5 ms·

What do the expensive ones like mitutoyo do differently? I’ve got a pair and the are definetly more consistent than $30 neikos.

jstanley 4y ago
I assume the same, but possibly implemented more precisely.
shimonabi 4y ago
If you leave the battery inside a cheap caliper, the battery will be dead in a couple of hours, even if the caliper is switched "OFF".
- dsfyu404ed 4y ago
  This is obvious BS. Many of them get packaged and shipped with the battery in them. That said, they absolutely do eat batteries faster than the expensive calipers.
  - shimonabi 4y ago
    It's not. I take the battery out after each use. Several users have reported this, for example: "Turns out they pull almost as much current off (15uA) as they do on (17uA)." https://www.reddit.com/r/harborfreight/comments/z7j8hp/fixed_my_caliper_battery_drain_issue_for_good/ https://www.reddit.com/r/harborfreight/comments/z7j8hp/fixed...
    - rsaxvc 4y ago
      An LR44 supplying 15 microamps will last more than 9 months before depleted. This base level of current draw obviously matters to different users differently.
      - aidenn0 4y ago
        Possibly not if you buy the LR44 from Amazon. I have gotten batteries labeled "LR44" that were practically useless. I've also gotten "SR44"s that were actually LR44s.
  - rsaxvc 4y ago
    I think the worst offenders are the ones that use the measurement circuit to detect if you've started a measurement while the display is off.
  - abruzzi 4y ago
    my $10 Harbor Freight calipers are still on their original battery after 8 years. So I'm not sure about these claims about being constantly on and draining the battery. I think instead that you have to have them fully closed when you power it on so it can zero out. It also has a button to zero.
    - skykooler 4y ago
      It definitely depends on the model. In my experience, my cheap calipers from Harbor Freight run for far longer before needing a new battery than my cheap calipers from Home Depot.
- luma 4y ago
  You're right but way off on timing. These common digital calipers have a design error which does in fact drain power while off, but it's nowhere near a couple hours. They reasonably should last several years but in reality it'll be on the order of 6 months or so.
  - weaksauce 4y ago
    i don't know if i'd call it a design error but it is a cheaper design to manufacture than the more expensive kind that requires calibration. could also be a patent workaround. for something like 10 bucks many years ago i got some nice stainless 12" ones that work fine other than the lower battery life thing. they do lose track if the battery is low though and you move the jaws quickly. just have to have a bunch of batteries on hand and/or take the battery out when not in use.
    - midoridensha 4y ago
      What's really annoying is that they could have sidestepped the whole problem by simply putting a simple physical on/off switch on them, instead of the soft on/off button they use. No one uses these cheapo calipers for more than a few minutes at a time anyway, so the battery would probably last a lifetime with a normal switch and no one would notice that it's a power hog.
      - weaksauce 4y ago
        > simply putting a simple physical on/off switch on them, instead of the soft on/off button they use. that's true but a physical switch needs to be placed and soldered while the soft on/off just needs to be placed atop it on the traces on the pcb. cost just probably was the biggest issue.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
- Symbiote 4y ago
  There may be different levels of "cheap". I bought a €20 digital caliper (this one[1]) and the battery is still fine, 2½ years later. [1] https://www.bauhaus.dk/alpha-tools-digital-skydelaerer https://www.bauhaus.dk/alpha-tools-digital-skydelaerer
- MrBuddyCasino 4y ago
  Not all of them. I can recommend this one, it has long battery life, good precision and smooth mechanics: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B002JU64F4/ https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B002JU64F4/
  - brk 4y ago
    That looks very similar to one I use that typically gets about 2 years of battery life.
  - shimonabi 4y ago
    A model that looks exactly the same costs 5€ on Aliexpress. I don't like to be ripped off.
    - MrBuddyCasino 4y ago
      Got a link? I mean they all look similar, tried a cheaper one before but it was crap.
      - shimonabi 4y ago
        https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004683435276.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004683435276.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32985627216.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32985627216.html
varjag 4y ago
They keep zero.
- DanTheManPR 4y ago
  I think people might take your comment as flippant, but keeping zero is a very important capability that higher-end measuring devices can have. You can count on them not drifting when you open them up and take a measurement, and so you're not going to be off by a tenth of a millimeter every other measurement.
michaelt 4y ago
Article author here. Mitutoyo verniers are too expensive for me to take apart for a lark, but as I understand it: Cheap verniers are 'absolute modulo 10mm' as the T-shaped bar pattern repeats itself. They produce 'absolute' measurements by reading fast enough to keep track of how many whole bars they've moved. Fancier verniers instead have two tracks in parallel, with slightly different pitches. Checking the offset between the two patterns at the current location gives an absolute measurement. This of course requires them to be factory calibrated etc. They might also have slightly better electronics (some of these cheap verniers need a new battery every 3 months or so) or other differences.
- DoingIsLearning 4y ago
  > Fancier verniers instead have two tracks in parallel, with slightly different pitches. Checking the offset between the two patterns at the current location gives an absolute measurement. In your article you link to a patent on the cheaper T shaped coatings, do you also have a reference to a patent specifically using this system of parallel + different pitch tracks? Great write up by the way!
- Blackthorn 4y ago
  The electronics are absolutely a killer difference. The mitus can actually turn off rather than just turn the screen off.
- schneems 4y ago
  Thanks! It reminds me of those black and white wheels you use to digitally encode rotation but stretched out linearly.
  - genpfault 4y ago
    > those black and white wheels you use to digitally encode rotation Gray codes[1]? [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_code#Position_encoders https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_code#Position_encoders
    - 4y ago
eternityforest 4y ago
My iGauging pair uses induction rather than capacitance, and it has absolute positioning rather than dead reckoning, which is really important because the cheap ones run the battery down all the time, even when it's off it's still keeping track of movement as far as I know.

jstanley 4y ago

I assume the same, but possibly implemented more precisely.

shimonabi 4y ago

If you leave the battery inside a cheap caliper, the battery will be dead in a couple of hours, even if the caliper is switched "OFF".

dsfyu404ed 4y ago
This is obvious BS. Many of them get packaged and shipped with the battery in them. That said, they absolutely do eat batteries faster than the expensive calipers.
- shimonabi 4y ago
  It's not. I take the battery out after each use. Several users have reported this, for example: "Turns out they pull almost as much current off (15uA) as they do on (17uA)." https://www.reddit.com/r/harborfreight/comments/z7j8hp/fixed_my_caliper_battery_drain_issue_for_good/ https://www.reddit.com/r/harborfreight/comments/z7j8hp/fixed...
  - rsaxvc 4y ago
    An LR44 supplying 15 microamps will last more than 9 months before depleted. This base level of current draw obviously matters to different users differently.
    - aidenn0 4y ago
      Possibly not if you buy the LR44 from Amazon. I have gotten batteries labeled "LR44" that were practically useless. I've also gotten "SR44"s that were actually LR44s.
- rsaxvc 4y ago
  I think the worst offenders are the ones that use the measurement circuit to detect if you've started a measurement while the display is off.
- abruzzi 4y ago
  my $10 Harbor Freight calipers are still on their original battery after 8 years. So I'm not sure about these claims about being constantly on and draining the battery. I think instead that you have to have them fully closed when you power it on so it can zero out. It also has a button to zero.
  - skykooler 4y ago
    It definitely depends on the model. In my experience, my cheap calipers from Harbor Freight run for far longer before needing a new battery than my cheap calipers from Home Depot.
luma 4y ago
You're right but way off on timing. These common digital calipers have a design error which does in fact drain power while off, but it's nowhere near a couple hours. They reasonably should last several years but in reality it'll be on the order of 6 months or so.
- weaksauce 4y ago
  i don't know if i'd call it a design error but it is a cheaper design to manufacture than the more expensive kind that requires calibration. could also be a patent workaround. for something like 10 bucks many years ago i got some nice stainless 12" ones that work fine other than the lower battery life thing. they do lose track if the battery is low though and you move the jaws quickly. just have to have a bunch of batteries on hand and/or take the battery out when not in use.
  - midoridensha 4y ago
    What's really annoying is that they could have sidestepped the whole problem by simply putting a simple physical on/off switch on them, instead of the soft on/off button they use. No one uses these cheapo calipers for more than a few minutes at a time anyway, so the battery would probably last a lifetime with a normal switch and no one would notice that it's a power hog.
    - weaksauce 4y ago
      > simply putting a simple physical on/off switch on them, instead of the soft on/off button they use. that's true but a physical switch needs to be placed and soldered while the soft on/off just needs to be placed atop it on the traces on the pcb. cost just probably was the biggest issue.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
Symbiote 4y ago
There may be different levels of "cheap". I bought a €20 digital caliper (this one[1]) and the battery is still fine, 2½ years later. [1] https://www.bauhaus.dk/alpha-tools-digital-skydelaerer https://www.bauhaus.dk/alpha-tools-digital-skydelaerer
MrBuddyCasino 4y ago
Not all of them. I can recommend this one, it has long battery life, good precision and smooth mechanics: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B002JU64F4/ https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B002JU64F4/
- brk 4y ago
  That looks very similar to one I use that typically gets about 2 years of battery life.
- shimonabi 4y ago
  A model that looks exactly the same costs 5€ on Aliexpress. I don't like to be ripped off.
  - MrBuddyCasino 4y ago
    Got a link? I mean they all look similar, tried a cheaper one before but it was crap.
    - shimonabi 4y ago
      https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004683435276.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004683435276.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32985627216.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32985627216.html

varjag 4y ago

They keep zero.

DanTheManPR 4y ago
I think people might take your comment as flippant, but keeping zero is a very important capability that higher-end measuring devices can have. You can count on them not drifting when you open them up and take a measurement, and so you're not going to be off by a tenth of a millimeter every other measurement.

michaelt 4y ago

Article author here. Mitutoyo verniers are too expensive for me to take apart for a lark, but as I understand it: Cheap verniers are 'absolute modulo 10mm' as the T-shaped bar pattern repeats itself. They produce 'absolute' measurements by reading fast enough to keep track of how many whole bars they've moved. Fancier verniers instead have two tracks in parallel, with slightly different pitches. Checking the offset between the two patterns at the current location gives an absolute measurement. This of course requires them to be factory calibrated etc. They might also have slightly better electronics (some of these cheap verniers need a new battery every 3 months or so) or other differences.

DoingIsLearning 4y ago
> Fancier verniers instead have two tracks in parallel, with slightly different pitches. Checking the offset between the two patterns at the current location gives an absolute measurement. In your article you link to a patent on the cheaper T shaped coatings, do you also have a reference to a patent specifically using this system of parallel + different pitch tracks? Great write up by the way!
Blackthorn 4y ago
The electronics are absolutely a killer difference. The mitus can actually turn off rather than just turn the screen off.
schneems 4y ago
Thanks! It reminds me of those black and white wheels you use to digitally encode rotation but stretched out linearly.
- genpfault 4y ago
  > those black and white wheels you use to digitally encode rotation Gray codes[1]? [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_code#Position_encoders https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_code#Position_encoders
  - 4y ago

eternityforest 4y ago

My iGauging pair uses induction rather than capacitance, and it has absolute positioning rather than dead reckoning, which is really important because the cheap ones run the battery down all the time, even when it's off it's still keeping track of movement as far as I know.