SDS CDI vs Pmag

[rv6ejguy]

Originally Posted by gasman

I have had one of these Powersonic PS 5ah on my bench for over 5 years and has maintained an 90% charge for a 12 month standby period. It gets charged once a year.

Yup, I've used many for different applications over the years. They hold a charge a long time and go and go. That's why we're leaning towards this known quantity/ quality. I have a 7 amp hour one over 20 years old now, still pretty good despite some abuse over its life.

[czechsix]

Originally Posted by rv6ejguy

We are a small company and the testing required to pass DO 160/178 standards would probably quadruple/ quintuple the product cost in the end due to the small production volumes. It would add many months to the release date as well. This would in turn reduce sales to nil making the whole process a waste of time. Fine for companies with the financial resources to do this and sell to the certified market, but not for us.

Ross, I mentioned DO-160 in terms of a reference for ensuring aircraft electronics are adequately hardened for the intended operating environment...you can design the system with the objective to meet these industry standards (many of which have been developed by lessons learned the hard way) without actually spending the significant money & time to prove that the equipment passes all the tests. It's like designing an airframe to Part 23 structural standards but not spending $ millions to actually prove (aka certify) it. You can also selectively design for the conditions you care about and ignore the rest. I don't want to pay for a unit that is environmentally sealed against sand, dust, and hydraulic fluid when I'm going to put it in my panel, but it would be nice if a voltage surge doesn't leave me with an engine failure...

Also with respect to a built-in backup battery, I think it's a great idea but please make it optional, easy to replace, and some kind of built-in monitoring/self test method would also be great. One problem with backups is you don't tend to use them until you really need it, and that's a bad time to discover that it died last year without notifying you...

[gasman]

When I finally pull the Bendix and go all electric, I will just add another PC680 plus an A/B switch and switch batteries at each start up.

[rv6ejguy]

Originally Posted by czechsix

Ross, I mentioned DO-160 in terms of a reference for ensuring aircraft electronics are adequately hardened for the intended operating environment...you can design the system with the objective to meet these industry standards (many of which have been developed by lessons learned the hard way) without actually spending the significant money & time to prove that the equipment passes all the tests. You can also selectively design for the conditions you care about and ignore the rest. I don't want to pay for a unit that is environmentally sealed against sand, dust, and hydraulic fluid when I'm going to put it in my panel, but it would be nice if a voltage surge doesn't leave me with an engine failure...

Also with respect to a built-in backup battery, I think it's a great idea but please make it optional, easy to replace, and some kind of built-in monitoring/self test method would also be great.

As I said, we'll do as much testing as we can afford, to approach the applicable DO 160 standards and protecting the unit/ maintaining power to the unit under all conditions is paramount for sure. The battery backup will be optional since some will already have a larger backup battery system installed.

It will certainly have a monitoring system built into the unit. We already have some ideas on that part. To avoid any conflicts, it's not going to be tied into ship's power for charging. The goal would be to charge externally every 90 days or so which seems practical with the PS AGMs batteries.

[Chkaharyer99]

Originally Posted by rv6ejguy

I'd add that the Gen 2 is designed with aviation 100% in mind rather than a spin-off adapted from automotive as the original CPI was. It will have some of the new features recently introduced on the EM-5 as well.

The advantage of several product lines- once we write new software for one, that code can be carried over to other products at little additional cost outside validating it.

In case some new people are following this thread and are unfamiliar with what the CPI offers, here's a quick rundown:

Timing adjustable in logical 1 degree increments at 500, 750, 1000 rpm and then every 100 rpm above that

Timing adjustable with MAP- retard or advance which is subtracted/ added to the basic rpm programmed timing. 1 degree increments

Adjustable coil charge time

Adjustable cranking retard

LOP switch adds a programmable amount of advance to the base RPM/ MAP curves

Adjustable rev limiter

Integral coil test function without engine running plus error LED for quick diagnostics

12V tach signal output

Runup mode for testing coil packs (single module driving both plug sets)

Integral MAP sensor

Hall triggered off the flywheel, Conformal coated PCBs, no blast tubes required, no maintenance required outside of annual spark plug checks.

Easy to understand programming

Ross,

1. Will the new CPI2 have the capability to monitor battery (batteries) health?

2. Will there be an audio alert that could be fed to an intercom or audio panel?

[rv6ejguy]

Originally Posted by Chkaharyer99

Ross,

1. Will the new CPI2 have the capability to monitor battery (batteries) health?

2. Will there be an audio alert that could be fed to an intercom or audio panel?

Right now, looks like the backup battery will be an option for those who want it. It will assess backup battery health on bootup so you can make a go/ no go decision before you even start. Probably have an LED on the face to warn you of low voltage as well.

Might be able to add an output for an audio alert. Maybe at the 9V level as you'll have already got an alert prior to startup. Ideas and feedback on this aspect welcome here.

[Chkaharyer99]

I'm researching electrical systems for use with a dual SDS EI for my RV-8 equipped with an IO-360. I am considering something similar to a two battery system like the one depicted above (DanH) from a different but related thread, specifically, "Dual Lightspeed igntion install - warning" http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...eply&p=1174921

Some EFIS are limited to allowing the real time monitoring of the electrical system (battery) health to one channel, mine is. Should I decide to go with a dual battery, one alternator system, like the one shown above, I would need to check Batt2 health before each flight.

If the CPI2 allowed the monitor or check of voltage for for at least one, possibly two batteries this would help. An audio and visual alert would be excellent.

[rv6ejguy]

The strategy we're looking at right now would be to self check the CPI2 backup battery on power up display voltage of it and maybe an LED for go/no go, then switch to the main source if it's above 12V or so. We may change or refine that as we get into further thinking and testing.

[bigwheel]

As usual, I'm late to the show. My CPI will be superseded before it even gets installed. Haha.

I like the green.

[rv6ejguy]

Originally Posted by bigwheel

As usual, I'm late to the show. My CPI will be superseded before it even gets installed. Haha.

I like the green.

In the electronics world, things can evolve and change quickly as new features and products emerge. We hinted on a 2018 release of this about a year ago. We're letting people know now about the new CPI, months before planned release, even though we know it may cost a lot of 1st gen CPI sales, because we think it's the right thing to do.

Nobody wants to just finish buying some new avionics only to find that 2 weeks later the manufacturer brings out something newer and better.