I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire. The
have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within 0.001". Two
weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to measure something
of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to measure anything past 1.5".
I brought them into the house where they started working fine as soon as
they warmed up.

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

--
Michael Koblic
Campbell River, BC

In article , "Michael Koblic" wrote:
I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire. The
have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within 0.001". Two
weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to measure something
of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to measure anything past 1.5".
I brought them into the house where they started working fine as soon as
they warmed up.

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

Cause is stated in the first sentence of your post... g

On a more serious note, though, one suspect is a bad solder joint on a printed
circuit board. Open one up; if there's a PCB inside it, examine every solder
joint under strong magnification, and see if you find any cracks.

"Michael Koblic" wrote in
:

I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire.
The have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within
0.001". Two weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to
measure something of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to
measure anything past 1.5". I brought them into the house where they
started working fine as soon as they warmed up.

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

Not sure, but when my Mitutoyo caliper stopped reading reliably above a
couple inches, it was because of dirt on the scale where I had been
holding it. I gave it a wipe down with alcohol, and it was fine.

Doug White

On Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:40:36 -0800, Michael Koblic wrote:

I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire. The
have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within 0.001".
Two weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to measure
something of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to measure
anything past 1.5". I brought them into the house where they started
working fine as soon as they warmed up.

Your description makes it sound like a cold-temperature-related
problem, which surprises me because my Harbor-Freight-type
calipers work ok at 3 - 4 C (except for it being clumsy to
operate the little buttons when wearing insulated gloves).

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

Try the third one, or better, all three of them in the
same time frame and environmental conditions. Also, try
zeroing the caliper when it is open about an inch or two
and see how far it works each way, and test whether the
metric scale has the same problem.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

Maybe they are too cheap and you need to upgrade to
superior HF quality calipers. BTW, re low batteries,
aside from the LCD blinking (to signal low battery) my
calipers seem to work ok for several months with low
batteries, even in the cold. (I keep ok batteries in
several calipers, but for the less-frequently used ones
change the batteries less often.)

--
jiw

On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:29:52 GMT, (Doug Miller)
wrote:

In article , "Michael Koblic" wrote:
I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire. The
have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within 0.001". Two
weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to measure something
of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to measure anything past 1.5".
I brought them into the house where they started working fine as soon as
they warmed up.

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

Cause is stated in the first sentence of your post... g

On a more serious note, though, one suspect is a bad solder joint on a printed
circuit board. Open one up; if there's a PCB inside it, examine every solder
joint under strong magnification, and see if you find any cracks.
Try a fresh battery and if this doesn't help, get in the habit of
carrying it in your shirt pocket.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

James Waldby wrote:
On Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:40:36 -0800, Michael Koblic wrote:

I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire. The
have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within 0.001".
Two weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to measure
something of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to measure
anything past 1.5". I brought them into the house where they started
working fine as soon as they warmed up.

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

Sounds like condensation is messing up the dielectric constant
in the sensor gap. It'd be interesting to put the calipers in
a bell jar and pump them down to boil off the liquid at 9.5 C.

If they suddenly start working, you have a data point.

--Winston

--

On YouTube, all the tools have volume controls.

On Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:40:36 -0800, the infamous "Michael Koblic"
scrawled the following:

I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire. The
have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within 0.001". Two
weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to measure something
of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to measure anything past 1.5".
I brought them into the house where they started working fine as soon as
they warmed up.

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

The small capacitors on the circuit boards can freeze and explode
during cold weather (it happened on my sprinkler timer), so keep them
in the house. Batteries can, too, can't they? I've never lived in
those extreme climes so I don't have anecdotal evidence.

--
It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare;
it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.
-- Seneca

On Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:40:36 -0800, "Michael Koblic"
wrote:

I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire. The
have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within 0.001". Two
weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to measure something
of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to measure anything past 1.5".
I brought them into the house where they started working fine as soon as
they warmed up.

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

It may not be temperature per se, but temp close to where RH
condenses. Those calipers have some very high impedance CMOS
circuitry. I've had Mitutoyo digital calipers do that, never had a
problem with those from HF!

Don Foreman wrote:

(...)

It may not be temperature per se, but temp close to where RH
condenses.

Say! I think you are on to something there, Don.

--Winston

In article ,
Jim Stewart wrote:

Lewis Hartswick wrote:
Michael Koblic wrote:
I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire.
The have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within
0.001". Two weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to
measure something of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to
measure anything past 1.5". I brought them into the house where they
started working fine as soon as they warmed up.

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

The main "likely cause" is they are cursed DIGITAL. Get a dial
caliper and it'll work in any environment. :-)

I wished. Fine grit and chips will kill a dial
caliper.

Just get a regular old vernier caliper and learn to read it? (Magnifying
glass optional depending on age

"Michael Koblic" wrote in message
...
I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire. The
have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within 0.001".
Two weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to measure
something of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to measure anything
past 1.5". I brought them into the house where they started working fine as
soon as they warmed up.

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

--
Michael Koblic
Campbell River, BC
'

I would clean the edge of the calipers and see if the roller is slipping.
Being cold the bearing may have enough drag to slip on the caliper.

"Bill McKee" wrote in message
m...

"Michael Koblic" wrote in message
...
I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire. The
have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within 0.001".
Two weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to measure
something of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to measure anything
past 1.5". I brought them into the house where they started working fine
as soon as they warmed up.

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

--
Michael Koblic
Campbell River, BC
'

I would clean the edge of the calipers and see if the roller is slipping.
Being cold the bearing may have enough drag to slip on the caliper.

All three are doing this. Cleaning the edges did not help. A quick blast
with a hair-dryer did. I suspect the condensation theory is closest to the
mark. It is interesting that the calipers will measure OK up to 2", it is
only when you go past that that the error begins to show. I take it that
this is because the first two inches of the scale are protected by the
housing during storage.

It's not a big deal as long as one is aware of it.

--
Michael Koblic
Campbell River, BC

"John Husvar" wrote in message
...

Just get a regular old vernier caliper and learn to read it? (Magnifying
glass optional depending on age

As soon as I find one that reads to 0.001".

Michael Koblic wrote:

(...)

It's not a big deal as long as one is aware of it.

http://www.amazon.com/iTouchless-Sea.../dp/B000N5WJUG

--Winston


--

On YouTube, all the tools have volume controls.

On 2009-11-26, Michael Koblic wrote:

"John Husvar" wrote in message
...

Just get a regular old vernier caliper and learn to read it? (Magnifying
glass optional depending on age

As soon as I find one that reads to 0.001".

*Good* ones do. However, if all you've ever seen are the
stamped sheet steel ones sold by General, I can understand your problem.

But yes -- the magnifying glass does come in with older eyes.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
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 26 Nov 2009 07:23:58 GMT, "DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2009-11-26, Michael Koblic wrote:

"John Husvar" wrote in message
...

Just get a regular old vernier caliper and learn to read it? (Magnifying
glass optional depending on age

As soon as I find one that reads to 0.001".

*Good* ones do. However, if all you've ever seen are the
stamped sheet steel ones sold by General, I can understand your problem.

But yes -- the magnifying glass does come in with older eyes.

Enjoy,
DoN.


All of my vernier calipers read to 0.001" and some of them aren't what I'd
call "Good". Magnifying glass is optional if your eyes come with built-in 5
dioptre magnification, it's one of the few benefits of short sightedness :-)



Mark Rand
RTFM

Michael Koblic wrote:
"Bill McKee" wrote in message
m...

"Michael Koblic" wrote in message
...

I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire. The
have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within 0.001".
Two weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to measure
something of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to measure anything
past 1.5". I brought them into the house where they started working fine
as soon as they warmed up.

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

--
Michael Koblic
Campbell River, BC
'

I would clean the edge of the calipers and see if the roller is slipping.
Being cold the bearing may have enough drag to slip on the caliper.


All three are doing this. Cleaning the edges did not help. A quick blast
with a hair-dryer did. I suspect the condensation theory is closest to the
mark. It is interesting that the calipers will measure OK up to 2", it is
only when you go past that that the error begins to show. I take it that
this is because the first two inches of the scale are protected by the
housing during storage.

It's not a big deal as long as one is aware of it.


Is the 2" point where you may have been holding it in your hand?. I have
a Mitutoyo scale and if I hold it long enough at one point then travel
the head across there then it will often flag an error, just leaving it
for a minute or 2 will sort the problem. I assume it's moisture from my
hand on the measuring surface cover.

In article ,
John Husvar wrote:

In article ,
Jim Stewart wrote:

Lewis Hartswick wrote:
Michael Koblic wrote:
I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire.
The have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within
0.001". Two weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to
measure something of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to
measure anything past 1.5". I brought them into the house where they
started working fine as soon as they warmed up.

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

The main "likely cause" is they are cursed DIGITAL. Get a dial
caliper and it'll work in any environment. :-)

I wished. Fine grit and chips will kill a dial
caliper.

Just get a regular old vernier caliper and learn to read it? (Magnifying
glass optional depending on age

Funny, my 30-year-old vernier reads just fine to .001". My eyes on the
other hand -- well, let's just say the magnifying glass wasn't mentioned
for its humor value.

"David Billington" wrote in message
...

Is the 2" point where you may have been holding it in your hand?. I have a
Mitutoyo scale and if I hold it long enough at one point then travel the
head across there then it will often flag an error, just leaving it for a
minute or 2 will sort the problem. I assume it's moisture from my hand on
the measuring surface cover.

No, 'cos I test them straight out of the box without touching the metal. The
2" mark is where the housing ends.

"Winston" wrote in message
...
Michael Koblic wrote:

(...)

It's not a big deal as long as one is aware of it.

http://www.amazon.com/iTouchless-Sea.../dp/B000N5WJUG


Vacuum sealer $69.99.

Being able to blow hot air - priceless!

DoN. Nichols wrote:
On 2009-11-26, Michael Koblic wrote:

"John Husvar" wrote in message
...

Just get a regular old vernier caliper and learn to read it?
(Magnifying glass optional depending on age

As soon as I find one that reads to 0.001".

*Good* ones do. However, if all you've ever seen are the
stamped sheet steel ones sold by General, I can understand your
problem.

But yes -- the magnifying glass does come in with older eyes.

It is not a problem. The cheapest ones I have seen are $515. That is ten of
the cheap digital ones and a small lathe.

Or I could just blow hot air on mine for free. And save the cost of the
magnifying glass...

Michael Koblic wrote:
DoN. Nichols wrote:
On 2009-11-26, Michael Koblic wrote:

"John Husvar" wrote in message
...

Just get a regular old vernier caliper and learn to read it?
(Magnifying glass optional depending on age

As soon as I find one that reads to 0.001".

*Good* ones do. However, if all you've ever seen are the
stamped sheet steel ones sold by General, I can understand your
problem.

But yes -- the magnifying glass does come in with older eyes.

It is not a problem. The cheapest ones I have seen are $515. That is
ten of the cheap digital ones and a small lathe.

Or I could just blow hot air on mine for free. And save the cost of
the magnifying glass...

Ah, just found one for $81 US...

Michael Koblic wrote:
"Winston" wrote in message
...
Michael Koblic wrote:

(...)

It's not a big deal as long as one is aware of it.
http://www.amazon.com/iTouchless-Sea.../dp/B000N5WJUG


Vacuum sealer $69.99.

Being able to blow hot air - priceless!

That was a storage suggestion for your calipers.

If the problem really is condensation, you would be able to use your
calipers full range, out of the box without needing the hot air gun.

Seems like a smart young guy could do the same thing with a Tupperware
container and a little hand vacuum pump for almost No Money.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=92474



--Winston

Dial calipers are nearly always reliable, as long as they're kept clean and
not dropped. Requiring no batteries is a feature.

Readings to .001" usually aren't a problem, with reading glasses if needed.

Dial models generally have a numbered scale showing inches in tenth-inches,
or mm/cm for metric models, so counting turns isn't required.

You've brought up a potential problem for many digital caliper users, I hope
I remember the issue if I encounter it.

--
WB
..........
metalworking projects
www.kwagmire.com/metal_proj.html


"Michael Koblic" wrote in message
...
I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian Tire. The
have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to within 0.001".
Two weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the workshop to measure
something of the order of 4" when the calipers refused to measure anything
past 1.5". I brought them into the house where they started working fine as
soon as they warmed up.

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

--
Michael Koblic
Campbell River, BC

On Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:58:35 -0500, John Husvar wrote:
John Husvar wrote:
Jim Stewart wrote:
Lewis Hartswick wrote:
Michael Koblic wrote:
I have three sets of cheap digital calipers bought in Canadian
Tire. The have all been working fine and agree with a micrometer to
within 0.001". Two weeks ago I tried to use the one I keep in the
workshop to measure something of the order of 4" when the calipers
refused to measure anything past 1.5". I brought them into the
house where they started working fine as soon as they warmed up.

The second set did exactly the same thing today.

The temperature in the workshop is 9.5 deg C.

Replacing the battery made no difference. What is the likely cause?

The main "likely cause" is they are cursed DIGITAL. Get a dial
caliper and it'll work in any environment. :-)

I wished. Fine grit and chips will kill a dial caliper.

Just get a regular old vernier caliper and learn to read it? (Magnifying
glass optional depending on age

Funny, my 30-year-old vernier reads just fine to .001". My eyes on the
other hand -- well, let's just say the magnifying glass wasn't mentioned
for its humor value.

Ah, well; another decade, another diopter. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich