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Advanced Engine
Monitoring
Digatron's DT-53K Engine
Monitoring and Data Acquisition System
Article and Photos by Greg Terzian
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Digatron
EGT cable with coaxial extension coupler. |
The
Digatron DT-53K is housed in a rugged water-resistant aluminum
case. It features two mounting studs in the rear panel and a
steel mounting plate is included. All function buttons and
displays are on the face of the unit, with the exception of the
Time Event and Engine Max buttons, which are on the right side
of the unit. Keep this in mind if you're planning on
flush-mounting the unit. The rear panel also includes
coaxial
connection points for speed, tachometer, lap timer, and two
temperature sensors. Not all connections must be used, and any
display can be configured accordingly.
The DT-50K series of instruments allows the user to program set
limits that will activate a series of warning lights on
the head unit. Limits such as RPM
redline, exhaust gas temperature limit, and so on. Changes can
be made either on the unit itself or via the optional USB PC
download cable and software.
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DT-53K
mounting plate allows easy mounting of the head unit
from any angle. |
Like
other Digatron instruments, the DT-53K is powered by two "AAA"
batteries, which should provide about 40 hours of continuous use
with the backlight on, and about 150 hours of use with the
backlight off. To avoid inaccurate readings from low voltage,
the unit will signal the user several hours in advance when it's
time to change the batteries.
Digatron offers a variety of sensors for the many applications
this unit can be adapted to. Of particular interest is the sparkplug
thermocouple temperature sensor, which is capable of extremely
accurate head temperature readings, regardless of application.
Custom EGT sensors are available at any cable length, or other
sensors may be used. Other temperature sensors that are
available include oil, water, ambient air, and cylinder head
temperature. The cables Digatron provides for the sensors and
their extensions are
high-quality, robust units that feature a noise suppressing
metal braid under a Teflon casing. Other
sensor options include jackshaft RPM and speed sensors. The
DT-53K can be calibrated to work with a tachometer signal of any
outboard engine.
For
Part Two of this evaluation, we'll focus on the installation
procedure as well as testing the DT-53K in our tachometer/dual
EGT application. Although Digatron does offer mounting
systems for the head unit, we will have
Diamond
Marine perform a custom installation since we will want an integrated look
that fits nicely with our dash layout. We'll also focus on the data logging
and graphing capabilities of the Digatron system. The real
fun begins when our DT-53K will be used with our Brucato PCU -
that's where technology will take the guesswork out of fine
tuning our fuel curve. Indeed, technology will help us
achieve greater performance by pushing harder to the edge -
safely.
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