Best automotive replacement amp meter gauges according to redditors

Here is a parts list for those interested

Nema 5-15r To C14

Voltmeter Analog Panel Meter

Shrink Tubing

32GB MicroSD

Raspberry Pi 3 + Power Supply

MCP4725 Breakout Board

TCA9548 I2C Multiplexer

RJ45 Extender

22AWG Wire

Plastic 2U Box

I got the mini k40 (would not do that again). It works great, but I didn't know it at the time that I would be getting a weaker laser. I was about a week too late learning about tube sizes being the better way to know the true wattage.

I have done a series of upgrades and then re-dos. So hopefully you can learn a few things from all my tinkering.

Analog Milliamp Meter

I bought this meter. I followed this link for the install.

Exhaust

I initially went with an inline 3" bilge pump that had a corresponding 3d printed exhaust mount. It was ok, but in the end I just wasn't good enough when I started cutting more leather/wood.

So I went a little overboard, but I am glad I did. I went with this blower instead. I made my own 3D printed mount for it. I printed 2 adapters for the blower to fit 4" ducting and then routed it up and outside my garage.

I also removed the small internal duct thing prior to installing the new exhaust. it gives me a little more cutting room as well.


Air Assist

I went with the Light to Object head and bought a new lens to fit it.


Drag Chain

I bought a 10x10 drag chain off amazon. I had originally printed one, it was ok, but I recently switched up the mounting of the drag chain to run along the X gantry which gave me a little more room to cut.


Laser Aim Assist

I made a mash of 2 different thingverse designs to hold 2 red line lasers and where they intersect is my laser beam. It works well, I made it this way originally when I had an adjustable table. Honestly, now I should switch back to a single red dot, but I am too lazy. The two lines will sometimes move on me so I end up having to do a test fire every so often to ensure they are lined up properly.


Spring Loaded Adjustable Bed

I followed this guide


Hopefully this helps you out a bit.

Most multimeters have a current setting, the part that says "mA" or just "A". Pretty sure even the ancient analog boxy-looking ones have it. When measuring current you have to be in series with the flow of electricity (as opposed to in parallel for voltage), which is why you need to break the wire.

The less intrusive way would be to pick up something like this, and solder jacks to the input and output side which is basically what Truetone have done.

Granted, you're obviously paying extra for build quality and whatnot , but I think $20 or so is the most I'd pay for something like this.

Since you can't easily measure current without being 'inline' with the circuit (hard to do with most multi-meters since they typically won't pass a very usable level of amperage), I would recommend testing the voltage on the battery when it is disconnected, then measure again when connected to the boat, if the voltage drops a few decimals then there is current draw.

They do make inductive type ammeter that allow clamping over a wire, this could be helpful if the current draw is enough to register, here are a couple for cheap:
http://www.amazon.com/0-10A-Rectangle-Analog-Panel-Ammeter/dp/B0050MQK16/ref=sr_1_5?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1404957457&sr=1-5&keywords=ammeter

http://www.amazon.com/85C1-A-Analog-Current-Panel-Ammeter/dp/B0052C9MMI/ref=sr_1_9?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1404957457&sr=1-9&keywords=ammeter

ooooh no. This is not a job for surface mount. You should be looking for something more like:

https://www.amazon.com/SMAKN-current-shunt-resistor-Ampere/dp/B00GH8ZRUW

I'm grabbing something like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0051E8ONA

Also I just switch batts when I notice a loss in vapor production, i think I over think it and just switch batts all the time, I lug a charger around with me all the time so I just switch batts all the time.
I was measuring my batts when I switch em an was generally just switching them around 3.9 generally...

http://www.amazon.com/Amico-85C1--Analog-Current-Ammeter/dp/B006Z950I2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411613558&sr=8-1&keywords=2ma+meter

Get a non-invasive ac current sensor split core transformer. Split core means you just clamp it on the power cable. It's less than $10 and you never have to touch exposed wires. Never used it though so I can't say much about it. However, I do use a DROK digital multimeter ac voltage that uses those rings. It's amazing. There's one that has a serial port communication function. Been wanting to try it but don't have the time. It's like $20.

https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Digital-Multimeter-Voltmeter-Ammeter/dp/B015PRF04I/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1525970299&sr=8-6&keywords=ac%2Bvoltage%2Bmeter%2Bdisplay&th=1

Depends on what your power situation looks like. I agree with other comments that you don't need the individual switches. However, you may want a battery backup. I like the APC rackmount UPS units. However, if you already have reliable power, and you just want clean power, you can also look into a Furman power conditioner. Otherwise, there are plenty of good rackmount PDUs out there. Personally, I use an APC UPS on it's own, but my rack isn't fully contained and is in a closet full of gear.

Ok so by the looks of it he's got the effects pedals covered, I would go for something else and let him get anther pedal on his own. These are my recommendations that will benefit his current setup.
This is a nice expensive version of this and this is a midway between the other two. These are power conditioners they will help his equipment operate more efficiently and quieter and will last decades(you can use them for home theatre use as well)
I would also recommend nice cables like these they are lifetime warranty. Here's another very useful maintenance kit that will last a very long time. If you pick the 110$ furman you can get all three.

If you search for digital ammeters (particularly on ebay), many of them come with shunts. Also, google is your friend. Here're a few.

You could do it with "Stats for Tesla" or you could do it with this gizmo you'd install:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015PRF04I

I have the smaller k40 and the first upgrade I did was printing an exhaust adapter and getting a new extraction fan since I didn't feel like potentially burning my house down with the included fan. I had to fix the wiring out of the box since the fan wiring is crap and would have definitely caught fire at some point after firing it up.
I went with a 440 cfm 6" fan from amazon. The adapter I printed for the back of the k40 was a 4" so I also got 24-6" adapters from amazon to connect it to the fan and then from the fan to the window. I used it on both sides since I had already bought a good length of 4" hose and didn't want to also buy 6" as well. I put weather stripping on all connections in the exhaust line so I have virtually no smell in my office when running it.

I got an air pump on Amazon and3D printed an adapter I got from Thingiverse for it to direct the airflow in line with the laser. I bought my tubing for the air assist at Home Depot.
I also added a drag chain to keep the hose out of the way. I bought mine on Amazon but you can print that and adapters yourself if you're up for it.

The next upgrade I did was to add the mA meter since I have a digital panel on mine. That gives a much more accurate read on the power when using the laser.
I then upgraded my control board to the Cohesion 3D Laserboard ($200)and started using Lightburn ($40) for the software. That software lets you do a LOT more with the machine and you can also add a camera to get a view of the print area in the software to help with laying out materials.

Because the new board has power management built-in I set the k40 to the max power I would want to use on a project and then control the power levels from the software. This also lets you do true grayscale images and 3D engravings.
Because I don't like to have the exhaust and air pump running all the time I also got some wifi smart plugs. Each plug has two outlets and each of those can be controlled individually. They can also be controlled by an echo so I have that setup as well. Since you can also group smart plugs in the Alexa app I have one set up for everything and when I'm done working on a project I can either tell my echo to shut off power to the group or hit the button in the app to shut it all off at once.

For water cooling I'm using a home depot bucket however I have hose couplers installed in the lid for the water lines so if I want to move things around I don't have to completely disconnect everything and pull the pump out of the water. I just pull the hoses off the top of the lid and the pump stays in the bucket. I have the plug for the pump also going through the lid with a rubber seal around it. Depending on how hot it gets in the workspace a water chiller might be recommended.

The latest item I bought is a lab jack which I'm going to use to make a manual adjustable bed. If you can make one yourself or buy one at an affordable price an automatic Z bed would be great if you want to work on larger materials. A manual adjusting bed is fine for me now though.
I still need to purchase a new bed for it and get rid of the crap that came with it. I might try to salvage it though by drilling holes in it and installing metal spikes to rais the material up off the surface.

On my list of to-dos is to get a better lens and upgrade the mirrors. I haven't had an issue with what I have now so it hasn't been a priority.

I hope this helps with your project.