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Yeah I do, but I’m getting ready to head back to florida in a couple of weeks and the RV-8 won’t fit in the trunk of an M240i. I’ll be building the replacement forward fuselage floor and left gear tower in FL to bring back next spring. Repairing this way means I’ll have to use a bunch of expensive Cherry-max blind rivets but way cheaper than a new fuselage. I don’t think I had it in me to do that job anyway, would have had to write it off. There is plenty of spare serial I/O on the Arduino so I’m thinking the display for Lambda, RPM and fuel flow will be easy to include, as well as the MAP table etc. that is currently displayed on the EM3. The other engine parameters like water & oil temps & pressure, etc. will not be there since the EC3 doesn’t have sensors for those. The display will be optional, builder will have to figure out packaging, mounting, etc. The electrical connections will just be power and two wires for the serial data. Tracy Crook Sent from Mail for Windows 10 Yeah, I'm really happy to see you offering this, but I can't help but thinking... don't you have an airplane to fix?? but to echo Charlie, the PWM output for in-tank fuel pumps would be a nice option. And an OBD2 or CAN output. It would certainly be nice to see the EM3 combined with this, simply because of the recent advances in cheap, large OLED screens would allow for a very nice and easily sunlight readable display screen, but I suspect it would be best and safest to keep these as separate instruments. As I've discovered, the accidental grounding of any 5v sensor line has undesirable effects on my engine monitor, so I'm happy to have the EM & EC separate and just communicating data.
On Wed, Sep 19, 2018 at 2:30 PM, Charlie England ceengland7@gmail.com <flyrotary@lancaironline.net> wrote: Since you're offering.... ;-)
Integrating a sensor input array/engine monitor, and a driver for a display similar to what your monitor and what Ed Anderson used to offer in his rotary monitor would be really nice. Or maybe OBD2 port that could interface with the already-available android apps & display on a phone/tablet, similar to what the M*Squirt guys are doing now. A CAN bus that will talk to other devices?
Oh, and two switch-selectable pressure-controlled PWM outputs that can drive a pair of automotive in-tank fuel pumps, so we can have redundant vapor-free fuel delivery and eliminate the return line, like modern cars.
How about full sequential injection? Would that help the little intermittent stumbles we hear when rotaries are idling?
I could continue, since you're obviously a glutton for punishment and bored with repairing the -8....
;-)
Charlie I'll post up dates an progress on the Arduino software port. If anyone has ideas to add/change, things they like/don’t like about the EC2/3 or things that could be better, let me know. To the guy designing a thing the operation might be obvious but be terribly confusing to anyone else. Tracy Crook Hi Tracy; I'd be very interested in the software code for an Arduino/EC3 when it is ready. My Dad has given my 14 year old son his old jeep as a project to work on for the next few years until he can drive legally. I had already been considering converting it to EFI as a good learning experience for him and now hearing that the EC3 code will be available has convinced me that we should do this. I'd already planned to buy him his own Arduino starter kit just because I think there is a lot of educational value there, but with a goal of building his own EFI for his own Jeep, there will be a lot of motivation to learn. And it will be a great platform to test the design before possibly trying it in any future aircraft builds.
On Mon, Sep 17, 2018 at 5:42 AM, Tracy Crook rwstracy@gmail.com <flyrotary@lancaironline.net> wrote: Totally agree Todd, the Arduino is a fantastic platform to develop engine controls or avionics on. Just for something to do (and because I’d like to see an EFI solution available to anyone who wants one) I’ve started porting the EC3 software over to the Arduino. I don’t plan to sell them but will give the software to anyone who wants it. The cost to build would be little more than a $35 Arduino board and a chassis to mount it in. Tracy Crook Hi Neil; I know it's tempting to cut a corner and use a carb to get flying faster/cheaper, but I'd really try to stay with EFI. Many advantages. I know you get screwed on shipping from across the pond which can make it hard to swallow. Here's a really half-baked, out of the box idea, that you could look into that would save you a lot of money, take up all your remaining time, but give you a ton of satisfaction. Arduino micro-controllers. I'm just starting to get into them while I'm building my own data-logger for my first generation EM2 and am absolutely amazed at some of the ideas people have used them for. It's difficult to stay focused on my current objective and not stray down the garden path by getting distracted by all the things that can be done with them. Almost anything you can think of, someone has done with an Arduino. They are an open-source hardware platform so there are many cheap clones available, with accessory shields for an almost unlimited number of gadgets. There are open-source libraries of code available for almost any conceivable project and I know in my browsing that I have seen some for engine ignition/injection. You can even pair up several (or more) micro-controllers for redundancy. There are great you-tube tutorials to get you started and I recommend you start right at the beginning. I know just enough to jump right in, but there were enough things to trip me up that I finally went to the beginning and started learning from scratch to fill in the gaps in my knowledge and now this project is beginning to come together. In most cases you don't need to wright your own code from scratch as you can find libraries with other users code that you can modify to suit your own needs. It's not as crazy as it might sound and id I didn't already have EC2 powering my plane, then I would probably attempt to make my own. 13Bturbo 9.5 hours last week
On Sun, Sep 16, 2018 at 6:26 PM, Charlie England ceengland7@gmail.com <flyrotary@lancaironline.net> wrote: On 9/16/2018 7:33 PM, Charlie England ceengland7@gmail.com wrote: On 9/16/2018 4:35 PM, Neil Unger 12348ung@gmail.com wrote: Gents,
The cost of an ECU is around the $3000 plus possibly $4000 with a few fittings, which is substantial. To simplify things a standard carby with a basic ignition systems would take a lot of money from the project. What alternatives are there for a simple cheap ignition system to replace an ECU?
Neil Unger.
Are you willing to change the trigger wheel? You could look at the Mega Jolt (ignition only). It requires a 36-1 wheel, like Ford uses here in the USA (might be the same down under).
If you're interested in alternatives in full injection/ignition controllers, the Micro Squirt & Mega Squirt systems can both be set up for a rotary. Micro Squirt will have batch fired injectors (like almost all aftermarket systems for aviation engines). Mega Squirt can be set up just about any way you can dream up.
The Micro Squirt controller with harness is about $400 US. The Mega Squirt controller is about $600 US.
The car guys love them. Here's a link to an RX-7 forum page on the Mega Squirt:
https://www.rx7club.com/megasquirt-forum-153/
Charlie
Oops; forgot. Len Hanover has published a method using just a couple of trigger detectors and (IIRC) Chrysler ignition modules. Same can be done with GM HEI modules. Downside is fixed timing.
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