I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank. It
seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought it was a
bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't work.

So I took it apart, which meant peeling off a foil backing to expose four
small phillips head screws, which removed the electronics module, and then I
removed the PC board with four even smaller phillips screws. The LCD display
connects to the board with a flexible conductive strip, which relies on
pressure to maintain contact. I cleaned it and the mating contacts on the
PCB, reassembled it, and it now works fine!

My house is always very humid and I think that's what caused the problem.
It's hell on all my tools. Everything is rusty or mildewed.

It's quite interesting to see the mechanism that is used to make
measurements. There is an array of PCB traces that are aligned with an array
of stripes along the length of the caliper, and (I assume) these create
pulses that are counted as the head is moved. But it also needs to know
which way the head is being moved. Probably something like a quadrature
encoder as used for rotary position sensing. I'll have to look it up.

Paul

"P E Schoen" wrote in
:

I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank.
It seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought
it was a bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't
work.

So I took it apart, which meant peeling off a foil backing to expose
four small phillips head screws, which removed the electronics module,
and then I removed the PC board with four even smaller phillips
screws. The LCD display connects to the board with a flexible
conductive strip, which relies on pressure to maintain contact. I
cleaned it and the mating contacts on the PCB, reassembled it, and it
now works fine!

My house is always very humid and I think that's what caused the
problem. It's hell on all my tools. Everything is rusty or mildewed.

It's quite interesting to see the mechanism that is used to make
measurements. There is an array of PCB traces that are aligned with an
array of stripes along the length of the caliper, and (I assume) these
create pulses that are counted as the head is moved. But it also needs
to know which way the head is being moved. Probably something like a
quadrature encoder as used for rotary position sensing. I'll have to
look it up.

Paul



use Boeing Boeshield T-9 to prevent the rusting of your tools.

I wonder if Cramolin/DeOxit would work on the conductive strip?

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

On Sat, 19 Nov 2011 22:19:11 -0600, Jim Yanik
wrote:

I wonder if Cramolin/DeOxit would work on the conductive strip?

http://siber-sonic.com/electronics/caig.html
Sorta. The original Cramolin contained about 5% oleic acid, which is
great for removing surface oxidation, but is also mildly corrosive to
copper. The current version is DeOxit from Caig Labs. It comes in an
amazing variety of forms, and is allegedly non-corrosive.
http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/.f
The MSDS data shows the active ingredients as a "trade secret". Oh
well.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 19 Nov 2011 22:19:11 -0600, Jim Yanik
wrote:

I wonder if Cramolin/DeOxit would work on the conductive strip?

http://siber-sonic.com/electronics/caig.html
Sorta. The original Cramolin contained about 5% oleic acid, which is
great for removing surface oxidation, but is also mildly corrosive to
copper. The current version is DeOxit from Caig Labs. It comes in an
amazing variety of forms, and is allegedly non-corrosive.
http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/.f
The MSDS data shows the active ingredients as a "trade secret". Oh
well.


I never have been able to get much visible effect of so called corrosion
removers. Oleic acid probably being best, but supposedly the cramolin
chemist also had input on making deoxit. On a short term test I can visibly
wipe off oxide with an alcohol swipe, being just as effective. Most of the
removing is mechanical in nature, and any liquid helps.

Greg

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:47:58 +0000 (UTC), gregz
wrote:

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 19 Nov 2011 22:19:11 -0600, Jim Yanik
wrote:

I wonder if Cramolin/DeOxit would work on the conductive strip?

http://siber-sonic.com/electronics/caig.html
Sorta. The original Cramolin contained about 5% oleic acid, which is
great for removing surface oxidation, but is also mildly corrosive to
copper. The current version is DeOxit from Caig Labs. It comes in an
amazing variety of forms, and is allegedly non-corrosive.
http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/.f
The MSDS data shows the active ingredients as a "trade secret". Oh
well.


I never have been able to get much visible effect of so called corrosion
removers. Oleic acid probably being best, but supposedly the cramolin
chemist also had input on making deoxit. On a short term test I can visibly
wipe off oxide with an alcohol swipe, being just as effective. Most of the
removing is mechanical in nature, and any liquid helps.

I tried a paste of cream of tartar from the spice rack in the kitchen on
the battery terminals on a long forgotten remote control that had spewed
its battery guts to make a nasty, green mess of the copper-nickel
strips. Worked amazingly well, better than anything else I've tried for
that particular problem. YMMV, of course.

--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:57:32 -0500, Rich Webb
wrote:

I tried a paste of cream of tartar from the spice rack in the kitchen on
the battery terminals on a long forgotten remote control that had spewed
its battery guts to make a nasty, green mess of the copper-nickel
strips. Worked amazingly well, better than anything else I've tried for
that particular problem. YMMV, of course.

Cream of tartar is potassium bitartrate. Mix the powder with some
white vinegar or any weak acid and you get a paste that can be used as
a cleaner:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5758669_clean-vinegar-cream-tartar.html

For cleaning up the green slime left after a battery exceeds its
warranty, I use ammonia cleaner. I also like the foam it produces.
Copper (cupric) oxide is soluble in ammonium hydroxide, but not in
water.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:47:58 +0000 (UTC), gregz
wrote:

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 19 Nov 2011 22:19:11 -0600, Jim Yanik
wrote:

I wonder if Cramolin/DeOxit would work on the conductive strip?

http://siber-sonic.com/electronics/caig.html
Sorta. The original Cramolin contained about 5% oleic acid, which is
great for removing surface oxidation, but is also mildly corrosive to
copper. The current version is DeOxit from Caig Labs. It comes in an
amazing variety of forms, and is allegedly non-corrosive.
http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/.f
The MSDS data shows the active ingredients as a "trade secret". Oh
well.

I never have been able to get much visible effect of so called corrosion
removers. Oleic acid probably being best, but supposedly the cramolin
chemist also had input on making deoxit. On a short term test I can visibly
wipe off oxide with an alcohol swipe, being just as effective. Most of the
removing is mechanical in nature, and any liquid helps.

The oleic acid is only about 5% of the contact cleaner. Over a period
of time, it will help remove any oxide deposits. However, at such a
low concentration, it should not be expected to dissolve a substantial
oxide accumulation. Basically, any detergent will do as well if you
can live with the residue.

More on Cramolin:
http://www.pitt.edu/~szekeres/caigcram.htm
http://siber-sonic.com/electronics/caig.html

Cleaning brass clocks. Note the section on oleic acid.
http://www.abbeyclock.com/brass2.html
The oleic acid therefore has two functions: to remove
the oxide layer from the metals and to act as a soap
to remove the dirt and oils. The cleaning solution
has about 90% ammonia solution with about 5% oleic
acid and 5% acetone added, thereby leaving plenty
of excess ammonia molecules to keep the solution
alkaline.
The acetone is to accelerate evaporation. Oleic acid also has the
advantage of being common, cheap, and non-toxic. It's a by product of
corn and veggie oil production.

http://www.dialcover.com/components.html
Scroll down to "Cease and Desist" contact cleaner. Much the same as
my home made formula except I won't use acetone because it eats
plastic. Ordinary isopropyl alcohol is safer.

Homebrew cleaners and protectors:
http://www.pitt.edu/~szekeres/cleaner.htm
The comments on the effects of silicones plus salt in WD40 are
interesting.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:47:58 +0000 (UTC), gregz
wrote:

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 19 Nov 2011 22:19:11 -0600, Jim Yanik
wrote:

I wonder if Cramolin/DeOxit would work on the conductive strip?

http://siber-sonic.com/electronics/caig.html
Sorta. The original Cramolin contained about 5% oleic acid, which is
great for removing surface oxidation, but is also mildly corrosive to
copper. The current version is DeOxit from Caig Labs. It comes in an
amazing variety of forms, and is allegedly non-corrosive.
http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/.f
The MSDS data shows the active ingredients as a "trade secret". Oh
well.

I never have been able to get much visible effect of so called corrosion
removers. Oleic acid probably being best, but supposedly the cramolin
chemist also had input on making deoxit. On a short term test I can visibly
wipe off oxide with an alcohol swipe, being just as effective. Most of the
removing is mechanical in nature, and any liquid helps.

The oleic acid is only about 5% of the contact cleaner. Over a period
of time, it will help remove any oxide deposits. However, at such a
low concentration, it should not be expected to dissolve a substantial
oxide accumulation. Basically, any detergent will do as well if you
can live with the residue.

More on Cramolin:
http://www.pitt.edu/~szekeres/caigcram.htm
http://siber-sonic.com/electronics/caig.html

Cleaning brass clocks. Note the section on oleic acid.
http://www.abbeyclock.com/brass2.html
The oleic acid therefore has two functions: to remove
the oxide layer from the metals and to act as a soap
to remove the dirt and oils. The cleaning solution
has about 90% ammonia solution with about 5% oleic
acid and 5% acetone added, thereby leaving plenty
of excess ammonia molecules to keep the solution
alkaline.
The acetone is to accelerate evaporation. Oleic acid also has the
advantage of being common, cheap, and non-toxic. It's a by product of
corn and veggie oil production.

http://www.dialcover.com/components.html
Scroll down to "Cease and Desist" contact cleaner. Much the same as
my home made formula except I won't use acetone because it eats
plastic. Ordinary isopropyl alcohol is safer.

Homebrew cleaners and protectors:
http://www.pitt.edu/~szekeres/cleaner.htm
The comments on the effects of silicones plus salt in WD40 are
interesting.

Yes, some old navy guy contacted me and I stuck it in there. Have not
updated anything for a while.

Greg szekeres

Jeff Liebermann wrote in
:


Homebrew cleaners and protectors:
http://www.pitt.edu/~szekeres/cleaner.htm
The comments on the effects of silicones plus salt in WD40 are
interesting.


WD-40 is mostly kerosene.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

I never have been able to get much visible effect of so called corrosion
removers. Oleic acid probably being best, but supposedly the Cramolin
chemist also had input on making deoxit. On a short term test I can
visibly
wipe off oxide with an alcohol swipe, being just as effective. Most of the
removing is mechanical in nature, and any liquid helps.

I'm inclined to disagree. Cramolin/DeOxit definitely work on tin- and
nickel-plated surfaces. They are not as effective on gold-plated surfaces;
ProGold does a better job. It isn't just a matter of mild abrasion; a
chemical reaction of some sort is needed.

"Jim Yanik" wrote in message
4...

I wonder if Cramolin/DeOxit would work on the conductive strip?

I assume the strip is carbon-impregnated rubber (or some synthetic polymer).
Cramolin/DeOxit remove surface oxidation. I don't the latter as being
compatible with the former.

On 11/19/2011 11:19 PM, Jim Yanik wrote:

use Boeing Boeshield T-9 to prevent the rusting of your tools.

I wonder if Cramolin/DeOxit would work on the conductive strip?


Hello, and DeoxIT is the best thing I've ever come across for cleaning
and de-oxidizing electrical contacts. It also does wonders with
scratchy volume and tone pots and it'll be long while before you have to
apply it again. Sincerely,


--
J. B. Wood e-mail:

Harbor Freight Has the 6" dial Caliper on sale 11/24

http://www.harborfreight.com/preview...tm_source=1003

Mikek

amdx wrote:
Harbor Freight Has the 6" dial Caliper on sale 11/24

http://www.harborfreight.com/preview...tm_source=1003


Mikek
Nice, I like the metal cutting saw they have there just off to the right..

Think I'll do a stop in for that.

Jamie

On 11/21/2011 6:49 PM, Jamie wrote:
amdx wrote:
Harbor Freight Has the 6" dial Caliper on sale 11/24

http://www.harborfreight.com/preview...tm_source=1003


Mikek
Nice, I like the metal cutting saw they have there just off to the right..

Think I'll do a stop in for that.

Jamie


Do note, it is pneumatic.
Fine if your setup for it.
Mikek

P E Schoen wrote in message
...
I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank. It
seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought it was a
bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't work.

So I took it apart, which meant peeling off a foil backing to expose four
small phillips head screws, which removed the electronics module, and then I
removed the PC board with four even smaller phillips screws. The LCD display
connects to the board with a flexible conductive strip, which relies on
pressure to maintain contact. I cleaned it and the mating contacts on the
PCB, reassembled it, and it now works fine!

My house is always very humid and I think that's what caused the problem.
It's hell on all my tools. Everything is rusty or mildewed.

It's quite interesting to see the mechanism that is used to make
measurements. There is an array of PCB traces that are aligned with an array
of stripes along the length of the caliper, and (I assume) these create
pulses that are counted as the head is moved. But it also needs to know
which way the head is being moved. Probably something like a quadrature
encoder as used for rotary position sensing. I'll have to look it up.

Paul


++++

It is usually a Moire fringe counting mechanism. The system like when you
move along a street and look through a set of railings to another set of
railings and you see a moving "interference" pattern. Set 2 fine grills over
one another at slight relative angle and these fringes become wide enough to
be reliably counted by a relatively large opto device, 10 or more times
wider than the spacing between the grating lines

On 11/19/2011 9:01 PM, P E Schoen wrote:
I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank.
It seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought
it was a bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't work.


That's why I like the Dial calipers vs Digital Calipers, no concern
about batteries or electronics.
(Dial Calipers, Item # 66541, Out of Stock)

Although a couple years ago HF had the 6" Digital calipers on sale for
$9.99, I bought two. They are still in the boxes and I use my Dial
calipers. I think I might give one away as a Christmas present.
Mikek

amdx wrote in message
...
On 11/19/2011 9:01 PM, P E Schoen wrote:
I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank.
It seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought
it was a bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't work.


That's why I like the Dial calipers vs Digital Calipers, no concern
about batteries or electronics.
(Dial Calipers, Item # 66541, Out of Stock)

Although a couple years ago HF had the 6" Digital calipers on sale for
$9.99, I bought two. They are still in the boxes and I use my Dial
calipers. I think I might give one away as a Christmas present.
Mikek



I've never used the new-fangled ones - do you have to do a clean jaws, close
jaws, zero calibration check/0 reset ,every time you use them ? as the count
must be lost each time it is switched off

Not only do they remember where Zero is, they even keep track of any
movement that occurs while they're turned off. Smart little devils.

I find myself more & more reaching for the digital ones for the ease of
swapping between inches & millimeters.

-Dave
--
http://plumpe.home.mindspring.com
email:
ANTI-SPAM: To email, replace "lastname" with "plumpe"
"N_Cook" wrote in message
...

I've never used the new-fangled ones - do you have to do a clean jaws,
close
jaws, zero calibration check/0 reset ,every time you use them ? as the
count
must be lost each time it is switched off

Dave Plumpe wrote in message
m...
Not only do they remember where Zero is, they even keep track of any
movement that occurs while they're turned off. Smart little devils.

I find myself more & more reaching for the digital ones for the ease of
swapping between inches & millimeters.

-Dave
--
http://plumpe.home.mindspring.com
email:
ANTI-SPAM: To email, replace "lastname" with "plumpe"
"N_Cook" wrote in message
...

I've never used the new-fangled ones - do you have to do a clean jaws,
close
jaws, zero calibration check/0 reset ,every time you use them ? as the
count
must be lost each time it is switched off




An engineer told me never close the jaws of a micrometer or vernier calipers
for storage, leave the jaws open slightly. Do these digitally things require
the jaws closing before switching off ? How do they know of any movement of
the jaws when switched off elsewise?

N_Cook wrote:

Dave Plumpe wrote in message
m...

Not only do they remember where Zero is, they even keep track of any
movement that occurs while they're turned off. Smart little devils.

I find myself more & more reaching for the digital ones for the ease of
swapping between inches & millimeters.

-Dave
--
http://plumpe.home.mindspring.com
email:
ANTI-SPAM: To email, replace "lastname" with "plumpe"
"N_Cook" wrote in message
...

I've never used the new-fangled ones - do you have to do a clean jaws,
close
jaws, zero calibration check/0 reset ,every time you use them ? as the
count
must be lost each time it is switched off




An engineer told me never close the jaws of a micrometer or vernier calipers
for storage, leave the jaws open slightly. Do these digitally things require
the jaws closing before switching off ? How do they know of any movement of
the jaws when switched off elsewise?


And the engineer was correct in saying so.

Jamie

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:38:36 -0000, "N_Cook"
wrote:
An engineer told me never close the jaws of a micrometer or vernier calipers
for storage, leave the jaws open slightly.

True. With gear type calipers, the lubricating grease tends to
migrate to that position. If a sufficiently filthy environment, an
lump of dirt encrusted grease will be left in that position. If it
happens to be at 0.0, then it will be difficult to accurately
calibrate the mechanism. There are also some minor reasons, such as
the tendency for two parallel surfaces to trap moisture between them
and rust.

Do these digitally things require
the jaws closing before switching off ?

No.

How do they know of any movement of
the jaws when switched off elsewise?

Only the display is turned off. The pulse counting mechanism is still
operating and functional. The downside is that the battery will be
dead in about 6-9 months. Most include a spare LR44 battery. I had
to buy a pile of them to keep my calipers going. Somehow, the battery
is usually dead when I need to use them.

50 batteries for $3.75
http://www.ebay.com/itm/220751739681

I have an expensive set of Starett calipers (both metric and US). I
use them more often than the electronic variety, mostly out of habit.
My most useful measuring tools are my 6" pocket steel scale and a tape
measure.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On 2011-11-20, N_Cook wrote:
Dave Plumpe wrote in message
m...
Not only do they remember where Zero is, they even keep track of any
movement that occurs while they're turned off. Smart little devils.

I find myself more & more reaching for the digital ones for the ease of
swapping between inches & millimeters.

[ ... ]

"N_Cook" wrote in message
...

I've never used the new-fangled ones - do you have to do a clean jaws,
close
jaws, zero calibration check/0 reset ,every time you use them ? as the
count
must be lost each time it is switched off




An engineer told me never close the jaws of a micrometer or vernier calipers
for storage, leave the jaws open slightly.

A micrometer should never be stored closed. (Thermal changes in
dimensions can stress the components and reduce accuracy. Vernier
calipers should not have a problem as long as you don't *lock* them
closed -- either with the slide or the fine adjust slide.

Do these digitally things require
the jaws closing before switching off ? How do they know of any movement of
the jaws when switched off elsewise?

Most modern digital calipers only shut off the display, and keep
the counters and sensors powered up, so they can know where they are
when the display is switched back on -- and some will even switch the
display back on when it senses motion above some minimum value.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 08:29:39 -0500, "Dave Plumpe"
wrote:

Not only do they remember where Zero is, they even keep track of any
movement that occurs while they're turned off. Smart little devils.

I find myself more & more reaching for the digital ones for the ease of
swapping between inches & millimeters.

-Dave

As do I.

My Mitytoyo digital mics..never could figure out how they work
though..Ive got one thats had the same battery in it for 4 yrs so
far..still reading just fine and its always displaying whenever I open
the box

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

Gunner Asch wrote:
On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 08:29:39 -0500, "Dave Plumpe"
wrote:

Not only do they remember where Zero is, they even keep track of any
movement that occurs while they're turned off. Smart little devils.

I find myself more & more reaching for the digital ones for the ease of
swapping between inches & millimeters.

-Dave

As do I.

My Mitytoyo digital mics..never could figure out how they work
though..Ive got one thats had the same battery in it for 4 yrs so
far..still reading just fine and its always displaying whenever I open
the box

Gunner

Same here.
I bought several of the Harbor Freight ones back when they were on sale.
They're always dead. I have to take the battery out when not in use.
PITA, but I'm gonna have to replace it anyway if I leave it in.

My Mitutoyo has been going strong for years on the same battery.

On Nov 20, 6:03*am, "N_Cook" wrote:
amdx wrote in message

...

On 11/19/2011 9:01 PM, P E Schoen wrote:
I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank..
It seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought
it was a bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't work.

That's why I like the Dial calipers vs Digital Calipers, no concern
about batteries or electronics.
(Dial Calipers, Item # 66541, Out of Stock)

Although a couple years ago HF had the 6" Digital calipers on sale for
$9.99, I bought two. They are still in the boxes and I use my Dial
calipers. I think I might give one away as a Christmas present.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Mikek

I've never used the new-fangled ones - do you have to do a clean jaws, close
jaws, zero calibration check/0 reset ,every time you use them ? as the count
must be lost each time it is switched off

Used to be, they've improved things. On at least some, the count is
kept live and just the display is switched off. It all goes away when
batteries are switched, but that can be lived with.

Stan

wrote in message
...
On Nov 20, 6:03 am, "N_Cook" wrote:
amdx wrote in message

...

On 11/19/2011 9:01 PM, P E Schoen wrote:
I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank.
It seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought
it was a bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't
work.

That's why I like the Dial calipers vs Digital Calipers, no concern
about batteries or electronics.
(Dial Calipers, Item # 66541, Out of Stock)

Although a couple years ago HF had the 6" Digital calipers on sale for
$9.99, I bought two. They are still in the boxes and I use my Dial
calipers. I think I might give one away as a Christmas present.
Mikek

I've never used the new-fangled ones - do you have to do a clean jaws,
close
jaws, zero calibration check/0 reset ,every time you use them ? as the
count
must be lost each time it is switched off

Used to be, they've improved things. On at least some, the count is
kept live and just the display is switched off. It all goes away when
batteries are switched, but that can be lived with.

Stan

+++

So that explains , down thread, the drawback of dying batteries when
switched "off"

N_Cook wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Nov 20, 6:03 am, "N_Cook" wrote:

amdx wrote in message

.. .


On 11/19/2011 9:01 PM, P E Schoen wrote:

I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank.
It seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought
it was a bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't

work.

That's why I like the Dial calipers vs Digital Calipers, no concern
about batteries or electronics.
(Dial Calipers, Item # 66541, Out of Stock)

Although a couple years ago HF had the 6" Digital calipers on sale for
$9.99, I bought two. They are still in the boxes and I use my Dial
calipers. I think I might give one away as a Christmas present.
Mikek

I've never used the new-fangled ones - do you have to do a clean jaws,

close

jaws, zero calibration check/0 reset ,every time you use them ? as the

count

must be lost each time it is switched off


Used to be, they've improved things. On at least some, the count is
kept live and just the display is switched off. It all goes away when
batteries are switched, but that can be lived with.

Stan

+++

So that explains , down thread, the drawback of dying batteries when
switched "off"


I have the HF digital calipers and I need to pull the battery when not
in use other wise, it'll be dead next time I need it. It seems to drain
quite fast.

Other than that, it seems to work very nicely..
Jamie

On 2011-11-20, N_Cook wrote:
amdx wrote in message
...
On 11/19/2011 9:01 PM, P E Schoen wrote:
I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank.
It seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought
it was a bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't work.


That's why I like the Dial calipers vs Digital Calipers, no concern
about batteries or electronics.
(Dial Calipers, Item # 66541, Out of Stock)

Although a couple years ago HF had the 6" Digital calipers on sale for
$9.99, I bought two. They are still in the boxes and I use my Dial
calipers. I think I might give one away as a Christmas present.
Mikek



I've never used the new-fangled ones - do you have to do a clean jaws, close
jaws, zero calibration check/0 reset ,every time you use them ? as the count
must be lost each time it is switched off

Most of the newer ones dont really switch off -- just the
display is blanked to save power, so the reading is preserved. (But,
the battery life is not as good. On the Starrett ones which I have, the
battery holder slides in and out, and by sliding it less than 1/16" you
can disconnect the battery (thus extending the life) at the cost of
having to re-zero when you power them back on. I normally do exactly
this.

The Mitutoyo is not as convenient to disconnect the batteries,
so I live with it -- but it also has an extra feature. Aside from
remembering when turned off -- it can remember two zeros -- the absolute
zero, and the incremental zero (say you zero it to tell how much left to
remove in the lathe), and by pushing a button, you go back to the
absolute zero without having to clean the jaws and check.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 06:41:03 -0600, amdx
wrote:

On 11/19/2011 9:01 PM, P E Schoen wrote:
I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank.
It seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought
it was a bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't work.


That's why I like the Dial calipers vs Digital Calipers, no concern
about batteries or electronics.
(Dial Calipers, Item # 66541, Out of Stock)

Although a couple years ago HF had the 6" Digital calipers on sale for
$9.99, I bought two. They are still in the boxes and I use my Dial
calipers. I think I might give one away as a Christmas present.
Mikek

I bought one of those and really like it. It seems comparable to
calipers costing many time more. The only problem is I have to remove
the battery when I am done using it or it is dead the next time I get
it out. I have a feeling that is why they were selling them for
$9.99. Fortuneately, it is easy to remove and reinsert the battery.

wrote in
:

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 06:41:03 -0600, amdx
wrote:

On 11/19/2011 9:01 PM, P E Schoen wrote:
I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've
had problems with one of them especially, where the display will go
blank. It seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and
I thought it was a bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh
battery didn't work.


That's why I like the Dial calipers vs Digital Calipers, no concern
about batteries or electronics.
(Dial Calipers, Item # 66541, Out of Stock)

Although a couple years ago HF had the 6" Digital calipers on sale for
$9.99, I bought two. They are still in the boxes and I use my Dial
calipers. I think I might give one away as a Christmas present.
Mikek

I bought one of those and really like it. It seems comparable to
calipers costing many time more. The only problem is I have to remove
the battery when I am done using it or it is dead the next time I get
it out. I have a feeling that is why they were selling them for
$9.99. Fortuneately, it is easy to remove and reinsert the battery.

The battery life in even high end calipers is highly variable. I have a
couple Mitutoyo calipers that are pretty good, but some of their
micrometers are terrible. I have an SPI micrometer that looks
suspiciously like a Chinese cheapo I have. They both need to have the
battery removed if you aren't actively using them. The SPI is a 24" job,
so it rarely gets used. There is no way the battery would last if I left
it in palce.

I discovered the hard way that the little cube electronic levels also eat
batteries, and they require a diet of the larger more expensive coin
cells (2032?). Most of my electronic measuring widgets use 357 style
button cells, and I buy them in quantity off eBay. Radio Shack is a real
ripoff for those things.

Doug White

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:23:32 GMT, Doug White
wrote:

I discovered the hard way that the little cube electronic levels also eat
batteries, and they require a diet of the larger more expensive coin
cells (2032?).

Just a heads up..a lot of the local 99c stores sell a card with 3 to 5
of the 2032s for ....99c

I buy a couple cards every year just to have them on hand

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

"amdx" wrote in message
...
On 11/19/2011 9:01 PM, P E Schoen wrote:
I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go
blank.
It seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I
thought
it was a bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't
work.


That's why I like the Dial calipers vs Digital Calipers, no concern
about batteries or electronics.
(Dial Calipers, Item # 66541, Out of Stock)

Although a couple years ago HF had the 6" Digital calipers on sale for
$9.99, I bought two. They are still in the boxes and I use my Dial
calipers. I think I might give one away as a Christmas present.
Mikek

I have a vernier Calipe. I never need to set the dial, cause there isn't
one

Cheers

On 2011-11-20, amdx wrote:
On 11/19/2011 9:01 PM, P E Schoen wrote:
I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank.
It seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought
it was a bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't work.


That's why I like the Dial calipers vs Digital Calipers, no concern
about batteries or electronics.

But -- dial calipers are vulnerable to two problems.

1) Drop or bump them and the pinion will disengage from the
rack and shift to give a wrong reading. You can work around
that by rotating the dial to re-zero it, but past a certain
point, it gets to be awkward to read.

2) Small chips can get engaged in the rack and the zero point
will shift every time you pass that point.

Vernier calipers don't have these problems, but are more
difficult to read with aging eyes and poor light.

Yes -- there are ways to fix both, but a lot more fiddly than
fixing an exhausted battery on the digital calipers.

And the digital calipers have two other advantages over dial and
Vernier calipers:

a) Switch between metric and inch modes at the push of a button,
even converting readings already locked in. (Actually, some
Vernier calipers have both scales, so this does not apply.)

b) Ability to reset the zero where-ever you want, so you can set
it to zero on a target dimension, and then read how much you
need to machine off in a lathe to see how many passes before
you are close enough to do serious measurements. You can even
keep a calculator handy to divide by two depending on whether
your cross-feed dial reads in diameter or radius.

c) (O.K. Three for some people. :-) -- the ability to transfer the
measurement to a computer (without typing errors) for statistics
or other similar processing.

(Dial Calipers, Item # 66541, Out of Stock)

Although a couple years ago HF had the 6" Digital calipers on sale for
$9.99, I bought two. They are still in the boxes and I use my Dial
calipers. I think I might give one away as a Christmas present.

I have three 6" (150 mm) digital calipers, and a 12" (300 mm)
digital caliper. (Not counting two old B&S 6" ones which require
mercury cells for power, which are made of unobtanium.)

I also have a two dial calipers -- a 6" Phase-II, and a 150 mm
Starrett.

And two Vernier calipers -- a 6"/150mm and a 24" (I forget
whether that one has metric units as well.)

However -- the ones which I reach for most of the time are the
digital ones -- because of the memory feature and the ability to switch
measurement systems to match what I am working on and with.

One 6" digital stays near the main lathe (12x24" Clausing) and
one near the little CNC lathe in the opposite corner of the shop. The
cheapest digital ($18.00 at a hamfest) lives up here by the computer for
when I want to measure something quickly.

I keep a spare cell (or set as appropriate) in the case of each
digital, so I am not out of operation for very long if the cells in the
caliper go bad.

The dial or the Vernier get used when I expect to be away from
batteries for a while -- or in case the production of batteries ceases
thanks to some apocalypse. :-) (Or the 24" one for when I need to
measure beyond the range of the 12" digital.)

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

I've ignored the "Followup-To: " header, because I believe that this
also belongs in at least rec.crafts.metalworking, where I am following
it, and I would miss my own followup and any responses if it were kept
to a single group as requested.

On 2011-11-20, Fred Abse wrote:
On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 06:41:03 -0600, amdx wrote:

That's why I like the Dial calipers vs Digital Calipers, no concern
about batteries or electronics.

I prefer a "proper" vernier. At least you can verify those by eye.

Depends on how old the eye is and how good the illumination is.

I never
did trust digital calipers to hold their zero and not skip under workshop
conditions, Half a lifetime dealing with incremental encoders has made me
wary.

The old B&S ones, which used glass encoders in the slot where
the rack gear would otherwise be were sensitive to coolant in the slot.
But the modern units seem to be quite good at not skipping.

I *might* trust a Mitutoyo digital caliper or height gage in inspection
room conditions.

I trust them (as much as a caliper *can* be trusted compared to
a micrometer) in shop conditions as well.

Dial calipers have all sorts of racks and gears to go sloppy.

Agreed -- or to pick up bits of swarf and skip.

I suppose nobody under fifty knows how to read a real vernier, or a slide
rule for that matter ;-(

I know how to use both -- but then I am (well) over fifty. :-)

But there have been verniers on the thimbles of the better
micrometers much more recently than that, so presumably some of the
younger crowd know.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

Cleaned, how? Trichlor? WD? Cotton swab?

Have you considered something to reduce the humidity, like
vent fan, central AC, or dehumidifier?

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"P E Schoen" wrote in message
...
I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and
I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will
go blank. It
seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I
thought it was a
bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't
work.

So I took it apart, which meant peeling off a foil backing
to expose four
small phillips head screws, which removed the electronics
module, and then I
removed the PC board with four even smaller phillips screws.
The LCD display
connects to the board with a flexible conductive strip,
which relies on
pressure to maintain contact. I cleaned it and the mating
contacts on the
PCB, reassembled it, and it now works fine!

My house is always very humid and I think that's what caused
the problem.
It's hell on all my tools. Everything is rusty or mildewed.

It's quite interesting to see the mechanism that is used to
make
measurements. There is an array of PCB traces that are
aligned with an array
of stripes along the length of the caliper, and (I assume)
these create
pulses that are counted as the head is moved. But it also
needs to know
which way the head is being moved. Probably something like a
quadrature
encoder as used for rotary position sensing. I'll have to
look it up.

Paul

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message ...

Cleaned, how? Trichlor? WD? Cotton swab?

I used rubbing alcohol, which I also use for defluxing PCBs. I also scraped
the surface and dried it with a paper towel.

Have you considered something to reduce the humidity,
like vent fan, central AC, or dehumidifier?

I've lived with the problem for a long time. I have two houses, adjacent to
each other, and the lower levels have a stone foundations built into a hill.
It is worse in the house where I have my workshop and storage. And the
houses are in a low-lying area under lots of trees and the water table is
close to the surface. I've also had leaks in the foundation as well as the
roof so moisture has gotten in. Some time ago I basically gutted both houses
and replaced the old rotten frame studs and mud sills with new
pressure-treated lumber, but did not add vapor barrier, insulation, or new
drywall, until recently, and only partially. Being below grade, it's like
being in a cave, and it's often so cold that a dehumidifier freezes up. And
without insulation and vapor barrier, it's almost futile to try.

You can see my houses, and some of the work I've done (and some of my
tools), on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/PaulAndMuttle...50/oxKL2p8O3EM
(there are also part 2 and part 3)

Paul
www.muttleydog.com

On Nov 19, 10:01*pm, "P E Schoen" wrote:
I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank. It
seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought it was a
bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't work.

So I took it apart, which meant peeling off a foil backing to expose four
small phillips head screws, which removed the electronics module, and then I
removed the PC board with four even smaller phillips screws. The LCD display
connects to the board with a flexible conductive strip, which relies on
pressure to maintain contact. I cleaned it and the mating contacts on the
PCB, reassembled it, and it now works fine!

My house is always very humid and I think that's what caused the problem.
It's hell on all my tools. Everything is rusty or mildewed.

It's quite interesting to see the mechanism that is used to make
measurements. There is an array of PCB traces that are aligned with an array
of stripes along the length of the caliper, and (I assume) these create
pulses that are counted as the head is moved. But it also needs to know
which way the head is being moved. Probably something like a quadrature
encoder as used for rotary position sensing. I'll have to look it up.

Paul

http://www.biotele.com/digital_caliper.htm

--
Cheers,
James Arthur

On Nov 19, 9:01*pm, "P E Schoen" wrote:
I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank. It
seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought it was a
bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't work.

So I took it apart, which meant peeling off a foil backing to expose four
small phillips head screws, which removed the electronics module, and then I
removed the PC board with four even smaller phillips screws. The LCD display
connects to the board with a flexible conductive strip, which relies on
pressure to maintain contact. I cleaned it and the mating contacts on the
PCB, reassembled it, and it now works fine!

My house is always very humid and I think that's what caused the problem.
It's hell on all my tools. Everything is rusty or mildewed.

It's quite interesting to see the mechanism that is used to make
measurements. There is an array of PCB traces that are aligned with an array
of stripes along the length of the caliper, and (I assume) these create
pulses that are counted as the head is moved. But it also needs to know
which way the head is being moved. Probably something like a quadrature
encoder as used for rotary position sensing. I'll have to look it up.

Paul

Interesting..it sounds like you may have a serious mold problem.

It can destroy a house if left untended.

TMT

I have a cheap Caliper too and it recently went flakey.

I did my standard trick: Remove battery. Short battery contacts:
Insert new battery. Worked.

Mine uses an LR44 and you HAVE TO use an LR44, not a substitute
battery that you can get a Radio Shack.
Mechanically they are not the same.