Glen-L.com

Congratulations on your launch! You will have fun with it How far do you have to trailer to reach your home water?

Thanks Denbrir!!! Oh, about a half mile!!! Potters lake public launch is literally around the corner from us.

Roberta

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Roberta
Built Zip "Oliver IV" and Super Spartan "Jimmy 70"

Roberta,

Sounds like you ran into the same problem I did. It turns out modern tachs don't work with motors with magnetos. I had three choices; buy an expensive original which wouldn't match my other guages, use the tiny tach whose digital readout clashed with my retro look, or as the old timers told me, use my ear. So far the ears have been working pretty good and at my age they are certainly retro!

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My Webalbum: http://picasaweb.google.com/Buckeyesmith1/Gem#

The best part about a manual screwdriver is not needing to remember if you left it in reverse.

Completion is but one step in the process and not one bit more important than the others.

I think I will retro the flywheel alternator so I will be able to hook up the tach and keep the battery charged. That way I will be able to use my Teleflex tach. This will be one of my winter projects.

Roberta

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Roberta
Built Zip "Oliver IV" and Super Spartan "Jimmy 70"

Roberta, if you install the flywheel alternator on your Merc, you'll need to fit a modern regulator of some sort to get the voltage down to around 14 volts. Old Merc alternators have a reputation for putting out excessive voltage and the one on our Mark 55E was no exception. As I recall, ours was producing something like 18 volts.

Regarding your tach issue, it is true that modern automotive tachs are not compatible with magneto ignition systems. What we did was take our pulse off one side of the alternator, which will provide the necessary four pulses per revolution and at an energy level that will keep the tach happy. Our tach is an el-cheapo unit we picked up at the local Auto Zone for $30 and it's worked great for three years now.

BTW, your Zip looks great!

-Mark Shipley

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A boat is just a wooden box with no right angles.

Thanks, Mark!!! I'm looking at a 73 Merc 500 to be a donor parts motor. Once I retro the alternator, I will certainly check the voltage and regulate if necessary. Thanks for the heads up.

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Roberta
Built Zip "Oliver IV" and Super Spartan "Jimmy 70"

7 Minutes of Oliver IV. I have about 7 more minutes of fame left.

Roberta

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfjn2iyN19U

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Roberta
Built Zip "Oliver IV" and Super Spartan "Jimmy 70"

Great video! Luv it!!

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Boat building can best be defined as an endless series of
tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer.

Don't Dream Your Life, Live Your Dream

Thanks for that great ride. Its faster and much better looking but otherwise looks like it rides just like mine.

Have you hooked the "tiny tach" to it to see what rpms you are runnning at WOT? Mine just came in the mail yesterday so I will hook it up today.

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My Zip build log...
http://www.vupilot.blogspot.com
http://picasaweb.google.com/vupilot/Chr ... O0x7SvsQE#

"Nothing screams poor craftsmanship like wrinkles in your duct tape."

Thanks, Warren and Chris!! I used it yesterday to check the timing at certain RPMs but it seems that it registers at 4X rpm. I don't know if the tach is peculiar or if that Lightning Energizer Ignition confuses it. See what your's does.

Roberta

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Roberta
Built Zip "Oliver IV" and Super Spartan "Jimmy 70"

Doesn't the tiny tach just wrap around a plug wire and read pulses off that?

I do know you need a different model depending on what motor con fig you have though

_________________
Boat building can best be defined as an endless series of
tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer.

Don't Dream Your Life, Live Your Dream

I hadn't been to their site in a while....I guess they updated their product as they just have one adjustable tach now(other than commercial)

A few years back when I first looked at them, I believe they had different models for different cyl and 2-4 stroke motors.

_________________
Boat building can best be defined as an endless series of
tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer.

Don't Dream Your Life, Live Your Dream

How sweet. Great video

In retrospect, I wish had mounted all of my deck hardward on the surface like you did rather than imbedding them. It actually is a cleaner look on the surface.

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Dave

My Riviera build - the Midnight Cry Project

Video of Midnight in Action
Blog

Few things in the world measure up to the thrill and satisfaction of boating in a boat that you built.

Thanks, Dave!!!

Hey Warren, I wrapped the wire around #1 plug wire and was reading about 2350 rpm at idle. When I ran it up to check the timing advance I was about 14000. Not sure why it was reading that way. I had it set for firing once per revolution, which s the default setting.

It may be that the lighting energizer sends out enough induction that the tach reads all the plugs, making it read 4X.

I am getting a better timing light with a tack so I can recheck the timing and RPM.

Roberta

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Roberta
Built Zip "Oliver IV" and Super Spartan "Jimmy 70"

Yep, their site said something about multiple cyl engines might need some kind of a filter

Quote;



The new Standard Model
NOTE: Some engines, such as multi-cylinder outboards generate considerable electronic "noise" and may require a light filter to assure a clear RPM reading.You will find a "comments" section at the end of the order page where you can tell us about your engine – what kind and how many cylinders it has – so that we can make any necessary adjustments.

_________________
Boat building can best be defined as an endless series of
tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer.

Don't Dream Your Life, Live Your Dream