Bluetooth battery monitor

[mross]

I quite like the look of this new battery monitor from Nasa. Shame it only has a 100A shunt. I don't think this is enough as I have a 2,000W inverter. 100A seems low in this day and age.

 

Has anyone tried one? I like the bluetooth feature as I can monitor my batteries when driving and from the saloon, in the evenings!

 

£90 is not bad.

[Dave Payne]

Hmmm I think would spend the £90 elsewhere and get up and check my monitor to be honest.

[mross]

Humph!

[Richard10002]

I wonder if they will bring out a BM2 version with a 200A shunt.

 

As for getting up to read the monitor, the Bluetooth one is cheaper than the non Bluetooth so, if you haven't got a monitor, it might be preferable.

 

Having said that, having to open the phone and click on the app could be more of a faff than having a permanent and fixed display.

[Tony Brooks]

I wonder how Bluetooth signals penetrate a steel rear bulkhead. I think that you may still have to get up and go outside on a good number of narrowboats.

 

And it seems odd that Nasa seem to assume that all potential customers use mobile smart phones.

Edited November 26, 2016 by Tony Brooks

[Dave Payne]

No windows app either so no good for windows phone, but then I'm used to that.

[Geo]

I wonder how Bluetooth signals penetrate a steel rear bulkhead. I think that you may still have to get up and go outside on a good number of narrowboats.

 

And it seems odd that Nasa seem to assume that all potential customers use mobile smart phones.

 

Think you will find the majority of their customers have GRP or similar boats and probably do have smart phones. The English NB market is miniscule in the boating world.

[mross]

93.7% of adults in the UK own a smartphone.

[WotEver]

I quite like the look of this new battery monitor from Nasa. Shame it only has a 100A shunt. I don't think this is enough as I have a 2,000W inverter. 100A seems low in this day and age.

500A shunts are widely available from about £20. Firstly you'd have to ensure the voltage is correct and secondly you might have to multiply the Nasa reading by 5. Might be worth asking them 'Can I use this with a 500A shunt?"

[mross]

I made that up ;-)

500A shunts are widely available from about £20. Firstly you'd have to ensure the voltage is correct and secondly you might have to multiply the Nasa reading by 5. Might be worth asking them 'Can I use this with a 500A shunt?"

I have already emailed them. Yes I did consider using my existing shunt (500A) and doing the arithmetic but I think that would irritate me after a while!

[Geo]

93.7% of adults in the UK own a smartphone.

 

Plus all the ones children have

[MtB]

93.7% of adults in the UK own a smartphone.

 

 

That's a coincidence. 93.7% of statistics quoted on the internet are made up on the spot, too!

[WotEver]

I have already emailed them. Yes I did consider using my existing shunt (500A) and doing the arithmetic but I think that would irritate me after a while!

It might not require arithmetic, it might just not be possible. If the 500A shunt were the same resistance as the 100A shunt then the reading would be correct, but what would it read >100A? Obviously if the resistance was only 20% of the 100A shunt then you'd have to do the maths.

[mross]

My shunt produces 50mV at 500A which is the voltage produced by the Nasa shunt at 100A, so it will work (if I multiply by 5)

[Slim]

93.7% of adults in the UK own a smartphone.

And 7.39% know how to fully use them Myself included.

 

Bring back the Nokia 6300, the best phone ever made.

[WotEver]

My shunt produces 50mV at 500A which is the voltage produced by the Nasa shunt at 100A, so it will work (if I multiply by 5)

Cool

 

I wonder if there's an option within the Nasa to suit a larger shunt?

[Arthur Marshall]

93.7% of adults in the UK own a smartphone.

That's not the first time I've been told I act like I'm only 6.3% grown up.

[Tony Brooks]

You and me both Arthur. Phones are for phoning, nit sending pseudo emails, playing games, banking and al the rest they seem to do nowadays at the expense it seem of battery life.

 

I still can not get over the way BT demand that you give them a mobile phone number when your BT line fails. It seem to me far too many organizations simply demand that their customers/subjects have and use mobile phones and computers these days - oh and plus broadband.

[Guest]

Must say my smartphone is one of the handiest and most reliable bits of kit I have ever owned (Iphone 5). It is my sat nav, supermarket finder, pub finder, petrol finder, message sender/phone (especially useful and FREE to my kids in other countries via Watsapp), television trnasmitter finder, compass, boat speed indicator, televison sometimes, radio often, MP3 player, internet connectivity for my laptop via hotspot (boat and home, no landline anymore), guitar tuner and general music apps (very clever) making it work as backing tracks. Fits easily in my pocket, and the battery lasts all day, plus I have an extender that will make it last twice as long (fiver off ebay) Apart from that it is pretty hopeless.

I forgot calender, diary, calculator, camera, video recorder and notebook. I think of it more as a pocket computer that has the advantage of being able to make phone calls (which I rarely do, but when I do is excellent. I usually text or email.)

Edited November 26, 2016 by Guest

[Sea Dog]

Must say my smartphone is one of the handiest and most reliable bits of kit I have ever owned (Iphone 5). It is my....

Yeah but, apart from that list, what can it do that you can't do with a slide rule? It'll never catch on.

[MtB]

Yeah but, apart from that list, what can it do that you can't do with a slide rule? It'll never catch on.

 

 

Add up!

[mross]

You are not supposed to go 'off topic' until page 3 !!! I'm like a Leonard Cohen record, no one listens to me!

[blackrose]

Must say my smartphone is one of the handiest and most reliable bits of kit I have ever owned (Iphone 5). It is my sat nav, supermarket finder, pub finder, petrol finder, message sender/phone (especially useful and FREE to my kids in other countries via Watsapp), television trnasmitter finder, compass, boat speed indicator, televison sometimes, radio often, MP3 player, internet connectivity for my laptop via hotspot (boat and home, no landline anymore), guitar tuner and general music apps (very clever) making it work as backing tracks. Fits easily in my pocket, and the battery lasts all day, plus I have an extender that will make it last twice as long (fiver off ebay) Apart from that it is pretty hopeless.

I forgot calender, diary, calculator, camera, video recorder and notebook. I think of it more as a pocket computer that has the advantage of being able to make phone calls (which I rarely do, but when I do is excellent. I usually text or email.)

I agree, I'm in west Africa at the moment, in my room listening to Radio 4 on my (android) phone via Wi-Fi.

Edited November 26, 2016 by blackrose

[WotEver]

My life is on my phone. All my contacts (addresses as well as numbers), banking, shopping, 5 email accounts, scanner, QR reader, various user manuals, scripts... it goes on and on.

[Guest]

I would forgo many other items (tv radio mp3 player etc etc) If I had to, in order to keep an Iphone. Not my DSLR camera though!