Ignition driver board

Post by **brentp** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 1:57 am

So lately I've been down with a bad cold - actually the beginnings of pneumonia. Last night, while loaded down with antibiotics and prescription cough syrup I collaborated on a 4 channel ignition driver board with our friend Karel Jennings. A fun diversion to keep my body rested.

Read more:
http://www.autosportlabs.org/blog/?p=1536

Wiki page here:
http://autosportlabs.net/IgnitionDrivers

Please share with your friends

NITROPIXIE · Post by **NITROPIXIE** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:17 pm

Will these not over heat in the enclosure at some point?? What about using the back plate of the enclosure as a heat sink of some sort????

Post by **brentp** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 10:17 pm

Hi Ryan,

The heat is transferred to the bottom of the PC board to an exposed PCB pad, where it can then be coupled to the enclosure.

Post by **brentp** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:55 am

Assembled boards are in! Nifty. Now I need something to drive them on the bench

Funky Diver · Post by **Funky Diver** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:40 pm

Oh sweet!!! They look rather special!

Post by **brentp** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:59 pm

Admit it, you're drawn to the pretty LEDs

Funky Diver · Post by **Funky Diver** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 9:13 pm

Of course!!!

I am a man of simple means, and if it's shiney or blinky, I'm happy

Anyways... are these going to be available to buy in the store Brent? Or as a self build kit?

I would really LOVE to be able to do away with as much gubbins under the bonnet (hood) as possible...

Post by **brentp** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 12:54 am

Yes- we'll have them available. Next up is to work out heat coupling to our enclosures- I think we have a fairly simple solution that puts the enclosure heat-sink finning to good use

Funky Diver · Post by **Funky Diver** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 4:06 pm

ooooh, oooh, oooh... put one aside for me.

Although you might need to offer different LED's... green is Soooooo 80's, haha. I know I'm a picky bugger, lol.

From a personal perpective I'd probably rewire the LED's to a ground switch so that they only light up on the press of a switch to earth them (if that would work) rather than them being on all the time. Just a thought

cng1 · Post by **cng1** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 11:14 pm

I agree. Given that the LEDs are indicating sparks/ignition they really do need to be either red or blue. Green is just wrong!

DannyP · Post by **DannyP** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 12:27 am

Personally I like white LEDs!

Hey Brent, will there be enough room to install a couple(3 in my case) of these driver boards for twin-plugging possibilities on a 6 cylinder?

Post by **brentp** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 4:41 am

You guys are roughing me up on the LEDs

The boards will fit one per enclosure, so if you have room for 3 enclosures...

An alternative is to run the LS4 coil packs, which has the drivers built in. Choices, Choices

DannyP · Post by **DannyP** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:32 am

COP all the way, 12 of them are going on my 911 motor! We'll figure it out I am sure. There will be plenty of room for 2 or 3 enclosures, btw.

Funky Diver · Post by **Funky Diver** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 10:42 am

Brent,

I've added metric sizing to the Features section, can you confirm the dimensions are correct please?

I've also found a PCB prototyping service in the UK which is VERY competitive (compared to some) working out at less than $16 per board on quantities of 4 or more, obviously the more units, the lower unit cost incrementally.

Coupla questions on the construction,

- it is a single layer board right?
- I'm guessing the heat sink is bolted to chassis?

Cheers
Rich

Post by **brentp** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 5:05 pm

Hi Rich,

Thanks for contributing to the wiki1 So it's a double-sided board. The intention of the heat sink is to bolt the board down to a metal surface, like a section of aluminum bar.

The heat sink and the bottom of the board must be insulated- i've designed to work with TO-220 insulators. I recommend the rubbery silicone pads, not mica + heat sink grease, although either would work.

I've measured that a 0.25" bar sandwiched between the PCB and the bottom inside surface will make a tight interference fit after the board has been slid into the case. This part is in progress- The wiki will be updated when I have more pics to take.