I purchased a new ACES engine balancer at the 2011 Oshkosh which has some great features I am looking forward to trying out this weekend.  In talking to Gary Hertzler about his experiences using the balancer I found a few short comings with the unit.

First is the mounting brackets.  As you can see there are two sensors (a position sensor and a movement sensor).  Shown are the two brackets.

The right two are the original ones for the sensor, but I decided I wanted them both together for ease of use and to better position them.  Today I constructed the one on the left.

Made of heavy aluminum angle it mounts the sensors on the center line of the crank case.

A second issue with the unit is the power switches.  It is very easy to turn on or reboot the unit as the switches are ultra sensitive.  I took a grommet and cut it in half and RTV glued it to the face of the unit to prevent inadvertent activation of the unit.

Next week I plan to balance the engine on the plane when I get her back to the airport….