An additional note while its still front of mind. For the Lynx, and the Bobcat I built previuosly I used an RCexel ignition system They are self contained and cheap
The ignition seemed to work fine but I had starting problems on the Bobcat which I put down to being a first timer. Once I got it started it wouldn't rev as high as expected and the engine cut out. I put that down to the home made carb. On the Lynx I used a Walbro carb so didn't expect any running problems. I was wrong the performance was much the same.
In order to understand the problem I hooked up with a group on the RCgroups.com forum who are in the process of producing a similar system to the RCexel but more flexible and with more features. To cut a long story short I've got involved in helping write the code for the PIC micro controller used in the system.
These ignitions use a micro controller to measure the time for each engine revolution and then apply the necessary advance to the spark dependent on the current RPM. I have realised that all the systems rely on the the hall switch being on the crankshaft, Both the Bobcat and Lynx have the sensor on the camshaft so the microcontoller always thinks the engine is going half the actual speed and applies the wrong advance for the revs the engine is doing.. Although the hall switch is set at the right firing point before TDC, it calculates the wrong delay and fires the engine late. So although its possible to get the engine to fire (with difficulty as I found) the engine is never running at its optimum and at some point in the rev range it just stops.
If it works as planned the system we are doing on the RCgroups forum will be aware of the location of the hall switch (crank or cam) as well as enabling the user to configure their own advance curve for their engine.
So if anybody is struggling using one of these ignitions, like i did, that's the reason
Pete
Edited By Doubletop on 20/01/2014 09:34:48