Digital caliper problem

[Tubetec]

I have a digital caliper like in the pic below , it never had much usage , now when I measure it gives a reading exactly 50% low , ie 1mm displays as .5mm same thing on the inch scale.
Just wondering if anyone has had luck fixing one of these with a similar issue.

 

[gyraf]

reset - take out battery, wait, re-insert?

..did you know these have a serial computer interface built in as standard?

..and that they do not power off when powered off - just blanks the display as not to annoy you..?

/Jakob E.

 

[abbey road d enfer]

Probably a sign that the battery needs replacing anyway.

 

[Tubetec]

Thanks for the reply Jakob and Abbey
I tried removing/replacing the battery , still the same .
I had a sneaking suspicion about the power button alright as after a few months without use you typically come back to a low(blinking screen) or flat battery(wont switch on) .

I took out the four screws at the back and removed the plastic pcb housing , I gave everything a good clean and polished away a few rough edges on the metal with a multi grit nail file/polisher , once I put it back together it seems to be working fine again .

I didnt need to remove the pcb completely , I presume the serial connection is hidden on the component side of the board .

This was something I got cheap in Lidl , less than 20 euros if I remember correctly , still Im glad I got it going again and saved it from the scrap pile.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Another vote for replacing the battery. I never did trust those fancy suckers but are easier to read than my old vernier caliper.

Back in the 60s I had a co-op job doing QA inside a heavy metals (mostly tungsten) factory. I had to measure some precision rounds. I recall one batch of centerless ground metal rods that I had to verify to 1/10 of a thousandth using a micrometer. The tenths are registered with a vernier scale around the barrel.

As I recall the CG rods were all good.

JR

 

[Gold]

Those are available inexpensively on the bay. About $20. I treat them as semi disposable. When the display goes or the scale peels off I keep them around. As long as the slide locks with the screw I use them. If the locking mechanism goes they get tossed. If I’m laying something out that has a few standard dimensions I set up the hobbled ones for a single dimension. I get the ones with mm, inch fraction and decimal inch. It’s a quick way to do conversions.

 

[Tubetec]

Thanks JR and Gold ,

First thing I did was replace the battery , made no odds in this case . Anyway appears to be working again after dismantling and putting back together .
Interesting ideas about re-using the old ones .

 

[Gus]

The calipers that are built like this often use up the battery at a much higher rate than the higher quality ones that cost a lot more money. I remove the batteries when I place them back in the case.

I have a number of them I bought when they were on sale at HF for under $10.
The insides often have dirt? machining? gunk inside
I take them apart and clean the parts. The parts that can go in an ultrasonic cleaned get cleaned with a heated simple green and water mix.
The parts often work much smoother after the cleaning

 

[JohnRoberts]

precision clamps....

JR

 

[Gold]

I have a giant pile of batteries for these. I bought 100 about five years ago. I still have a big pile.

 

[warpie]

I always remove the battery when not using it.

 

[Whoops]

..and that they do not power off when powered off - just blanks the display as not to annoy you..?

Why is that Jakob?
whats the reasoning behind it?

 

[gyraf]

..as far as I've found, it's a "feature" of the simplest dedicated chip for this. Said to be because of wish to retain zero-point without having flash memory on chip..

 

[Whoops]

Thanks Jakob.

Anyone has a good source to buy a Good Unit of a Digital Caliper?

I bought one from ebay but it was crap, it was wobbly and gave constantly different results for the same measurement, the fingers were also not aligned. It was a waste of money

This was the one, avoid at all cost



So anything similar but with good quality that you would recommend?

Thank you so much

 

[neowalla]

reset - take out battery, wait, re-insert?

..did you know these have a serial computer interface built in as standard?

..and that they do not power off when powered off - just blanks the display as not to annoy you..?

/Jakob E.

Great tip on the battery. I just replaced the battery on my Harbor Freight caliper. I'll go ahead and take it back out now...

 

[Qmavam]

I have just stopped with the digital calipers. I buy the dial indicator style, the battery is never an issue. It's never dead when I need it.

https://www.harborfreight.com/home/...ls/dial-calipers/6-in-dial-caliper-63730.htmlWait for the sale, probably get it for $19.99.

 

[Whoops]

I have some non digital Calipers, but I really like the digital display, overall I much prefer digital in all measuring gear, it's faster and makes me waste less time when working

If anyone know a good brand or source for Digital Calipers please let me know,
I really would like to buy one

Thanks

 

[JohnRoberts]

I still have an old vernier caliper, no battery, no dial....

JR

 

[Gold]

If anyone know a good brand or source for Digital Calipers please let me know,
I really would like to buy one

The expensive brands like Mitutoyo are at least 10X the price of the cheap ones. I decided that it was better and more economical to use the cheap ones. Even over the long run. I like having more than one around and I'd have to go through 20 of them to meet the price of an expensive one. I think I've got though about five in ten years or so. Maybe I'm missing something? I get this kind. Black plastic head with silver slide. I get this style with fraction inch but I don'r see any listed like that for some reason. They've always worked well until they broke. 6 in inch 150 mm Digital CALIPER VERNIER GAUGE MICROMETER | eBay

 

[JohnRoberts]

The joke goes man with expensive calipers knows the diameter, man with two cheap calipers never knows which is correct. /joke

I ASSume you get reasonable agreement between them.

JR