Turnigy Mega Meter Instruction Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Multimeter

7IN 1

TABLE

OF CONTENTS

|

TABLE OF CONTENTS |

!*#'*/V?'

Introduction

03

Features

04

Set Contents

04

Battery Checker

06

Battery Internal Resistance

08

Watt Meter

10

Servo Tester

12

Tacheometer

RPM

13

Temperature

14
Thrust Calculator 15
Product Specifications

16
Warranty

And

Service

16

/!\N - Before you start

This

is a

sophisticated unit which will

be an

important tool

in

your

electric powered model program. Please

be

careful with

it! And

please

read this instruction manual thoroughly before operating.
Do

not

disassemble, modify

or

subject

the

unit

to

force impact.

Keep

the

Mega Meter well away from dirt

or

water.

High power electrical systems pose dangers independent

of

devices

like

the

Mega Meter

and it is the

user's responsibility

to be

familiar with

these dangers

and

take

any

necessary action

to

ensure safe

use.

Shorting a rechargeable battery

or a

Mega Meter connected

to a

rechargeable battery

or

battery charger

can

supply huge currents

and
have serious consequences including explosions, causing fire, damage
to equipment

and

personal injury.

There

are

risks associated with

the

potentially high currents measured

by

the

Mega Meter. These include,

but are not

limited

to,

fire, burns

and personal injury.

The

user must

be

familiar with

the

relevant meth-

ods,

procedures

and

connection components before using

or

making

any connection.

Do

not

exceed a maximum

of 60

volts

for the

main power pack

(MPP)

Keep proper distance from propeller during measurement process.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Thank

you for the

purchase

of

this Turnigy Mega Meter.

The

Turnigy

Mega Meter

can

carry

out an

enormous range

of

functions related

to

Electric Powered models

and has

been designed with ease

of use as

a prime objective. This Instruction Manual describes

the

scope

of

Mega Meter

and how to

make

it

work

for you.

Input

Voltage

' Port

LCD Display
Dot Matrix 128*64

Connector

to
Temperature
Sensor Probe

Mode

Connector

to

Servo

Potentiometer Dial
to Control Servos,
ESC,

other

PW

devices

Output

.Optical
Tachometer
Sensor

Enter

FEATURES

FEATURES

1.

Battery Checker

2.

Battery Internal Resistance

3. Watt Meter

4.

Servo Tester

5. Optical Tachometer

6. Temperature Gauge

7. Thrust Calculator

SET

CONTENTS

1.

Input Cable

4.

2.

Battery Internal Resistance Cable

5.

3. Mega Meter

Temperature Probe

Output Cable

FEATURES

The Main screen displays

all the

available functions.

The

desired

function

can be

accessed

by

highlighting

the

desired function

by

pressing 'MODE' button, pressing

the

'ENTER' button

to

select

that function.

INT

RES I

STftNC

E

WATT H

E T E R
SERUO TESTER
TACHOMETER

RPM
TEMPERATURE
THRUST CfiLC.

. .

SET

UP

BATTER

V CHE C KER

iraiiRiHimi

HiiTT METE

R
SERUO TESTER
TACHOMETER

RPM
TEMPERATURE
THRUST CALC...
SET

UP

BATTERY CHECKER

INT.RESISTANCE
HATT METER
S ERUO TESTER
TACHOMETER

RPM
TEMPERATURE
THRUST CALC.

. .

BATTERY CHECKER

INT.RESISTANCE
HATT METER
SERUO TESTER

TACHOMETER

RPM

TEMPERATURE

napm

SET

UP

BATTERY CHECKER

INT . RESISTAN

C E

SERUO TESTER
TACHOMETER

RPM
TEMPERATURE
THRUST CALC...
SET

U P

BATTER Y CHECKER

INT.RESISTANCE
HATT METER
SERUO TESTER
T A C H 0 METER

RP

M

Hdiijjiiaiiisia

THRUST CALC...
SET

U P

BATTERY CHECKER

INT.RESISTANCE

HATT METER

TACHOMETER

RPM
TEMPERATURE
THRUST CALC...
SET U P

BATTERY CHECKER

INT.RESISTANCE
HATT METER
SERUO TESTER

naaaaflamaaa

TEMPERATURE

THRUST CALC...
SET

UP

BATTERY

CHECKER

BATTERY

CHECKER

The Mega Meter allows you to check the individual cell voltages of a 2
cells-8 cells Lithium battery. The Mega Meter individually measures &
diagnoses the cell voltages of the multiple cells, the result is displayed
on the large liquid crystal screen. The Mega Meter replaces all of the
tedious measurement and calculations required in the past to determine
the overall voltage of the LiPo, LiFe & Lilon pack and the individual cell
voltages that determine the balance of the Lithium pack.
The Mega Meter now makes it possible to determine and verify the
detailed state of the Lithium battery.

A balanced battery provides a safer environment when flying. If you
know that your cell balance is out you can address the issue.
The prevention of deteriorating cells over time, will improve the
efficiency and stability of the Lithium battery.

When you connect the balance lead to the Mega Meter you must
ensure that both the Ground pin's for the balance connector and the
Mega Meter
go together. Different Balance leads have different wiring configurations
and some are colored.

The Mega Meter has 2.54mm pin intervals. If the connector on you
battery does not fit do not force the connector, obtain a suitable ad­aptor lead from your hobby shop.

Battery

Connection

Diagram

BATTERY

CHECKER

• Connect the balance lead to 'VOLT PORT'

• Press 'ENTER' to enter main function screen

• Press 'ENTER' to select BATTERY CHECKER function

• Press 'MODE' to select battery type

• Press 'ENTER' to confirm battery type

Battery

Type

Number

of

Cells

Serial

Pack

Voltage

)

Remaining

Amount %

Balance

Status

%

LiPo

- 8

5

2 3 . 1 5 9 U

•i:i3 .

SH

-i

2 5 3 . 8 H 7!

'353.

S 5

2

H 53 . 8 5 91

S 5 3 .

0 -7

7

6 5 3 .8781

17 5 8

8 :> (.
5 7
6 9K

E 1

5 7
6 9K

K

1

i

Individual

Cell

Voltage

S3 1

y L

;;<;!

Balance

Gauge

The

Highest

Cell

Voltage

Lowest

Cell

Voltage! i Cell

Voltage

Differential

Serial

voltage

Pack voltage of the whole battery (total voltage of all cells) is indicated

The

number of

serial

cells

The total number of cells in the battery pack is indicated (6S as indicatec
in the picture 6 serial cells). This is the same as the cell quantity.

Remaining

amount fuel

gauge

The remaining amount gauge gives you a graphical bar graph display
of the status of the battery by graph and the balance of the cells by
graph.

When the battery is fully charged the graph extends to "F" on
the right hand side of the LCD. As in the example you can see that the
battery is about 50% used. There are times when differences occur
between the remaining amount and the actual remaining amount.
These differences can be associated with the quality and use of the
battery and its cells. A battery that has always been charged with a
reputable balancer is likely to reproduce accurate readings on the

Mega Meter. A battery that has had a hard life full discharge and re-

charge with no balance charging is more likely to have discrepancies

between actual and shown results.

Cell

balance

gauge

The Cell balance gauge measures the difference between all cells that

are connected to the Mega Meter.

BATTERY

INTERNAL RESISTANCE

BATTERY

INTERNAL RESISTANCE

The difference

is

shown graphically between

the

cell that

is

showing

the highest cell voltage

to the

cell that

is

showing

the

lowest cell voltage

(largest cell voltage difference) indicated

on the

graph. When

the

cell

voltages read equal,

the bar

extends

all the way to the

right

(O).

This

indicates that

the

cells

are all

balanced

to a

satisfactory level. When

the cells have a difference

in

voltage

the bar

shortens

and

indicates

towards

the

left

(X). In

order

to

maintain long lasting battery life

if the

balance gauge does

not

show a satisfactory cell balance then a cell

balancer should

be

applied

to the

pack before

use. If the

cell balance

indication

is low

after

the

battery

has

been used this

can be

normal

and

charging should occur with a balance charger.

BATTERY

INTERNAL RESISTANCE

The Mega Meter

has

been created

to

give

you the

ability

to

make

an informed determination

of

what

the

true cell

and

pack ratings

by providing a useful measure,

the

cell internal resistance.

• Connect battery

to

Mega Meter

via

Voltage Port

to

power

on the

• Mega Meter Using supplied cable (pitch 2.54mm)

to

measure

indi-

vidual internal resistance

• Press MODE'

to

select

'INT.

RESISTANCE' function

• Press 'ENTER'

to

confirm selection

Connection Diagram

for

Measurement

of

Battery

Internal Resistance

Once

we

have

an

idea

of the

internal resistance

of a

cell

we can

then

use that

to

determine

how

efficient

our

power setup

is as

well

as

knowing

how

much power

is

being turned

to

heat

in the

battery pack

and additionally know

how

much

the

voltage

can

potentially drop under

load.

BATTERY CHECKER

•mSHECBl

Int

.Resistance
WATT METER
SERUO TESTER

Res: 33 noh

TACHOMETER

RPM
TEMPERATURE
THRUST CALC...
SET

UP

Let

it be

stated that there

is no

perfect test

for

cell internal resistance.

Due

to the

nature

of

batteries, cells exhibit characteristics

of

resistance

capacitance

and

inductance

of

which

all

contribute

to the

measured

internal resistance. Internal resistance

can

vary considerably even

within

the

same

cell,

this makes

the

task

of

determining

the

internal

resistance

a lot

harder.

Factors effecting resistance readings:

Contact

corrosion

While

not

actually part

of the

cell itself, having dirty contacts

to the

cells

can make a noticeable difference

in the

resistance. Wiping clean

the

contacts

can

improve contact resistance

by 10 or

more milliohms.

Cell

temperature

For many cell chemistries

the

resistance

of the

pack decreases initially

from room temperature

to a

certain level (perhaps

45C)

after which

the

resistance

of the

pack will increase again. Lithium cells

in

particular

suffer poor cell resistance near

OC.

Cell

charge

Generally

the

closer

to a

full charge a cell

is the

lower

the

internal

resistance.

Cell

age

As cells become older their internal resistance tends

to

increase.

The Mega Meter

has

been built

to

allow cells

to be

tested under

a

known

set of

loads which will facilitate comparisons.

-

09 -

WATT

METER

WATT

METER

PRECAUTIONS

1.

Do not

leave a cell connected

to the

Mega Meter

for

more than five

minutes.

2.

Be

aware that although

the

Mega Meter only takes small samples
from
the battery pack,

the

voltage will

be

reduced. Make sure

you

check

your pack balance.

3. Avoid plugging

the

cell

in

reverse polarity.

The

Mega Meter

can
cope with
a reversed connection

for a

few

seconds

but it's

still better

not

to do

it

in

the

first place.

WATT

METER

This function measures Current (Amps), Peak current, Voltage (Volts),
Power (Watts), Energy(Watt-Hours)

and

Charge(Amp-Hours) values

for

you,

in

real-time,

for

the

circuit

in

which

you

connect

it.

Speed

Motor

•1—

3 1 H

•

Controller

Mega Meter

is

activated when

the

battery

is

connected

to

the

unit.

• Press 'MODE'

to

select 'WATT METER' function

• Press 'ENTER'

to

confirm selection

Now

you can

stop wondering what's going

on

with your electric model

and

get

answers that allow

you

to

apply science

to

your hobby.

The

precise measurements

you

collect will help

you

fine tune your model

to

get

all the

performance that

you

paid

for.

With watt meter function,

it is

now

easy

to

determine things like:

• Flight time

• Current through

an

ESC and

motor

•

ESC, BEC and

motor efficiencies

• Charge

put

into

and

removed from a battery

and

the

performance

of

battery chargers

• Battery health

•

Why

power

is

lost during acrobatics

or

extreme conditions

• Effect

of

gearing

and

propeller size

and

shape

on

power consumption

and battery currents

• Effects

of

modifications,

age and

damage

on

many electrical system

components

• Clever hobbyists will discover

new

applications

to

further improve

electric model performance.

The following

are

some examples

of

meter connections. Many other

arrangements

and

uses

are

possible

Testing

Loads

(e.g.

motors)

WATT

METER

Battery
Pack

CURRENT:^. 3 5.11ft
PEAK

CC

'j.i.

52.

lift

U

DL.TftGE : 25.13

U

N-ftTTflGE : 882 . 3 1 M
P E fl

K(H ) :

13 6 3. 2 M

Energy:

8 2 N h

Speed
Controller

Battery
Pack

CURRENT:^. 3 5.11ft
PEAK

CC

'j.i.

52.

lift

U

DL.TftGE : 25.13

U

N-ftTTflGE : 882 . 3 1 M
P E fl

K(H ) :

13 6 3. 2 M

Energy:

8 2 N h

Speed
Controller

Battery
Pack

CURRENT:^. 3 5.11ft
PEAK

CC

'j.i.

52.

lift

U

DL.TftGE : 25.13

U

N-ftTTflGE : 882 . 3 1 M
P E fl

K(H ) :

13 6 3. 2 M

Energy:

8 2 N h

Speed
Controller

CURRENT:^. 3 5.11ft
PEAK

CC

'j.i.

52.

lift

U

DL.TftGE : 25.13

U

N-ftTTflGE : 882 . 3 1 M
P E fl

K(H ) :

13 6 3. 2 M

Energy:

8 2 N h

Motor

Battery

on

SOURCE side, Electronic Speed Controller

(ESC) and

motor

on

LOAD side, with

ESC on,

the

meter shows

the

current into

the

motor, voltage

and

power

at

the

battery

and

accumulates

the

charge

(Ah) while

the

motor

is

running.

Battery Charging

Battery
Charger

HATT

METER

CURRENT:

3 5 . 1 1 A

Battery

Battery
Charger

PEAK

CO:

52 . 1 ifl

UOLTfiSE: 2 5'.

i 3

U

Battery

Battery
Charger

WATTftGE:

S S 2

.SIM

P % ftK<H>:

13@3.

2 H

Energy

32 H h

Charge. 3 .

2 A h

Battery

WATTftGE:

S S 2

.SIM

P % ftK<H>:

13@3.

2 H

Energy

32 H h

Charge. 3 .

2 A h

With a battery charger

on the

SOURCE side

and

battery pack

on the

LOAD side,

the

meter shows

the

charging current into

the

battery,

the

voltage

and

charging power

at

the

battery

and

accumulates

the

charge

(Ah) into

the

battery.

Battery Discharging

Battery
Pack

CURRENT

PEKKCc

y•

UQL

TftGE:

H

ft

T T

ft 6 E

Discharge
Load

When

the

battery

is

discharged,

the

meter indicates

the

total charge

(Ah)

the

battery delivered

to

the

load

as

well

as

current, voltage

and

discharging power.

SERVO TESTER

TACHEOMETER

RPM

Receiver & Servo

Testing

Battery
Pack

U 0 L T A G E
WATTAGE
PEftKCH)

Reciver

Servo 1

Servo n.

SERVO TESTER

Servo testers

are

very useful

for

exercising your servos

and

Electronic

Speed Control

(ESC)

without

the

need

to

turn

on

your transmitter,

and

you

do not

even need your receiver.

The

servo tester will

put out a

signal just like

the

signals normally sent

by

your receiver

to the

servos

or

ESC. The

dial knob

on the

servo tester will change

the

signal just

like moving your transmitter stick would change

the

signal going

to a

servo

or ESC.

To use the tester to evaluate a servo

Connecting a battery

to the

i-Meter

volt port. Plug a servo into

the

servo port.

The

servo

can be

controlled with

the

adjustment dial under

Manual Mode. Press 'MODE' button once

to set the PPM

signal

to

auto.

The servo tester will

use

1520us

as

centre

and

automatically output

cycling signal

to

move

the

servo

arm

back

and

forward.

To use the Servo Tester to operate an ESC and motor

Connecting a battery

to the

Mega Meter volt port. Another plug connec-

ted

to the

Servo Tester

is the

plug from

the ESC

that normally goes

to

the receiver. Connect

the ESC to

motor leads. When

you

connect

the

battery

to the ESC it

will power

up. It

should react

the

same

way

does when powered

up

using

the

radio gear with

the

throttle stick

in

the minimum power position.

You can now

spin

up the

motor

by

turning

the servo tester knob.

No

receiver

or

transmitter

is

needed. This

is a

great

way to

test motors

on the

bench.

TACHEOMETER

RPM

There

is an

optical tachometer within Mega Meter.

An

optical tacho

sensor

is

fitted

to the

right side Mega Meter case

and is

activated

by

pointing Mega Meter towards

the

propeller

at a

distance

of 10 and

20cm

from

the

propeller.

• Connect battery

to

Mega Meter

via

Voltage Port

to

power

on the

• Mega Meter Press 'MODE'

to

select "TACHOMETER

RPM"

• Press 'ENTER'

to

confirm

the

function

• Press 'MODE' again

to

change

the

range

of 1-5

blades

• Press 'ENTER'

to

start

RPM

measurement

The fluctuating light caused

by the

rotation

of the

propeller

is

sensed

and counted over a period

of

either

1 or 2

seconds. Allow a couple

of

seconds

for

readings

to

steady.

With a geared motor,

the

motor

RPM

will normally

be

higher than

the

prop.

RPM, but it is the

prop

rpm

which

is

being measured

and

quoted,

so

the

gear ratio

is not

really relevant.

TEMPERATURE

Please DON'T

use

optical tachometer with fluorescent lighting which

will give false readings, such

as

3000

or

3600

rpm.

The optical

RPM

sensor will function over a large range

of

propeller

sizes,

RPM and

lighting conditions.

It has

even able

to

measure 40mm

diameter model boat props spinning

in the air.

Experiment with different

sensor positions.

In

some cases, best results

may be

achieved

by

testing

in the

shade. With

the

motor running, move

the

optical sensor

to about

10-20 cm

from

the

propellers, taking

all due

care. Small

propellers

may

require closer positioning.

The

number

of

propeller

blades should also

be set.

Wrong setting will affect

RPM

readings

for

the optical tachometer.

For

example, fitting a three bladed propellers,

but leaving

the

i-Meter

blade figure

at 2

would cause

the

optical

tachometer

to

read

50%

high.

TEMPERATURE

There

is a

temperature sensor available,

so you can

monitor

the

temperature

of

battery, motor, electronic speed controller,

etc.

When

no sensor

is

connected, display will indicate 0.0°C

and

32°F

• Connect temperature probe

to

Mega Meter

• Press 'MODE'

to

select "TEMPERATURE"

• Press "ENTER"

to

confirm selection

Cc

Current

Temperature

Celsius

TEMPERATURE

Current

Current

Temperature

Fahrenheit

89

F

Peak

1 22F

Peak Value

Celsius

:

Peak Value

Fahrenheit

THRUST CALCULATOR

m

RUST

CALCULATOR

The thrust calculator

can

estimate

the

thrust

of an

airplane, there

are

many variances

and

some known factors.

Lets assume

we

have

an

airplane

and

this

is its

first flight.

We

know

the

size

of the

propeller

and we can do a

static full throttle

rpm

check with

a

tachometer

on the

ground.

We can now add

these known figures into

Thrust Calculator.

By the

fact that

you can

verify thrust

it

becomes

possible,

to

estimate

the

general power

of the

airplane

in

advance.

This will give

you

more knowledge about your plane

and the

power

characteristics

to

make your first flight less challenging

and

safe, after

all

you may

have other flight characteristics

to

deal

with.

This should

help

you to

estimate flight take

off

distances, recovery from a stall.

For

more experienced pilots this will enable them

to

calculate

if the

plane

is

going

to be

able

to

hover.

It can

show

you

what changes

to the

power

calculation will

be

affected

by a

different size propeller.

Propeller

Length (inch);

THRUST CALC

^propeller's

Effectiveness;

[Coefficient

j

Propeller

Revolution

j

RPM

(Revolutions

Per

Minute)

j

'D i oneter

C F

:
Blades:
RPM

:

Thrust:

0

10.00

1

.00

2

'

110

0 0

Number

of Blades

1

.

3

.

E

5 3 K 9

H 2 H

L b

CF (Propeller's Effectiveness Coefficient Table)

Manufacturer

CF

Standard propeller

1.00

APC propeller

1.06

APC

SF

1.50

APC W propeller

1.09

MenzS propeller

1.03

Bambula propeller

1.02

Bolly clubman 1.04

Cox

1.10

GWS

HD

0.75

GWS

RS (SF)

1.10

Smart

1.02

Zinger Wood

1.00

15

PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

The static thrust calculation

is

taken from

the

October

86 AMA

magazine,

air density

is

based

on

29.92

in Hg, and

propeller pitch

is not

used

in

this

calculation. Practical tests revealed very little

if any

change

in

thrust

due

to pitch variation

at the

same

RMP.

It

is

believed that this

is

partly

due to any

increase

in

thrust being negated

by blade stalling

and a

more turbulent influx area with increased pitch.

This obviously only applies

to

static conditions,

not

flying conditions.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

•

Max

input voltage:

60V

•Voltage measurement range:

2-8S

LiPo/LiFe/Lilon

• Voltage display resolution: 0.001V

•Volt Port: 2.54mm pitch pins, 9 pins

•

Max

current:

100A

• Shunt resistance^.001

ohm

• Displayed resolution

A: 0.01

• Temperature resolution: 1 Celsius

/1

Fahrenheit

•

PPM

signal output: 750uS - 2150uS

• Number

of

propeller measurable

: 1 to 5

• Propeller rotating range: 1-60000RPM

• Dimension: 95.3x72.8x21

5mm

•

Net

Weight:

85g

WARRANTY

AND SERVICE

We guarantee this product

to be

free

of

manufacturing

and

assembly

defects

for a

period

of one

year from

the

time

of

purchase.

The

warranty

only applies

to

material

or

operational defects, which

are

present

at the

time

of

purchase. During that period,

we

will repair

or

replace free

of

service charge

for

products deemed defective

due to

those causes.

You will

be

required

to

produce proof

of

purchase (invoice

or

receipt).

This warranty

is not

valid

for any

damage

or

subsequent damage

arising

as a

result

of

misuse, modification

or as a

result

of

failure

to

observe

the

procedures outlined

in

this manual.