[TowerTalk] remote reading multimeter

[Lux, Jim]

On 7/26/21 10:37 AM, Grant Saviers wrote:
> Probably others have or would like to have what I am searching for:
>
> A multimeter with a couple hundred feet remote readout.  Best if the 
> readout was on my android phone, but a pc would be acceptable.  The 
> need is troubleshooting stuff happening at the tower/up the tower at 
> the end of cables, etc. when manipulating stuff at the station.
>
> The are infinite cheap (<$40) digital meters available, a lot of 
> searching found one with bluetooth on amazon:
> Tekpower TP4000ZC PC Based USB Interfaced Auto Ranging Digital Multimeter
>
> Seems it has sketchy software support.  Then the bluetooth range is 
> inadequate so a range extender of some sort is needed. (at both 
> ends?). wifi seems like the better technology for direct range and 
> battery size in a handheld isn't much of a constraint.
>
> Any solutions out there being used or created?
>
> Given the competition <$40 in the VOM market, I would think a wifi 
> enabled meter would find a niche. 


You might do better looking for a WiFi data acquisition module - 
measuring current is a bit tricky, but voltages are easy. A rPi or 
BeagleBone Wireless with a WiFi would probably do.

Labjack is pretty pricey, but has been around a while, and there's lots 
of software support on all platforms.

Another approach is a wifi camera pointing at your test instrument(s) of 
choice.

There are also some long range serial links available (non-bluetooth) 
and you could connect to a serial interface DMM.