Autosport Labs

Hello,

Just a quick question about the +5V reference output from the RCP unit. Is that safe to drive multiple analog sensors (maybe 4 sensors) from that single 5V lead?

Thanks.

From the schematic on Github, the VRef output is internally protected by a 50mA PTC (self-resetting fuse) so as long as you don't go over 50mA total, you can drive whatever you want. Current is figured by volts/ohms, so at 5V out, if you've got a 1k throttle position sensor, that's 5mA = 0.005A. You could run 10 of those and be right at the limit. If your sensor is a 10k load, that'd only be 0.5mA, and you could run 100 of them.

So the answer is, it depends on your sensors.

sounds good. thank you!

as far as getting the resistance of a sensor, if that wasn't part of the specs, i should just be able to measure it using a multimeter right?

If it's a simple position sensor (linear or rotary potentiometer) then an ohmmeter will work. For smart sensors (temperature, pressure) you'll need power/current specs from the vendor.