anyone know about the hk-010 wattmeter?

[def215]

not sure if this is in the correct section, so mods can move it accordingly.

so ive been waiting for the turnigy wattmeter to go back into stock, as well as several other products like the celllog 8 and i came across this item:
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=10786&Product_Name=HobbyKing_HK-010_Wattmeter_&_Voltage_Analyzer_

i wanted to know if anyone has experience with it. it has similar voltage and amperage ratings as the turnigy wattmeter so i was wondering why not? and also its in stock. also it has built in balancer which is a plus and its only $19.99(not sure if its cheap, as in its quality).

i just wondered if anyone has experience with it and if it was worth my money. any input is greatly appreciated because im tired of not knowing what my "real" wattage is.

 

[scoot]

Interesting find def... too bad they don't give much detail on it. Seems at least to provide amphour readings which is good. Bet you could find someone on the RC Group forum that has some insight on it... that is if it is not so new that nobody has one yet.

Too bad the "balancer", as it were, is only 6s... but again, just no detail on that at all.

Edit: Just thought of this. If you don't mind paying a little extra for the CellLog, try Progressive RC (USA distributer) that has a a great service reputation :wink:

 

[bzhwindtalker]

I had the same, but dark and branded trakker, for about half a year. got mine for 27$ delivered off ebay. I posted a quick test in the reviews forum!

 

[morph999]

I think THAT IS the Trakker ! Looks like Hobbyking bought the Trakker for cheap wholesale and then just put the internals in their own branded metal or plastic casing with a Hobbyking logo. Even the font on the lcd looks exactly the same as the Trakker. Same button style on the front with the 3 buttons. Same 6s port .

The Trakker was available on another website for $15 so it looks like they took it, rebranded it, and are now selling it for $4 more. Or maybe not. I don't know how much it was. It might have been more than $15.

I just checked. It's actually the same exact price as the Hobbyking watt meter. They probably a bunch of them wholesale.

 

[Bazaki]

Guys, a bit of topic for a quik question, the turnigy watt meter can handle 130 A max, what if i would install 2 meters parallel. Could i measure now 200A ? And count these amps volts kwhs. Per meter, would that work ?

 

[def215]

Interesting find def... too bad they don't give much detail on it. Seems at least to provide amphour readings which is good. Bet you could find someone on the RC Group forum that has some insight on it... that is if it is not so new that nobody has one yet.

Too bad the "balancer", as it were, is only 6s... but again, just no detail on that at all.

Edit: Just thought of this. If you don't mind paying a little extra for the CellLog, try Progressive RC (USA distributer) that has a a great service reputation :wink:

thanks for the info scoot! i went on rcgroups, and somehow registered and ive read they werent up to par with the other wattmeters im a little dissappointed to hear that.

I had the same, but dark and branded trakker, for about half a year. got mine for 27$ delivered off ebay. I posted a quick test in the reviews forum!

your review was very good bzwindtalker. good info but the thing that stood out to me on your review was that it could do max wattage, which was what i kind of wanted, but at least it does total aH which is really what i want to know if im running lithiums. ill sit and ponder on this one a little longer before i make a purchase. :?

 

[Metallover]

I just ordered one after waiting forever the the other watt meter to come back in stock. I'm not sure if it was a good choice because it doesn't show any peak figures, only real-time. The Ah feature will have to suffice!

 

[Nobster3]

How would one install an HK-010 on an ebike ? What connects to what ?

 

[vanilla ice]

It goes between your battery and your controller.

I have one of these. Its alright, but like metallover says it doesn't display as much info as the other one.

 

[auraslip]

Alright, so I've had mine for a few days. For $23 on ebay it's not bad.

Overall I'm impressed by the apparent quality. Looks better built then the TWM....

Balances alright. Accurate by .01v to my cell logs.

Now the bad:

Screen not back lit

Watt-meter is INACCURATE.

My $3 ebay DMM show I'm pulling 10.33a and the Trakker shows 8.5a.
There is a way to calibrate it I think.

 

[Doctorbass]

Same review as auraslip for me... I also got it from ebay.

The shunt also is too big with high resistance and it melted the solder at 40A continuous!!

but the build quality ( at least the screen and case are ok)

Doc

 

[auraslip]

I wonder if I could file off some of the shunt to decrease resistance (and therefore voltage drop) to calibrate it. LOL.

For my battery testing purposes, I suppose I could just use the ratio that it's incorrect by to get the correct readings...

 

[amberwolf]

I wonder if I could file off some of the shunt to decrease resistance (and therefore voltage drop) to calibrate it. LOL.

To *decrease* the resistance, you'd have to *add* to the shunt, unless you mean reducing the length of the shunt--but you would still have to add wire to the end of the shunt to reconnect it to the PCB afterwards.

That ratio might not even be constant--if it's not caused by the shunt "calibration", but rather incorrect programming, or something else, it could be a curve.

 

[auraslip]

Er, you're right. Been stuffing for a chem exam. Brain isn't exactly where it should be.


Load side of the shunt goes through this lil op-amp (?) before going to the IC.



I just took the (DMM amperage / Trakker amperage) * Trakker Wh and it's pretty close to the amount put back into the pack by the charger. I really need to get a TWM again.

 

[amberwolf]

I can't tell for sure, but tha'ts probably a transistor or a diode. Diode is most likely.

BTW, with a wire shunt like that, it's not going to be very precise unless there's a calibration pot or value enterable on the meter. Especially since it looks like solder has wicked up between the shunts, which will affect it's resistance.

 

[ZOMGVTEK]

That overall construction looks terrible.

You probably need to adjust it the old fashioned way... Careful application / remove of material on the shunt. It helps if you have a known CC source and a good meter on hand. No use in calibrating this to a $3 meter.

 

[auraslip]

I have nothing that I can think of.
Actually, I could put it in series with my charger. At least then it will be relevant to that, so I can tweak both values when I can test with a cc or instrument.

 

[miuan]

I had one for a while. It was kind of a do it all but do nothing properly device.
It was balancing okay but not really as precise as a good battery medic and it liked to stop balancing unpredictably.
As a watt meter again it did okay but not as precise as a TWM and the retarded T-plugs kept disconnecting during the rides.
On top of this, I had to use the stupid menu control system which is just awkward.
Then a friend of mine killed it somehow... I still kinda wish I had a TWM, but I run 72V.
Is there any way I could use the TWM at higher voltage easily by changing some resistors?