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Tach Filter: $2.57

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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 01:25 AM
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Default Tach Filter: $2.57

I just couldn't convince myself to spend $26 for one of those new looking tach filters. My tach hasn't worked since I bought my car, and the lack of movement on the gauge drove me crazy! I spent a couple of days researching the original filter, and I finally decided to raid the electronics store this morning... $2.57 and a few minutes at my workbench, then a couple seconds under the hood and I have a working tach! (WOOHOO!)

Here's a quick schematic for anyone interested in saving some money by building a tach filter themselves..



Coming soon: The poor man's clock repair...

Last edited by Slink; Dec 13, 2004 at 01:36 AM.
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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 02:32 AM
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MFD? Mega Micro or Milli?

I'm thinking Micro...

(Especially when 1 MF cap is prolly the size of a city..)
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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 05:14 AM
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drove mine for about a year with none at all and the tach worked fine...???
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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 07:19 AM
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Thanks for the info

Thanks,
John

Last edited by Lotus76; Dec 13, 2004 at 08:58 AM.
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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 07:57 AM
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I've never had a tach filter, yet my tack works. Lately the needle started to jump around...not sure why. Funny how the tach filter makes a difference on some tachs and not others. Can you post a pic?
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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 09:18 AM
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Some work just fine without a filter. It's a combination of the specific tach and ignition module and coil. The module/coil combination creates ringing on the tach wire that many tachs see as a firing event so the needle jumps around or shows a reading that's too high.

MFD = micro farad. Yeah, a mega farad would be the size of a decent living room.
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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 10:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Lotus76
Thanks for the info

Thanks,
John
do you have a pic. ????
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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 10:16 AM
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the correct notation for Fahrad = F and for micro it's the greek letter mu, since that's not available (or at least I don't know the code for it) most pople use a u since it's about the same as a mu, missing the longer leg. So uF would be the best notation.
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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 11:40 AM
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Sorry guys, I thought it was obvious...

Anyway I neglected to take a pic but I'll probably be pulling it out this weekend to make a better looking version. Not that anyone would even see what's on the car, but I'm kind of a perfectionist when it comes to this kind of stuff and it's not up to my standards yet. I'll get some pics when I clean it up.

Last edited by Slink; Dec 13, 2004 at 11:53 AM.
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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 11:53 AM
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Sorry guys, I thought it was obvious...

Anyway I neglected to take a pic but I'll probably be pulling it out this weekend to make a better looking version. Not that anyone would even see what's on the car, but I'm kind of a perfectionist when it comes to this kind of stuff and it's not up to my standards yet. I'll get some pics when I clean it up.

Please feel free to clean up my quick sketch if anyone has the ability. I can when I go back to work, but that's not going to be for about a month.

Last edited by Slink; Dec 13, 2004 at 11:56 AM.
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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 11:57 AM
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Sorry guys, I thought it was obvious...

Anyway I neglected to take a pic but I'll probably be pulling it out this weekend to make a better looking version. Not that anyone would even see what's on the car, but I'm kind of a perfectionist when it comes to this kind of stuff and it's not up to my standards yet. I'll get some pics when I clean it up.

Please feel free to clean up my quick sketch if anyone has the ability. I can when I go back to work, but that's not going to be for about a month.
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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 02:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Twin_Turbo
the correct notation for Fahrad = F and for micro it's the greek letter mu, since that's not available (or at least I don't know the code for it) most pople use a u since it's about the same as a mu, missing the longer leg. So uF would be the best notation.
YUP - but before the US went totally metric, electrical engineers
used MFD to denote MicroFaraD. Sometimes it's tough to read old schematics.

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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 04:22 PM
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Originally Posted by NHvette
YUP - but before the US went totally metric, electrical engineers
used MFD to denote MicroFaraD. Sometimes it's tough to read old schematics.

The US is totally metric??? I wish... sure would make life easier to only have to remember ONE set of measurements.
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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 04:44 PM
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Originally Posted by zwede
The US is totally metric??? I wish... sure would make life easier to only have to remember ONE set of measurements.
Amen...

I'm not particularly fond of the standard system... but not much that comes with a metric system intrests me.
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Old Dec 13, 2004 | 05:09 PM
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Well, that comment was kind of tongue-in-cheek.
Note that all products are measured in the metric system.
Ok - it's the small print under the standard units.

I never said we were ONLY metric.

I don't thing any "inch" size hardware is used in autos any more.
I could be wrong - but most is metric.

Well, in Electrical Engineering, most is metric now-adays.


Anywaze .... If anyone is interested, I have done an analysis
of the behaviour of two proposed tach filters. The outcome
was to use the values (basically) in the schematic above.

Analysis: http://NHvette.com/ftp/in/NHvette_filter_comp.pdf


Last edited by NHvette; Dec 13, 2004 at 06:48 PM.
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Old Dec 16, 2004 | 01:07 PM
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Default Standard?

I'm not particularly fond of the standard system... but not much that comes with a metric system intrests me. [/QUOTE]

We could express all demensions geometricly and use boulian math to size our nuts, bolts and wrenches..................
Course we might have three eyes and work from base 7 too....LOL
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Old Dec 18, 2004 | 09:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Slink
I just couldn't convince myself to spend $26 for one of those new looking tach filters. My tach hasn't worked since I bought my car, and the lack of movement on the gauge drove me crazy! I spent a couple of days researching the original filter, and I finally decided to raid the electronics store this morning... $2.57 and a few minutes at my workbench, then a couple seconds under the hood and I have a working tach! (WOOHOO!)

Here's a quick schematic for anyone interested in saving some money by building a tach filter themselves..



Coming soon: The poor man's clock repair...
Thanks for the inspiration!

I made a tach filter tonight and it works great!

My tach problem was it was flakey, sometime it worked good and some times it would jump. I had to repair the wire several times. Vibration and heat from its mounting location on the intake takes its toll.

I built this very simple circuit and enclosed it in a radio shack Mini Project Enclosure drilled three holes for the wires out and mounted it to the firewall (see pic)

Attached you will also find a pic of the radio shack parts cards with the radio shack numbers to make it easy for anyone that wants a tach fix.

Try it its easy

Good Luck,
John



part numbers

10K resistor (pack of 5) 271-1126 $ .99
5.6K resistor (pack of 5) 271-1125 $ .99
0.1uf Capacitor (pack of 5) 272-109 $2.59
.01uf Capacitor 272-1051 $1.29
Mini Project Enclosure 270-288 $1.99

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Old Dec 18, 2004 | 09:49 PM
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lotus, great idea using the project box. i'll have to get one for mine.i had it made at work and we couldn't find a small encloser.
you put yours in the same location i used.GMTA

R
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Old Dec 19, 2004 | 07:54 AM
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Lotus76,

any chance you can post a pic of the internals so we can all see exactly how you connected everything? Some of us are electronically challenged.
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Old Dec 19, 2004 | 08:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Frankenvette
Lotus76,

any chance you can post a pic of the internals so we can all see exactly how you connected everything? Some of us are electronically challenged.
I will get a cap and a box and build one more with pictures this week and post it.
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