4 ms·
Why do so many cheap digital calipers have an issue with the zero point jumping to 0.2" or 5.08 mm?
by criddell 4y ago
Why do so many cheap digital calipers have an issue with the zero point jumping to 0.2" or 5.08 mm?
- jstanley 4y agoI've never observed this behaviour, but presumably it's because 5.08mm is about the width of one of the pads on the "T"-shaped section, and it falsely detected a movement when there was none?
- ly3xqhl8g9 4y agoIt's much weirder than that: you can close and open the vernier in a particular fashion (very slow and then very fast, it's an art) and keep adding 5.08mm in quantum steps: 5.08, 10.16, 15.24. The largest value I got on a boring day was around 200mm, on a 150mm vernier.
- londons_explore 4y agoI'm kinda surprised it doesn't self-reset when closed and then opened fully. That would be a very easy way to automatically 'fix' any location ambiguity with software-only changes.
- ly3xqhl8g9 4y agoYes, as noted, it probably is some shared firmware bug, it's just too consistent across vendors.
- mschuster91 4y agoIt would need some form of precise detection for that event, which would be expensive.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- ly3xqhl8g9 4y agoIt's such a constant bug across cheap vendors that there are only two possibilities: (i) a global conspiracy from Big Vernier, (ii) all the vendors in cause are using the same buggy firmware.
- dTal 4y agoIt's right in the article: >The comb on the vernier shaft has a tooth pitch of 5mm. In other words, if the slider instantly moved 5mm, it would be undetectable, or 'ambiguous'.