Medusa Power Analyser Plus



	The Medusa Power Analyser Plus The Power Analyser Plus is a small device designed to be plugged between a source and a load. In the case of TrexTuning this is a lithium pack as the source and the T-Rex ESC as the load. The analyser will then measure various different values as the ESC applies power to the T-Rex motor. The values measured are voltage, current, watts, amp-hours and watt-hours. These values are displayed in real time on the LCD on the front of the analyser. Additionally the analyser can be plugged into a COM port on a computer and using the supplied software will chart all the values against time. The software also gives the max and min values during the recording period for all units measured. Below are a couple of photos of the main unit, one showing the display when you just plug in a lipo.



	The following photo shows a close up of the interface slot through whichyou plug the device into a spare COM port on your PC.



	The LCD display is useful just for checking things like current and voltage but the real power comes from the ability to create graphs showing the various measurements over time. It is this functionality that TrexTuning will be using for the motor tests. The analyser can also be used to measure the charge put into a battery or alternatively on a discharge the capacity of a pack. This I see as especially useful for chargers that don't have LCD displays and can't show you this information Below are a set of example graphs taken from a test run of a T-Rex with an Align 400S installed.. As can be seen below the current reached a max of close to 17.5 amps at full pitch/throttle. Of interest is the significant drop in voltage of the Jet Power lipo to around 9-10 volts during the test, most marked at the higher current draws. The Jet Power has a max continuous current of 17A so this test was stretching it to it's limits. Lastly the Align 400S can be seen to be producing a maximum of around 160 watts during the test. This gives a flavour of the power of the analyser and why it will be a useful tool in the motor camparative testing.







	The graphs allow accurate predictions on expected flight duration amongst other things. It's also reassuring to know that your motor's current draw is within the specification of the lipo you are using. All motor reviews conducted by TrexTuning will have a full set of graphs as shown above. The Medusa Power Analyser plus can be obtained through Medusa Products. Discuss this article in the forums.