Dave & John's comments have said it better than I have and as soon as
Laura
the web-master gets back from her 50th B-day celebration with her
girlfriend in NY (at least that where she said she was going : ) I'm going
to have her add a summary of these points to the website.

Guilty as charged, the average builder is often left out of the equation.
 The equipment RWS makes reflects my own personal wants, preferences and
background and the fact that I never intended it to be a commercial
success.  I still wake up shaking my head that it has done as well as it
has.

I'm willing to help builders over the rough spots but know what you are
getting into.  And if you ARE looking for Plug & Play solutions, know that
 this is not what we offer.

*Fine points on the EM2:*


Been wanting to post something on this for some time.  The EM2 offers the
 ability for the user to calibrate it for a wide range of sensors.  This
can be a very handy feature in many instances but is a marketing disaster.
Blue
Mountain was the only other company to offer this (and one of the reasons
I
chose it) and it nearly sank the company.  The average builder ended up
confused, frustrated and POd.  They eliminated this feature on the new G4
 series (and added very high priced sensors) : (  and the customer
problems magically disappeared!   I digress........

The default sensors on the EM2 are very low cost automotive types but
they are not inherently super accurate.  Usually there in no big down-side
for the water or oil temp to be off a few degrees so most builders need
not go any further.  If the water temp turns out to be actually 178
instead of 180, no big deal.  Super accuracy can be had with these sensors
if you go to the trouble of calibrating the instrument but then you must
get into the nitty gritty of the calibration procedures and the troubles
can begin.

But here is where it does matter.  If you are calculating thermal loads
and heat dissipation based on differential temps (let's say water temps in
and out of the radiator for instance)  a few degrees of error can make
your results meaningless.  In this example, it is not uncommon for the
Delta T to
be in the range of 10 degrees at some power settings.  If the error in
temperature is a couple of degrees, the error is huge, especially if the
errors are in opposite directions.

Bottom line is, if you need very accurate readings, learn to calibrate
the EM2 if that is what you are using.  To do this, you need a good
reference. The easiest way is to use a non-contact (infra-red)
thermometer.  Harbor Freight and others are now selling inexpensive ones
for about $10.00.  No reason for any airplane builder not to have one.
Be sure to paint the test
points on the part to be measured with a spot of flat black paint to
eliminate emissivity errors.

Tracy  (should I have said 50th?  )


On 8/1/07, John Slade <sladerj@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

Not unlike the probs John Slade was having because the two oil injector
 ports on his rotor housing were not plugged. Wasn't John's fault, but
that of his rebuilder. Or the wiring probs John had along the way - I
think he smoke tested a few boxes before it was sorted out. He's flying
now and having a blast. I say this because there has been at least one
contact to Chris offlist where someone was becoming skeptical of the
rotary because of our "problems".

I agree, Dave. I had more than my fair share of issues and did let the
smoke out a couple of times. (Thanks be to Tracy for putting it back
with a smile each time). I think it comes down to three things:


1. An amateur (i.e. some who doesn't do this for a living) like Chris
or I, is bound to make a few mistakes as we learn. 2. There are a lot of
wires and switches in a rotary / EM2/ EC2 installation - i.e. a lot of
opportunities to make mistakes. 3. The equipment is not designed for
idiots. Sometimes it's not as forgiving as your average household
appliance when mistakes are made.

This is not "plug and play". The entire installation, beyond the
crucial ignition & injection - is complex. Any engine installation with
redundant plugs, injectors, ECUs, batteries, possibly dual alternator
and, in my case, dual fuel systems, is going to be complex by
definition.  There are many opportunities to make errors, and the errors
tend to compound and/or hide one another. Much of the complexity is the
result of adding the redundancy. It's a challenge to get everything
right. It takes time, effort and tenacity, and can be very frustrating,
but the end result is a system that is very unlikely to add unintended
glider time to your logbook.

Chris, if it makes you feel any better, I also had a set of those NC
radio shack switches. I think they sell sets with both types in the same
pack. I was lucky enough to catch the mistake early on, but I can
understand how it could be missed. John
Turbo Rotary Cozy IV
94 hours






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