I concur.....not a big fan of the points elimination chips. Though I expect they do seem to "Wake up" a saw suffering from burnt, oxidized or points contact that have worked/worn together. So for the un-knowing they seem like a miracle!! A few years ago I was messing around with a non-running 49sp that I picked up. The piston was scored, ring stuck etc. This being before the aftermarket 49 pistons had arrived and me not having a suitable replacement single ring 49sp piston, so I cleaned up the cyl which turned out to be flawless and installed a slightly higher compression two ring piston, wristpin bearing and thrust washers from a 52/52E. I was most concerned about the difference in weight between the 52 and 49 piston but found the crankshaft carried the same part number so I put it together with new seals, gaskets. carb kit and fuel line. It already had an Atom chip installed so I thought I would try it that way. It started and ran good but had a very odd note to the exhaust...I do not know this for certain but I theorize those chips work on a multi spark system of timing....in other words say it triggers the coil three times per compression stroke, the first is late enough for the saw to start good, the second is fair from idle to 4-5000 rpm and the third is early enough to simulate full advance for WOT. The biggest problem is the last two firings don't give the coil time to recharge fully so the spark is less powerful. I used the saw for a few months and never got used to the sound of the exhaust....most folks would likely not notice this...but me, running a number of 49sp saws with stock mufflers it was noticeable. I eventually replaced the chip with a new set of points and the saw ran stronger and sounded normal after that. The chip did work and in the case of not being able to repair or replace your points is a good alternative to scrapping the saw but I don't take them to be better than a good set of points set properly.
