Aftermarket TCI Ignition Black Box

I recently repaired a ignitor of that vintage. The nice thing about that ignitor version, is there are no unobtainium chips on it. The bad thing about that version is that the pcb traces are delicate. I have been meaning to post updated schematics for that version. Will do so after I get the oscilloscope print function working and will include some sample waveforms. From what I have seen, most of the faults are funky solder joints, failures of the input diodes, voltage regulator or bad output transistor.



On an unrelated side note..... my arduino TCI stopped working after a few runs. It has been sitting on the bench for the last two months... I think I know what is wrong.....need to write better code.
 
The nice thing about that ignitor version, is there are no unobtainium chips on it.
$300 for it is kind of ridiculous.

I was able to buy all the parts (except the chip) to fully repopulate the pcb for about $20.
I have read these sort of posts in several threads here. They make laugh.

Replacing or building components using barely consumer grade pieces from china is probably not gonna get you very far down the road. Automotive grade components are not very often available to consumers.

$20 might buy you a few caps and a diode or two of properly rated parts.

That's why aftermarket stuff is so expensive.

That's also why the micro controller attempts are doomed to failure. The temperature and vibration are just too much for consumer grade electronics.
 
I have read these sort of posts in several threads here. They make laugh.

Replacing or building components using barely consumer grade pieces from china is probably not gonna get you very far down the road. Automotive grade components are not very often available to consumers.
you're correct, unless you know where to look
$20 might buy you a few caps and a diode or two of properly rated parts.
it bought me aviation-grade components. The same ones I've used in the electronic security industry, to service military contractor customers. No chinesium.
Mouser and Newark-One are my typical sources. NTE, Toshiba, TI, Panasonic, and lots of other tier1 suppliers.
That's why aftermarket stuff is so expensive.

That's also why the micro controller attempts are doomed to failure. The temperature and vibration are just too much for consumer grade electronics.
 
I was able to buy all the parts (except the chip) to fully repopulate the pcb for about $20. The only things that really fail are the electrolytic caps and the output transistor. The other failures are the solder joints. Average soldering skills will often yield you decent results.
Gonzo box < 8.00 usd in my mailbox. 10's of thousands of them in use around the world.

How much was the shipping for your parts. Probably more than the cost of the Gonzo.

If I were restoring a 650 then I guess it would be worthwhile to try and resurrect the stock TCI box.
For me I'm building bikes to ride not look at.

Keep in mind the Yamaha TCI uses analog op amp technology that require precise r/c components to accomplish the proper timings .

Brand new box from the source of most electronics these days vs 40 year old repaired box from a company that was busy providing the Russians with US technology to hide their subs lurking off our coast when they were building the TCI boxes. Quick choice for me.

YMMV
 
Gonzo box < 8.00 usd in my mailbox. 10's of thousands of them in use around the world.

How much was the shipping for your parts. Probably more than the cost of the Gonzo.

If I were restoring a 650 then I guess it would be worthwhile to try and resurrect the stock TCI box.
For me I'm building bikes to ride not look at.

Keep in mind the Yamaha TCI uses analog op amp technology that require precise r/c components to accomplish the proper timings .

Brand new box from the source of most electronics these days vs 40 year old repaired box from a company that was busy providing the Russians with US technology to hide their subs lurking off our coast when they were building the TCI boxes. Quick choice for me.

YMMV
I have an Amazon Prime membership. I bought two of them and paid no shipping. In the near term, I will test run then carry with a pigtail as a spare. I hope it’s as simple as that. My OE TCI was repaired last year. So, if it ain’t broke, I won’t fix it. Having a spare will be comforting.
 
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I think that is an interesting discussion and can be the reason for some having Problems with the Gonzo box

Brand new box from the source of most electronics these days vs 40 year old repaired box from a company

If we are talking quality then the parts and boxes needs to have some quality routines
Not even components can be bought on the internet unless from a well know supplier.
Otherwise it can be pirated Chinese semiconductors with unknown life span and specs.

So the quality for a Gonzo box Who can tell ??
Chinese appears to manufacture cheap and accepts some percentage being defect
And that works for some objects a tool or so.
Whereas Japan in those days was famous for having no faults at all in electronics
TV factories assembling sets for a year with not a single one delivered faulty.

most is that 1 % -- 5 % --15 % it can be dangerous for a motor having an ignition at the wrong time

And the Jury is still out..in that aspect
Whoops my bad.

Toshiba is a well known semiconductor manufacturer and in a Hi -- Fi I am trying to repair
There are Toshiba transistors ..inside But the Amplifier brand name on the outside is Luxman
It may well be the same with the Hitachi brand here . Sometimes there is no
Markings on the components inside .As can be found in a Hi-Fi amplifiers service manual. Where the part number is there to find on line.
 
Well... many Chinese motorcycles in my country and the most used for delivery (many hours of work), before I thought that the Chinese were of very poor quality but, I think that everything is now Chinese, at least a large part of the aftermarket parts of many motorcycles :p
Gonzo mode is pretty cheap and worth a try if you don't have the funds for something better.
 
Well... many Chinese motorcycles in my country and the most used for delivery (many hours of work), before I thought that the Chinese were of very poor quality but, I think that everything is now Chinese, at least a large part of the aftermarket parts of many motorcycles :p
Gonzo mode is pretty cheap and worth a try if you don't have the funds for something better.

Yes I agree the price is a factor to consider. And I may be wrong about the quality on the boxes
The same discussion is seen on line for Voltage regulators which is pirated
fex

It can be a lot f warm air to justify a high price on the product they sell Who knows.

And there are some that has tried the Gonzo and encountered problems. Nothing strange in that and normal in product development and can have many reasons.
I suspect bouncing alternator brushes to close to the pickup . Perhaps .a few tweaks shielding and with time it is solved ..
Or other spikes in the harness.

There are different situations a $ 200 bike from the salvage yard trying to get it running and getting a few miles on it before taking it to the next step.
Or a mint " Mailman style " bike that is valuable ..

It can be difficult to identify a faulty ignition point at the highway and it can hurt the motor . Within a short time worst case .
Perhaps not so risky for this bike . But I think awareness and caution at this point in time is not wrong.
 
I am not quite sure where this thread is going. Seems to be an argument about old versus new tech, which is in itself, quite an old argument. The components used in the old TCI boxes are not that special. The only component that was purpose-made for automotive use was the output transistor. Everything else is probably equivalent quality to what you would find in a half decent jap stereo from the 80's. Not mil spec, but half decent quality. A lot of the components I have pulled off these boards including electrolytics are still within tolerance. The major downfall of these modules is the board itself and the solder. Failed solder joints will lead to overheated then failed components. You can buy the best components possible, mil spec if you want, but if they are assembled poorly, you are no better off than average components assembled expertly. I don't know where the gonzo boxes fit in this scheme. I can only assume that the modules pass some type of quality control somewhere. For myself, I prefer what I understand. I have two working TCI modules and 1.5 experimental homemade modules. I keep one of the good TCIs bolted to the bike and occasionally run on my experimental module. If anything fails, I know how to repair it.
 
I say the gonzo guys stick to their thread and not hijack and ridicule the work done to the TCI unit...........This thread stands on its own merits

EDIT;
My bad..........This thread isn't solely just a TCI unit thread i thought it was...........I'll leave my original comment purely for the edits explanation
 
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I have used Pamco ignitions before but want to also explore my crank mounted ignition options.
Seems to me that the OP said very clearly in his very first post that he would like to explore crank mounted ignition options.
Last I checked the Gonzo ignition is a crank mounted ignition option as are many other systems.

"I say the gonzo guys stick to their thread"

Not sure why anyone would be trying to steer the discussion to any particular system.
Why would someone not want to explore all options available? Why would an individual attempt to stop the flow of that information?
Unless the OP asks to narrow the field then I tend to believe that any and all crank mounted options are viable for discussion in this thread.
 
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