HewTech Electronics LLC

  
  NEWS & UPDATES

WINTER 2010 

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE FIREPLUG OWNERS SLEDPIC'S PAGE!

2/6/10:  We're back! 

1/28/2010:  HewTech Electronics will be closed the week of  FEB1 ~ FEB 5, 2010.  We will not be accepting 
orders or taking telephone messages during this time.  We will try to answer e-mails during this time. 
THANK YOU!

1/10/2010:  Congratulations to Eagle River 2010 Mod Relic 800 Winner Trent Ellifson (Driver) & Kurt Andrews (owner) and their Polaris Starfire! Also the same for their 2nd place finish in 440 Super-Stock FAN / Merc Trail-Twister! Excellent work guys! I'm proud of the serious effort these guys put in & proud to have them as part of the Test & Evaluation Team for the FIREPLUG CDI development! Way to go guys!

12/27/09:  UPDATE PHAZER CDI: We just received word that the FIREPLUG CDI prototype we developed for the Yamaha PHAZER is working excellent!  One of the comments was that the engine started very easily & was still pulling hard from 6000 RPM up to wide-open throttle.  We've had some requests for this CDI over the years for the dirt truck series that has become popular.  Another popular request is for the conversion of other Yamaha points system engines over to CDI, since this stator / flywheel combination is still available & was a popular model, so many are still around.   Hoping this is a popular addition to the FIREPLUG CDI line.  

12/27/2009: UPDATED

12/5/09:  We have had such a good response with our re-wound stators, that we want to expand the line.  Before you give up on ANY Vintage Stator, please talk to us.  We may be able to re-condition / re-wind your stator.  (Your old core is needed on exchange for any stator purchase).   We will also consider providing a discount for any EXTRA stator cores you may have for the vintage sleds.  Always looking for PRESTOLITE & MERC THUNDERBOLT dead stator cores.  So, if you're looking to purchase a FIREPLUG CDI or stator & have extra stator cores, talk to us & we may take it & discount your purchase!  

11/14/2009:  We received the Thunderbolt re-wound stator today.  Workmanship is very good, just like the Prestolite stator we received previously.  The original stator frame had lot's of epoxy covering much of the frame sections that deteriorated over time with heat & vibration.  We're using a better grade wire as well as an epoxy dip coating.  We have also replaced the bulk epoxy with silicone.  Silicone is better for vibration & heat / cool cycles.  It may not be needed, but this is a precaution that cannot hurt.  Wire insulation has also been upgraded to a hi-temperature coating & fiberglass jacket.  This is more rugged & won't degrade over time.  

As of now, it appears we can cost either Stator (PRESTOLITE or THUNDERBOLT) at $165 + shipping & we will also need your old core (additional $15 charge if no core is available).  This is cost competitive (or cheaper) with others providing re-wound stators & we believe we have a superior product with the epoxy coating & premium-grade wire.  The manufacture provides a 90-day warranty, for their workmanship.  HewTech Electronics LLC is not involved with the warranty of the Stators, so must abide by the 90-day as well.  Any warranty issues is directly handled by the manufacture, not HewTech Electronics.  We spent the time on the development & agree that a 90-day warranty is as good or better than other manufactures can offer.

REWOUND THUNDERBOLT STATOR 

HewTech Electronics LLC has searched for a few years now for a competent partner for rewinding the Vintage Stators.  We have invested a lot of time & resources to provide the best & most reliable product, matched to our specifications for OEM & our FIREPLUG CDI line.  We believe these stators are the best available at this cost & warranty.  We hope to start stocking a few in the future, but if not, ~2wk lead-time is about normal.  So call before it's too late! (see PRESTOLITE Stators announcement below).  CONTACT US FOR AVAILABILITY & DETAILS

11/8/2009:  We have confirmed results from our prototype testing on the post-78 TX / TX-L re-designed CDI.  We have measured over 16* of timing curve over the RPM range.  This redesigned CDI provides exceptional FIREPLUG reliability & performance in a standard Polaris mounting package.  We still need to re-use your original white-plastic plug.  You can send it to us, or simply remove plug from your old CDI & insert our original factory terminals into your old plug.  CLICK LINK for info.     

10/28/2009:  With the season getting closer, I've starting to get calls about the status of the ROTAX redesign & others.  At this time, we have lined up a stator & flywheel for 73~76 (shielded-type) system.  Still have no providers for a 77~later flywheel / stator for the POLARFIRE / ROTAX CDI development, so that is on hold until a lender is found.  I thought it may be helpful to post a status of pending CDI development programs.  

10/28/2009: Thunderbolt Stator sent out for rewinding & received by vendor.  Wire is on order & expecting to have completed shortly.  We will post a pic w/ details as soon as we receive it.  In process of working out details on PRESTOLITE stator availability.  We will require a core-return for rewound Stator purchases....more to come.

10/8/2009: We received the prototype Prestolite FAN / F/A rewound Stator today (see details below 10/3).  The workmanship looks better than any NOS / OEM Prestolite Stator I've seen, as well as the re-wounds.  It has passed the initial electrical tests, and is now scheduled for installation into our engine for more testing.  We will do some initial testing, then it will be sent out for installation in a Race-sled.  We won't say what part of the country it's going too, but we're sure it will get a thorough work out.  We're in the process of obtaining re-wound stators for some other models as well.  More to come.  

  REWOUND PRESTOLITE STATOR

10/3/2009: After years of searching & contacting different vendors, we finally have located a source to provide re-wound stators for the Prestolite systems.  The goal is to provide something that has better reliability than the original & existing re-winds available.  After evaluation of one of my rare NOS stators, we have identified an alternative wire that should provide better results.  Ideally, we want to improve the tolerance to excessive heating that causes failure.  It's difficult to guard against severe rust, but failure due to regular use has also been a problem with the Prestolite Stator.  We should have 1st prototypes this month & plan to evaluate them.  We may have them available yet this season, if all goes well.  Our hope is to have the Improved version priced similar to standard re-winds currently available.  Watch for details.

8/2/2009: I generated a program years back that calculates some of the timing information that I use for CDI work.  I've talked to some on the phone that ask how to determine the correlation of timing in DEGREES (degree-wheel) to the piston position measurement, using a dial-indicator.  The calculation is basic trigonometry, but is also quite a pain to number-crunch, especially when you don't do it that often.  Well, I streamlined the formula into an EXCEL spreadsheet.  Basically, just type in your engine STROKE & DEGREE timing you want & it calculates the piston position BTDC in (mm) an (inches).  I've uploaded it to the website, so CLICK HERE to download it.  Select SAVE FILE & store it on your DESKTOP for easy access.  Remember, you need EXCEL on your PC.  Hope you find this helpful.

7/28/2009: We're back at it, working hard on new FIREPLUG CDI products.  I've talked about making it easier to develop our FIREPLUG CDI's, and it's finally coming together!  Most of the mechanical design is complete for our latest CDI development & testing fixture.  Still have some software work to be done.  We're hoping this streamlines the development process, as well as allows us to gather data on our existing CDI.  This will help with design improvements along the way.  You may have seen our recent requests for ROTAX / POLARFIRE stators, CDI box & flywheels.  This is what it will take in the future to get 90% of our new designs out to the field for testing.  We're starting with the POLARFIRE, since there is the demand & we hate to hear of sleds sitting around because of no spark!  So, watch for additional postings.  We're planning to do more development in the future & need your support!

4/5/2009: Well, spring is here!  In spite of the bad Michigan economy, HewTech Electronics survived another year.  Many know, CDI boxes are not my full-time career, but we all have to do something to keep our minds off of the daily news & I'm fortunate enough to be involved in something that is really interesting to me & also provides a service to the Vintage community.  Although I'm no longer racing Ovals, I still am very much involved with the hobby, restorations as well as sponsoring racers & supporting engine builders with CDI development.  

We have held our FIREPLUG CDI prices since 2005, in an effort to help out the Vintage Snowmobile community, which has not been easy, but we believe it helps, so is necessary providing we can do it.  For us to do that, it takes better ideas, hunting down better deals for parts, all without sacrificing quality.  We had a diode that was substituted last year by a vendor, we didn't ask for it, and it was not any cheaper, just something the vendor claimed was 100% compatible, and was in stock at the time.  We had numerous failures almost instantly with this diode, and had to replace every CDI that was built using that part.  The vendor would not take them back (even the parts we still had on the shelf), so we scrapped about 5000 diodes & replaced a dozen or so CDI's under Warranty in the process.  One was in Norway, but we found them all, explained the problem & replaced them no questions asked.  The customers are usually understanding & glad we were forthcoming with the pending failure.  We have the best warranty in the industry, mainly because I have always believed we seldom will need it.  But, things happen, and we will always stand behind our FIREPLUG CDI.  

As of March of 2009, we have made a few engineering changs to the FIREPLUG CDI.  Some changes affect ALL FIREPLUG CDI models, others are just Yamaha models (so far), but may work their way into other models.  These are typical changes that have come about from our research, temperature & age-testing, reliability testing etc.  Not unlike testing that happens with Military or Automotive products.  We follow a similar failure mode analysis, and make improvements that we deem necessary.  We are always striving to not only develop new products, but continuously improve our existing products.  

2/2009: We do sponsor & support some of the Vintage Racers & wanted to congratulate the team of Kurt Andrews & Trent Ellifson for their 2nd PLACE FINISH at the EAGLE RIVER 2009 VINTAGE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS.  Trent got a terrible start in the 440 SUPER-STOCK FAN final, and worked his way back to 2nd place, within 10 feet of the eventual 2009 Vintage World Champion Rick Loppnow.  We also know Rick has run a FIREPLUG CDI on his sled since 2006, so that makes is a 1~2 finish for the the FIREPLUG CDI!  Both were driving Mercury Trail-Twisters!

We should also mention that Kurt's sled was also sponsored by ORPS (Ontario Recreational Parts & Services) who provided the hood, decals and also has a variety of NOS & used parts for MERC's, Arctic-Cat's Ski-Doos' & others.  Contact Jim or Dave for all your parts needs & mention you heard about them from the HewTech website!

NEWS ARCHIVES!

archives 2008 archives

archives 2007 archives

archives 2006 archives

archives 2005 archives

archives 2004 archives

archives 2003 archives

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We typically design CDI units for 2 reasons:

1)  CDI is no longer available, rare / hard-to-find & expensive.

2)  CDI currently available is very poor quality and unreliable.

FAQ: How do you develop CDI units?  
What is the process and how do you determine what CDI units to offer?

ANSWER: I frequently receive e-mails requesting CDI's for many different vintage snowmobiles.  If the CDI is available through aftermarket catalogs or suppliers, I typically don't bother with redesigning that particular CDI.  The Prestolite (Kohler) units are still currently available aftermarket, but are known to be poor quality, as was the  original design.  I developed the Prestolite replacement because I own many snowmobiles that use that particular CDI.  It is necessary to have access to a running engine for signal measurement, timing characteristics etc.  Just gutting a poorly designed CDI to copy the internal circuit is not the way to produce a better product...the import / rebuilt   CDI's have proven that point. 

The CDI development process requires outside help for development & testing.  I rely heavily on the vintage snowmobilier for the support needed. I'm sure when you talk to anyone involved with the process, they will explain that it was well worth the effort to keep the hobby going!  Thanks to all!

WHAT WERE WE THINKING ANYWAY? (click to find out)

HEWTECH ELECTRONICS R&D SLED: We evaluated, refined & redesigned our product before it became available to you. (click pic for details)

THE ALL EXCLUSIVE FIREPLUG CDI OWNERS PAGE: 
(click the link above)
FIREPLUG owners, send / e-mail info & a pic of your sled to be featured!

HewTech Electronics is a member (#1459) of the Vintage Snowmobile Club of America (VSCA) and the Antique & Classic Snowmobile Club of Canada (ACSCC #754). 

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