3 ms·

The caliper and kitchen scale already have buttons. (they would both be shitty without a zero/tare button)

• bombcar 5y ago
  Many of these “auto zero” which is why you have to do the scale dance - tap it with your foot to turn it on, wait for it to say zero, then step on.
  • maxerickson 5y ago
    Yeah, my explicit mention of kitchen scales and calipers was intentional, they both become much more useful if the user can choose to zero the readout at any time. This is less true for a bathroom scale.
  • thfuran 5y ago
    Went not just stand on it while it tares and ignore the negative when you step off?
    • majewsky 5y ago
      All the digital bathroom scales that I've encountered refuse to display negative measurements.
      • thfuran 5y ago
        Well my kitchen scale does. Though I don't know many people who weigh less than five pounds.
• Tempest1981 5y ago
  My $20 "Pittsburgh" calipers from Harbor Freight (don't judge) are still on their original batteries, after 6 years. They have a power button, and a separate zero button.
  • felixhandte 5y ago
    They don't actually turn off though. It just turns the display off. They need to continuously sense position since digital calipers measure movement increments rather than absolute position. That's why if you take the battery out and put it back in it will prompt you to re-zero the calipers. Amusing video explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnDype-j3hk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnDype-j3hk
    • maxerickson 5y ago
      It's not uncommon for them to be designed to require zeroing at each power on.