Breakerless magneto ignition

Breakerless magneto ignition system including a magnetic pole carrying rotor and a stator having a ferromagnetic core with primary and secondary ignition coil windings disposed on said core, said ignition system comprising a trigger coil circumferentially spaced from a leg of said core in the direction of rotation of said rotor a distance approximately equal to the edge distance of the magneto, a gate turn-off silicon controlled rectifier having anode, cathode and gate electrodes, a capacitor connected in circuit with said primary winding to be charged by electrical pulses of one polarity generated in said primary winding, circuit means connecting the gate of said rectifier with said capacitor, said circuit means including a solid state electronic switching device having cathode and anode electrodes in series with said capacitor and the gate of said rectifier, said device also including a control electrode electrically connected with said trigger coil for receiving pulses of electrical energy generated in response to rotation of said magneto for switching said device to its conductive mode through its anode-cathode electrodes whereby said charge of electrical energy of one polarity stored on said capacitor is applied to the gate electrode of said gate turn-off rectifier for shunting the primary current flowing in the anode-cathode path of said rectifier through the gate electrode toward the charged capacitor causing said rectifier to be turned off, thereby opening the circuit of the primary winding to induce an ignition voltage pulse in said secondary winding.