Volt meter and such.... looking for a data panel...

bigcitypopo wrote:
let me know what ya think. pretty straight forward, no?

If cost wasn't part of the equation, I'd suggest that you choose a Trimetric. They're well proven, made in the USA, offer very useful serial data output, and Bogart Engineering provides outstanding customer service.

But... cost is always part of the deal and that combo meter on Ebay looks really cool! I'd spend ~$40 just to have one to play with for a while. I'll add that I bought the volt/ammeter that's in my truck (see pics) from this exact same Ebay seller and the transaction was trouble-free. The meter works great and was the only one I could find that did what I needed it to do in the space I had available.

Both of my panel-mounted ammeters use current shunts, although I do have a Fluke DVM that uses a Hall effect sensor... Shunts are a well proven analog technology, they're calibrated (and as a result are very accurate), and are more than capable of handling the current they carry (ie. will NOT ever "burn out" when installed correctly). They are half the cost (or less) than a comparable hall effect sensor/meter combo. In my installations, they are each mounted within inches of the negative terminal of the batteries they're monitoring. IMHO, the only downside of a shunt is that, to maximize accuracy, you have to use extra care to ensure the lowest possible resistance at the Kelvin connections. My point is; If the meter provides the data you're looking for, it does not matter which current measurement scheme you use for an RV/automotive application.

Cheers
-Mark