. TKG made that recommendation in this thread. TKG is Terry Grant, one of the two people that were CH while they remianed in business. The second is Bill Carpenter. I was advised by one of the two a long time ago what the anticipated lifespan of the brown box units were and this one is well outside of that time frame. I have two of the old brown box units in permanent retirement at my shop.

I'm all for saving money, especially where conditions make sense for that to happen. But I have problems in trying to skimp in areas that could end up costing far more than the cost of even the most expensive component. As already noted, the cost to repair the unit of interest in this thread is close to the cost of a new unit, rendering comparative $$ savings virtually nil. That a new ignition, made to the exact specifications of the CH design, instead of a Chinese shortcut copy, can be obtained at nearly the same price as a repair provides a decision process one that is quite easy to make.

A warbird is heavily dependant on keeping the engine running because of weight, wing area, and wing loading. The old Nosen kits came in pretty heavy and typically need to be flown with a relatively high power loading all the time. You want to keep the engine running and minimize the number of potential failure points. If it was mine I would install a new CH with much newer/modern electronics and anticipate many more years of reliable use. But that is, of course, a matter of personal choice.