AirWild Wild Gage

Model Airplane News, Oct 2001 by Onorato, Jim

AIRWILD

Wild Gage

Three gauges in one

AirWild's Wild Gage is a digital, multi-function gauge that many modelers should find useful. It is a tachometer, a DC voltmeter and a continuity meter, all in one. The tachometer can measure the rpm of 2, 3, or 4-blade props, and the voltmeter can measure DC voltage up to 20 volts. The Wild Gage comes in a red plastic case that's 7 1/2 2 3/4 inches, has long test leads and is powered by a standard 9V alkaline battery. It has an LCD display with 1/2 -inch numbers and two slide switches: one for on/off and blade selection and the other for function selection.

Operation of the Gage is straightforward and is adequately covered in the instruction sheet. As a tachometer, it can measure 2-blade propeller rpm from 100 to 60,000 and a 4blade propeller up to 30,000rpm-much higher than the average modeler will ever require. The resolution is 100rpm, and the accuracy is /- 1 percent. The Wild Gage is precalibrated at the factory for optimal tachometer operation. However, as a quick check of the validity of the tachometer reading, you can simply hold it up to a fluorescent light while it is in one of the blade-detection modes. The Gage should display "36" if it's in the 2-blade mode and "18" in the 4-blade mode.

As a voltmeter, it has two ranges: 2VDC and 20VDC, with resolutions of 0.001 VDC and 0.01 VDC, respectively. Both ranges have an accuracy of /- 1 percent. The Gage is polarity protected, and the LCD screen will display a "-" symbol if polarity is reversed.

The continuity meter is, in fact, an ohmmeter, and it reads the resistance of a circuit in ohms. The objective of a continuity function is to detect whether there is an electrical connection between two points. A low resistance reading indicates a good, continuous connection, whereas a broken connection will show a very high resistance. Suggested applications include detecting an open or shorted glow-plug coil, an on/off switch failure, a break in a servoextension wire and proper grounding of an electronic-ignition module for gas engines. I'm sure there are many, many others.

One feature I particularly like on the Wild Gage is that it uses a standard 9V battery rather than several expensive button cells. The Wild Gage sells for $45. -Jim Onorato

AIRWILD HOBBIES, 3195-A Airport Loop Dr., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; (714) 751-0789; fax (714) 751-7508; www.airwildhobbies.com.