End of an (electrical) era

BaronJ said:

View attachment 159467

Just about every HP printer has one of these slotted optical sensors. Basically a pair of LEDs. Some of the print heads have a more complex one.

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timo_gross said:

That stuff is really not expensive e.g. a TCST2103. Salvaging them from old printers can be frustrating, LEDs burn ( ) with wrong current, pinout is sometimes not clear. Extracting them from an old device is extra work.
I doubt that making the light barrier mechanically work is less hassle than fitting a hall sensor The automotive people seem to have settled on the Hall sensors.

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TonyM said:

I've got a couple of these on the way to test. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006704153203.html?search_direct=true&spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0

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Jasonb said:

For the cost of a spark generator off ebay at less than $10 you may as well just buy one of those. No hall sensors to go wrong. And it's a buzz type rather than a single spark

Simple 4 wires - Positive, Negative/ground, sparkplug and the last wire just needs simple make and break contact to ground. Seen here just as a wire touching a revolving contact.

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Vietti said:

I ordered one of these based on recommendations from here. Came from Ali-Express but only received a spark plug!

Anyone else had a problem or another more reliable source??

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Vietti said:

I ordered one of these based on recommendations from here. Came from Ali-Express but only received a spark plug!

Anyone else had a problem or another more reliable source??

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Jasonb said:

Sometimes on Ali they show the photo and image of the most expensive option but the price of the least expensive. You have to make sure you select the actual item you want and then the price will likely go up as well. For example you may see an image of a vice fot $10. But the $10 is actually just the option of some vice jaws. Select the actual vice and that will be $100.

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Vietti said:

I ordered one of these based on recommendations from here. Came from Ali-Express but only received a spark plug!

Anyone else had a problem or another more reliable source??

Click to expand...

Jasonb said:

Sometimes on Ali they show the photo and image of the most expensive option but the price of the least expensive. You have to make sure you select the actual item you want and then the price will likely go up as well. For example you may see an image of a vice fot $10. But the $10 is actually just the option of some vice jaws. Select the actual vice and that will be $100.

Red wire Positive to battery
White wire that is next to the red is the insulated contact
Thick HT wire obviously to plug
White wire next to that ground to engine frame
Engine frame also connected to the negative battery

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Richard Hed said:

The problem with the Chinese stuff, (alibaba etc), is the tricks they do are NOT done by accident. Them showing a high quality item when the actual item is a low quality piece is done on purpose. carpe deum. It's happened to me many times too. HOwever if you are in Asia, you can get on a thing called Shopee. This does the same thing, but the prices are about a quarter the prices here, and the item is delivered to YOUR DOOR in a few days. I've managed to get some pretty high quality HSS tools and various other things while in Philippines. Even a jackhammer for 100$ that is very good quality. While 20 years ago, I bot a larger jackhammer for 1300$ USD which would be more like 2500USD in todays $$s. These small cheap jackhammers were so good that I bot two and an extra one for my brother-in-law whom I am no longer on speaking terms with.

I figure that two jackhammers might last as long a one of the larger type and that the price is WELL worth it. We have jacked up plenty of large rocks and the hammers are fine. Same with the HSS which, when I got back to USA was able to test--It's fine! For years now, I have been complaining (to myself) about the high price of HSS cutoff blades so I managed to get some from Shopee--they are fine also! and a much more reasonable price. When I go again, I'm gonna load up on everything I can find.

But, I have to say, it is a shameful practice they do of "bait n switch", because that is really what it is.

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Richard Hed said:

The problem with the Chinese stuff, (alibaba etc), is the tricks they do are NOT done by accident. Them showing a high quality item when the actual item is a low quality piece is done on purpose. carpe deum. It's happened to me many times too. HOwever if you are in Asia, you can get on a thing called Shopee. This does the same thing, but the prices are about a quarter the prices here, and the item is delivered to YOUR DOOR in a few days. I've managed to get some pretty high quality HSS tools and various other things while in Philippines. Even a jackhammer for 100$ that is very good quality. While 20 years ago, I bot a larger jackhammer for 1300$ USD which would be more like 2500USD in todays $$s. These small cheap jackhammers were so good that I bot two and an extra one for my brother-in-law whom I am no longer on speaking terms with.

I figure that two jackhammers might last as long a one of the larger type and that the price is WELL worth it. We have jacked up plenty of large rocks and the hammers are fine. Same with the HSS which, when I got back to USA was able to test--It's fine! For years now, I have been complaining (to myself) about the high price of HSS cutoff blades so I managed to get some from Shopee--they are fine also! and a much more reasonable price. When I go again, I'm gonna load up on everything I can find.

But, I have to say, it is a shameful practice they do of "bait n switch", because that is really what it is.

Click to expand...