Triton..that m5-197 is the same regulator I have, & that price seems reasonable. A diode plate at the local alternator shop was about $15.
The
only issue with that regulator is it is completely potted, so you have to remove the regulator from the alternator to get to the little adjustment screw in the back to adjust the output voltage. It is a little touchy to dial in..not tedious, but it might take two or three tries to get it where you want it. I didn't think it was prudent to adjust while running, so I unmounted and remounted mine each time and tweaked the screw in 1/4 turn increments.
What I've personally done is gotten my charging voltage dialed in at the batteries to where I want it (whereas I was WAY over-charging before..detailed elsewhere on the forum in my own failed coil thread), and as Neil noted (BTW, I am one of his guinea pigs...er..."test subjects"
, related to providing various coil data.) - I currently have a 1.4 ohm ballast resistor blocking some voltage to the new 1.5 ohm coil, as recommended by a Pertronix tech. Additionally, I have a new 3.0 ohm coil and the old failed 3.0 ohm Pertronix coil available for testing all of Neil's various theories..I agree...it should be interesting.
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However, I've been a bit slow in reporting back to him. We've been a bit busy here cleaning up from Lee & Irene (the insurance adjuster finally visited yesterday to discuss repairs to my damaged garage roof from Irene) & trees are either still being felled on purpose to avoid future damage, or ones already on the ground are still being cut up...just not much time for intricate boat diagnostics at present, but I'll get to it here as things slow down (yeah, right..
).
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At any rate..I personally like the Transpo regulator...I think I just had mine set too high for a while..
- Hanley's recommendation to have a good voltmeter aboard to check the voltage at various spots in the circuit is key..I printed out a copy of my electrical schematic and recently notated voltages at various locations (coil, battery(ies), isolator, common post, etc.) to help with diagnostics. It helped me to lay out a picture of the charging circuit in action.