testing atom ignition modules

[The red boat]

I’ve come into some atom ignition modules and wondered if there was a simple test i could do with my multi-meter to see if they are functional.
any ideas?

I checked resistance on a couple of Nova modules I have lying around with their results being consistent.
However when I check the Atom modules, I get resistance readings that vary.

FYI – I am testing the RED modules.

[Mumbles]

Installed and being used on a running motor is the only reliable test I believe which can be done for Atoms or Nova II modules. Either they work or they don’t. The heart of the Atom is a Mosfet or Darlington transistor with several caps and resistors in the circuitry and the way they are laid out, it’s impossible to test each component individually. From experience, I don’t think you will have good and lasting results using a Nova II in an OMC mag.

Here’s a link to an old thread about the Atoms: https://aomci.org/forums/topic/how-do-atom-computer-ignition-modules-work/

Thanks to Debe for the following photos he supplied after reverse engineering an Atom module.

[The red boat]

agreed
i had the Nova II modules on it for a while but i wasn’t happy with them. the spark seemed weak. Their resistance measured by the ohmeter is substantially higher than the Atom modules which may help explain the weak spark.
the atoms i replaced them with have been great.

i came into an extra couple of sets for a backup (since they are discontinued) so I was hoping for an easy test. One set is in the original packaging but the other isn’t and I was just curious to see if the one out of the package had failed and been removed at some point or if it was still good to go.

thanks for the reply!

• This reply was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by The red boat.

[seakaye12]

I am in the same situation with a couple of the red ATOM modules I just picked up at a meet. I would like to know if they are functional. Mine look “as new” in that the wire ends do not appear to have ever been twisted etc.

I have an engine with perfectly functioning ATOMS so I suppose I need to switch those out with these as my “test”…..

[jeff-register]

Jim,
Is that Q1 a darlington transister?

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