{"id":8824,"date":"2014-11-06T10:19:49","date_gmt":"2014-11-06T18:19:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=8824"},"modified":"2015-11-11T09:48:19","modified_gmt":"2015-11-11T17:48:19","slug":"reliable-high-power-race-ignition-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/reliable-high-power-race-ignition-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Reliable High Power Race Ignition – Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Crane<\/a>
Crane offers a number of different ignition boxes. The majority are digital like these two configurations. The only exception is the HI-6N. This box (the only bright blue colored box Crane builds) is designed especially for NASCAR and other race sanctioning bodies that mandate analog ignition systems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Photos:<\/strong> Crane Cams<\/p>\n

In the first segment<\/a> on reliable high power race ignition systems, we devoted all of our available space to distributors. If you recall, Crane manufactures a series of slick (and simple) locked advance, optically triggered distributors.\u00a0 It\u2019s a well-proven configuration that is both accurate and robust.<\/p>\n

So far so good, but when it comes to ignition boxes, Crane offers several systems that follow the very same pattern:\u00a0 Simplicity and toughness.\u00a0 Those are both great qualities, but one thing that really attracts us to these ignition boxes is the ease of use. On one end of the ignition box you\u2019ll discover a set of simple, easy-to-set rotary switches.\u00a0 Different boxes have different functions but we\u2019ll get to that in a bit.<\/p>\n

Externally, most of Crane\u2019s ignition control boxes look similar.\u00a0 They\u2019re housed inside a deeply finned aluminum shell that also serves as a heat sink:\u00a0 heat created by the electronic circuitry is dissipated by way of the fins.\u00a0 The majority of the control boxes are sealed and potted.\u00a0\u00a0 When turned upside down, you can see how the electronics are sealed in a urethane potting material.\u00a0 The stuff looks and feels like gelatin, but the idea is to keep the electronic parts dry, free of foreign material and at the same time guard against damage from vibration.<\/p>\n

Both of the Crane ignition boxes we\u2019re focusing in on incorporate \u201cdigital\u201d technology. As you know, we’re living in a digital world.\u00a0 The same applies to ignition systems \u2013 you can get ignition boxes in analog format or digital format.\u00a0 Is a digital system superior to an older analog system?\u00a0 Certainly, but before we dig any deeper, think about the differences between the computer you\u2019re viewing this on and an old-fashioned adding machine (you know \u2013 the one with the crank on one end!).<\/p>\n

The computer is capable of storing a program (this allows it to repeat operations and make “logical” decisions) and simultaneously store and retrieve data without any assistance on your part. That old adding machine was done every time the crank was pulled.\u00a0 Its like the old clock on the wall with the big sweeping hands. In comparison is the clock on the face of your microwave oven. It\u2019s most likely some sort of digital device.\u00a0 The old-fashioned sweep hand clock is actually trying to recreate the information as it actually happens. Meanwhile, the digital clock in the microwave is really presenting the same information but it’s in what’s called a “discrete demonstration.” In other words, it displays one piece of information at a time.\u00a0 The microwave clock takes the information and presents it to you as a series of changes, or “bits,” that are represented in code by zeros and ones.<\/p>\n

An analog device such as the sweep hand clock represents data as physical quantities and works on the data by manipulating the quantities. That digital device (microwave clock) works with data expressed in binary notation.\u00a0 What this is is a series of on-off conditions that represent the digits 1 and 0.\u00a0 Eight consecutive binary digits, or bits, is called a byte and allows for 256 on-off combinations. That means each byte can represent one of up to 256 alphanumeric characters. Math along with other comparative operations can be performed on the data and the result of that math can be stored for later use.<\/p>\n

Whew.\u00a0 Okey-Dokey.\u00a0 It makes our head spin.\u00a0 But the reality is, there is a direct correlation from geek-speak to today\u2019s ignition systems:\u00a0 A digital-based ignition system will make its firing “decisions” based upon data.\u00a0 If it receives a \u201ccommand\u201d to perform a function, it can perform the task instantly.\u00a0 Better still, it has the capability to repeat this process time and time again. Basically, digital systems are infinitely repeatable (unlike that old sweep hand clock that quite often needed adjustment every day or two).<\/p>\n

So far so good, but what the difference between a couple of common (and seemingly closely related) Crane ignition boxes?\u00a0 We asked the same questions.\u00a0 Two of the most common ignition boxes from Crane include the HI-6RC and the HI-6DSR.\u00a0 Either of the two is perfect for street and\/or strip applications.\u00a0 Next issue we\u2019ll dig deeper in the pair of ignition boxes.<\/p>\n

\"Crane<\/a>
Crane offers a number of different ignition boxes. The majority are digital like these two configurations. The only exception is the HI-6N. This box (the only bright blue colored box Crane builds) is designed especially for NASCAR and other race sanctioning bodies that mandate analog ignition systems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Both<\/a>
Both Crane ignition control boxes are digital. In fact Crane first came up with digital ignition systems in 1995.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This<\/a>
This was a time when just about every ignition manufacturer was building and promoting old-fashioned analog systems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Flip<\/a>
Flip both of the boxes over and you\u2019ll find that they\u2019re potted with a gelatin like material. It\u2019s urethane potting and the idea is to keep the electronic internals dry, free of contamination and at the same time guard against damage from vibration<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Next<\/a>
Next issue, we\u2019ll dig deeper into both Crane ignition boxes. While they look the same and they share a number of similar features, each ignition system is tailored for slightly different applications.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Drag Race 101: High Power Race Ignition Boxes from Crane Cams.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":8825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3448,3712,9],"tags":[1453,961,14,1463,321],"class_list":["post-8824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drag-race-101","category-hot-rods","category-tech-tips","tag-crane-ignition","tag-drag-race-101","tag-hot-rods","tag-ignition-boxes","tag-wayne-scraba"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Fire-6Feature.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-2ik","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8824"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20811,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8824\/revisions\/20811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}