Multispark stuff and other thoughts

[Clinton L. Corbin : Backgrind/Gold : Pager 0544]

Folks,

Just thinking.  The MSD units go to single spark at around 3k, right?  
If I am not mistaken, all of these units only use one coil to fire up
to eight cylinders.  Therefore, the COIL is still firing four times per 
revolution anyway.  Almost all of the ignition systems proposed to date
only fire at the most once per rev (wasted spark systems).  Some even
want to use one coil per cylinder!  It would appear that we should be 
able to implement a multispark system that goes to much higher revs than
the MSD unit.  How many sparks per event would depend upon the coil 
charge and discharge time, but we all want to charge with real high 
currents anyway....  Just some thoughts on the subject.

As an aside to this, there has been a lot of bandwidth spent on the
subject of one coil per cylinder.  To tell you the truth, I do not see
any advantage of one coil per cylinder over one coil per two cylinders.
The exception being extremly high RPM (10000+) motors.  The proposals to
date have all involved much extra hardware and software complexity to 
impliment.  What justifies this?  (Don't take that wrong.  I do not see
how it is justified and I was wondering how the folks who are for it see
things)  I must give it one thing:  It looks really sharp!  Not to mention
you can put the coil almost right on the plug to minimise RF emisions and
power lose to the plug.  But anyway, were's the beef?

Clint
ccorbin at intel7.intel.com