Hello to all,
I'm back home from Ecuador where I received graphic reinforcement of
the blessings of living in the "Good Old USA". It was a very
interesting, educational, and rewarding trip. I would love to return for
more time there.
We spent most of our time in Quito and neighboring communities, with a
two day stay at Atacames on the coast. Quito is at 10,000 ft. altitude,
it takes a little time to ge used to the rare air. I was smart enough
not to drive there, we got around by bus and taxi. A bus cost twenty
cents and a taxi would take one or a car load anywhere in Quito for a
fare of $1 to $6. Quito covers an area fifty km long and five to six km
wide. If anyone wants to hear more about our trip I will be glad to
share, just don't want to get too long winded on the network.
Regarding secondary resistance:
A couple of advantages of resistance in the secondary circuit is a
higher voltage is delivered to the plug, and there is less lingering
voltage trailing across the gap, wearing the plug, after the ignition is
the produced. I remember using bailing wire, on our old tractor, to hold
the plug wire terminal away from the plug, giving the spark a gap to
jump. Higher voltage delivered at the plug would burn through the oil in
a bad cylinder. There is also a product that can be bought to attach
between the plug and the wire which would do the same thing.
Back in the late 50s and early '60s, when secondary resistance was a
fairly new technology, there were warnings against using both
resistance wires and resistance plugs in the same application. It was
thought that doubling the resistance would cause performance problems.
Later this proved to be erroneous, but of course the ignition systems of
the day were not so strong as we enjoy today. Just my thoughts on the
subject.
Tom, Redding CA - #216 D/GCC
Albaugh, Neil wrote:
>Jon;
>
>One of the tasks of the plugwire resistance is to act as damping on the
>spark current oscillation. There is inductance and capacitance in the
>circuit, so when it's hit with a fast rise or fall- time pulse, it acts like
>a resonant tank circuit and the current rings until it is damped to a
>steady- state value. The current acts like a wheel that has hit a bump--
>without the damping of a shock absorber (damper), the wheen just "rings" by
>bouncing up & down.
>
>RFI is primarily generated by this oscillation-- acting just like a
>broadband radio transmitter. "Resistor" spark plugs have a built- in
>resistor that acts as damping on copper plug wires; I wouldn't advise trying
>to use actual 1/4 watt resistors as they are usually rated at 200 to 500V.
>Too much voltage drop across them will cause the resistor to break down.
>
>Thanks for the invitation-- maybe I'll bring my Fender 50th Anniversary CD
>over to your pit area.
>
>Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
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