[ShelledPants]

Originally Posted by DonP

Wow, that's a nice unit for 22$ under taxes. I don't think I could make one for that price.

On the other topic I do like the idea of an in-use fuel gauge but I always thought the whole need-to-see-the-display part was a problem. You need to see the lights and a battery is normally tucked away in an AEG... anyone got any bright ideas for that?

I say a safe 60-70% of people use a battery system which is able to be field stripped; that is, able to remove the battery without the use of tools, or few tools and little to no loose small parts.

You wouldn't need it external, just something which stays plugged into the battery, and has an on off switch so that it doesn't unnecessarily drain the battery when away from eye's view.

You remove the battery from it's shell and press the button on the meter, it tells you where you're at, and you either change the battery or put the cover back on and continue with the current one.

Sound feasible?

There are too many styles of guns for you to expect to be able to, out of the box, have the meter exposed. If the user wants to expose the meter and button to check the battery level without exposing the battery, you could provide a system which can cater to their needs (large solder points for the button... or even have it wired an inch off of the board so the user can lengthen it if they choose. Possibly have the led's protruding (or even the opposite... flush with the board to allow the user to easily create a port to view the meter through).