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Location:
Finland
Registered:
November 2002
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About MegaSquirt
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Fri, 21 February 2003 13:45
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Does anyone have one? what do you think about it? any bad/really bad features? any good/really good features?
That what they say about it in they homepage is sure very convincing. Im actually very interested about it considering the price. Im not total handycap with electronics though im no master of electronics neither.
So does anyone have any experiences about MegaSquirt???
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/megasquirt/
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Location:
Montrose, VIC
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Fri, 21 February 2003 13:50
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Yeah, I'm interested if anyone's tried it, would be keen to give it a go on an off road project
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Location:
Montrose, VIC
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Fri, 21 February 2003 14:00
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My only other question is, does anyone know if the megasquirt is available as a complete kit from anywhere? or would I be better off buying the parts and making the board at TAFE etc.?
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Location:
GoldCoast/Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Fri, 21 February 2003 17:19
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LOL MegaSquirt,
that's what my G/F nicknamed me a few years back! 
Was thinking of using it as my porn stage name! 
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Sat, 22 February 2003 01:37
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dude. . people dont wanna hear what your nick name is..
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Location:
Eskilstuna, Sweden
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Sat, 22 February 2003 01:44
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It's still a question of colour though huh
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Location:
GoldCoast/Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Sat, 22 February 2003 03:54
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aaaaahahahhahaha YOUNGY you crack me up dude!!
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Location:
Rocky Mountains, Canada
Registered:
May 2002
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Location:
Montrose, VIC
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Sat, 22 February 2003 11:37
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I only want it to run a blown VW engine for going bush, no way I'd consider using something like that in a street car - besides, sounds like something fun to play with!
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Location:
Canada
Registered:
June 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Sat, 22 February 2003 14:38
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i run one.. or was running one.
history wise-
v1 came out.. low volumes, several bought found downsides, and made modifications to the board and programming
v2 came out.. high volumes, mods were incorporated
during that whole time, people whine, when can i get a kit, will it work for my vehicle, etc.
now, because two guys were organizing a several thousand group buys - at one point i think the guy said he had about 400lb of aluminum cases in his living room
by only distributing hte bas components, they can cut the g/b to no time, and let people assemble the kits through a parts list available from digikey, or in my case digikey canada. i think the only think that isn't available is the case.. but that can be made, or got from another source.
price -
v1 - 110 inc shipping
v2 - 115-120 inc shipping
new buy - is 50 + shipping
features -
fuel injection. supplemental fuel injection. and only fuel injection. no spark, not yet. pushing the stock computer? need extra fuel. there ya go.
reliability - my BIG issue. i'll be running off a v2 setup, and have my v1 as backup.
latah.
Matt
soon to be 22rZe GT6
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Location:
Finland
Registered:
November 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Sun, 23 February 2003 03:07
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Those homepages are little messy and my lousy english doesnt help me. Can i get full kit including all necessary parts or do i have to get some parts from SP-Elektronikka after wards (if yes, what parts?). Of course i have to get temp sensors, injectors etc. elsewhere.
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i run one.. or was running one.
history wise-
v1 came out.. low volumes, several bought found downsides, and made modifications to the board and programming
v2 came out.. high volumes, mods were incorporated
during that whole time, people whine, when can i get a kit, will it work for my vehicle, etc.
now, because two guys were organizing a several thousand group buys - at one point i think the guy said he had about 400lb of aluminum cases in his living room
by only distributing hte bas components, they can cut the g/b to no time, and let people assemble the kits through a parts list available from digikey, or in my case digikey canada. i think the only think that isn't available is the case.. but that can be made, or got from another source.
price -
v1 - 110 inc shipping
v2 - 115-120 inc shipping
new buy - is 50 + shipping
features -
fuel injection. supplemental fuel injection. and only fuel injection. no spark, not yet. pushing the stock computer? need extra fuel. there ya go.
reliability - my BIG issue. i'll be running off a v2 setup, and have my v1 as backup.
latah.
Matt
soon to be 22rZe GT6
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I assume that you assembled it. Was it hard?
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Some of the parts they use in the MS are not easy to get, and will be expensive here in Aus.
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What parts where hard to find?
Do I have to be fakir to complete the assembly?
And i have signed in but members only area havent opened.
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Location:
Wa
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Sun, 23 February 2003 05:11
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i think its better if u get the bits urself, the 2nd group order finished ages ago and i havnt heard anything bout another, the hard part to get i think is the MAP vacum sensor, if u are running with either a turbo or supercharger, the part stated needs to been changed to a higher rating one, the standard 1 cant handle the higher pressure. im currently thinkin of building one myself with a few mods for my 2t-geu once i get it runnin  , sounds alright since its simple and easy to modify 
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Club Member
Location:
sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Sun, 23 February 2003 07:24
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Stuart Ford from oldcorolla's just bought a kit back from the states and is about to fit it to his KE15...hes the man to talk to as he has done quite a bit of research on them
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Location:
Rocky Mountains, Canada
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Sun, 23 February 2003 13:13
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| Pheonix wrote on Sun, 23 February 2003 15:41 |
i think its better if u get the bits urself, the 2nd group order finished ages ago and i havnt heard anything bout another, the hard part to get i think is the MAP vacum sensor, if u are running with either a turbo or supercharger, the part stated needs to been changed to a higher rating one, the standard 1 cant handle the higher pressure. im currently thinkin of building one myself with a few mods for my 2t-geu once i get it runnin , sounds alright since its simple and easy to modify
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You can quite easily use a MAP sensor off another car... all MAP sensors are quite similar, just they have different pressure response curves.
It would be quite easy to mount a diff type of MAP sensor in the engine bay (ive got a Bosch engine bay mounted MAP sensor here), wire it to the megasquirt using shielded cables and use the utils to generate new MAP sensor tables.
The MAP sensor im tlaking about here is a common part in Aus, i pulled it from the engine bay of a car (cant remeber what it was) at the local u-pull-it.
Getting the MOSFET they use for the injectors will be difficult, but dicksmith sell the 60N06 which will do the job fine, if not better (ignore thier data for it in the back of the catalog, the RDS-ON rating they have given is wrong).
The MOSFET driving IC will also be hard to get, but TI make a similar part (same pinout, function, and faster) that will do the job that can be got using thier free samples web page (itll arrive in about 2 weeks).
The uC (microcontroller) should be easy to get, but youll have to make your own programmer for it... MS kits come with it pre-programmed.
Most of the other parts are quite commmon.
BTW... i havnt made one, if it sounds that way.
But i have researched it a lot. Im using some of its ideas in a Injection/Ignition ECU im developing.
[Updated on: Sun, 23 February 2003 13:19]
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Location:
Canada
Registered:
June 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Sun, 23 February 2003 18:53
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Those homepages are little messy and my lousy english doesnt help me. Can i get full kit including all necessary parts or do i have to get some parts from SP-Elektronikka after wards (if yes, what parts?). Of course i have to get temp sensors, injectors etc. elsewhere.
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you have to buy the bits seperately now. the 'grounp buys' are over and gone.
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I assume that you assembled it. Was it hard?
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not really, just take your time.. ever used a soldering iron?
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What parts where hard to find?
Do I have to be fakir to complete the assembly?
And i have signed in but members only area havent opened.
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there's a list for digikey to buy all the parts, i know they have both a us and cdn dist, not sure about aus. if i were you, i'd just get someone from here to assble the parts, and ship it in a single package to you
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think its better if u get the bits urself, the 2nd group order finished ages ago and i havnt heard anything bout another, the hard part to get i think is the MAP vacum sensor, if u are running with either a turbo or supercharger, the part stated needs to been changed to a higher rating one, the standard 1 cant handle the higher pressure. im currently thinkin of building one myself with a few mods for my 2t-geu once i get it runnin , sounds alright since its simple and easy to modify
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the sensor that comes w/ it, is the 2 bar map. you can run an s/c or turbo under 2bar w/ it. youll have to get the bits gathered yourself, the g/b is over. just selling the board/chip/map setup now
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You can quite easily use a MAP sensor off another car... all MAP sensors are quite similar, just they have different pressure response curves.
It would be quite easy to mount a diff type of MAP sensor in the engine bay (ive got a Bosch engine bay mounted MAP sensor here), wire it to the megasquirt using shielded cables and use the utils to generate new MAP sensor tables.
The MAP sensor im tlaking about here is a common part in Aus, i pulled it from the engine bay of a car (cant remeber what it was) at the local u-pull-it.
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ya, map sensors are the same, and mounting is easy.. but if you can't get it running because the curves, pinouts or signals are different, don't blame the ms..
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Getting the MOSFET they use for the injectors will be difficult, but dicksmith sell the 60N06 which will do the job fine, if not better (ignore thier data for it in the back of the catalog, the RDS-ON rating they have given is wrong).
The MOSFET driving IC will also be hard to get, but TI make a similar part (same pinout, function, and faster) that will do the job that can be got using thier free samples web page (itll arrive in about 2 weeks).
The uC (microcontroller) should be easy to get, but youll have to make your own programmer for it... MS kits come with it pre-programmed.
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just get someone from north america to gather the parts, and ship them off to you..
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BTW... i havnt made one, if it sounds that way.
But i have researched it a lot. Im using some of its ideas in a Injection/Ignition ECU im developing.
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cool, g'luck
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Location:
Finland
Registered:
November 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Sun, 23 February 2003 22:00
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not really, just take your time.. ever used a soldering iron?
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I have done air/fuel meter and rev limiter so I have use soldering iron only thing im worried that is it much more advanced?
What kinda instructions it came with?
And here's page that contains some (easily read) info http://home.woh.rr.com/rnystrom/mg_efi_megasquirt. htm
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Location:
Canada
Registered:
June 2002
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I supported Toymods
Location:
melbourne.victoria.austra...
Registered:
June 2002
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Location:
Wa
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Mon, 24 February 2003 02:34
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just had a look at the pcb layouts for the ms, the board itself could be "high quality" but the layout is pretty dodgy, hopefully they get them tested cause there are a few places where it could foul up during manufactoring
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Location:
Rocky Mountains, Canada
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Mon, 24 February 2003 03:05
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| Pheonix wrote on Mon, 24 February 2003 13:04 |
just had a look at the pcb layouts for the ms, the board itself could be "high quality" but the layout is pretty dodgy, hopefully they get them tested cause there are a few places where it could foul up during manufactoring
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Yeh, after doing a lot of PCB design work myself, the MS PCB does seem quite badly designed.
Supprising no one has really said anything about it on the MS mailing list.
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Location:
Canada
Registered:
June 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Mon, 24 February 2003 03:13
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might be so - the design is spaced out large, not only to aid first-time-assemblers, but for expansion. traces are testable
also, the board isn't meant to be 'manufactured' as such. it's a sparetime project at best. they aren't selling them to make money - just continue the project.. non profit, etc
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
February 2003
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Mon, 24 February 2003 12:31
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FWIW, I'm about to start building a v2.2 MS kit.
Is to replace big Stromberg carbi bolted obscuring the front of the turbo.
A new group buy for partial kits has been opened here http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/megasquirt/.
i'll post progress of my kit/project if interested.
fwiw, the kit's not aimed at folks after a turnkey system - you need a bunch of skills to do this right - welding, plumbing, tuning, ... - so i've got a challenge beyond my work-learned (design, multimedia & web) and farm-taught (welding) skill-set.
anway, i'm also after the challenge of computerising my celica - plus improving it's (currently) woeful fuel consumption 
ta,
thechuckster.
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Location:
Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Japan
Registered:
January 2003
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Tue, 25 February 2003 01:57
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Heya,
i picked up a V2 kit from the second group buy. i also bought the Megastim to test it out (was US$40!!!). both kits + postage +int money order etc cost me about $300....
the PCB was made very well, no traces shorted (tho some V1 kits had some probs), was very easy to put together, and runs perfectly using the Megatune software and the stim...
when i get bored, i fire it up and play around with the injector sizes and enrichments, and do datalogs to se how it might work in the real world ;D
although it doesn't have huge resolution in the mapping, the interpolation and high processor speed (8MHz BUS speed!!, 32 meg chip speed) mean that if tuned half decently it should be ok.
it is definitely not a turnkey system, in that it requires some thought on your part and some mods to components for tach signal filtering etc....
BUT, you can modify everything about it. you can use any sensors, if you change the sensor tables (some code stuff), and you can alter the actual programming of the chip if you can work in assembler... it is all open source and there are literally hundreds of people working together to make this system work better.
the diverse installs are testament to the general nature of the design. it has ben used on V8's 6's 4's, rotarys, turbo 5 cyl audis, a turbo 900cc hillman IMP!! (3 or 4 cyl?) and is being pu on some bikes too (not sure of their status)
if anyone is interested in it, download the Megatune tuning software from the yahoo groups site. it's in files-megatune, get the latest version (2.14 i think) and have a look at the tuning stuff and enrichments and the 3D tuning table etc.... and also read thru the Megamanual (link already posted)
i haven't installed mine (i need to finish my PhD first 
but it will be going on a 4K hybrid engine in a KE15 (the one at dyno day 5... had 47.2kw then..)
if anyone in the sydney area is interested in seeing a megasquirt in person, i'm offering a look see at mine. let me know and we can arrange something.
the new ordering system is not as nice, but the last group buy was for about 600 kits, which is a lot of work for two guys who do this as their hobby!!...
those ppl who have one already, and are in NSW, get in touch with me 
Cya, Stewart
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Location:
Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Japan
Registered:
January 2003
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Tue, 25 February 2003 02:16
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hey again,
bad points? the lack of fuel map resolution. this was done to simplify the code, as it is written in assembler with an 8 bit register (iirc). but there are two banks of injectors, and you can fire them simultaneously, or alternately, and you can have any number of injection events per engine cycle. most ppl seem to use alternating with either 1 or 2 squirts per cycle.
one of the audi turbo guys has (iircm a bit fuzzy on the specs) 4 injectors of about 500cc/min on one bank/table, and then one or two 'big' injectors (900ccish??) on the other bank/table...
the good side of this is that using 8bit for the table, you can use PWM (pulse width modulation) to run low impedance injectors, and you can adjust the initial pulse, the hold current and the time for each etc..
there are other versions of code where you can run dual fuel tables.... this means you can have a second set of injectors running on a completely differetn map. or you could have water injection running on that map, or nitrous if you had a variable nitrous injection system.
there is also a 'high resolution code' that allows you to run large injrctors with small pulsewidths, around the 1ms mark.
so it depends on your needs.
the good/really good point is that it is universal in application. you can program it to use any sensors you want (provided you can measure/get the data for it), and can run in either open loop MAP, closed loop MAP or Alpha-N mode (Throttle position only)
the other good things are that it is realtively cheap, fully progammable with a very easy to use interface (even on a p100 laptop!) and that there are HUNDREDS of other ppl who also want to make it work and are willing to help you out... kinda like this club.
BTW, i have personally seen the Megasquirt working on a sandrail in the US that had a toyota 22RE with an Eaton M90 supercharger running something like 14 or 16psi... we played around with the idle pulsewidths and the O2 feedback to improve idle, and you can see and hear how the changes affect it. the video of the rail going over a table top, maybe 4 metres above it, was awesome to see too!!!)
Cya, Stewart
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Location:
Finland
Registered:
November 2002
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Re: About MegaSquirt
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Tue, 25 February 2003 14:59
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Hey oldcorollas great posts!!!
Thanks to everyone else who had send some (useful) post.
And thechuckster please DO post about your progress and same to all of you.
I'm absolutely leaning towards MegaSquirt and getting one soonish but without hurry.
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