What is the general opinion as to whether a Magnetic trigger is preferred versus a Hall Effect trigger in a distributor?

The reason I ask is that I'm researching a replacement of my stock distributor . It has developed a bit of slop (top side-to-side play) that I *believe* is due to wear. I currently have an original Pertronix (I) module used to trigger an external CD box.

I trying to decide if I should purchase a distributor with:
[A] a Magnetic trigger -or-
[B] a Points trigger and transplant my Pertronix (Hall Effect) into it.

Any thoughts/recommendations? I know there's some ill-will towards Pertronix due to failures, but mine has treated me well for years now.

Thanks in advance.

 

To the best of my knowledge, hall effect and magnetic would be the same thing.

If you car is mostly stock or even just a mild build, I would consider running the stock distributor with the Pertronix Ignitor.

I have never known anyone that had problems with Pertronix. I have heard of people having problems with the ignition boxes like MSD.

 

I have several motors with MSD boxes (6M) on them. I've found that if you have an electrical issue where the power to the box becomes intermittent it will kill the box. This is 100% reproducible, others have complained of failures but I haven't experienced any from any other cause.

I should add, from 1987 to now I've only lost 2 boxes and both were due to loose battery connections. I have 2 boxes I installed in 1996, both are still running strong.

 

F Petronix boxes. When they do burn up, you call and talk to someone about it and get the standard issue "we've never hear dof that, or had that problem" "You must have installed it incorrectly because we have millions of them sold." About a year ago I stuck one on and as soon as I turned the key, a hole burned in the side of the unit. Didn't even call for my money back this time. Wasn't worth the brain damage. I've got a few here if anyone wants it cheap lol
Fwiw, have seen talk of, but never had a box or MSD dist fail on me or any customer yet.

 

Thanks for all the responses, guys.

Okay...so...back to the trigger technology! Neither Magnetic or Hall Effect has a benefit over the other?? For what it's worth, I've got a mild cam, four barrel carb, stock heads, long tube headers, H pipe, C-4, and 2.80 gear ratio. Basically, I doubt I'll ever spin past 6000 rpm.

One option I haven't looked at yet is rebuilding my current stock distributor. I'm assuming the upper bushing has just worn down (thus the wobble slop).

 

Ok school me up on this Hall effects trigger. A pertronix has a bunch of magnets that spin past a magnetic switch doesn't that make it a magnetic trigger? What makes it a Hall Effect trigger? Im confused.

 

Pretty good explanation here
http://www.picoauto.com/tutorials/trigger-signals.html

 

Reluctor-type triggers have two wires that produce an AC voltage using magnetic induction. An iron reluctor wheel spins past a permanent magnet mounted to a piece of iron with a coil wrapped around it, each end of the coil being connected to a wire. The magnetic fields induce a variable voltage in the windings.

Hall-effect sensors use a magnetic field to alter a supplied reference voltage. A magnetic field is used to alter the reference voltage. This setup is slightly more complicated, requiring three wires: a source voltage (usually 5V), ground, and signal wire. It also usually involves some internal circuitry to boost the weak signal supplied by the sensor and turn it into a digital signal, which turns the device into a switch rather than a sensor.

At the end of the day, a reluctor type trigger produces a spiking AC voltage, while a Hall-effect switch produces a digital signal. They're simply different types of signals. One isn't necessarily better than the other. The major difference is that hall-effect sensors tend to be much more expensive.

As far as the Pertronix vs CDI box issue, the CDI box is by far the better option. Pertronix modules do die. I've gone through one, and my friend has gone through two. Yes, MSD boxes do die occasionally, but I rarely hear of that. Pertronix failures seem to be abundant.