ORIGINAL: bruce88123
ORIGINAL: BadSplice
ok, Im having a hard time wrapping my head around this one.... I went to the battery clinic page about the loaded digital voltmeter, and the idea looked great. Im all set to build one, when it suddenly occours to me.... how is the Voltwatch NOT performing this function already?
I have heard people say that the Voltwatch cant give you a good read of your battery under load... but if its performing the function of a voltmeter, and measuring when the servos are active, isnt that under load? How is loading the battery with a resistor or a lightbulb different than having the radio powered up. In fact, Id kind of think that it would be better, since it would be the exact load of your current radio setup....
so, am I brilliant or am I totally missing something here? [8D]
Missileman hit it on the nose. CONSISTANCY. The voltwatch measures whatever the voltage is at the instant depending on the load which is constantly varying. A constant repeatable load is the BEST way to know what is happening.
Bruce if you are interested in peak load readings, the volt watch is the best. The only thing better would be an O scope, but it's kind of hard to strap one on the side of your plane, and the extention cord screws up the CG.
When you get into things like a shutdown of your receiver due to a peak load droping the voltage below the cut off value, a "consistant" load reading isn't going to do you much good. I'm a huge fan of the voltwatchs. If you want a static state reading, just turn on the transmitter and receiver and have a look. If you want a dynamic reading, start moving the sticks. If you want some peak load readings, start stalling out servos while moving the sticks. None of these will give you the real picture of what is happening in the air though but they will give you a clue.
Don