Some folk would say that it's a more accurate method of 'setting the points gap', since it measures the angle during which the points are closed ( or the equivalent in an electronic ignition setup ) whilst the engine is running.

Other folk might disagree...

ken

why thank you

the amount of time measured in degrees of crank rotation the coil has to soak up the sparkyness.

most electronics use a capacitor discharge and, if I understand correctly, the coil is not "charged up" as such but a bigger charge is pulsed through it and the coil acts as a transformer stepping the charge up to the 30000v range. CDU units such as Boyer are more forgiving of points gap errors as the points are just a trigger telling the majick box when to fire the coil,

can any of you electronic types confirm this? ( i did metal bashing and colouring in at school not physics)

edit.-boyer and the other magick boxes that use normal coils are "inductive discharge" not "Capacitor discharge"....thanks to the man that knows for guiding me through my confusion.

Nice and simple explaination. Can we have the condensers job too

In points system there is too much sparkyness and some of it leaks out across the points as they open. The Condenser is a bit like an electric sponge mopping up the spillage as the points open and wringing out and adding bit as they close.

??ok

Yes

More here
http://www.historicwinton.org/Ignition%20Condensors.htm

Classic word

excellent thank you

glad I passed