We are looking for a high quality unit for use with large scale planes. Currently, we are using a glo bee unit but it met a sudden death when a prop came off a 4-cycle engine we were testing. Is there a higher quality unit available?What do competition fliers use?
Thanks,
Ed

TNC gets my vote .

I4C has a new "Volt-Tach" that looks like a C-volt, and will read a batteries voltage, but will switch to reading as a tach when the engine reaches 20RPM. This is an on-board unit. The system will also read the highest RPM reached for any given flight.

The unit comes with two magnets you can mount in a spinner backplate, and a hall sensor you can mount just behind in the cowl. Very accurate.

I second the TNC.

Two things have sold me on the TNC tach. The distance from the blade that I can get a stable reading, from either front or backside, and the fact if there is enough light to read the tach there is enough light to get a reading. Let me also add you do not have to point the model into the sun just to get a reading.
Ed M.

When I had to buy a new tach, I bought the AirWild 'Wild Guage'. It a good tach that will read well at a decent distance from the prop and in poorer lighting. It also has a voltmeter on it. About forty bucks from Airwild Hobbies.

-Cheech

TNC... But they are not made any more.

Doug

http://www.bktsi.com/

Skyborn Electronics has them. They are not shown on the web page, but they have them.