If you’d like a voltmeter for a small project but don’t want to shell out for a commercial model you can make your own using a cheap pedometer, a PIC12F683 micro-controller and a few other miscellaneous parts. It won’t give you a millisecond refresh rate, but if that level of precision doesn’t matter you can save a lot of money by building your own.
Maker Paulo Renato wanted a panel voltmeter to keep an eye on the small solar panel in his shed but didn’t want to spend cash on a new one so he instead figured out how to hack a $US1 pedometer with a cheap micro-controller and miscellaneous electronics parts into a basic voltmeter for less than $US4 out of pocket.
For a full writeup on how to convert the pedometer and why it works visit the source link below.
A Dollar Store Voltmeter [Paulo Renato via Hack-A-Day]
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