Dear Tiggerinva:

The PIPE Here again-these days I'm using a Futaba digital readout "TachoTimer" that I still have from my previous period (1977-1986) in the RC hobby, and I've seen a GOODLY number of tachs, both digital AND analog, in the past-and there's NO way I'd EVER go back to using an ANALOG tach again!

The "TachoTimer" was even featured WITHIN some of the top-end Futaba transmitters nearly twenty years ago, and a corded sensor was plugged into these transmitters to use that feature.

And amazingly enough, GORDON ANDERSON, the creator of the MicroStar computer chip based RC transmitter encoder board, has done likewise with his MicroStar, in including a tachometer circuit within his radio board-and directions are available at his site [ http://mstar2k.com/ ] on how to make up the cable and sensor housing to get that tachometer display in HIS radios-heck, where I'm building up a near half-dozen of these myself (MicroStar based SINGLE STICK transmitters) I may even build up a corded tachometer sensor for MY "knobby" M*2K radios!

Sorry to disappoint you, but that "Master Tach" you mentioned seems to be just a "warmed over" version of a VERY similar multibuttons-for-range tach put out LONG ago by the Colorado-based Royal Electronics, now long out of business! Other notable (and simpler and a bit less accurate) analog tachs were from Heathkit, known as "the Thumb Tach", and Ace RC (the "TachMaster").

For my FOUR STROKE engines, I'd still prefer the accuracy of what I hope to soon be able to purchase-the TNC SensiTach model PT10S-as it apparently seems to have a usable 5 RPM sensitivity, and where I don't run my engines very "fast" (I just LOVE big, slow-turning props) the PT10S model's accuracy seems to be just what I'm looking for!

So I STILL prefer the accuracy advantage that DIGITAL tachs have over analog ones-and especially over one that seems like a re-incarnation of the old Royal Electronics multibutton analog unit of SO long ago!

Yours Sincerely,

The PIPE!