[Noisebridge-discuss] non-invasive DC current sensor question

[Andy Isaacson]

On Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 04:43:22PM -0800, Susan Werner wrote:
> I need to sense DC currents (up to, say, 50 amps), and I need a noninvasive 
> sensor (as in current passes only through the original wire -- not through the
> sensor). I know there are Hall effect based current sensors for this. Does 
> anyone have a recommendation for a sensor to use in this application?

The tool that senses this is called a "clamp ammeter", and it's fairly
easy (I've heard, I've never tried to measure it myself) to build a
circuit that measures the same effect for an embedded app.  You have to
be able to separate the DC+ from DC- for the effect to work.

-andy