Truth Or Consequences?

[MEXICOWANDERER]

http://www.solar-electric.com/mkb-500-50.html

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/lcd-panel-meter-pm-328.html


Provide circuit power from a nine-volt lithium battery and this ammeter will offer unparalleled accuracy for verification of ammeter accuracy.

Amperage is read as millivolts on the meter. 75 millivolts is full scale for the 500-amp shunt.

The resolution down to microvolts allows near lab grade precision readings. Once your regular instruments are verified against this meter you can compensate regular meter readings, and take the guesswork out of things. Use it meter versus meter direct without shunt on a 1-1/2 volt battery to qualify your digital multimeter voltage.

DMM Resistance (ohms) verification...

.5 ohm
100 ohms
10K ohms

Assortment is perfect for the hobbyist. Add 10 Mohms for the nerd.

http://www.precisionresistor.com/files/PDF/PRC-WEB-CATALOG-ISSUE-NO-42.pdf

I cannot even BEGIN to count the number of badly connected shunts, psychotic amp hour meters, dizzy volt meters, and other assorted cruiser's nightmares these verification tools have caught red-handed. When I board a sloop or ketch the instrumentation comes 2nd right after verifying there is or isn't a battery or charging issue.

Belief in a lying instrument has caused more wasted money and migraines than I would ever care to try and count. The only instrument I trust is my Tektronix and it gets calibrated and certified every 5-years.

How bad is "bad"?

It is commonly found an error of 3-6% in an amp hour meter. A lot of the errors are meter to shunt connection faults.

[Naio]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:

Whaddya gonna do?
Give 'em a book and they eat the pages



Pfffttt! 🙂 🙂

:: chuckling out loud ::

Aw, Mex, you are what makes this forum great :).

[lanerd]

As Jack Benny use to say....welllll, I'm glad we got that cleared up.

Ron

[RDMueller]

hershey wrote:
I have boondocked extensively in the past....not so much anymore. So I feel marginally qualified to say:
The accuracy of a meter is really not critical for any RV function.
The difference between 3/4 full black tank and almost full is meaningless. When it reaches that stage your next step is finding a place to dump.
the difference between a meter showing 12.5 volts and another one that shows 12.4 is nothing to worry about. Most seasoned RV boondockers can judge the battery condition by the brightness of the lights 🙂
My AC meter is off by about 3 volts when compared to my Fluke so I just do the math when I look at it. I'd rather spend my time worrying about whether or not the fish are biting...

Every RV'er is different with different needs. Most probably have no interest in or need of tools like this. Some of us however enjoy the technical aspect and find this kind of stuff fascinating. Certainly no one ever suggested that you are "doing it wrong." Obviously since you've boondocked a lot in the past, whatever you've been doing has been working for you.

Personally, my ONLY complaint is when I'm camping next to someone who is running their 5KW construction generator for 6 hours a day to charge at 5 amps through their Wiffco! :S. Then I'm not a real happy camper. :M

[hershey]

I have boondocked extensively in the past....not so much anymore. So I feel marginally qualified to say:
The accuracy of a meter is really not critical for any RV function.
The difference between 3/4 full black tank and almost full is meaningless. When it reaches that stage your next step is finding a place to dump.
the difference between a meter showing 12.5 volts and another one that shows 12.4 is nothing to worry about. Most seasoned RV boondockers can judge the battery condition by the brightness of the lights 🙂
My AC meter is off by about 3 volts when compared to my Fluke so I just do the math when I look at it. I'd rather spend my time worrying about whether or not the fish are biting...

[MEXICOWANDERER]

These are meter calibration tools. I'm afraid some of you mistake them for a swizzle stick.

Too many meters, WAY AND THE HELL FAR GONE too many meters are inaccurate to the point of making them a joke.

I don't stare at meters when I boondock either. I also don't fumble for flashlights in pitch dark when a meter is screaming "DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY"

In order for a voltage measuring device to be useful it should be accurate to .08 WAIT! eight hundredths of a volt plus or minus. The only way to tell if a meter is accurate or not is to VERIFY it.

If you don't care - I don't care. But if you do care, the recipe is before you.

And I was disappointed when I finally did pass through Truth or Consequences New Mexico in 2005. A shabbified section of scrub - much like Quartzite.

Whaddya gonna do?
Give 'em a book and they eat the pages








Pfffttt! 🙂 🙂

[Cloud_Dancer]

I recall having a little place there (many moons ago),.......Truth or Consequences New Mexico. The fishing was good. My sweety knew where the walleye lived, and I knew how to find large mouth bass:

[onecb]

dons2346 wrote:
I have better things to do while boondocking than watch a silly meter

Me Too!

[dons2346]

I have better things to do while boondocking than watch a silly meter

[NinerBikes]

A place, in New Mexico, to go Boondocking? :h

[ol_Bombero-JC]

debraindi wrote:
truth or Consequences I told my lady hey some talking about our city.

The OP is in *OLD* Mexico...;)

.

[debraindi]

truth or Consequences I told my lady hey some talking about our city.

[lanerd]

Yes indeedy...it surely does.

Ron

[hershey]

RDMueller wrote:
DIY ammeter. Really useful if you plan to do much boondocking.

Well that certainly summed it up nicely. 🙂

[RDMueller]

DIY ammeter. Really useful if you plan to do much boondocking.

[hershey]

I hesitate to articulate for fear I may deviate from the true path of understanding so I must say I have no idea of what we're talking about.
You gotta remember, there is a lot of farm boys that are now RVers. 🙂