Anyone used a cheap inductive tachometer?

[John P]

Having now (almost) sorted out my ignition auto advance issues I would like to try to more accurately set up the 1 1/4 SU carburetor.

It looks like for both timing and carburetor adjustment it would be beneficial to have an accurate idea of the engine revs and I have seen on ebay relatively cheap inductive tachometers which appear to be battery powered and pick up the revs from an inductive loop around a plug lead.

Has anyone tried these and are they any good?   I'm a bit concerned that they may be wildly inaccurate or vulnerable to all the electrical interference created by an Austin engine.

John.

[Chris KC]

I had a go with one of those a while ago and whilst I didn't have anything to calibrate it against it seemed to read about right.

[MartinH]

In my experience they don't work with mag engines. Way too much electrical noise!

[Chris KC]

In my experience they don't work with mag engines. Way too much electrical noise!

Probably should have said mine was a coil engine.

[Pearls not a Singer]

I would put more trust in a reputable timing light with an inductive rpm and degrees advance display