2005Batteries/Power forum
Adding a battery level meter to a camera rig powered by on-board batteries
21 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.
What the thread found
- Battery meters designed for automotive use can work well for camera rigs because they measure voltage from the same power source that feeds them, unlike many generic meters that require a separate battery.
- Commercial options for battery monitoring on camera rigs include dedicated meters that display voltage, amperage, amp-hours, and wattage simultaneously.
- A budget-friendly alternative to commercial meters is building a simple LED strip indicator using colored lights that change based on battery voltage, with green indicating full charge, orange indicating medium charge, and red indicating low charge.
- Automotive and hobby electronics suppliers stock small voltmeters rated up to 40 volts that can be adapted for camera rig use.
- Permanently wiring a battery meter into the cables from the battery mount ensures continuous monitoring regardless of which accessories are powered.
Depends on
- This discussion dates from 2005 and references products that may no longer be available or have been superseded.
- The colored LED approach was described as a custom build requiring electronics knowledge and has not been verified as a production solution.
- Some meter options mentioned are no longer manufactured.
Gear in this thread
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