Hi,

I just read an older RCM article that compared the Hangar 9 tachometer very favorably to the TNC tach. The Hangar 9 tach is 1/5 the cost!! I would appreciate any comments on this. Is the Hangar 9 tach that good? Should I buy one? I'm pretty tired of the sporadic readings of my GloBee tach. Also, is there any way to calibrate tachs besides using household light? I have had tachs that read exactly correct using household lights, but read 400 rpms different when taching an engine. Any advice will be very much appreciated.

Thanks and Happy Holidays,
AV8TOR

I own the H9 Tach, and while I am a Horizon Hobby proponent, 10X, 8611, three Saito's and more, lots more ! I just received my TNC 48 hours ago.

Reason for the purchase, unstable readings . While it does the job in the end (after it has been turned, held 2" from the prop and finally provided with some DC light sources-----though not all at the same time) -----------I simply said ENOUGH !

I can't give you an evaluation of the TNC under flying conditions until next year. To date all I've been able to prove is that it gives readings (against AC light sources) under light conditions so low that I have to use a flash light to read the screen --------

I ordered one of the TNC tacks for Christmas. It has arrived however since it is one of my presents I cannot open it until Christmas Day. I will give you plenty of data after that.
I bought the TNC because I just got tired of inconsistant readings with my Hanger 9 and having to get it so close to the prop.
I do a lot of evaluation of engines based on their RPM and I am getting uneasy having to hold the H-9 tach so close to the prop.
More information coming later.

Lee

Now I have the TNC tach it looks very good. Going flying tomorrow. I will give a report after the flying session.

Well I went flying and here are my opinion of the TNC Tachometer

I have bumped my hands and fingers multi times in the past two years and I am getting uneasy having to get real close to a rotating prop. The tach I had, (a red one) needed to be held within about two inches of the prop on a hazy or cloudy day to get a reading and even then the reading was not stable and it bounced all over the place.
I grew up working on engines (auto and airplanes) and I depend on a tach a lot to tell me what the engine is doing.

I checked about 5 different engines Friday and Here are the results.

1. I did not need to get the tach within 12" of the prop.

2. The readings were always stable.

3. The Tachometer has a good quality thick case.

Some of the reading were taken from more than 24" away. This just feel a lot safer to me and always getting a stable meaningful
reading was what I was looking for to understand what the engine was doing.

Under controlled conditions most tachs will give the same reading or very close. Since we do not operate under controlled conditions 99.9% of the time you will find that the TNC tach is about as good as it gets. Do a search, its been debated to death. You may also find that some of the folks that bragged so highly on the globeeeeees and h9 tachs are now using TNC.

Ed M.

Now here are the things that I do not like about the TNC Tachometer. As you read these please remember these are my personal preference.

1. There is a small button on the right side of the tach to switch to the High resolution (10 rpm resloution mode).
The button on mine had to be depressed more than one time most of the time. The button is small and was uncomfortable on my finger to depress it. The button was also crooked. see photo. I was curious as to why it was crooked so I removed it and you can see why in one of the photos.

My second dislike of the TNC Tachometer.

2. The off/on switch is a slide switch. If a person forgets to turn the switch off it will eventually run the battery down.
Note: The battery is not an alkiline. I upgraded the battery while I had the unit apart.
I replaced the slide switch with a push button switch. Now all I must do is make sure that I do not stack something on top of the tach and turn the switch on and run the battery down.

Many of you will say that I have voided the warranty by making these changes. And yes I am aware of that however why should I use a device that does not fit my needs. Besides I am an Electronic Technician and can make these changes without fear of damaging the Tach. The switch on the left is the off/on switch.

I will post some photos of the tach with the push button switch tomorrow.

Here are the photos with the push button added. Plus a side view.


Go flying and have a good time.

Lee

Lee, just curious if this is one of the latest models or if it was built by the original gentleman up in New York? Never had to open mine up yet. Still using the original battery, but, mine is stored in a cutout in the foam of my transmitter case so it never turns on by accident.

Ed M.

Lee, will of course, answer for himself ---- however, if you zoom in on the picture of the case (backside) you can read SKYBORN ---- so it is one of the new ones, not made personally by Tony.

I too have one, without the button problem so my guess is that it was a problem in assembly not of design. As for the on off switch, I happen to like the slide type switch as you do not have to "hang on" to anything but the tach while taking a reading. I would class this as "personal preference" ------in my case, I used the original Heath Kit Thumb Tach (same on/off set up) for years so I am used to the requirement of switching off.

Lee, many thanks for the "review" and pictures, saves me from disassembling mine.

My TNC tach also doesn't have the button problem. I also like the slide type switch because I don't need to worry about the tach turning itself off during use. Plus, it's easy to tell if the tach is on just by glancing at the LCD screen. However, some people will forget to check the LCD screen before putting the tach away.

Thanks for all the helpful info guys. After another frustrating session with my "Glo Bee", recently, and along with the advice here...

I'LL BE ORDERING THAT TNC RIGHT AWAY!

Thanks again,
AV8TOR

Here is a little update on the TNC Tachometer.
I LOVE IT.
It does exactly what I wanted it to do. It reads the engine rpm accurately and steady with my hand at least 1' or greater from the prop. The tach reads the rpm in hazy, overcast, low light conditions.
The other day I was testing an engine at home almost dark. I thought I would try the tach. The others that I have ever used would not read anything in this low light. The tach worked perfectly.
Now all of my friends borrow it to check their engine rpm. One friend call me a few days ago (a very clowdy dark day) and asked if he could bring his plane over and check his engine rpm because his tach was not working reliable in the low light.

Again I say this is a Great tach.

I have included a photo of the tach from the side showing the push button from from the side.

Lee

Where do you get a TNC tachometer?

[link=http://www.bktsi.com/]Skyborn Electronics[/link]

Don's Hobby Shop has TNC tach's. in stock $99 plus shipping. I got mine there, fast service, good people-----------1-800-972-6273 They are in KS and are on Central time.

Hi,

I have a Hangar 9 DVT (digital volt meter combined with a tach) and I must admit, at first I was very frustrated with it.

However, I "accidently" found out that the lens for the photocell pulls off.

Once I did this, I was able shim the photocell till it was in the middle of the housing.

I then focused the lens by moving it back and forth while pointing it at a ceiling fixture light bulb until I got a solid reading of 360 (1/2 way between where it started to display 360 and stop displaying 360).

After this, I was able to get readings easily.

I hope it helps someone else.

Best regards,

Wayne Miller

Well, I finally made it through the holidays, and bought my TNC tach. I think I'm going to be happy with it, though it sure would be nice to have a tach that has the features of the GloBee, with the accuracy of the TNC. Doesn't really seem like too much to ask in this day and age, huh? At least the TNC should show real numbers and not 10 or 100 multipliers for the money!!

Anyway, I wanted steady readings and accuracy, and the TNC is all of that. I tested it in my ultralight trainer airplane. I have a fairly sophisticated computerized electronic engine monitoring system in that plane that is very accurate. The TNC tach agreed with the tach in the monitoring system to within 1 (one) rpm!! Not only that, but I was able to take the readings through the windshield while sitting in the plane. Good performance no doubt.

That means that the engine I'm hopping up has 400 rpm's more than I thought, as the GloBee measured the ultralight engine at 400 rpms slower, (when I fiddled with it enough to get a reading.) So the engine I'm working on has 8400 rpm's instead of 8000. Can't wait to get the engine back on the test stand to verify that!

Thanks for the help and advice,
AV8TOR

where can i get a tach that works on car engines while they are in the car without having to bolt a prop to the engine and can read 40,000rpm(even tho my engines redline is 35k per CEN lol)

378, you may be able to paint the flywheel with white and black paint in quarters and get a reading.

Ed M.

I have the new h9 micro tach, and I LOVE it. Accurate, stable, and not picky at all about distance from the prop, or orientation to the sun, or whether it's in shadow or light. You have to reposition it maybe one time in 20 tops. It fits in my shirt pocket, and it's $30. Not bad in my book. It doesn't have memory, and you have to multiply the readout by 10 (why I don't know), but this is no problem for me. One thing, it doesn't like to take readings near the tips, but anywhere close to the hub to about 3/4 out it works great. That's my experience. I'm going to see how far I can throw my Globee. Man I hate that thing.

NOT! The URLs at the skyborn site are not valid, where ELSE can one get the TNC tachometer? Having read a few posts here that say the only way to get a steady reading with the GloBee is to be dangerously close to the prop, I am seriously considering a TNC

It was valid at the time of my posting. I just checked it, and it was still valid.

We must be using a different internet

http://www.bktsi.com/TNC/tnc.htm

Which is the only TNC link I can find on their page ALWAYS generates the following:

Not Found
The requested URL /TNC/tnc.htm was not found on this server.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

I have tried this from my home ISP and from work.
Further, if you go to Skyborn's Shopatron page, you cannot find anything with the following searches: Tachometer, tach, TNC.

Check post #15. It will give you the best source.

Onewasp,
Thanks, for the tip. Unfortunately, according to someone I spoke with at Don's today they are on backorder, delivery date unknown. After several busy signals, I finally got through to Skyborn on the phone only to get voicemail.
No calls back, no replies to my e-mail.
Guess, I may have to put my globee REALLY close to the prop.