Distributor alternative?

[anonymous-user]

caduceus said:

Yes, the Stag is not knackered, thanks to this young lad trainee mech who loves his cars. Sometimes people just assume, to suit their chosen punchlines.

I have found a circuit that will work and have ordered the necessary parts. You were right about the MOSFET CT. Thanks. It's a good chance for the lad to have a go at making his first circuit and understanding rudimentary electronics, supervised of course.
I didn't bother mentioning this as the thread seems to be in the toilet for no good reason now.

For those who contributed constructively to this thread, thank you.

Cad

If you choose to go down the "electronic" pulse generation route, then think about using a std ignition amplifier to drive the coil, meaning your electronics only need to be TTL level to drive the amplifier and will not need to withstand high voltage. Because an ignition coils is a "flyback" device, the voltage on the primary switch sets the maximum firing voltage on the spark plug (via the turns ratio of the coil). Hence, you need at least a 300V VCE rated mosfet / Transistor and preferably a bit more than that.

So, i suggest getting a cheapo ignition module, plenty to choose from, and then you can play around with just triggering the module, which makes things a lot easier!

eg:







I'm sure the Good Doctor will be along in a moment to tell you that won't work btw.......

[anonymous-user]

EXTRA:

BTW, you can make a very simple oscillator with a couple of basic NOT gates, like a 74HC14, which is handy because a quad NOT gate costs less than 20p!

Info here, and a good chance to learn about digital circuits too:

CMOS Oscillators


or just Google "Logic gate oscillator" and you'll get tons of hits/links/project etc

(btw, note the date on the application note! Basic electronics haven't changed in 40 years! ;-)

[jeremyc]

If you discover a a troll, please don't feed them (nor quote their posts).

If you do decide to enter into an argument with them, then don't report them as a troll to the moderators.

[Silent1]

jeremyc said:

If you discover a a troll, please don't feed them (nor quote their posts).

If you do decide to enter into an argument with them, then don't report them as a troll to the moderators.

[cold thursday]

caduceus said:

Yes, the Stag is not knackered, thanks to this young lad trainee mech who loves his cars.
I have found a circuit that will work and have ordered the necessary parts. It's a good chance for the lad to have a go at making his first circuit and understanding rudimentary electronics, supervised of course.

Cad

I thoroughly approve of what you are teaching this lad.
Good for you. I have a 13 year old daughter who is learning a lot about circuits and electronics. I am lucky enough to have all the kit( breadboard,transistors,diodes,leds, every value of resistor/capacitor,...etc she loves just learning about how it all goes together. If you don't give it a go then you won't learn anything. Respect.

[Pupp]

caduceus said:

cold thursday said:

Nobody said that the Stag was knackered, it might be a minter.

Yes, the Stag is not knackered, thanks to this young lad trainee mech who loves his cars. Sometimes people just assume, to suit their chosen punchlines.

If you read back to my first response, you'll see a suggestion was made that will achieve exactly what is desired whilst actually enhancing the car and not turning it into a classic pastiche of a Barry-Boy motor... your trainee mechanic chum will also learn loads about the effect ignition timing has on engine behaviour (not to say exhaust gas temperature) whilst honing his wiring and set-up skills. And, if it's been running rich enough to ignite excess fuel in the exhaust for any considerable time, it'll likely be knackered enough for me to claim fair comment just through the bore washing and oil contamination that will also have probably resulted...

[cold thursday]

guzzler4 said:

nothing worthwhile

Anyway moving on, a few years ago My son and I were experimenting with "proper" potatoe cannons. We built quite a big one with a 2" bore and a 6 foot barrel. It did work well when it fired. Put a King edward out of sight over the mountain.(Acetone was our chosen propellant) The weak link was always the spark. It only fired 10% of the time. We were using a cheap peizo ignitor. This thread has encouraged me to re visit this project and build a better ignitor.

Btw, I like to think that I am a fairly responsible 56 year old. Not one of the yoofs alluded to in this thread. I just thought I would mention that before the "elf & safety" Stazi chime in.

[Dave^]

Don't forget to post pics/video of said cannon...