Does it come with a case like the Expedition one does? There isn't much info on the web page. I can soldier and put things together that have instructions, but I wasn't wanting to end up with some hacky thing with exposed parts if I'm going to take it on a liveaboard.
Holy Necrothread! (For the reference I love adding to good threads like this, rather than starting new ones.... kudos!)
I just built an ElCheapo. It's a fun project, but a couple of gotchas. I went this way specifically because I need a remote sensor for my new Nitrox stick. I'm not intending to travel with it.
#1 - the meter they supply now has changed slightly. The resistor is still named the same (R3 I think) but it's in a different place, and it even tinier. Be careful unsoldering it - I think I snipped it in half to make it easier (just dont' pull the pads off the PCB. Had to experiment a little to get the right decimal-point jumper points. There's additional jumpers not mentioned in the instructions that you have to set for the range (200mv) and supply voltage (9v)
#2 - hard part is cutting the square holes in the panel neatly. If I do another one I'll probably order a round-hole on/off switch just to avoid cutting that little bastard again. Still have to cut the meter hole (rectangle) but at least it's large enough to use bigger tools. Files are handy...
#3 - it's not designed to be waterproof. If you're taking it on a boat, find a little pelican case/dry-box that will fit everything (meter, sensor, sensor tee, cable). Since it's a kit you could get real fancy and build it into a drybox if you wanted. At that point you might as well just order the parts and completely DIY though. The panel meters are cheap, and the rest of it (other than the sensor) is standard stuff. The 1/8" jack that connects to the sensor is effectively a thru-hole into the inside of the enclosure.
#4 I did opt for the 10-turn potentiometer though, and think it's worth it to make calibration more precise.
#5 - at the end of the day it *is* a lot of parts, relatively speaking, to be dealing with on an active dive deck. You're talking about the meter box, a cable, the sensor, and probably the flow-diverter and sensor-tee to make reading off of tanks easier. None of that is permanently attached to anything else, and it's probably a 2-handed operation at best. If I was going to travel with a meter and use on a boat, I'd get a pre-fab unit with as few moving parts as possible. Even if you're OK with it, inevitably you're going to end up loaning it to someone at some point. Last thing I want is to have an $80 sensor sliding across a wet deck.
