Plasma II vs Plasma III?

[Stewie]

Hi All-
Planning to put EI on my IO320, and have read through various VAF threads on this. Just curious if anyone has any experience with both the LSE Plasma II vs III? I have read the product description on the LSE website, so I understand the technical differences, but performance-wise, is the III significantly better to justify the extra expense?
Eric

[RVbySDI]

I cannot give you comparison information since I chose the Plasma III and have never dealt with the Plasma II. I will say when I made my decision the reason I went with the Plasma III mostly was based on the ease of installation with the Plasma III. With the Plasma II you have to deal with installing the sensors on the flywheel behind the prop and all that is involved with wiring from that area back to the unit. I felt it was worth the extra price to install the Plasma III on the Mag pad and have less wiring and configuration to deal with.

I am happy with my choice. The Plasma III has performed flawlessly for ~150 hours now.

The extra expense was worth it for me.

[Rupester]

I went with the Plasma II+ and aggravations outlined by Steve. Had to cut a 1"+ hole in the firewall to get the Dsub connector thru to the LSE brainbox. Argghhh. Had I known about the difference in crank sensor and RPM signal generation, I would gone the extra expense of the Plasma III.

[DakotaHawk]

When it was time to make the purchase, I called Light Speed Engineering to place my order. When I told Klaus what my planned use of the ignition was (RV-7, constant speed, one LSE and one mag), Klaus said "save your money and buy a LSE II.

Had to cut a 1"+ hole in the firewall to get the Dsub connector thru to the LSE brainbox.

Regarding the hole in the firewall for the D Sub connector, I simply removed the pins from the body of the connector, ran the wires through the firewall, and then reinserted the D Sub pins back into the connector.

[RVbySDI]

Originally Posted by DakotaHawk

When it was time to make the purchase, I called Light Speed Engineering to place my order. When I told Klaus what my planned use of the ignition was (RV-7, constant speed, one LSE and one mag), Klaus said "save your money and buy a LSE II.



Regarding the hole in the firewall for the D Sub connector, I simply removed the pins from the body of the connector, ran the wires through the firewall, and then reinserted the D Sub pins back into the connector.

Scott, can you expound upon what Klaus' reasons for that statement were? Is there something the III does differently than the II that merits his statement?

[DakotaHawk]

Originally Posted by RVbySDI

Scott, can you expound upon what Klaus' reasons for that statement were? Is there something the III does differently than the II that merits his statement?

Klaus said that the III emits a shower of sparks for a more fuller fuel burn. The II emits a single strong spark. (By "strong", he is comparing the spark to the spark generated by a magneto) He said that the III is good for racing - getting every last drop of energy out of the engine at high power settings. However, the extra power from the III's "shower of sparks" is minimal compared to the II's spark during normal flight operations.

I bought my LSE about four years ago, so this conversation isn't fresh in my mind. I would recommend calling LSE and getting the answer straight from the horse's mouth. When I called, the woman who answered the phone told me that I should talk to Klaus, and then she called him to the phone. After talking to Klaus for just a few moments, I was satisfied with his recommendation and ordered the LSE II.

[PIN 37]

Regarding the hole in the firewall for the D Sub connector, I simply removed the pins from the body of the connector, ran the wires through the firewall, and then reinserted the D Sub pins back into the connector

Things must have changed a bit since I got my Plasma III. The D subs on my unit were the cheap solder bucket type and since it meant that I had to drill a big hole (wasn't going to happen) or de-solder, which meant interfering with the original product. I cut the leads and put bulkhead connectors on the firewall. I wanted to get some extra shielded wire of the type used on the units from Lightspeed but Klaus would not sell me any and infact refused to talk to me because I had altered his product. I used high quality connectors and machined pins etc but he still didn't want to know. I also explained to him I was an avionics LAME here in Oz, still didnt want to know and infact said if I ever had any problems with the system, not to call him.

[Walt]

You can run both the LSI II and III with either the direct crank sensor or the Hall effect module. Not sure why you thought you had to get the III to use the Hall effect module. I currently have a II and a III installed on my 7, if I had it to over again I would get the III, I "think" the III runs a little better than the II but no solid documentation to prove it. Maybe it because it cost more I'm sure it must run better