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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  • This discussion dates from 2005 and references products that may no longer be available or have been superseded.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

Master Seriescatalog

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