This article reminded me of the alternator-conversion discussion on-going in the TradeMart. (That discussion more properly belongs in a separate thread, hence this msg-post.)
An alternator conversion is sometimes recommended by shops because they simply don't have enough understanding of the original generator-system to make a proper-repair (and I suspect, there's more profit in selling/installing a conversion than simply fixing what's wrong with a generator.) Converting to an alternator for the purpose of saving weight is expensive weight-savings. Converting because a gen has low-output at idle is also expensive. (A healthy battery is the answer to the short periods of low-rpm operation. Question: Do you suppose that landing/taxi lights were only intended for alternator-equipped aircraft? or only for high-rpm ops? Of course not.) With modern avionics especially, it is a rare situation indeed to actually require more amps than a generator can provide, and alternators, like all things aviation, are a compromise with their own operating limitations.
This will likely irritate alternator and lightweight-starter owners, but it's a proven matter: Unless an original starter or generator is completely destroyed beyond it's "core value"... or totally missing.... it is always less expensive and far simpler to repair/replace it with the same original part.
An applicable, but out-of-context quote from the article: "As often happens, once I learned this, I found out that everybody else already knew it."
