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22nd May 2020


Sparkrite Voyager early 80s drive computer- found, bought and tested.


This amazing bit of kit from about 1981 popped up on Ebay while I was looking at car alarm bits and pieces. I was aware of the Voyager, but had never seen one in the flesh or up for sale.

Unbelievably no-one else bid on it, it arrived absolutely complete and it works!

There were a couple of aftermarket drive computers offered in the early 1980s, but the Sparkrite Voyager was 'the business'.

This futuristic kit allowed a keen and handy car enthusiast to install an actual COMPUTER in his or her Ford Cortina or Morris Marina, with an LED digital read-out displaying trip data such as: distance, speed and miles per gallon- things motorists take for granted now.

You have to remember that the Voyager was launched at a time when home computers were a very new thing. A few geeks may have been programming their Sinclair ZX80s and ZX81s, but the Sinclair Spectrum, Dragon 32 and Commodore Vic 20 revolution was still around the corner.

The Voyager even had an ice warning detector!


How did it work?

SPEED- The Sparkrite Voyager used a magnetic pickup sensor to detect the speed of the car. Magnets would be attached to the propshaft of a then common rear wheel drive car or on one driveshaft of a front wheel drive car, that the sensor would pickup as they wizzed past.

FUEL CONSUMPTION- There was a fuel flow sensor. The home mechanic was expected to sever the fuel line of their car and fit this device between the cuts ends to measure the flow of petrol. The Voyager was only suitable for petrol cars with a carburettor/s, they stated it was NOT suitable for diesel or fuel injected vehicles.

Once installed, the user would then calibrate the Voyager computer so it could calculate distance travelled and fuel consumption to be displayed at the touch of a few gold painted plastic buttons.

There are some pictures to enjoy below, and before them a little video I made of the Sparkrite Voyager in action. It's on the kitchen table and I didn't use the fuel sensor, however I got some results by attaching the 'speed' magenets to an electric hand mixer instead of a propshaft...


VIDEO




The box top



The box top opened up in shop display mode



Out of the cardboard box



The whole kit laid out



Paperwork and instuctions



Ice warning sensor



Speed sensor



Fuel flow sensor









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