Quote Originally Posted by kitz
IMO there is nothing unreliable about optical triggers. They have been around for a very long time. I had a Unilite back in the 70's and worked flawlessly. We use optical triggers for a variety of far more critical things than ignition circuits with 6 nines reliability. I might also point out that optical triggers are used routinely in high noise environments (like ignition systems) to achieve such high reliability.

The Hall efect itself is not digital in nature, that comes from Analog to Digital conversion of the generated voltage signal which is typically an impulse, square wave, or sinusoidal in nature. Most all ABS and speedometers are now using such signals and they too are extremely reliable.

Embrace the technology, it works, don't be scared of it.

Kitz
actully, the Hall effect, has 2 have a refrence voltage going to it, the shudders and crystal, inturupts the signal compleatly. so it's on off, bianary, square wave, digital signal. it's not digital itself, but that's the signal it sends. these are getting widely used, because a computer can read the digital output signal, where as, with a magnetic pickup, an A/D converter would need to be used, old Chrysler ign box's used a couple diodes, for an A/D converter. I'd take a hall effect, over a magnetic pickup, any day, because they are so accurate ( this is why there used as ckp's ), for a distributor, you might only need 8 shudders ( 8cyl ) but, add in 180 shudders, put the sensor on the crankshaft, and you got 100% crankshaft position.