HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : Turnigy Watt Meter and power Analyzer

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9/2/2010
Silvije (100%)
will this burn with 16S lipo (total max. 67V I think) as it says that measures up to 60V?

8/25/2010
Jaewoo (19%)
Is this product will be destroyed or just inaccurate sensor reading if currents over 130A?

Nikos (100%)
probably it will be destroed the max is 130a up to 140 will be ok for one time but no more than 130A 140A

DownLoad (100%)
The sensor control passes a current 130 A without damages

Alan (100%)
That is probably the death by electricity level.

Al

8/5/2010
molokaiboy (58%)
Can this be used in flight? Does it keep the values as long as the battery is not unplugged?

Thanks,
Les

tommybee46 (100%)
I recently bought one of these**haven't put the connectors on yet. From what I'm learning, I'd say no, as you can't watch the meter. It doesn't record readings, does it?

H@nnes (84%)
No, you cant use it in flight. This watt meter cant save the data. You only see the current and voltage for this moment. Best regards

JoaoBrando (86%)
No! This is expected to be used in the workbench, to measure everything before the first flight... And no, it turns off when the battery is unplugged, resetting its memory.

andres felipe (25%)
Que si lo PUEDES usar en cada vuelo te va muy bien

Echo51 (42%)
It should do, just be sure to have a RX pack hooked up to it

Jawahar (-20%)
yes it can be ! i recommend it

waynemia (74%)
Absolutely you can use it in flight as long as you have enough room to put it in the plane/heli. The readings include the present voltage and amperage but it also keeps the peak amperage, min voltage watts used, etc. As long as you keep the source or aux battery connected you can read the values. They will cycle through all the values. If you want to remove the meter and keep the readings, plug a battery in to the aux connector and it will keep the meter on.

This goes inline from the source battery to the ESC. It does not matter if you are using brushed or brushless, it measures the total current, including the current consumed by the ESC. If your ESC includes the BEC, then you are seeing the total current for the plane, including the receiver and servos. This is very useful for determining flight times. The power readings are not just the motor. If you are not moving the servos, you are seeing the receiver ESC Motor. Using the power from the meter makes you estimates of power to the motor slightly conservative. In most cases, the difference is insignificant.

You can also use this meter for any applications when DC curent needs to be measured. Since it does not come with connectors, you can rig it anyway you like.

I also did some voltage checks and it was withing /- 200mV and /- 100mA on measurements up to 60V and current up to 3.50A.

This customer was awarded a credit for their answer.

Nikos (100%)
yes it shows the maximum for watts amp and it also shows the miliampers that you spend during flight.

mojjoo (100%)
Yes, it saves the value peaks as long as you don't dissconnect the battery. So, you can use it in flight when the weight of ~90g isn`t a problem for the plane

molokaiboy (58%)
thanks guys. Im surprised that the first few guys said an emphatic "No" it cannot be used in flight. And the rest of you said it can be ised in flight and that it does record peak values and it can be read after you land and do not disconnect the battery before you take you readings. Well if the specs are accurate its only about 12g heavier than the watts up meter v2 sold here which is still under 3 ozs.
Thanks for the info guys. I'll be getting this for sure.
Aloha,
Les

catlord (100%)
Hi, the wattmetter keep the Highest value in memory as long as battery isn't unplugged :) So yes you can use it whiele flying *)

8/1/2010
Mixeler (100%)
Will I see the voltage of every lipo cell

Shonen (43%)
nope, if you need to see the voltage of all of your cells a wattmeter is not what you want.

Stijn (23%)
This device has only 2 wires on the 'source'-side* negative and positive. So it does not know of any cells and thus it shows only the total voltage.

avator (84%)
I don't think so.

H@nnes (84%)
No. This watt meter has no connector fot the balancercable.

andres felipe (25%)
si la versin Cspedes

Echo51 (42%)
No, get a lipo safe meter for that

Jawahar (-20%)
no, it displays only the terminal voltage,A, W, Ah etc.

Nikos (100%)
you will see the total volts of the pack not individual cell volts. for individual cell volts buy ***********hobbycity****/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7390

7/9/2010
Mark (61%)
Didn't this start at 16.99? Bit high at 24 dollars.

Sam-Q (60%)
still dirt cheap compared to other stuff on the market

6/26/2010
Dominik (70%)
When it will be available ?
Stock is claimed 10 and since 12.06.2010 in my order is marked as "Not Available"

5/22/2010
mpthompson (65%)
For those who may need it, I created a PDF version of the Turnigy 130A user manual here:

preview-tinyurl-com/2cwqy6p

mpthompson (65%)
Just just replace preview(-)tinyurl(-)com with (.) to preview the correct link.

4/10/2010
Cubanito (67%)
YO SOY ELECTRICISTA Y HE PODIDO MAS O MENOS ENTENDER EL EQUIPO ,PERO EL MANUAL VIENE EN INGLES Y YO SOLO HABLO ESPAOL COMO MUCHOS DE AQUI DE ESPAA QUE COMPRAMOS EN JOVI KIN,DEVERIAN PONERLO EN MAS IDIOMAS ,PARA SU MEJOR COMPRENCION O TENER EL MANUAL POR INTERNET EN ALGUNA DIRECCION GRASIAS

Tanky (45%)
English or Hungarian please.

shadowind (20%)
"SOURCE" es asi que vamos a conectar la lipo batteria, "LOAD" aqui, conectar el controlor de velocidad (ESC o speed controler) reliar al receptor ...

DukeZillo (65%)
no tiene ningun problema el uso del aparato, si acaso lo mas complicado seria soldar los conectores conectas una punta al ESC y la otra a la bateria te indica el consumo del motor estatico, aceleras el motor unos 10 segundos y te indica el consumo en watts , amperes, etc.

mnunezve (60%)
Usa los botones, no tienen complicacin... realmente es fcil.

4/10/2010
Cubanito (67%)
Hola es un gran equipo medidor da lecturas bastante exaptas ,QUE MAS QUIEREN POR EL PRESIO? ESTA TIRADO .

4/9/2010
Dr_Indy (75%)
Another Question: How fast is this one? I installed it in my solar car battery setting between the solar cell and the charge electronics (charge until 14V when voltage drops under 13.2V). Depending on the kind of load at the car battery, the charge electronics switches on and of very fast (<1s). Will the measurement still be correct or does the TURNIGY needs some time to make a correct measurement (let's say 2 seconds or so)?

Greetings

hwagener (46%)
I don't think the electronic of the Turnigy needs time to measure the current, but i really don't know if the display follows that currents correct.
But the Wh and Ah should be measured OK, i think.

sterlingl (29%)
this meter does require about 2 seconds after power is applied to show a reading. I havent tried switching it at high speed though. My guess is that it might not work for that application, but it is a great tool to have anyway. reliable and low cost.

pf_Music (19%)
Hello,
Instruction sheet tells:

"all measurement screen Values are updated every 0.4 seconds"

Fusion (73%)
I take it that means the screen is updated every 0.4s ?
What is the sampling rate ?

4/7/2010
josef (45%)
hallo

gibts es fr den turnigy watt meter 130A eine deutsche aneitung?
danke josef

Dr_Indy (75%)
Braucht man nicht, ist selbsterklrent. Ansonsten mal nach der Anleitung fr den "Watts up" googlen, die Dinger sind quasi identisch.

pimpmycnc (32%)
Ich knnte sie dir bersetzen, wenn Du's brauchst.

3/1/2010
Dr_Indy (75%)
Hey.
What about negative current? If you charge a Battery with the Analyzer in the circuit and then discharge it again? Will it notice the negative current? (should do, if there is a shunt in it)
And: will it substitute the energy of the total energy then?

Greetings

hwagener (46%)
I don't think that negative current is possible.
You can use this unit to count charging energy, but the charger is the source and battery the drain in that case.
When discharging, you need to put battery as source and ESC/Motor as drain.
But i don't think that there is a need to count charging energy because most chargers count that on their own.

2/20/2010
Derrick (50%)
What kind, if any, connectors come on this meter? Or do you have to supply your own?

Derrick (50%)
Got it today. Wow,,,fast shipping from Hong Kong!!!! There are no connectors you need to add your own. Great unit, already got it going on a 6s 4000mah with a Turnigy 50-65A outrunner and 15x8 prop. Anyone trying there hand at electric conversions from glo power NEED one of these....buy one, they work!

Antonio Javier (43%)
no connectors. tin-dipped wires.

HibridOPT (66%)
doesn't come with connectors, you will have to solder the ones you use in your own bateries.

sterlingl (29%)
no connectors on mine. just about 3 inches of wire on each side

DjBac (46%)
You have to solder your own conectors!!

David (50%)
Hi, you have to supply and solder your own connectors on.

Arsiray (62%)
no connectors came with my unit.only wires.

pf_Music (19%)
Ypu have to supply your own, comes without connectors. Does make sence, cause everybody uses his own system. Supplied mine with 4mm golc connectors and built a couple of adaptors for different kind of connetcors used in our club.

This device is really fantastic. No big multimeters anymore !!!

Blaze4711 (39%)
you have to supply your own, but under 4mm conectors it won't fit.

Beldin_33 (21%)
No connectors with this. Mainly as everyone has a favourite connector type that will differ from the next guy.

DukeZillo (65%)
you need to put your own

Khilra (75%)
Mine came without plugs, and cables pre soldered.

Gustavo Murad (67%)
There is no connector in the meter. You need to buy a connector compatible with the connectors you want to measure.

catlord (100%)
You will have to supply your own *)

12/14/2009
GreaseMonkey (83%)
I finally got a review, though its somewhat vogue but you can see it for yourself what it can display.

here is the link:

www-youtube-com/watch?v=4RkldBzc-Vs

hwagener (46%)
The link is not working, but searching for 4RkldBzc-Vs in Youtube finds the video.
The review shows that the device brings almost the same values as a watts-up and seems to be very accurate. It did not show the device with high amps, only about 20 Amps at about 50 volts. I compared the device to my multimeter that can measure 20 AMps maximum, the Turnigy is much better because its resistance is lower. My Multimeter shows 18 Amps, Turnigy 21 Amps, now it is clear why i have burned my first motor...

GreaseMonkey (83%)
the link works... just replace www(-)youtube(-)com with (.), Coz if you make it right it would look like this www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RkldBzc-Vs

It's no brainer.....

Echo51 (42%)
If you can link perfectly fine with using .'s, why overcomplicate? :)

12/12/2009
hwagener (46%)
There is a very well printed color-manual included. The device can be used for testing loads, during battery chargint to count the charge, can be used while discharging batteries counting the discharge or can be used to see how much amps your receiver with servos will be consuming.
The display shows four values, three are fixed and show current, voltage and watts, the fourth value changes every two seconds and show ampere-hours, watt-hours, Ampere-peak (maximum), Minimum-Voltage and Peak-Watts (maximum).
So you can see maximum values when you fly or drive with a unit carried by your plane, boat or car.
You can add an auxilliary battery, so the device stay tuned when disconnecting the main battery.

12/12/2009
GreaseMonkey (83%)
can someone review this stuff... provide links for photo of what it will display? And thus it has a "hold" function with the displayed data?

Antonio Javier (43%)
no hold funtion.but scrolling display shows peaks values.

11/5/2009
supergps (77%)
Why was this item pulled out? The newer item that replaces it is a cell monitor/discharger, and not a wattmeter, which itself is pulled out for its HK rebrand.

I was waiting for these to come back in stock. I hope this, or something else in same ballpark figures arrives soon at HK.

hwagener (46%)
It is available with a stock of 154 pieces...

10/28/2009
Jens (56%)
Does this unit show Amps-Max, and Volt-Min after flight, when the battery stays connected? Thx

hwagener (46%)
Yes, it does.

10/23/2009
matthieu93160 (79%)
enfin un wattmeter a prix raisonable , quand il seras en stock , je vais l'acheter , genial pour avoir toutes les infos sur une chaine de propulsion =)
a+
matthieu

10/18/2009
sabongi (46%)
would be awesoe if this is offered with a logging capability!

hwagener (46%)
Maximum current and minimum voltage are beeing logged.

10/14/2009
auerchr (56%)
Is that wattmeter as good as the Watts up (Ver. 2)?
I could test the Watts up from a mate and it was OK to measure amps for a T-Rex 450SEV2 and a glider with TR2836 motor.
Has anyone tested it? I would go for that one because it is cheaper.

br,
crisu

hwagener (46%)
A review on Youtube shows that both devices measure the same, so the turnigy is as good as a wats up. But it has more weight, so it is uneasier to measure with this item during flight.

David (50%)
seen a test set up comparing the watts up and this turnigy meter and just as accurate so I have bought one very accurate.

10/8/2009
drrk24 (71%)
I prefer new items to be offered, when all info is available, e.g. manual (which should then also be linked in the description ! )

hwagener (46%)
The printed manual is on thick, glossy paper with multiple colors. The english is perfect (for me as a non native speaker). There are no questions open after reading this manual.

10/8/2009
davidpc2 (47%)
Anybody explain how it works? connect one end to bat or esc? other to motor? supports brushless? Thanks

Flew Boy (89%)
Plug your battery to it then plug it to your speed controler very easy to use and VERY handy, it has saved a lot of motors and speed controlers from being burnt out where I fly :0)

davidpc2 (47%)
Thanks vm, i'm planning to use it for car, may it bee usefull too? can i use it for checking the gearing? Thanks again

Flew Boy (89%)
I haven't used one in a car before but I recon you could use it for testing gearing, because it will keep the highest reading when you test your car, so take it for a short drive so you don't burn anything then check the readings, if the amps are higher than your motor can handle just reduce the gear size on the motor, if the amps are lower than the motor can take then increase the gear on the motor untill you find the right balance. As I don't drive RC cars my self it would be great if some one could verify this for us :o) but it sounds like it makes sence to me. I hope this helps ya Davidpc2 :oD

David (50%)
Simply connect in line between battery pack and controller to see current and volts whilst motor is running, allows correct selection of propeller and will helps to diagnose problems prior to flight test. Could save you the cost of loosing a model the first time you use it! Has built in servo driver so the tool can be used to drive the speed controller for testing without using your TX/RX setup.

"This is an absolutely essential tool if you want to get the best from all your electric model set ups. Can also be used to measure capacity of packs whilst charging / discharging."

joanwa (19%)
this really has a servo driver? not mentioned in the specs nor is there a poti

pf_Music (19%)
Hello,

Device is labeled with Battery /- and Source /-
So you plug in the devices with the battery side to your flight battery. The other with source to /- to your ESC input. It does not matter whether the ESC will support a brushless or brushed motor.....

10/8/2009
Agentbsik (67%)
Could somebody open the watt meter and have a look at the current-measuring unit? Is it a shunt, or maybe a hall-effect based current sensor (eg. Allegro etc)?
Would be happy to hear an answer.

Jason5001 (4%)
The sensor used in this is the expensive type, not a shunt.
It is similar to the Allegro brand of current sensors.

Jason5001 (4%)
In addition, the sensor says BVE R001 1%, U23
I hope this helps.
Sorry for my limited electrical component knowledge.

-AGJ- (65%)
If I google "BVE R001 current sensor" I only get hits for shunt resistors. E.g. this one: ***********isotekcorp****/dataSheets/PDF/BVE-M-R0002-5.pdf. So I doubt it is hall-effect sensor in this device. Does it come with instructions? Is it a rebranded "Watt's up"? Is it a clone?

supergps (77%)
*******pdf1.alldatasheet****/datasheet-pdf/view/157582/RHOPOINT/BVE-A-R001-5.0.html

It seems BVE R001 is a shunt resistance (1 mOhm). I do not see any other reason for adding a precision 1mOhm resistance in the circuit.

Also, the wattmeter specs say that its rated for 130A. At 130 A, the power dissipation in 1mOhm resistance would be 16.9 Watts. The datasheet for BVE R001 says max power dissipation of 5 Watts. On the other hand, the BVE R0002 (0.2 mOhm) is rated for upto 160A (in datasheet).

Jason, could you please confirm the number of BVE R001 in the circuit?

I Do not think applying 130 A would kill the device, although I do think that readings would be inaccurate at higher end of current ratings of this wattmeter.

Thanks for the info Jason. Anyway I am taking 2 in my next order.

supergps (77%)
only they went oos for my next two orders :(

MegaTesla (74%)
I can confirm that it uses a BVE 1mOhm shunt. The datasheet that I found state 5W power dissipation and 160A peak current. I'm sure it will handle 130A but only for short periods.

Robin (56%)
Is it possible to remove the current sense resistor from the unit and connect it remotely?

David (50%)
The TR-Wattmeter has a Hall-effect sensor which is great, as this is superior to the shunt measurement method.

10/8/2009
Felar Furlong (88%)
nice parameters and great price. as usual.

10/7/2009
CorollaGT (57%)
Can this be flown?

rallyking (63%)
I don't think it has any memory.
It is more for bench testing as bench testing always result in more amps than in actual flight.

Tadango (80%)
It would be nice to have a MAX option so you can check it when the prop stops. In my 8kg edge the wires are short and it would be nice to see a max measurement later...

rallyking (63%)
You could look at the eagle tree systems.
They are more expensive but you get alot more options.

Tadango (80%)
I already have but this is a complete and cheap unit *) The eagletree has a sepperate display and is more fragile. This would find a nice spot between the tools in the box....

Flew Boy (89%)
This does keep all peak measurements untill battery is disconnected. As for not so accurate bench testing just put it in you plane (as it's not too heavy) take off with half throttle get in the air then go flat out, this will give you a very accurate read out :0)

xero67156 (52%)
This can be flown. It will hold max readings until the battery is unplugged. It also has an aux port for a reciever battery so that you can unplug the test battery without losing your data. The watt reading to your motor is inaccurate, though. It is calculated from the battery voltage times the amp draw. So if you're using a 3s lipo and pulling 5A, the unit would read about 55W even though you may have your throttle at 50% which would only be 5.5V times 5A which is actually 27.5W. It is great to make sure you are not exceeding the capabilities of your equipment at full throttle making this a must have for correctly propping a plane.

Tadango (80%)
WRONG! It is really 55W. When you fly 50% throttle the full pack voltage is used. The measurement is correct.

xero67156 (52%)
Yes, the full pack voltage is put into the esc, but the esc is not a transformer. Volts are not exchanged for amps. At 50% throttle, the esc itself cuts the voltage down to the motor even though the battery is still putting full voltage to the esc.

xero67156 (52%)
oops, wrong button...anyways, voltage is cut down through a combination of emf dissipation, induction, and the esc. switch rate. The 27.5W I mentioned earlier was used for illustrative purposes and was not a measured value. Figuring in losses from many different sources and the fact that a given wire only sees an off pulse every third switch, the meter will give a number close to 55W. Will confirm this later. The discrepancy in the watt reading will become very apperant in high voltage and/or high amperage tests. This is a basic tool used to get basic information.

supergps (77%)
*xero67156
In response to your inaccurate reading argument:

Considering that almost all of the power is consumed in motor, and all that power is coming from the battery, and that energy is not stored anywhere in between, I'd think that amount of power delivered by battery would be fairly accurate measurement of power consumed by motor. So I dont understand argument of 55W v/s 27.5W. please explain where is remaining 27.5Watt going.
(no flaming intended. just asking for your opinion)

xero67156 (52%)
It wasn't a measured value, just used to illustrate....Since the motor is three phase, would be closer to 40W into the motor. Just gave an extreme number to illustrate the issue.

William (56%)
Wierd. I ran my 20-22 with a 9X7 at about half throttle using a fresh 5,000 battery. I showed 8.4amps with 11.29volts (95watts) on my watts up watt meter. Ran for 33 minutes and 17 seconds. That is what I expected, but my battery only took 3,980 milliamps to fully charge. That should have used 5,265 milliamps to run that long. I did this test 3 times with the same result. Is this meter no good to use then?

xero67156 (52%)
This meter is an excellent tool. I have one and use it regularly. I was only showing an inconsistency. It really depends on how you are going to use the data from the meter. The reason for less power used from the battery is because the electrical current from the battery to the motor is not consistant, it is pulsed. When you use the data that way, you find that you aren't using as much power as shown by the meter across a specific time frame. I believe that motor manufacturers use these meters, along with a temperature monitor, to determine a motors watt rating which would make this unit ideal for finding the proper volt/ampere/propeller combination for your motor.

Olaf (40%)
It`s simple! On 50% throttle the ESC-Mosfets have a duty cycle of 50% and therefore the average voltage for the motor is also 50%. Thats where the 27.5W come from

drrk24 (71%)
*xero67156 (...the esc is not a transformer...)

Indeed, the esc in combination with the with its capacitor and the motor inductance works like transformer ! The ESC is basically a PWM switching device. 50% throttle means by this not 50% of voltage but average current is 50% of max. (Smoothened by L and C)

supergps (77%)
I think my point was not very clear. I was trying to say, whichever way you look at it: transformer/ half voltage/ half current/ 3 phases or 35 phases whatever* the power out of the battery is almost equal to power into the motor (except for very little amount of power going into electronics, and another small amount of power going to heat/losses). So if there is a very large difference (of the order of 30-50%) between power reading on wattmeter and actual power into the motor, it can be due to one of only two reasons: either the losses in ESC are horribly high, or wattmeter itself is horribly inaccurate, both of which I doubt.
bottomline-the power reading on wattmeter should be a fairly accurate measurement of power consumed in the motor.

supergps (77%)
*xero67156
I'd like to ask here, how exactly did you confirm that there is such a difference in battery o/p power and motor i/p power? did you use any 3 phase power measurement system to measure motor power or is it just a guess?

Asking here because this info would be usefull for everyone.

BTW, like I said earlier, it is actually possible for wattmeter reading and real power to be actually different if the wattmeter is not accurate.
Basically, its purpose is to measure steady state parameters. When the parameters keep changing continuously, the meter is, in all probability, bound to be inaccurate. This should be acceptable inaccuracy.
When throttle is fixed, there would be a steady waveform of voltage and current. This thing is supposed to measure rms of both and then multiply them for power. If rms generation circuit is not properly calibrated/inaccurate by design, the inaccuracies like 55W v/s 40W would be observed.

norbique (-7%)
Since the ESC is not 100% efficient, it is "converting" some of the energy into heat, SO THERE IS energy loss outside the motor as well. You'd be surprised about the amount of this heat loss in the ESC at half throttle for example.

hwagener (46%)
I don't think that any other small device can measure the real power (Watts) from a motor running at half throttle. There are phase-shifts to be measured, the resulting current will be lower than the measured value.
When flown there are two values interesting, max. current and min. voltage, and these values are correct.

I_Gotts_Ta_Fly (63%)
xero67156: I wonder if you're confusing ESC circuit theory with the Brushed motor controller that uses pass element to drop the voltage to the motor?

I believe that the BL ESC operate similar to a buck regulator and that the voltage is not "reduced", but rather averaged to a lower voltage. Similarly, the current is averaged and that should be the readings taken by the unit. When it reads 5A, that's 5A average, or DC equivalent.

The motor sees a pulsed voltage and current. During each voltage pulses, isn't the pulsed current much higher? In other words, Power out is Power in, assuming an ideal case where efficiency is 100%.

So, at 55W, 11V, 5A input* shouldn't the motor dissipate 55W as well? And at 50% throttle, the motor sees 5.5V average, and 55W/5.5V=10A. That's 10A average current that the motor sees at half throttle. The key point is that the motor sees 10A instead of 5A.

So, I would think 55W is correct reading at the input side.

I could be way off, though. It sounds good, though, doesn't it?

Robin (56%)
Is it possible to remove the current sense resistor from the unit and connect it remotely?

Robin (56%)
Oops sorry in wrong topic..

ken (56%)
can you use the positive from the source as a sencing wire inline like the wattsup meter.
ken

David (50%)
you can use this in flight to record all data required

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