eganders wrote:
I am looking for a LOW COST remote readout (single, not 3 axis) that
can be used with the low cost calipers such as Harbor Freight sells for
$15.99. snip

About three years ago I bought some of these generic Chinese digital
calipers for a measurement fixture I was building. The instructions
that came with them said there was an optional data cable available, so
I called the dealer to get some. After going through much of their
technical support office, I finally got someone who explained it to me
this way:

The innards of these calipers are a copy of the Mitutoyo. Since
Mitutoyo has a data port (used for data collection in industrial SPC
systems), the Chinese calipers also come with a data port.
Unfortunately, the port doesn't work. The caliper manufacturer(s) in
China copied the text from the Mitutoyo manual, including the bit about
the optional cable, but they don't even sell a data cable at the
wholesale level. Thus, no dealers have cables to sell.

I'm sure it'd be a good market niche -- these things are so cheap that
wherever you've got a scale on a machine, why not slap on a dedicated
digital readout for less than $20?

Tim