Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a DIY
fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers but I
don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now. It's always
been completely reliable but over the last couple of days the display has
refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a range of about half a
stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical one,
but am I correct?

Many thanks.

On 20/02/2019 16:26, Bert Coules wrote:
Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a
DIY fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers but
I don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now.Â* It's
always been completely reliable but over the last couple of days the
display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a range of
about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?

Many thanks.







Are they on a firm/hard surface? We've some bathroom scales in our
en-suite which do this on the bathroom carpet- which has a soft pile. On
the bedroom carpet (more of a berber pile), they are fine. Put them in
the other bathroom (a tiled floor) and they are fine.

It could be they've been moved and a fresh bit of carpet pile is causing
your problem.

On Wed, 20 Feb 2019 16:26:37 -0000, Bert Coules wrote:

Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a DIY
fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers but I
don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now. It's always
been completely reliable but over the last couple of days the display has
refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a range of about half a
stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical one,
but am I correct?

Many thanks.

Have you tried replacing the cell/battery? I had this with the 10kg kitchen
scales and a new CR2032 cell fixed it (always check the fuel before
stripping the engine!).
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

Thanks for the speedy replies. The scale's always been used on a tiled
surface, and I did try putting in a new battery.

I'm going to open it up and take a look inside. I don't know exactly what
the sensing mechanism is, but perhaps that's where the problem lies.

In article , PeterC
wrote:
On Wed, 20 Feb 2019 16:26:37 -0000, Bert Coules wrote:

Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a
DIY fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers
but I don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now.
It's always been completely reliable but over the last couple of days
the display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a
range of about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?

Many thanks.

Have you tried replacing the cell/battery? I had this with the 10kg
kitchen scales and a new CR2032 cell fixed it (always check the fuel
before stripping the engine!).

When I started as a maintenance engineer (over 50 years ago), the golden
rule was "always check the power supply first", It's stood me in very good
stead over the years.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

"charles" wrote in message
...
Have you tried replacing the cell/battery? I had this with the 10kg
kitchen scales and a new CR2032 cell fixed it (always check the fuel
before stripping the engine!).

When I started as a maintenance engineer (over 50 years ago), the golden
rule was "always check the power supply first", It's stood me in very good
stead over the years.

I had a problem with a hard disk TV recorder (a PVR) which would boot up and
present its initial menus and would act as a tuner (converting aerial input
from digital TV into SCART output) but would not show the recordings on the
hard disc or allow new recordings to be made.

I suspected a failed hard disc and, because I had nothing to lose, removed
the disc to see if it would spin up and could be read by connecting it to a
PC. Answer: yes it spun up without any problem and Windows could see two
partitions but could not detect filesystems on them. I later learned that
they were probably UNIX-specific filesystems - I bet if I were to connect
the disc to my Raspberry Pi nowadays the disc could be read; I might try it
one day as a class exercise!

Something made me check the supply voltage and I found that the PSU produced
a no-load voltage of 12V, but this dropped to about 8 V as soon as I plugged
the lead into the PVR. Fortunately I had a spare PSU from a hard disc caddy,
with the same connector (which was wired in the same polarity - I checked!)
and was rated at the same voltage and at least as much current as the old
one.

The device immediately sprang into life and had worked fine ever since. So I
now always suspect the PSU whenever any device misbehaves and check that the
on-load voltage is close to what the PSU is supposed to produce.

Bert Coules brought next idea :
I'm going to open it up and take a look inside. I don't know exactly what
the sensing mechanism is, but perhaps that's where the problem lies.

Strain gauge.

On 20/02/2019 16:26, Bert Coules wrote:
Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a
DIY fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers but
I don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now.Â* It's
always been completely reliable but over the last couple of days the
display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a range of
about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?

Many thanks.




the only reliable scales are beam balance. ALL the standonm pressiure
ones are in the end utter ****.



--
A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on
its shoes.

"Bert Coules" wrote in message
...
Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a DIY
fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers but I
don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now. It's
always been completely reliable but over the last couple of days the
display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a range of
about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?

It could be a mechanical problem if one of the feet is broken internally
or you now have a cracked trace to one of the load cells.

"2987fr" wrote:

It could be a mechanical problem if one of the feet is broken internally
or you now have a cracked trace to one of the load cells.

Spot on. When I opened it up I found that one of the two rear feet which
act as sensors (each connected to the main PCB by a single wire) has come
adrift from its fixings (very small plastic studs on the case, seemingly
just push-fitted into holes on the internal flange of the foot.

I'll try refixing the flange (Araldite, maybe?) and see if that solves the
problem. In the meantime, many thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions.

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
On 20/02/2019 16:26, Bert Coules wrote:
Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a
DIY fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers but
I don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now. It's
always been completely reliable but over the last couple of days the
display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a range of
about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?

Many thanks.




the only reliable scales are beam balance. ALL the standonm pressiure ones
are in the end utter ****.

While many of them are utter ****, not all of them are.
My Soehnle Spirito has been very reliable weight wise
for more than a decade now and I have only recently
stopped using it because its replacements load the
weight reading into my smartphone automatically so
I dont have to fart around manually entering the data.

I have just recently replaced it with a Renpho ES-CS20M
and it gives the same weight and is just a reproducible
and shows small changes in weight when I hold something
small when weighing myself.

Just after I got it I got a Easy Home Body Analysis Smart
Scale 63684, an Aldi special buy which also is just as
reliable weight wise and also gives the same weights.
I got it because I could try it and return it for a full
refund and just havent gotten around to returning it yet.

On 20/02/2019 18:26, 2987fr wrote:


"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
On 20/02/2019 16:26, Bert Coules wrote:
Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact
a DIY fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers
but I don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old
now.Â* It's always been completely reliable but over the last couple
of days the display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down
over a range of about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a
mechanical one, but am I correct?

Many thanks.




the only reliable scales are beam balance. ALL the standonm pressiure
ones are in the end utter ****.

While many of them are utter ****, not all of them are.
My Soehnle Spirito has been very reliable weight wise
for more than a decade now and I have only recently
stopped using it because its replacements load the
weight reading into my smartphone automatically so
I dont have to fart around manually entering the data.

I have just recently replaced it with a Renpho ES-CS20M
and it gives the same weight and is just a reproducible
and shows small changes in weight when I hold something
small when weighing myself.

Just after I got it I got a Easy Home Body Analysis Smart
Scale 63684, an Aldi special buy which also is just as
reliable weight wise and also gives the same weights.
I got it because I could try it and return it for a full
refund and just havent gotten around to returning it yet.

My new Salter Ultimate Accuracy Electronic Digital Bathroom Scales are
increditably accurate. They do have to be on a hard surface. I use
them on an piece of wood which itself justs rests on a carpet. When I
weighed my suitcases I got the same result as the Gatwick Easyjet self
check in.


--
Michael Chare

"Michael Chare" wrote in message
...
On 20/02/2019 18:26, 2987fr wrote:


"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
On 20/02/2019 16:26, Bert Coules wrote:
Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a
DIY fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers
but I don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now.
It's always been completely reliable but over the last couple of days
the display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a
range of about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?

Many thanks.




the only reliable scales are beam balance. ALL the standonm pressiure
ones are in the end utter ****.

While many of them are utter ****, not all of them are.
My Soehnle Spirito has been very reliable weight wise
for more than a decade now and I have only recently
stopped using it because its replacements load the
weight reading into my smartphone automatically so
I dont have to fart around manually entering the data.

I have just recently replaced it with a Renpho ES-CS20M
and it gives the same weight and is just a reproducible
and shows small changes in weight when I hold something
small when weighing myself.

Just after I got it I got a Easy Home Body Analysis Smart
Scale 63684, an Aldi special buy which also is just as
reliable weight wise and also gives the same weights.
I got it because I could try it and return it for a full
refund and just havent gotten around to returning it yet.

My new Salter Ultimate Accuracy Electronic Digital Bathroom Scales are
increditably accurate. They do have to be on a hard surface. I use them
on an piece of wood which itself justs rests on a carpet. When I weighed
my suitcases I got the same result as the Gatwick Easyjet self check in.

Good price too. Problem is that I find it much more convenient
to have the weight automatically loaded into the smartphone
than to have to do that manually every day.

On Thu, 21 Feb 2019 05:26:32 +1100, 2987fr, better known as cantankerous
trolling senile geezer Rot Speed, wrote:


While many of them are utter ****,

NOBODY and NOTHING could be as full of **** as you are, senile Rot, you sick
asshole who gets up EVERY DAY between 1 and 4 o'clock in the morning just to
be able to continue with his trolling without too long a break! BG

--
Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp addressing Rot Speed:
"You really are a clueless pillock."
MID:

On Thu, 21 Feb 2019 05:13:05 +1100, 2987fr, better known as cantankerous
trolling senile geezer Rot Speed, wrote:


It could be a mechanical problem

Are were talking about your brain, senile Rot? BG

--
FredXX to Rot Speed:
"You are still an idiot and an embarrassment to your country. No wonder
we shippe the likes of you out of the British Isles. Perhaps stupidity
and criminality is inherited after all?"
Message-ID:

On 20/02/2019 16:26, Bert Coules wrote:
Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a
DIY fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers but
I don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now.Â* It's
always been completely reliable but over the last couple of days the
display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a range of
about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?

Many thanks.




Not necessarily IMHO, even electronic scales are measuring the
compression of some sort of "spring". In practice, there are various
links and pivots and a little bit of friction anywhere will affect the
result. Mine varies if you rock backwards and forwards. I have found you
can get more consistent results if you effectively place each of your
big toes on the same "mark" every time (with your heels in the same
places, of course). As others have said, the flatness, hardness, and
levelness of where you place the scales can also make a difference.

But it could be electronics too: battery connections?

On 20/02/2019 16:57, Bert Coules wrote:
Thanks for the speedy replies.Â* The scale's always been used on a tiled
surface, and I did try putting in a new battery.

I'm going to open it up and take a look inside.Â* I don't know exactly
what the sensing mechanism is, but perhaps that's where the problem lies.

WD40 on all the "pivots" if you do that.

On 20/02/2019 18:19, Bert Coules wrote:
"2987fr" wrote:

It could be a mechanical problem if one of the feet is broken internally
or you now have a cracked trace to one of the load cells.

Spot on.Â* When I opened it up I found that one of the two rear feet
which act as sensors (each connected to the main PCB by a single wire)
has come adrift from its fixings (very small plastic studs on the case,
seemingly just push-fitted into holes on the internal flange of the foot.

I'll try refixing the flange (Araldite, maybe?) and see if that solves
the problem.Â* In the meantime, many thanks for all the thoughts and
suggestions.

Wow a result! Great bit of prediction, too.

On Thu, 21 Feb 2019 06:14:12 +1100, 2987fr, better known as cantankerous
trolling senile geezer Rot Speed, wrote:


Good price too. Problem is that I find it much more convenient
to have the weight automatically loaded into the smartphone
than to have to do that manually every day.

Yeah, you are that retarded, senile idiot! tsk

--
Norman Wells addressing senile Rot:
"Ah, the voice of scum speaks."
MID:

On 20/02/2019 16:26, Bert Coules wrote:


I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?


Battery needs replacing?

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
the only reliable scales are beam balance. ALL the standonm pressiure ones
are in the end utter ****.

The problem with beam balance scales is that they take a long time to get a
reading because you have to add measuring weights in a binary chop until the
beam is just balanced. And they don't give a reading on an analogue or
digital scale: you have to manually add up all the balancing weights that
you have added.


Spring or strain gauge scales gives an instant reading - though they *may*
be less consistent. Is that the usual way in which they are "utter ****" -
that reading the same object on multiple occasions gives different results?
Or is it that there is a systematic error - eg they under-read at the low
end of the scale and over-read at the high end, so a 1 kg weight added to a
1 kg weight and a 1 kg weight added to 100 kg will register as different
extra weights?

I've seen scientific "balances" for laboratory use which can read to the
nearest milligramme for overall weights up to maybe 10 grammes. Are you
saying that this degree of accuracy is spurious? If so, a lot of lab
readings would be found to be incorrect and people would soon start to
complain. So strain gauges must be reliable.

I suppose one could argue that *any* device (not just weighing scales) that
uses a spring to balance out the position of a needle on a gauge against an
analogue of the quantity that you are measuring (eg voltage proportional to
speed, weight, oil pressure, engine revs, temperature) is equally "****"
because you may not get a linear reading across the scale or may get
different readings for several measurements of the same quantity, because of
non-linearities in the rate of the spring (constant of deflection versus
force) or because the needle sticks slightly on its bearings.

On Wed, 20 Feb 2019 20:59:15 -0000, "NY" wrote:

I suppose one could argue that *any* device (not just weighing scales) that
uses a spring to balance out the position of a needle on a gauge against an
analogue of the quantity that you are measuring (eg voltage proportional to
speed, weight, oil pressure, engine revs, temperature) is equally "****"
because you may not get a linear reading across the scale or may get
different readings for several measurements of the same quantity, because of
non-linearities in the rate of the spring (constant of deflection versus
force) or because the needle sticks slightly on its bearings.

Aaaah, thereyougo, you got it. Just leave away the "uses a spring" bit, and
it'll be more correct!

There is whole host of terms to describe the different ways a measurement is
****: repeatability, linearity, temperature dependence, systematic errors,
random errors, drift, ...

A balance scale, a simple two-bowls-onna-beam thing, will fail systematically in
many ways: a nicely sneaky one its the buoyancy in air of the objects to be
weighed in air. Different *volume* of the weights and the object enters into it,
at the rate of about a kilo per cubic meter, and dependent on the barometric
pressure. It's pretty good in that it compares masses, and the local gravity
pretty much cancels out. (Though there are special scales made to detect
differences in local gravity -- and these scales are tabletop models, not huge
things, see Cavendish and Eötvös). The there's friction, heat and temperature
gradients, the beam bending under loads, dirt on the weights, down to gasses
sticking to the weights and diffusing into them.

That said, I have a Soehnle kitchen scale to 15 kilograms, reading to one gram,
probably strain gauge, ~25‚¬. A test with a set of weights (once certified, but
out-of-date) showed yeah, off by one or two grams above a kilo -- more than OK
for kitchen work.

Beware some bathroom scales have cheat software to show the same weight if
nearly-the-same-weight is applied within a short time!


Thomas Prufer

Depends on whether its a strain gauge type or a normal mechanical scale with
mechanical linkages to a rotating pot of some kind. I've seen both fail. the
rotating pot gets noisy and intermittent due to wear and muck, and the
strain gauges can have bonding issues with the part that flexes. You say
its LED, normally they are LCD as they need to emit no light at all and the
battery lasts longer.
I have a talking set myself but I could imagine in a multi person house
this could be embarrassing!
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Bert Coules" wrote in message
...
Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a DIY
fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers but I
don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now. It's
always been completely reliable but over the last couple of days the
display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a range of
about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?

Many thanks.

I find a sheet of hardboard under them fixes that.
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Brian Reay" wrote in message
...
On 20/02/2019 16:26, Bert Coules wrote:
Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a
DIY fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers but
I don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now. It's
always been completely reliable but over the last couple of days the
display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a range of
about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?

Many thanks.







Are they on a firm/hard surface? We've some bathroom scales in our
en-suite which do this on the bathroom carpet- which has a soft pile. On
the bedroom carpet (more of a berber pile), they are fine. Put them in the
other bathroom (a tiled floor) and they are fine.

It could be they've been moved and a fresh bit of carpet pile is causing
your problem.

Actually a good clean might be enough, but if you can find sewing machine
oil it can work wonders when you degrease and get the gunge out.
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"newshound" wrote in message
...
On 20/02/2019 16:57, Bert Coules wrote:
Thanks for the speedy replies. The scale's always been used on a tiled
surface, and I did try putting in a new battery.

I'm going to open it up and take a look inside. I don't know exactly what
the sensing mechanism is, but perhaps that's where the problem lies.

WD40 on all the "pivots" if you do that.

Well I'd not go that far, but did you know that on different bits of the
earth the gravity can vary and hence no scale is going to be completely
accurate?


Salter used to make the Weigh****cher scales, but as most of these things
tend to be made in China anyway, the actual make probably does not matter.
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
On 20/02/2019 16:26, Bert Coules wrote:
Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a
DIY fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers but
I don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now. It's
always been completely reliable but over the last couple of days the
display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a range of
about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?

Many thanks.




the only reliable scales are beam balance. ALL the standonm pressiure ones
are in the end utter ****.



--
A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on
its shoes.

On Wed, 20 Feb 2019 17:49:20 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 20/02/2019 16:26, Bert Coules wrote:
Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a
DIY fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers but
I don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now.* It's
always been completely reliable but over the last couple of days the
display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a range of
about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?

Many thanks.

the only reliable scales are beam balance. ALL the standonm pressiure
ones are in the end utter ****.

Agreed - if I had the space for a beam balance...
Had an electronic scale once, crap, went back to the Krupps mechanical one
that was old when I aquired it in the early '90s. Accuracy: unknown;
consitency: good.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

On Wed, 20 Feb 2019 19:01:05 +0000, Michael Chare wrote:

My new Salter Ultimate Accuracy Electronic Digital Bathroom Scales are
increditably accurate. They do have to be on a hard surface. I use
them on an piece of wood which itself justs rests on a carpet. When I
weighed my suitcases I got the same result as the Gatwick Easyjet self
check in.

Will they accept incremental weights? My electronic ones woudn't, so I
couldn't add/subtract items that I wanted to weigh.
I was trying to get the load on the front wheel of a bike so that I could
use the laden rolling radius - had get the old scales to do it.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

On Thu, 21 Feb 2019 08:16:01 -0000, Brian Gaff wrote:

Well I'd not go that far, but did you know that on different bits of the
earth the gravity can vary and hence no scale is going to be completely
accurate?

A balance scale will be the same, as the mass of each sides is equally
affected - that's where the beam balance is good.
When I was young (4 - 8 yo) my parents had a small shop; I found the beam
balance of great interest and very easy to use.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

On 21/02/2019 08:46, PeterC wrote:
On Wed, 20 Feb 2019 19:01:05 +0000, Michael Chare wrote:

My new Salter Ultimate Accuracy Electronic Digital Bathroom Scales are
increditably accurate. They do have to be on a hard surface. I use
them on an piece of wood which itself justs rests on a carpet. When I
weighed my suitcases I got the same result as the Gatwick Easyjet self
check in.

Will they accept incremental weights?

No, you would have to start again but the repeat accuracy is very good.


--
Michael Chare

Brian Gaff wrote:

You say it's LED, normally they are LCD...

And so is this. A slip of the fingers and the brain.

Thanks to you and everyone else for the further thoughts. My first attempt
at a fix wasn't entirely successful: one of the displaced feet didn't stick
securely and came loose again as soon as I put any weight on it. I'll have
another go.

The feet/sensors strike me as a pretty weak part of the design. Their
springing is just four rather flimsy plastic sprues which connect the actual
foot to the securing flange.

On Thu, 21 Feb 2019 10:43:49 +0000, Michael Chare wrote:

On 21/02/2019 08:46, PeterC wrote:
On Wed, 20 Feb 2019 19:01:05 +0000, Michael Chare wrote:

My new Salter Ultimate Accuracy Electronic Digital Bathroom Scales are
increditably accurate. They do have to be on a hard surface. I use
them on an piece of wood which itself justs rests on a carpet. When I
weighed my suitcases I got the same result as the Gatwick Easyjet self
check in.

Will they accept incremental weights?

No, you would have to start again but the repeat accuracy is very good.

Thanks. The Aldidl electronic ones had the gimmick of repeating the previous
weight if close enough. Had to trick them into accepting small changes.

I noticed on Salter's site that the 'accuracy' is to 50g - that's the
precision (and no, it's not very precise) - there's no mention of accuracy.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

On Thu, 21 Feb 2019 11:39:52 -0000, "Bert Coules"
wrote:

Brian Gaff wrote:

You say it's LED, normally they are LCD...

And so is this. A slip of the fingers and the brain.

Thanks to you and everyone else for the further thoughts. My first attempt
at a fix wasn't entirely successful: one of the displaced feet didn't stick
securely and came loose again as soon as I put any weight on it. I'll have
another go.

The feet/sensors strike me as a pretty weak part of the design. Their
springing is just four rather flimsy plastic sprues which connect the actual
foot to the securing flange.

Strain gauges don't have springs. My bathroom scales have feet
suspended on flat plastic spirals to allow them to move. They press on
the strain gauges underneath that are fixed to the solid glass base.

If it's just one of your feet that's come off, not the gauge
underneath, then you're probably just experiencing the scales
sometimes pressing on three feet instead of four.
--
Dave W

"Dave W" wrote:

Strain gauges don't have springs. My bathroom scales have feet
suspended on flat plastic spirals to allow them to move. They
press on the strain gauges underneath that are fixed to the solid glass
base.

Yes, my scale is the same (minus the glass base). But the flat plastic
spirals, whether you call them springs or not, still strike me as a weak
area, even though the amount of travel of each foot is restricted, as you
say, by the strain gauges located immediately above.

I'm intrigued by the fact that two of the four feet are connected to the PCB
by very fine twin wiring. The uppermost part of each foot, the bit that
presses against the gauge, appears to be metallic, but unless there's more
going on inside the rest of the foot than seems likely, why *two* wires?

If it's just one of your feet that's come off, not the gauge
underneath, then you're probably just experiencing the scales
sometimes pressing on three feet instead of four.

Yes, I think you're right. Thanks for the thought.

Unfortunately my refix fix didn't work: even with all four feet now securely
in place and correctly bearing on the strain gauges I can't get a stable
reading from the scale: it flits about from figure to figure, though always
within a range of about half a stone up and down.

So perhaps the problem is electronic? Whether it is or not, I can't see any
way of correcting it, sadly.

Thanks to all for the thoughts and suggestions.

On Fri, 22 Feb 2019 13:04:16 -0000, "Bert Coules"
wrote:

Unfortunately my refix fix didn't work: even with all four feet now securely
in place and correctly bearing on the strain gauges I can't get a stable
reading from the scale: it flits about from figure to figure, though always
within a range of about half a stone up and down.

So perhaps the problem is electronic? Whether it is or not, I can't see any
way of correcting it, sadly.

Thanks to all for the thoughts and suggestions.

My scale goes blank for about 3 seconds when I step on it, then
displays what I suspect is the average during that time. Maybe your
software is displaying your fidgeting instantly, not averaging. It
would be interesting to put a heavy weight on the scales instead of
you standing on them, to see if the reading stays steady.
--
Dave W

Dave W wrote:

It would be interesting to put a heavy weight
on the scales instead of you standing on them,
to see if the reading stays steady.

The fidgeting (nice description) has come on only very recently, which does
suggest some kind of fault, but I'll try that, thanks.

An update: I tried heavy objects (well, lighter objects than myself) and
discovered that up to around two stone the scales behaved perfectly,
displaying an immediate reading with complete stability. Above that, the
display fluctuated and never settled on a single figure.

Useful for parcels then, but not for me, unless I go on a fairly drastic
diet.

On 20/02/2019 17:49, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 20/02/2019 16:26, Bert Coules wrote:
Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a
DIY fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers
but I don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now.
It's always been completely reliable but over the last couple of days
the display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a
range of about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?

Many thanks.




the only reliable scales are beam balance. ALL the standonm pressiure
ones are in the end utter ****.

That's not my experience. I tend to aim for resolution which does tend
to mean a better strain gauge and lower noise electronics.

On Sunday, 24 February 2019 13:35:11 UTC, Fredxx wrote:
On 20/02/2019 17:49, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 20/02/2019 16:26, Bert Coules wrote:

Not really a DIY question (unless it turns out that there is in fact a
DIY fix), so apologies.

I have a bathroom scale with an LED display (branded Weight Watchers
but I don't know the actual maker) which is a good few years old now.
It's always been completely reliable but over the last couple of days
the display has refused to stabilise: it flicks up and down over a
range of about half a stone, never stopping on any one reading.

I'm assuming that it's an electronics problem rather than a mechanical
one, but am I correct?

Many thanks.




the only reliable scales are beam balance. ALL the standonm pressiure
ones are in the end utter ****.

That's not my experience. I tend to aim for resolution which does tend
to mean a better strain gauge and lower noise electronics.

Beam balance are accurate & last centuries. No electronic scale will do that. Shame that beam balance are also slow to use, expensive & bulky.


NT