Master Series Voltmeter

[Afton Grant]

Instead of the stock 12/24V converter that came with my Master Series sled, I made myself a battery adapter, and now use a dual battery system when I need to go to 24V. It typically consists of a Hytron 120 and a Proformer. My big bricks are all digital, so I always have a good idea of their remaining charge. The Proformers, however, have no indication as to their remaining charge, which can be unnerving as I obviously would hate for the battery to go down in the middle of a take. At the same time, I want to get the most out of each Proformer - not swapping them out frequently for fear of a low charge.

 

A while back, I believe Dan Coplan posted a picture of a little voltmeter he'd picked up and turned into a battery meter. I liked the simplicity, size, and price of the thing ($30) so I picked up the same and proceeded to disassemble my rig.

 

In a moment of what can only be described as serendipity, it turns out that beneath the plastic shell of my battery base, there are slots cut into the metal framework. One of those slots happens to be almost exactly the right size in which to fit this meter. So I tapped into the wiring coming from the secondary battery, slid the meter into the slot and project done!

 

 

[Jerry Holway]

Aton-

 

Nice.

 

If you want to cut and file or sand a hole in the old cover piece and re-attach, it can be done, but the dust from that stuff is nasty; wear a mask and vacuum constantly. Also the fibers (if they separate) are like nasty little knives.

 

I've gaffer taped both sides around the hole to be cut, gone slowly and made a big mess along the way, but it works.

 

BTW, I may have a spare one of those covers in a drawer somewhere, in case you want to go back.

 

Jerry

[Jason Torbitt]

Hi Afton,

Just out of interest, where did you pick the voltmeter up from? I hardwired the Astro Flight Meter into my sled- does the job, but not always easy to see, and has more info/smaller digits. I find it harder to see especially when it's a darker environment, largely down to a poor viewing angle and smaller characters.

Cheers

J.

[luis castro]

In the past seeing one of these in rig of Jerry. in the 99. no longer in production, there is some digital standar solution in the market

[Afton Grant]

Hey Louis - Not exactly sure what you're saying, but without a doubt, Jim's ICBM is a superior device (by far) for measuring the power put out by your batteries. I didn't really want to attach another device to my sled though. This was a solution I was comfortable doing myself, it integrated well with my equipment, and it was easy on the wallet. Not for everyone certainly, but perhaps for some.

 

Jason - Mouser Electronics. PN: 580-20LCD-0-DCM-C.

[Brad Grimmett]

Nice Afton. I think I have to add that to my "to do" list.

[Jason Torbitt]

Thanks Afton,

 

I tracked these down, for any interested UK folk looking for voltmeters for any of your rigs, Farnell sell the range of these Murata power meters.

 

J.