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Introduction
The company Acewell markets a range of "Digital Speedometer Cables" such as the ACE-TA7
(sometimes labeled as ACE-TA6, ACE-S11 or similar). They can be used instead of the original speedometer drive.
Essentially, these units contain a Hall effect sensor.
The sensor generates an electrical signal; the frequency of this signal is a function of speed.
This signal can then be processed further with an electronic speedometer.
It would appear that these units were developed only for Acewell's own instruments;
a data sheet e.g. for the ACE-TA7 seems not to be available (as of May 2013).
To enable the use of these sensor units with other types and brands of speedometers,
I have developed the level shifter PS-A presented here.
The PS-A is available since summer 2013 and as of summer 2021, more than 450 units have been sold to speedo manufacturers, workshops, bike builders and individuals.
If you are interested, please order via this page.
The Hall sensor unit, such as the ACE-TA7 (which you need to buy yourself!), receives its supply voltage from the PS-A.
Per every revolution of the encoder - the "speedo cable" -, one pulse train is generated.
The PS-A converts this "noisy" analogous signal of the sensor into a well-defined digital signal.
The detailed circuit is not open for discussion; however, the circuit contains:
- a current sensor (to obtain the state of the sensor)
- a Schmitt-Trigger (to generate a well-defined output signal)
- an output stage that can source and sink current; therefore it should not matter if the speedometer expects a signal "to ground" or "to plus".
Suitable speedometers
The following is a complete list of all speedometers that have been tested and reported back to me.
If a specific speedometer model is not listed, this simply means that it has not been tested yet ...
or nobody bothered to share the results. This list is updated with feedback from the community, i.e. your feedback.
As a side note: please do not ask "do you have any news regarding the speedometer XY".
The current status is always listed in the table below; even a Fail is fine for me.
I do not have the intention to make "all" speedometers work with this unit ;-)
Those who feel a need to get the circuit adapted to a specific speedometer model can
commission a custom made adapter.
You will need to send me the speedo in question for a few days so
I can develop and test the circuit with that specific speedo unit.
| Manufacturer |
Type |
Result |
Remarks |
Contributor |
| Motogadget |
motoscope mini/classic/pro, chronoclassic |
Pass |
|
Motogadget |
| Motogadget |
motoscope tiny/speedster/vintage |
Pass |
Please order "PS-A-Tiny", the standard PS-A-12 will not work with the Tiny. |
Own test (JHa) |
| Motogadget |
SureShift |
Pass |
|
Motogadget |
| Motogadget |
m-unit Blue |
Pass |
1 PS-A can supply the speedo signal simultaneously to a Motogadget motoscope mini speedo and to the m-unit. |
User |
| MMB |
E-Tacho D48 and D80 of 1st Generation |
Pass |
MMB says "W>1000 desirable, otherwise the instruments might oscillate." |
MMB |
| MMB |
ELT48, 60 und 80 |
Pass |
MMB says "W>1000 desirable, otherwise the instruments might oscillate." Several clients report that W=691 is perfectly stable. |
MMB & User |
| Touratech |
IMO 100R300 |
Pass |
|
User |
| SIXO |
SIXO 2.0 |
Pass |
Very stable, MAX speed works as designed |
User |
| KOSO |
? (old model without ID) |
Pass |
Use the gray wire (of the original Hall sensor connector) as speedo input. |
Own test (JHa) |
| T+T und KOSO |
Multifunktionsinstrument "D-Serie" (KBA 91397) |
Pass |
Use the white/brown wire (of the original Hall sensor connector) as speedo input. |
Own test (JHa) |
| Daytona |
Velona |
Pass |
Works as designed. Note that the speedo will not show any speed before going through the calibration setup menu. |
User |
| Daytona |
Asura |
Pass |
works as designed, for cable colors refer to EN manual. |
User |
| Racetronics |
MDTV1 and MDTV-DZM |
Fail |
Display fluctuates. |
Racetronics |
Your speedo is not listed above? I can eventually provide a test circuit that emulates the signal of the transducer at two different speeds upon request.
If you are interested (especially if you are a speedometer manufacturer), please get in touch with me.
Installation
Installation is simple since there are only 4 wires – input from speedo sensor, signal to speedometer, supply voltage and ground:
Detailed instructions are, of course, delivered with the device. Please keep in mind that:
- Due to the many different speedometer types on the market (and also because of the huge size of most automotive connectors), the PS-A is intentionally supplied without a plug.
This is not plug-and-play - it is definitively required that the user operates his brain during installation!
- Before installation, please make sure that your existing tachometer accepts the signal voltage of the PS-A
(nominal 12 V on the PS-A-12 and PS-A-Tiny, 5 V on the PS-A-05)!
If in doubt, please look up the data sheet of your speedometer before installing the PS-A.
- For reasons of space, the connecting wires are designed to be soldered in place.
If someone has a better alternative to soldering that is easy to use on as many motorcycles as possible and that takes not much more space than a solder connection, bring it on ;-)
- I take no responsibility for any kind of damage caused by ignoring the installation instructions, non-use of common sense, etc.
Technical Data
The PS-A was designed specifically for the Hall sensor ACE-TA7 and we have good reasons to believe that most of the ACE-S... types should work, too.
Please note that the "Speedo sensor BMW gearbox" from Motogadget (p/n 9007033) is of a different construction and does not work reliably with the PS-A.
The signal at the output of the PS-A is a square wave.
In the standard version PS-A-12, the signal level switches between "almost ground" (LO) and "almost supply voltage" (HI).
A special type PS-A-5 is available where the HI-level is limited to ca. 5 V; other versions are available upon request.
The output line has a built-in resistor that provides short-time short-circuit protection.
Due to the construction of the ACE-TA7, the duty cycle of this signal is roughly 50%.
The PS-A requires a power supply of 12 V DC (nominal), usually the power supply of the motorcycle.
The circuit is active as soon and as long as the supply voltage is applied and can operate down to approx. 8 V.
Note: The device must be connected to a “clean” power supply that is free from high voltage pulses.
If you connect it to the engine wiring harness (ignition coil, ...), the module may be destroyed.
Two LED provide an indication of operation and can be used for troubleshooting.
They light up with the rhythm of the signal; one of the two LEDs is always lit.
The connection cable has 4 wires (ground, power supply, input, output) and is UL rated.
Diameter ca. 16 mm, length ca. 52 mm, weight ca. 19 g (typical). The entire circuit is potted in epoxy and painted, thus protected against vibration and weather.
What else?
Note: The PS-A was developed without any support from the company Acewell. All data were obtained experimentally
and tested under various operating conditions so that, according to the data that I have, reliable operation should be given.
However, since I can not guarantee that the sensor will be made with the same specifications in the future,
I cannot guarantee that the PS-A will work with future versions. Thank you for your understanding.
