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Wiring Tamiya 1/32 Birdcage Corsair engine for dummies


Dainis

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On 9/25/2019 at 3:39 AM, Fenous said:

IMHO Anyz braided line 0.5 mm is too thick for 1/32, I bought it, by did not use on my engine.

 

 

I bought their larger engine upgrade kit mostly for the spark plugs and ignition ring connectors. The braided line is cool, and will keep it, but I agree its probably out of scale for 1/32nd.

However, even if the wrong style for the time frame, and a bit over scale, I still dont think they look bad, as demonstrated by a couple engines from the HpH Tigercat built buy Marek Hlusek:

 

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  • 1 month later...

Just wondering where does the upper ignition wire attach to the rear set of cylinders on the double wasp? can't find a photo of an engine from the rear. Anyone have a pic or a link to a pic of where the wire goes? Any help is appreciated!:shrug:

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Why is braided wire incorrect for a WWII R-2800?  Actually it's called shielded wire because it is shielded from creating radio interference due to the  high electrical voltages flowing in those wires.  I don't think you'll find a low tension ignition system on a WWII R-2800.  A low tension ignition system generates low voltages in the magneto and transforms it to a very high voltage (through a secondary coil) at each cylinder.  There's still a shielded cable but it's extremely short compared to high tension ignition systems.

 

Wire you see on the R-2800's with high tension ignition systems that don't appear to be "braided" cable actually are; they're just coated with a rubber-like covering for abrasion resistance.

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Some ignition systems in WWII were pressurized for high-altitude operation.  Unpressurized systems were prone to arcing/shorting at altitude due to low atmospheric pressure, as I understand it, so the ignition systems were pressurized to keep it operating as intended.  

 

Braided shielding would not contain pressure, ergo the ignition wires had to be solid. So, while there may be braided sheilding on the wires, there is still a smooth outer covering.  That is why braided wire would be incorrect on a model airplane, at least to my knowledge.

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Yes that is the conclusion; obvious braided ignition wiring is not prototypically correct; My question was more philosophical as I effectively answered it at the end of my first post.  I guess my point (which was not clearly communicated - my error)  was that the braiding was still there, just hidden.  I agree that is exactly why the engines were upgraded in the Corsair (and other aircraft) to add a sealed , cast ignition harness manifold and pressurized distributors (and I think the dual magneto was also pressurized)  to prevent flashover, and as a bonus, water injection.  The earlier tubular ignition manifold ring was not sealed nor were the "teardrop" distributors and were subject to flashover at high altitude.  Examples of both types of ignition harness and distributors can be found in the 1/32 Tamiya F4U-1A kit and most likely the D kit as well but I haven't opened my D kit to see what's in the box.

Edited by Juggernut
Grammar
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2 hours ago, petrov27 said:

So are there any period pictures of what the ignition wiring looked like, what color it was etc if the "braided" copper-ish look is incorrect? 

 

I can only find an color photo of the earlier installation.... and those wires are brass colored.

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