I-Meter Manual
Contents
1. 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 gt SKYRC 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 e Connect temperature probe to2. 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 i Meter A battery that has had a hard life full discharge and recharge 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 i Meter SKYRC 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
3. 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 SPECIFICATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE Manufactured by SKYRC TECHNOLOGY CO LTD www skyrc com
4. eil 25 03 CE meer of O00 Lot Loe gt 0 ooo TET UTME u m 22 n A all eall 72 e pea A rr oo Ces nj eo ie wo pes T mi coc i oes ac gt Me Eee oO WU co 0 2 le ZIU T UTLU OO p e e 1 0 N SKYRC BATTERY CHECKER The i Meter allows you to check the individual cell voltages of a 2 cells 8 cells Lithium battery The i Meter individually measures amp diagnoses the cell voltages of the multiple cells the result is displayed on the large liquid crystal screen The i Meter replaces all of the tedious measurement and calculations required in the past to determine the overall voltage of the LiPo LiFe amp Lilon pack and the individual cell voltages that determine the balance of the Lithium pack BATTERY CHECKER The i 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 t
5. occur with a balance charger BATTERY INTERNAL RESISTANCE The i 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 i Meter via Voltage Port to power on the i Meter e Using supplied cable pitch 2 54mm to measure individual internal resistance Press MODE to select INT RESISTANCE function e Press ENTER to confirm selection Connection Diagram for Measurement of Battery Internal Resistance BATTERY INTERNAL RESISTANCE SKYE 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 Int Resietance Res 39 mohn NAA aAw 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 itse
6. N SKYRC INSTRUCTION MANUAL sxyec Multimeter 7 in 1 SKYR TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 03 Features 04 Set Contents 04 Battery Checker 06 Battery Internal Resistance 08 Watt Meter 10 Servo Tester 12 Tacheometer RPM 109 Temperature 14 Thrust Calculator 1 Product Specifications 16 Warranty And Service 16 A CAUTION 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 i Meter well away from dirt or water High power electrical systems pose dangers independent of devices like the i 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 i 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 i Meter These include but are not limited to fire burns and personal injury The user must be familiar with the relevant methods procedures and connection components before using or making any connection Do not exceed a maximum of 60 volts for the main power p
7. ack MPP Keep proper distance from propeller during measurement process INTRODUCTION SKYRC INTRODUCTION Thank you for the purchase of this SKYRC i Meter The SkyRC i 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 i Meter and how to make it work for you LCD Display Dot Matrix 128 64 Connector to Temperature M Sensor Probe Output Connector to Servo Optical Potentiometer Dial Tachometer to Control Servos oer an Sensor ESC other PW devices Battery Checker Battery Internal Resistance Watt Meter Servo Tester Optical Tachometer Temperature Gauge Thrust Calculator FEATURES SET CONTENTS 1 2 1 Input Cable 4 Temperature Probe 2 Battery Internal Resistance Cable 5 Output Cable 3 i Meter SKYRC The Main screen displays all the available functions The desired FEATURES function can be accessed by highlighting the desired function by pressing the ENTER button to select button MODE that function pressing E 03 CE WE CES TET oer oer Hoe Ll el ee a Ld T Z TUT Ups 2 n e
8. e current into the motor voltage and power at the battery and accumulates the charge Battery Charging Ah while the motor is running Battery Battery With a battery charger 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 Speed Motor Controller Battery Discharging Battery Discharge Pack 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 Receiver amp Servo Testing WATT METER o CURRENT 35 Battery PEAKCC3 52 118 Reciver UOLTAGE 25 130 KH Pack HATTAGE 882 31H 5 1305 2H a 82 SERVO TESTER Servo 1 Servo n NEON DIO Be 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
9. he i Meter you must ensure that both the Ground pin s for the balance connector and the i Meter go together Different Balance leads have different wiring configurations and some are colored The i 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 gt BATTERY CHECKER SKYRC 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 Number of Cells Serial Pack Voltage 2 DS Remaining Amount f Balance Status The Highest Cell Voltage Lowest Cell Voltage Voltage Differential OT an Cell Balance Gauge m gt 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 indicated 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
10. i Meter Press MODE to select TEMPERATURE Press ENTER to confirm selection Current Temperature TEMPERATURE Current Temperature Celsius Fahrenheit Current asic SOF Feak lt _ oo Peak Value Peak Value Celsius Fahrenheit gt THRUST CALCULATOR SKYRC THRUST 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 FUSS _ Dianeter Number of Blades propeller s Effectiveness Coefficient i le Blades 2 11 Propeller Revolution RPM Revol
11. lf 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 0 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 i Meter has been built to allow cells to be tested under a known set of loads which will facilitate comparisons PRECAUTIONS 1 Do not leave a cell connected to the i Meter for more than five minutes 2 Be aware that although the i 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 i Meter can cope with a reversed connection for a few seconds but it s still better not to do it in the first place 4 Do not connect more than 5V to the cell inputs again the IRM can cope for a few seconds but it s best not to do it 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 ti
12. me for the circuit in which you connect it WATT METER Battery Pack Speed Motor Controller Multimeter 7 in 1 METOC100 i 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 e Current through an ESC and motor e ESC and motor efficiencies e Charge put into and removed from a battery and the performance of battery chargers e Battery health e Why power is lost during acrobatics or extreme conditions WATT METER SKYRC e Effect of gearing and propeller size and shape on power consumption and battery currents e Effects of modifications age and damage on many electrical system components e 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 Battery fase Battery on SOURCE side Electronic Speed Controller ESC and motor on LOAD side with ESC on the meter shows th
13. 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 SKYRC To use the Servo Tester to operate an ESC and motor Connecting a battery to the i Meter volt port Another plug connected 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 i Meter An optical tacho sensor is fitted to the right side i Meter case and is activated by pointing i Meter towards the propeller at a distance of 10 and 20cm from the propeller e Connect battery to i Meter via Voltage Port to power on the i Meter Press MODE to select TACHOMETER RPM Press ENTER to confirm the function e Press MODE again to change the range of 1 5 blades e Press ENTER to start RPM measurement 10 20cm
14. utions Thrust 1 553 9 Per Minute a Reale CF Propeller s Effectiveness Coefficient Table Manufacturer Standard propeller 1 00 APC propeller 1 06 APC SF 1 50 APC W propeller 1 09 MenzS propeller 1 03 Bambula propeller Bolly clubman 1 04 Cox 1 10 GWS HD 0 75 GWS RS SF 1 10 Smart 1 02 Zinger Wood 1 00 SKYRC 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 e Max input voltage 60V Voltage measurement range 2 8S LiPo LiFe Lilon e Voltage display resolution 0 001V Volt Port 2 54mm pitch pins 9 pins Max current 100A Shunt resistance 0 0010hm e Displayed resolution A 0 01 Temperature resolution 1 Celsius 1 Fahrenheit e PPM signal output 75005 2150uS e Number of propeller measurable 1 to 5 e Propeller rotating range 1 60000RPM e Dimension 95 3x72 8x21 5mm Net Weight 85g WARRANTY AND SERVICE We guarantee this product to be free of manufacturing and assembly
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