On 2007-10-10 10:44:57 +0100, jim said:

Lidl Crowborough is selling electronic spirit levels @£25 (lartge box
full seen on Saturday).

Next to the bananas?

They appear to be robust and have the 2
normal vials at 90deg. Tucked in at one end is an electronic unit
with LED screen powered by 9v battery. No instructions, of course.

Of course.



Strongly suspect wise counsel would whisper 'leave on shelf',

Any reasonable counsel would shout that since everything else in the
store is cheap crap why would that be any different?



even so
several Qs arise:

1. How do the levels work?

2. The electronics has a 'calibrate' button - how does that work?
Guessing - is the electronic section calibrated by setting the level
on a flat surface as shown by the vials and then pressing calibrate?
Or is it something more sophisticated than that.

3. After calibration does the electronic unit have its own level
detector which takes over independant of the vials?

4. Box shows supplier to Lidl is Paget Trading Ltd of Woodrow London.

OK, so this is a firm that unpacks containers arriving from Shanghai.



Searched web to try to discover more info about the levels but drew a
blank. Internet searches reveal other people trying to contact this
firm! Is it bust? Where are these levels manufactured?

5. What are its pukka competitors?


It looks stout, so it could be a reasonable purchase provided the
vials can be reset and the electronic unit calibrated / validated,
but.....any knowledge or opinions out there?

TIA

Those are big "ifs" and it depends on whether you want something
vaguely decent or to waste £25 on goodness knows what.

If you are looking for a worthwhile product then there are a selection
from manufacturers such as Leica, Stabila, Bosch etc.

Here's a selection.

http://www.yorksurvey.co.uk/products/51laser.htm