Is Hondamans shop still open?

[Oddjob]

Been trying to contact him regarding the transistorised ignition system setup and the e-mails keep bouncing back.

Anyone bought anything from him recently or has any knowledge of what's happened to him?

[Bryanj]

Talked to him via pm on the US site not long back Ken. Recent comments from him suggest he is still doing the kits

[Andych]

I hope he is... I think I should order one now to add to my growing list of items for the 400 (when I finish the other 2 projects)

[Oddjob]

Just for info, I got an e-mail from Hondaman just this morning, no idea how he knew as my e-mail got bounced back as undelivered.

Won't bore you with all the details but it appears he's still doing them but has recently run out due to high demand from the UK, 4 in the last month, he asked if we were having a convention or something 

The unit costs $80 but has a $38 postage charge, I've got one other member who's expressed an interest in one and Mark (Hondaman) now only accepts payment through a direct PayPal transaction, you contact him, he requests the money and he only does that with certain countries. So if you'd like to tag on a group buy I'll buy up to a max of 5 and we can split the postage.

He's building some more as we speak and they should be tested by Friday this week he reckons.

Not in a huge rush to buy myself so I can wait a couple of weeks if you a bit stuck for money at the moment.

[Andych]

Probably wouldnt help me...lol I just shot him an email.. hasnt bounced back yet but... doesnt mean it wont.

[Andych]

And just as I hit Post it bounce back as undeliverable... grrrr.

[Oddjob]

Andy i'll give you his direct e-mail address if you like, didn't spot you were Down Under

[Andych]

That would be great...
Cheers

[Oddjob]

Well the count is up to 4 now, 5 if you include Andy who's also ordering one. Mark has said via PM on the USA site that they will be finished by Friday and that he's struggling for parts for more.

So I'll cap this at 4 and we can maybe do another group buy when things get more normal. I've sort of asked him if he'd like a UK distributor, no reply as yet on that but it may be something we get into discussions over in the future.

So I have:

Myself
Bryan
Simon
Moorey

I'll let you know when I get ready to order them in case you change your minds.

[Andych]

Yep, mine is ordered and paid for..

[AshimotoK0]

I assume his ignition is a transistor based replacement for switching the coil current and still retains the points and auto advance.

I have just been asked to fix these ignition systems for a 500/4. Complicated or what !

http://www.racetechdev.co.uk/

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[K2-K6]

As you suspect Ash,  the hondaman system is taking the timing signal from points + advance retard operation to then switch coil load electronically.

If systems move to static electronic triggered timing they effectively have to work in reverse by default as they  cannot fire in advance of a signal that hasn't yet arrived. Ordinarily they time at maximum advance,  then use internal method to retard the ignition to give what we recognise as low speed timing.

Hondaman reported on USA site that he had faults due to components scourced from UK which he repaired for customers.
I wonder if he's using something like the module in this link http://www.vintagemodelairplane.com/pages/Ignition/AmplifierTest01.html these amps sit between a mechanical distributor triggering front end and a conventional coil to handle load switching.

[AshimotoK0]

In this link to my video-clip,  I used a special high-voltage ignition transistor to switch the coil from a signal generator. Can't remember the exact part numbe,r as it's all at work and I am off at the moment. It may have been this :

http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1916279.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxWtR_m80Fc&feature=youtu.be

this is the Hondaman setup :-

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[Oddjob]

Mark has amended that wiring diagram now Ash, in fact that's why I contacted him as I spotted a discrepancy which I thought I'd ask him about. In the schematic you can see it says to disconnect the condensers and on the website it says you can revert to stock within 2 minutes, which wouldn't be true as you'd need some tools if you've disconnected the condensers. So I asked him and he explained that his site regularly gets hacked by the Russians and that's the only backup of that schematic he had at the time. He's since changed it very slightly, it looks the same until you see them side by side. Now the condensers stay plugged it, so reverting to stock is just a matter of disconnecting the bullet connectors near the rear engine hanger and plugging in the old wires to the points plate. He has also added the on/off switch into the wiring diagram, instead of getting power from the black wire it's now taken from the black/white wire so using the on/off switch kills the new unit at the same time.

Just had an e-mail from Mark, of the 6 he's currently making he only has 3 left available but will have the 4th next week. He's seeing what the postage costs are of combining them all in one box etc and will come back to me soon. He has mentioned that if he has to use a box, most of the internal space will be empty and it will cost $80, that's $20 each. Compare that with the $38 standard charge and the greater chance of incurring import duties etc and the postal charges this side of the pond it may be better if that's the case to order yourself. We'll see how it pans out.

[Moorey]

Mark has amended that wiring diagram now Ash, in fact that's why I contacted him as I spotted a discrepancy which I thought I'd ask him about. In the schematic you can see it says to disconnect the condensers and on the website it says you can revert to stock within 2 minutes, which wouldn't be true as you'd need some tools if you've disconnected the condensers. So I asked him and he explained that his site regularly gets hacked by the Russians and that's the only backup of that schematic he had at the time. He's since changed it very slightly, it looks the same until you see them side by side. Now the condensers stay plugged it, so reverting to stock is just a matter of disconnecting the bullet connectors near the rear engine hanger and plugging in the old wires to the points plate. He has also added the on/off switch into the wiring diagram, instead of getting power from the black wire it's now taken from the black/white wire so using the on/off switch kills the new unit at the same time.

Just had an e-mail from Mark, of the 6 he's currently making he only has 3 left available but will have the 4th next week. He's seeing what the postage costs are of combining them all in one box etc and will come back to me soon. He has mentioned that if he has to use a box, most of the internal space will be empty and it will cost $80, that's $20 each. Compare that with the $38 standard charge and the greater chance of incurring import duties etc and the postal charges this side of the pond it may be better if that's the case to order yourself. We'll see how it pans out.

If you decide you don't want to go ahead with it thats fine by me.