Review on GTC GTC505 Engine Ignition Analyzer: Revolutionizing Engine Diagnosis and Performance by Cris Drew

Pros: This tool is very well designed with a solid body and durable plastic buttons that feel nice when pressed. The software is innovative and offers useful modes and views as described in the T&C materials. It's great to have a tool that has probes for both spark plug leads and candle coils (COP). When using the "Tachometer" mode, the revolutions are quite stable in both graphical and digital form. That's really a big plus. Disadvantages: in the diagram, the strongly fluctuating secondary spark voltage jumps and you have to determine the mean value visually. You can estimate the average kV value by comparing the real-time kV readings with the Y-axis label values. It would be better if the digital view showed the average kV value in addition to Min and Max. Although not a serious problem. The HF spark plug jumps a lot due to real-time changes in spark plug resistance, timing changes, etc. On the tool I received, the BNC probe connector on the gooseneck at the top of the unit is a little loose and its weight can force it to wobble back and forth a bit. In my opinion this can cause the internal conductive grommet of the BNC jack to come loose and potentially cause intermittent connections. For example, this problem can occur with BNC connectors when 75 ohm connectors are matched to 50 ohm connectors. Luckily regular coax cables with BNC connectors are lighter than a gooseneck sensor and seem to fit better. You can purchase a 3-foot to 6-foot flexible coaxial cable with BNC male and female connectors and attach the probe to the end of the cable to use as a test stick. As an alternative, GTC manufactures a flexible 2 meter long coaxial cable that fits all probe tips and solves the problem of a loose probe on a flexible neck. It also has a fuse probe for the spark plug wire. The part number is GTC505-CSC and you can order it directly from GTC at a great price. If your gooseneck probe doesn't fit snugly into the top of the BNC connector, I would definitely use a coax extension or a GTC505-CSC. Revain should stock up on these accessories. Otherwise a very good device that is worth the money.