Turnigy Mega Meter User manual

INSTRUCTIONMANUAL
Multimeter 7IN 1

TABLE OFCONTENTS
| TABLEOFCONTENTS| !*#'*/V?'
Introduction 03
Features 04
SetContents 04
BatteryChecker 06
BatteryInternalResistance 08
WattMeter 10
ServoTester 12
Tacheometer RPM
13
Temperature 14
ThrustCalculator 15
ProductSpecifications 16
Warranty And Service 16
/!\N - Beforeyoustart
This isa sophisticatedunitwhichwill bean importanttool in your
electricpoweredmodelprogram.Please be carefulwith it!And please
readthisinstructionmanualthoroughlybeforeoperating.
Do not disassemble,modify or subject the unit to forceimpact.
Keep the MegaMeterwellawayfromdirt or water.
Highpowerelectricalsystemsposedangersindependent of devices
like the MegaMeter anditisthe user'sresponsibility tobe familiarwith
thesedangers and take any necessaryaction to ensuresafe use.
Shorting a rechargeablebattery ora MegaMeterconnected toa
rechargeablebattery or batterycharger can supplyhugecurrents and
haveseriousconsequencesincludingexplosions,causingfire,damage
toequipment and personalinjury.
There are risksassociatedwith the potentiallyhighcurrentsmeasured
by the MegaMeter.Theseinclude, butarenot limited to, fire,burns
andpersonalinjury. The usermust be familiarwith the relevantmeth-
ods, procedures and connectioncomponentsbeforeusing or making
anyconnection.
Do not exceed a maximum of60 volts forthe mainpowerpack (MPP)
Keepproperdistancefrompropellerduringmeasurementprocess.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Thank youforthe purchase of thisTurnigyMegaMeter. The Turnigy
MegaMeter can carry outan enormousrange of functionsrelated to
ElectricPoweredmodels andhas beendesignedwithease ofuseas
aprimeobjective.ThisInstructionManualdescribes the scope of
MegaMeter andhowto make it work foryou.
Input
Voltage
'Port LCDDisplay
DotMatrix128*64
Connector to
Temperature
SensorProbe
Mode
Connector to
Servo
PotentiometerDial
toControlServos,
ESC, other PW devices
Output
.Optical
Tachometer
Sensor
Enter

FEATURES
FEATURES
1. BatteryChecker
2. BatteryInternalResistance
3.WattMeter
4. ServoTester
5.OpticalTachometer
6.TemperatureGauge
7.ThrustCalculator
SET CONTENTS
1. InputCable 4.
2. BatteryInternalResistanceCable 5.
3.MegaMeter
TemperatureProbe
OutputCable
FEATURES
TheMainscreendisplays allthe availablefunctions. The desired
function canbe accessed by highlighting the desiredfunction by
pressing'MODE'button,pressing the 'ENTER'button to select
thatfunction.
INT RESI STftNC E
WATTH E T E R
SERUOTESTER
TACHOMETER RPM
TEMPERATURE
THRUSTCfiLC. . .
SET UP
BATTER V CHE C KER
iraiiRiHimi
HiiTTMETE R
SERUOTESTER
TACHOMETER RPM
TEMPERATURE
THRUSTCALC...
SET UP
BATTERYCHECKER
INT.RESISTANCE
HATTMETER
SERUOTESTER
TACHOMETER RPM
TEMPERATURE
THRUSTCALC. . .
BATTERYCHECKER
INT.RESISTANCE
HATTMETER
SERUOTESTER
TACHOMETER RPM
TEMPERATURE
napm
SET UP
BATTERYCHECKER
INT . RESISTAN C E
SERUOTESTER
TACHOMETER RPM
TEMPERATURE
THRUSTCALC...
SET U P
BATTER Y CHECKER
INT.RESISTANCE
HATTMETER
SERUOTESTER
T A C H 0 METER RP M
Hdiijjiiaiiisia
THRUSTCALC...
SET U P
BATTERYCHECKER
INT.RESISTANCE
HATTMETER
TACHOMETER RPM
TEMPERATURE
THRUSTCALC...
SET U P
BATTERYCHECKER
INT.RESISTANCE
HATTMETER
SERUOTESTER
naaaaflamaaa
TEMPERATURE
THRUSTCALC...
SET UP

BATTERY CHECKER
BATTERY CHECKER
TheMegaMeterallowsyoutochecktheindividualcellvoltagesofa 2
cells-8cellsLithiumbattery.TheMegaMeterindividuallymeasures&
diagnosesthecellvoltagesofthemultiplecells,theresultisdisplayed
onthelargeliquidcrystalscreen.TheMegaMeterreplacesallofthe
tediousmeasurementandcalculationsrequiredinthepasttodetermine
theoverallvoltageoftheLiPo,LiFe& Lilonpackandtheindividualcell
voltagesthatdeterminethebalanceoftheLithiumpack.
TheMegaMeternowmakesitpossibletodetermineandverifythe
detailedstateoftheLithiumbattery.
Abalancedbatteryprovidesa saferenvironmentwhenflying.Ifyou
knowthatyourcellbalanceisoutyoucanaddresstheissue.
Thepreventionofdeterioratingcellsovertime,willimprovethe
efficiencyandstabilityoftheLithiumbattery.
WhenyouconnectthebalanceleadtotheMegaMeteryoumust
ensurethatboththeGroundpin'sforthebalanceconnectorandthe
MegaMeter
gotogether.DifferentBalanceleadshavedifferentwiringconfigurations
andsomearecolored.
TheMegaMeterhas2.54mmpinintervals.Iftheconnectoronyou
batterydoesnotfitdonotforcetheconnector,obtaina suitablead-
aptorleadfromyourhobbyshop.
Battery Connection Diagram
BATTERY CHECKER
•Connectthebalanceleadto'VOLTPORT'
•Press'ENTER'toentermainfunctionscreen
•Press'ENTER'toselectBATTERYCHECKERfunction
•Press'MODE'toselectbatterytype
•Press'ENTER'toconfirmbatterytype
Battery Type Number of Cells
Serial Pack Voltage )
Remaining Amount%
Balance Status %
LiPo -8 5 23 . 15 9 U
•i:i3 .
SH -i 25 3 .8 H 7!
'353.
S5
2 H53 .8 5 91
S5 3 .
0-7
7 65 3 .8781
175 8 8:>(.
57
69K E1
57
69K
K 1
i Individual Cell Voltage
S31
yL ;;<;!
Balance Gauge
The Highest Cell Voltage Lowest Cell Voltage! i Cell Voltage Differential
Serial voltage
Packvoltageofthewholebattery(totalvoltageofallcells)isindicated
The number of serial cells
Thetotalnumberofcellsinthebatterypackisindicated(6Sasindicatec
inthepicture6 serialcells).Thisisthesameasthecellquantity.
Remaining amount fuel gauge
Theremainingamountgaugegivesyoua graphicalbargraphdisplay
ofthestatusofthebatterybygraphandthebalanceofthecellsby
graph. Whenthebatteryisfullychargedthegraphextendsto"F"on
theright handsideoftheLCD.Asintheexampleyoucanseethatthe
batteryisabout50%used.Therearetimeswhendifferencesoccur
betweentheremainingamountandtheactualremainingamount.
Thesedifferencescanbeassociatedwiththequalityanduseofthe
batteryanditscells.A batterythathasalwaysbeenchargedwitha
reputablebalancerislikelytoreproduceaccuratereadingsonthe
MegaMeter.A batterythathashada hardlifefulldischargeandre-
chargewithnobalancechargingismorelikelytohavediscrepancies
betweenactualandshownresults.
Cell balance gauge
TheCellbalancegaugemeasuresthedifferencebetweenallcellsthat
areconnectedtotheMegaMeter.

BATTERY INTERNALRESISTANCE
BATTERY INTERNALRESISTANCE
Thedifference is showngraphicallybetween the cellthat is showing
thehighestcellvoltage tothe cellthat is showing the lowestcellvoltage
(largestcellvoltagedifference)indicated onthe graph.When the cell
voltagesreadequal, thebar extends allthewaytothe right (O). This
indicatesthat the cells areall balanced toa satisfactorylevel.When
thecellshave a difference in voltage thebar shortens and indicates
towards the left (X).In order to maintainlonglastingbatterylife ifthe
balancegaugedoes not show a satisfactorycellbalancethen a cell
balancershould be applied tothe packbefore use.Ifthe cellbalance
indication islow after the battery has beenusedthis canbe normal and
chargingshouldoccurwith a balancecharger.
BATTERY INTERNALRESISTANCE
TheMegaMeter has beencreated to give youthe ability to make
aninformeddetermination of what the truecell and packratings
byproviding a usefulmeasure, the cellinternalresistance.
•Connectbattery to MegaMeter via VoltagePort to power onthe
•MegaMeterUsingsuppliedcable(pitch2.54mm) to measure indi-
vidualinternalresistance
•PressMODE' to select 'INT. RESISTANCE'function
•Press'ENTER' to confirmselection
ConnectionDiagram for Measurement of Battery
InternalResistance
Once we have an idea ofthe internalresistance ofa cell wecan then
usethat to determine how efficient our powersetup isas well as
knowing how muchpower is beingturned to heat inthe batterypack
andadditionallyknow how much the voltage can potentiallydropunder
load.
BATTERYCHECKER
•mSHECBl Int .Resistance
WATTMETER
SERUOTESTER Res:33noh
TACHOMETER RPM
TEMPERATURE
THRUSTCALC...
SET UP
Let itbe statedthatthere isno perfecttest for cellinternalresistance.
Due tothe nature of batteries,cellsexhibitcharacteristics of resistance
capacitance and inductance of which all contribute tothe measured
internalresistance.Internalresistance can varyconsiderablyeven
within the same cell, thismakes the task of determining the internal
resistance a lot harder.
Factorseffectingresistancereadings:
Contact corrosion
While not actuallypart ofthe cellitself,havingdirtycontacts tothe cells
canmake a noticeabledifference inthe resistance.Wipingclean the
contacts can improvecontactresistance by10or moremilliohms.
Cell temperature
Formanycellchemistries the resistance ofthe packdecreasesinitially
fromroomtemperature toa certainlevel(perhaps 45C) afterwhich the
resistance ofthe packwillincreaseagain.Lithiumcells in particular
sufferpoorcellresistancenear OC.
Cell charge
Generally the closer toa fullcharge a cell isthe lower the internal
resistance.
Cell age
Ascellsbecomeoldertheirinternalresistancetends to increase.
TheMegaMeter has beenbuilt to allowcells tobe testedunder a
known setof loadswhichwillfacilitatecomparisons.
- 09-

WATT METER WATT METER
PRECAUTIONS
1. Donot leave a cellconnected tothe MegaMeter for morethanfive
minutes.
2. Be awarethatalthough the MegaMeteronlytakessmallsamples
from
thebatterypack, the voltagewill be reduced.Makesure you check
yourpackbalance.
3.Avoidplugging the cell in reversepolarity. The MegaMeter can
copewith
areversedconnection fora few seconds butit's stillbetter not todo
it in the firstplace.
WATT METER
ThisfunctionmeasuresCurrent(Amps),Peakcurrent,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
MegaMeter is activatedwhen the battery is connected to the unit.
•Press'MODE' to select'WATTMETER'function
•Press'ENTER' to confirmselection
Now youcan stopwonderingwhat'sgoing on withyourelectricmodel
and get answersthatallow you to applyscience to yourhobby. The
precisemeasurements you collectwillhelp you finetuneyourmodel
to get allthe performancethat you paid for.
Withwattmeterfunction, itis now easy to determinethingslike:
•Flighttime
•Currentthrough an ESCand motor
• ESC,BECand motorefficiencies
•Charge put into and removedfrom a battery and the performance of
batterychargers
•Batteryhealth
• Why power is lostduringacrobatics or extremeconditions
•Effect of gearing and propellersize and shape on powerconsumption
andbatterycurrents
•Effects of modifications, ageand damage on manyelectricalsystem
components
•Cleverhobbyistswilldiscover new applications to furtherimprove
electricmodelperformance.
Thefollowing are someexamples of meterconnections.Manyother
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 SOURCEside,ElectronicSpeedController (ESC)and
motor on LOADside,with ESCon, the metershows the currentinto 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'. i3 U
Battery
Battery
Charger
WATTftGE: S S 2 .SIM
P % ftK<H>: 13@3. 2 H
Energy 32Hh
Charge. 3 . 2 Ah
Battery
WATTftGE: S S 2 .SIM
P % ftK<H>: 13@3. 2 H
Energy 32Hh
Charge. 3 . 2 Ah
With a batterycharger onthe SOURCEside and batterypack onthe
LOADside, the metershows the chargingcurrentinto the battery, the
voltage and chargingpower 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 meterindicates the totalcharge
(Ah) the batterydelivered to the load as well as current,voltage and
dischargingpower.

SERVOTESTER
TACHEOMETER RPM
Receiver & Servo Testing
Battery
Pack
U0 L T A G E
WATTAGE
PEftKCH)
Reciver
Servo1
Servon.
SERVOTESTER
Servotesters are veryuseful for exercisingyourservos and Electronic
SpeedControl (ESC) without the need to turn on yourtransmitter, and
you donot evenneedyourreceiver. The servotesterwill putouta
signaljustlike the signalsnormallysent by yourreceiver tothe servos
or ESC.The dialknob onthe servotesterwillchange the signaljust
likemovingyourtransmitterstickwouldchange the signalgoing toa
servo orESC.
Tousethetestertoevaluatea servo
Connecting a battery tothe i-Meter voltport.Plug a servointo the
servoport. The servo canbe controlledwith the adjustmentdialunder
ManualMode.Press'MODE'buttononce tosetthePPM signal to auto.
Theservotesterwill use 1520us as centre and automaticallyoutput
cyclingsignal to move the servo arm back and forward.
TousetheServoTestertooperateanESCandmotor
Connecting a battery tothe MegaMetervoltport.Anotherplugconnec-
ted tothe ServoTester isthe plugfrom theESC thatnormallygoes to
thereceiver.Connect theESCto motorleads.When you connect the
battery totheESCit willpower up.It shouldreact the same way
doeswhenpowered up using the radiogearwith the throttlestick in
theminimumpowerposition. Youcannow spin upthe motor by turning
theservotesterknob. No receiver or transmitter is needed.This isa
great wayto testmotors onthe bench.
TACHEOMETER RPM
There isan opticaltachometerwithinMegaMeter. An opticaltacho
sensor is fitted tothe rightsideMegaMetercase andis activated by
pointingMegaMetertowards the propeller ata distance of10and 20cm
from the propeller.
•Connectbattery to MegaMeter via VoltagePort to power onthe
•MegaMeterPress'MODE' to select"TACHOMETER RPM"
•Press'ENTER' to confirm the function
•Press'MODE'again to change the range of1-5 blades
•Press'ENTER' to start RPM measurement
Thefluctuatinglightcaused bythe rotation ofthe propeller is sensed
andcountedover a period of either 1 or2 seconds.Allow a couple of
seconds for readings to steady.
With a gearedmotor, the motor RPM willnormally be higherthan the
prop. RPM,butitisthe prop rpm which is beingmeasured and quoted,
so the gearratio isnot reallyrelevant.

TEMPERATURE
PleaseDON'T use opticaltachometerwithfluorescentlightingwhich
willgivefalsereadings,such as 3000 or 3600 rpm.
Theoptical RPM sensorwillfunctionover a largerange of propeller
sizes, RPMand lightingconditions. Ithas evenable to measure40mm
diametermodelboatpropsspinning intheair. Experimentwithdifferent
sensorpositions. In somecases,bestresults maybe achieved by
testing inthe shade.With the motorrunning,move the opticalsensor
toabout 10-20cm from the propellers,taking alldue care.Small
propellers may requirecloserpositioning. The number of propeller
bladesshouldalso beset. Wrongsettingwillaffect RPM readings for
theopticaltachometer. For example,fitting a threebladedpropellers,
butleaving the i-Meter bladefigure at2 wouldcause the optical
tachometer to read 50% high.
TEMPERATURE
There isa temperaturesensoravailable, soyoucan monitor the
temperature of battery,motor,electronicspeedcontroller, etc. When
nosensor is connected,displaywillindicate0.0°C and 32°F
•Connecttemperatureprobe to MegaMeter
•Press'MODE' to select"TEMPERATURE"
•Press"ENTER" to confirmselection
Cc
Current Temperature
Celsius
TEMPERATURE
Current
Current Temperature
Fahrenheit
89 F
Peak
122F
PeakValue
Celsius
: PeakValue
Fahrenheit
THRUSTCALCULATOR
m
RUST CALCULATOR
Thethrustcalculator can estimate the thrust ofan airplane,there are
manyvariances and someknownfactors.
Letsassume we have an airplane and this isits firstflight. We know the
size ofthe propeller andwecandoa staticfullthrottle rpm checkwith a
tachometer onthe ground. Wecannowadd theseknownfiguresinto
ThrustCalculator. Bythe factthat youcan verifythrust it becomes
possible, to estimate the generalpower ofthe airplane in advance.
Thiswillgive you moreknowledgeaboutyourplane andthe power
characteristics to makeyourfirstflightlesschallenging and safe,after
all youmay haveotherflightcharacteristics to deal with. Thisshould
help youto estimateflighttake off distances,recoveryfrom a stall. For
moreexperiencedpilotsthiswillenablethem to calculate ifthe plane is
going tobe able to hover. Itcan show you whatchanges tothe power
calculationwill be affected bya differentsizepropeller.
Propeller Length(inch);
THRUSTCALC
^propeller's Effectiveness;
[Coefficient j
Propeller Revolution j
RPM (Revolutions
Per Minute) j
'D i oneter
CF :
Blades:
RPM :
Thrust:
0 10.00
1 .00
2 '
110 0 0
Number ofBlades
1 .
3 .
E 5 3 K 9
H 2 H L b
CF(Propeller'sEffectivenessCoefficientTable)
Manufacturer CF
Standardpropeller 1.00
APCpropeller 1.06
APC SF
1.50
APC W propeller 1.09
MenzSpropeller 1.03
Bambulapropeller 1.02
Bollyclubman 1.04
Cox 1.10
GWS HD
0.75
GWS RS(SF)
1.10
Smart 1.02
ZingerWood 1.00
15

PRODUCTSPECIFICATIONS
Thestaticthrustcalculation is takenfrom the October 86AMA magazine,
airdensity is based on 29.92 inHg,and propellerpitch isnot used in this
calculation.Practicaltestsrevealedverylittle ifany change in thrust due
topitchvariation atthe same RMP.
It is believedthatthis is partly duetoany increase in thrustbeingnegated
bybladestalling anda moreturbulentinfluxareawithincreasedpitch.
Thisobviouslyonlyapplies to staticconditions, not flyingconditions.
PRODUCTSPECIFICATIONS
• Max inputvoltage: 60V
•Voltagemeasurementrange: 2-8S LiPo/LiFe/Lilon
•Voltagedisplayresolution:0.001V
•VoltPort:2.54mmpitchpins, 9 pins
• Max current: 100A
•Shuntresistance^.001 ohm
•Displayedresolution A:0.01
•Temperatureresolution: 1 Celsius /1 Fahrenheit
• PPM signaloutput:750uS - 2150uS
•Number of propellermeasurable : 1 to5
•Propellerrotatingrange:1-60000RPM
•Dimension:95.3x72.8x21 5mm
• Net Weight: 85g
WARRANTY ANDSERVICE
Weguaranteethisproduct tobe free of manufacturing and assembly
defects fora period ofone yearfrom the time of purchase. The warranty
onlyapplies to material or operationaldefects,which are present atthe
time of purchase.Duringthatperiod, we willrepair or replacefree of
servicecharge for productsdeemeddefective dueto thosecauses.
Youwill be required to produceproof of purchase(invoice or receipt).
Thiswarranty isnot valid forany damage or subsequentdamage
arising asa result of misuse,modification orasa result of failure to
observe the proceduresoutlined in thismanual.