Neat things! I think the one small indicator that changes colour will go into the Trumpet I'm working on. I run bicycle speedos on my bikes. Cheap and small. $20. But they aren't illuminated.....the price jumps up into the hundreds it seems when ya go looking for a cycle speedo....you folks know of any cheap such?
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volt meter
- Thread starter Invincible
- Start date
i have tested bicycle speedos up to 75 km/h so i'm sure they will work faster than i have tested em.
oh yah there was a tail wind and i was going under the bridge on finch near wild water kingdom. passed a transport truck too.
Did you email them for a shipping quote? When I got the LED Lights it was $20 shipping for a much heavier and bigger item, I would think.
Anyway the XScorpion looks good. Is it waterproof or are you putting it somewhere out of the elements?
shipping was free to the states. $3 extra for Canada. i thinks its the best value out of all the options i looked at. i just wish i could retract my offer for a cheap Chinese one which seems to cost the same. hopefully he rejects my offer.
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Considering your application, would you not be better off with an ammeter?
These are nice...
http://www.vdo.com/generator/www/co..._instruments/viewline/ammeter/ammeter_en.html
These are nice...
http://www.vdo.com/generator/www/co..._instruments/viewline/ammeter/ammeter_en.html
frekeyguy
Well-known member
I have a LED based volt meter, it has a little chip in it - depending on the voltage the light changes. Green means 13.1V to 14.5V, red is somehting like 11.5 Volts to 12V....red flashing menas under 12V....orange means 12V to 13.1V (something like that)
THis way you dont have to do a calcualtion in your braiin, GREEN IS GOOD and OK. Red is not ok, orange is caution.
When you see 12.7V - your brain has to think and compute if its GOOD / BAD / ACCEPTABLE.....but if its green its all good.
Thats' why I would reccomend the LED STYLE based indicator.
THis way you dont have to do a calcualtion in your braiin, GREEN IS GOOD and OK. Red is not ok, orange is caution.
When you see 12.7V - your brain has to think and compute if its GOOD / BAD / ACCEPTABLE.....but if its green its all good.
Thats' why I would reccomend the LED STYLE based indicator.
Where did u get this?
frekeyguy
Well-known member
some guy in california, i will look it up.
there are two types, you can get it mounted in a little box or as a push in switch type....
In other words, an IDIOT light that alerts you when things are broken. Having a proper gauge let's you see deterioration in a given system component before it actually reaches a "broken" state.
Think of your coolant temperature gauge - would you replace that with an idiot light as well for ease of use? Or would you prefer the early warning that a gauge reading provides when a cooling system is still working, but with decreasing effectiveness?
I've seen another member on this forum have it.
I like the fact that u can install it directly into the instrument cluster without having a box protruding
yellowlemon
Active member
I've installed a Datel on my bike as well. The LCD version is water resistant from the front which really it's all you need. Protection from the rain. I took some electric tape and covered up the back end which should help any back splash. Waterproof is nice but if this is attached to my bike and it gets submerged with water, a fried volt meter is the least of my worries. =P
Although waterproof isn't needed the price of this is nice. Half the cost of the Datel I bought. But if you look at the setup you'll notice that the waterproof meter draws power from the bike (the third cable) to run it. The Datel is self powered so only two wires.
The real trick to this is to put a relay or switch so it's not running when you park. I installed both. I have the relay hooked up to the lights so when I turn on the bike, lights automatically go on, and it turns on the meter. The one oversight I failed to take into account is that if I throw the high beams the meter goes off. =P The reason for the switch is so that I can turn it off when riding at night when I dont need it.
Hope your setup goes well!
I have mine running of a fuseblock CentechII through a relay that is triggered by an accessory wire that comes on when the bike is turned on. That way it is always running. I was thinking about hooking it to an outlet on the Centech that is always hot, and with a switch to turn the Datel off when not in use. But I figured I would forget to turn it off. As sometimes I would like to know the voltage with everything off.
I have the Datel mounted under a metal dash shelf, so it is out of the elements. I've been through many rain storms with and it has been great. I have the one with the 4 digit readout, so the 1/100's volt keeps moving all the time. Pain at first but used to it now. I like having it, so that when I am running the extra electric liner and gloves, I can see the drop in voltage.
The Amp idea makes a lot of sense though.
frekeyguy
Well-known member
I would not call it an idiot light by any means. And I don't know why you would want a bazillion things going on in your dash. I would personally prefer to concentrate on riding and enjoying rather then analyzing about what is going on with my bike.
There is a RANGE in which your charging system is classfied to be "GOOD" ;
Here is a good video.....the LED lights do the SAME job that the gauges does, BUT your brain does not have to computer if 13.2V is as bad as 12.7V or if 12.1V is getting into the critial zone.
GREEN means GOOD - RIDE ON
ORANGE MEANS - CAUTION - Look into it soon.
RED MEANS - BAD - Might want to stop at the next exit....
RED FLASHING - BAD BAD BAD - PULL OVER ASAP.
HERE IS A GREAT video, watch it and see how your brain reacts to the gauge vs the LED light.....your brain has to compute for a split second if you use the gauges.
When you use the LED light, it processes information much quicker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2Bpo2NNzWo
So according to your theory, we should not have any sort of LED indicators and everything should be gauges?
So there would be a million gauges, monitoring all parameters...my bike's dash would look like this!??! olol
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I guess if the idiot light suits the user he should use it. if you are above a idiot light you can get something better.
Na, just install an heads up display on your helmet visor with a Virtual Reality glove on your clutch hand to manipulate the display modes.
Hey where is the link?
yellowlemon
Active member
Hey where is the link?
I've actually made one a few years back that hooks up to my iPhone. it was sweet! I also put a pin hole cam on the back of my helmet and could see behind me.
i just got the volt meter in the mail. took it apart and doesn't look like its water proof but i poured a bunch of liquid electrical tape in there to cover up the board so it water proof now.
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