Other ignition options

If I were in Pete's situation, that situation being wanting to get out of the business, wanting to be done with diagnostics and peoples installation problems, I would have done the same as he did. Consider this, if he sold the company with his name he would still be plagued with peoples complaints and problems just because his name was still on the product. Without his name there was still drawings, diagrams, specs, suppliers and instructions that might still be of value to the right people. Maybe a limited amount of his time was also included in the deal. Alright now, what company would be in the right position to do that, with ready made customers?

I'm just saying that is possible, and fits the chain of events that happened. No blame on either party. And if this was the case, none of our business, and Pete didn't leave this community high and dry.

Scott
 
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You're still placing the blame on Pete. If you're upset that he's no longer involved, be upset with MikesXS. Are you still buying products from them?
And if someone bought his company/intellectual property and started making them again, what's to stop them from getting ripped off?

But...back on topic.
 
Before anyone here got screwed..Pete was screwed by MikeXS..It seems pretty clear to me who the evil party is...Personally i dont trust MikeXS and I will avoid spending my money there if that is at all possible...sorry to detract the thread but i couldnt help but comment. Everyone is villifying Pete..and I dont think thats right..But what do i know..pls return to the proper topic now...
 
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Perhaps this suggested project needs to be broken down into a few steps:
  • Pick-up (Crank driven vs Cam driven - choice of sensor)
  • Electronic Timing advancer
  • Ignition unit to drive the coils
If you can solve the Pick-up/ElectronicTiming advancer circuit then there are many choices available for cloning the ignition unit which drives the coils.

I suggest two options:
  • XS with points could just use an off the shelf coil driver - Points only handle a few milliamps so do not need regular adjustment, but make sure your oil seal is good.
  • XS with TCI could just fit a Boyer Bransden
 
This is not mine - just sharing.
OP says he had some made at under $4USD a pop. There is a link to a cleaner set of plans drawn in Eagle in in the comments section....
Its not electronic advance....but might be helpful if someone burns up a pamco board.
The original poster has placed this online to share, obviously it is similar to Petes HEI board.

http://thebitwiserebellion.com/blog/2013/05/30/diy-electronic-ignition-conversion/
 
The key to the modern ignition systems is the electronic advance section. They generally take the ignition trigger signal and convert it to rpm. The rpm is then tested against preset rpm values stored in the program and then outputs a signal with a time delay to trigger the ignition coil. The time delay effectively provides the correct advance before the spark fires. For example a simple system might have the timing sensor set at the full advance position. The time delay would be zero when the engine is running at 3000rpm or above for the XS. As the time delay gets longer this corresponds to the advance for less than 3000rpms i.e. the longer the delay the closer the crank gets to TDC before the spark fires.

More sopisticated electronic advances give greater options such as multiple choice of advance curves (or user programmable), knock detection and dwell angle. The programs can be quite long. It would be possible to download the program from one chip to another if you have the correct programmer (reader/writer) as long as the read option has not been disabled on the chip as a security step to prevent pirating. When you buy an electronic ignition system the code is generally where the R&D money was spend.

Later today I will scan an article from the 2009 September Edition of Everyday Practical Electronics which outlines how to make your own ignition system and provides the theory and the circuitry. You will see from this that the circuitry is cheap and well established.
 
everyday practical electronics eh !..... I used to construct tons of gadgets from those mags back in the 70s and 80s .I remember a very complicated metal detector I built during my first term at Uni using a lot of my grant lol.
I'd be interested to see the article if you get a chance to post it .
 

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