Hi guys,
I received my MS1 v3.0 kit in June of 2006...and opened the box today! Luckily, it looks like things have advanced so far that I can get full fuel and ignition control with just a few upgrades. I will need to buy the MS2 daughter card.

From what I can tell, I still need a 2nd VR conditioner thingy. My choices appear to be 1)build it myself 2)get the error* board, or 3) get the Dual VR Conditioner Board V1.1 from here
http://jbperf.com/dual_VR/index.html#Buy

Am I correct in assuming this board in #3 will give me the 2nd VR? I think it comes with 2 VRs (giving me a total of 3). Any problem in ordering this board and having that extra VR on it?

Thanks

 

No problem whatsoever. Just don't connect the second VR circuit to anything and you're good to go.

 

well, decide whether you want to run MS1-extra or MS2-extra before wiring the 2nd VR circuit output to anything, or wire it thru a switch so you can change where the output goes.

Another option is just following the wiring diagram for the 2nd VR circuit and building it yourself on the prototyping area of the V3 board, but this requires a little bit more confidence in reading the diagram and not bridging or shorting things.

 

Of course, I meant a 2nd circuit on the jbperf board. Sorry for the confusing message. Didn't this board used to allow edits or am I misremembering things? toplessfc3 is, as usual, spot on on his advice for details that can save you time and incorrect construction. The main reason I prefer the jbperf board is that they give all the parts you need (just the parts you need) so you don't have to mess around with a BOM and minimum orders from Digi or Mouser.

 

Thanks guys, I'm planning on going with the MS2-extra. I'll go with the jbperf board since the less I have to do the better at this point.

 

With the jbperf board, I think you'll be better off changing the resistor and capacitor on the RC pin to 82k and .01 uF respectively.

That will make sure that it'll work on any version of ms2/extra firmware, as well as ms1/extra.

Ken

 

Ken, I don't know what the RC pin is, but I'm guessing it's something on the jbperf board. Which means I'll have to order the parts unassembled, or if they're out of stock, have one made that way?

 

the RC pin is the pin with the resistor and capacitor hooked up in an RC circuit. Its pin 14. Basically, you'll need to change the resistance and capacitance values (buy new resistors and capacitors) on pin 14 so that your build is functionally the same as shown in here:

http://stuff.pw.cx/Megasquirt%20MS2%...azda%20CAS.pdf

btw, thank you H4inf, that is an extremely useful pdf for referring people to, and well put together too!

 

Thanks, that's an awesome link. If I can't buy the board with the mentioned changes, then I'll probably just build in the proto area. I can barely solder, I don't even wanna think about de-soldering!

 

well, the changes won't be to the board itself, you're just replacing one capacitor that they give you with a different one, and the same for one resistor. These parts you'll prob be able to get from either a hobby store (don't count on radioshack for capacitors), or from online from places like mouser.com and digikey.com, although shipping will def be more than the parts if you order just those components.

 

I mis-read the site I guess, I thought they were selling a fully assembled one already.

If I can build the 2nd VR conditioner in the proto area, why would I need the board? And where does the board mount to? The enclosure mentioned on that site sounds like the box/casing for the electronics.

 

yea, that board you need to do all of the soldering yourself. C8 and R10 would be the ones you replace. By the looks of it, you may need to buy all of the caps, resistors, and the LM1815N yourself; all of this will run about $8 or so from digikey or mouser, but I think digikey still has a minumum purchase amount of $20 (although i'm not positive on that). Or, you can get their fully populated kit and still do the soldering yourself, but you'll still need those replacement components.

I believe that this board slides into the case with the main board, and sits above the proto area across the width of the case.

 

Ok, this is directly from Jean, the guy who makes the board:


"I just wanted to say that I will now include a 0.01uF capacitor in my kits. This will allow the user to chose between the 0.01uF and the already provided 0.001uF. This together with the 51K resistor for the RC circuit will mean that there won't be any issue with either MS1 or MS2/extra. The 51K value is more than enough to cover any polling issue so it's not necessary to change it for a 82K.

Also, the board is sized to fit in the top slot of the standard case so can easily be installed."

His name on the msextra.com forums is racingmini_mtl, so if you have any more questions on his board, im sure he'd be the one to answer them for you. He's a very helpful guy.

 

Thanks again for your in depth help! Is there any benefit to using the jbperf card instead of building in the proto area?

 

the card is easier to do, and he'll provide you with all the components. Otherwise you need to be pretty careful and not just solder all of the components but the traces as well.

 

It's nice to promptly get a professionally designed board and all the components nicely labeled. 30 minutes of soldering later, you have a functioning 2 channel 1815 based zero crossing detector that just works. I've been doing this MS thing for a while and jbperf.com's devices are a great time saver and he is very responsive to any questions or responsive. Usual disclaimers apply.... i.e., no business connection other than as a satisfied customer.

-Mike

 

Cool, thanks guys. Looks like I will go with the card.