* Megasquirt-1 (MS1) is obsolete *

[Matt Cramer]

Tried to delete the post. Moving it to correct thread. But couldn't find any delete button.

Looks like the mods have taken care of it.

[Matt Cramer]

Well, this is the end of an era. We just sold our last MS1, a V2.2 solder it yourself kit, today. I wrote up a letter for it to tell the buyer that it's the last one ever, and we'll have the shop crew all sign off on it. Just seemed fitting to give the last one a proper send-off.

[Patriq Backlund]

Good one Matt!

[tmechanic]

Well, this is the end of an era. We just sold our last MS1, a V2.2 solder it yourself kit, today. I wrote up a letter for it to tell the buyer that it's the last one ever, and we'll have the shop crew all sign off on it. Just seemed fitting to give the last one a proper send-off.

I'll miss the little beasties, I've built 2 of them and an MS3. Sounds like a proper sendoff.

[Dangermoose]

Hi James i bought a mk indy with a megasquirt 1 in it but am having so much trouble getting it to read the crank sensor to enable a spark on a ford 1.8 zetec can you help? cheers Chris

[Matt Cramer]

Hi James i bought a mk indy with a megasquirt 1 in it but am having so much trouble getting it to read the crank sensor to enable a spark on a ford 1.8 zetec can you help? cheers Chris

Start a new thread with details of what board you are using, your tune, and a tooth log.

[Keithmac2]

Shame the MS has been mothballed, will have to have a look for some 2nd had units.

I put a lot of time into some custom idle and afr code a long while back and would be a shame to lose it if my MS1 fails.

MS1 transformed my car (MK2 16v Golf with G60 Supercharger), have a bit of a soft spot for the MS1!.

[jsmcortina]

Shame the MS has been mothballed, will have to have a look for some 2nd had units.

The manufacturer of the processor made it obsolete many years ago. It is pretty difficult to keep selling a product when the components don't exist any more.

James

[Keithmac2]

Shame the MS has been mothballed, will have to have a look for some 2nd had units.

The manufacturer of the processor made it obsolete many years ago. It is pretty difficult to keep selling a product when the components don't exist any more.

James

Yeh I totally understand James, time marches on!.

[Six_Shooter]

Shame the MS has been mothballed, will have to have a look for some 2nd had units.

I put a lot of time into some custom idle and afr code a long while back and would be a shame to lose it if my MS1 fails.

MS1 transformed my car (MK2 16v Golf with G60 Supercharger), have a bit of a soft spot for the MS1!.

Sounds like a good reason to upgrade to MS2 or MS3...

[E4ODnut]

It is true that the HC908 chip is no longer being produced, which makes MS1 obsolete, but it doesn't mean that MS1 is no longer functional to anyone who owns one of these boards. I don't doubt that there are probably thousands of them around, still happily running engines, and probably even more sitting in storage because their owners felt it necessary to upgrade to MS2 or beyond.

I have a genuine fondness for MS1. It began as an open source project, where many people shared in the development. Modifications to the hardware and firmware were encouraged. The use of all through hole devices made it possible for anyone with basic soldering skills to work on the board. The code was written in assembler, the development tools were free and the documentation was superb. It was relatively easy for one to learn enough about assembler to get comfortable with the code. If it wasn't for MS1 I would still still be struggling with carburetors and conventional distributors. It was a wonderful education. Great credit has to be given to all who contributed to the original project and even more to the developers of MSnS Extra and beyond. I know the hours and effort it must have taken.

It is true that MS1 can now be looked back on as somewhat crude, maybe a bit clunky and somewhat restrictive, but it worked. It was relatively simple, tuning was relatively easy and it did a good job of running engines as long as you didn't get too exotic.

It is also true that MS2 and beyond are far more flexible in application and can do many more things. I think the term "all singing, all dancing" was used to describe them. But this comes at a price. More features means more complexity, and just getting things set up can be quite intimidating. To take advantage of all the features and areas of adjustment, tuning can get very involved, often beyond the reach of the average guy who gets into programmable EFI. Modifying the hardware can be very difficult. Modifying the firmware is all but impossible unless you are a software engineer.

This is all understandable. The developers have dedicated a lot of time and money into their product, so it is only natural that they would want to protect their investment. But for those who don't need, or even want all the features that the later versions of MS can offer I think there still is a good reason to keep MS1 alive.

Just as a lot of us work with obsolete engines, just because we want to keep them going, so it is with MS1. It is still a good dependable controller for relatively simple applications. It is nice to have a forum where like minded people can share ideas about these controllers. How they work, tuning ideas, firmware and hardware modifications, all of that stuff. It would be a shame to abandon MS1 just because there are bigger and better things available.

[Keithmac2]

I found a brand new MS1 for a spare and will try and find a couple of processors.

For me MS1 was part of my cars journey back in the day, I am now restoring it and see the MS1 as part of the cars character.

May seem odd to most!.

Was looking through my ASM's on a laptop that hasn't been powered up for probably 17 years or more last night, happy memories!.