Repaired Harbor Freight digital caliper

Very, very few, I'm sure.

-- 
Christopher A. Young (age 49 1/2; I'm ALMOST FIFTY!!!!)
Learn more about Jesus
  www.lds.org
.


"Fred Abse" <excretatauris@invalid.invalid> wrote in message 
news:pan.2011.11.20.14.51.25.844761@invalid.invalid...

I suppose nobody under fifty knows how to read a real 
vernier, or a slide
rule for that matter ;-(

-- 
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence
over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."
                                       (Richard Feynman) 

"amdx" <amdx@knologynotthis.net> wrote in message 
news:4756b$4ec8f55d$18ec6dd7$12472@KNOLOGY.NET...
> On 11/19/2011 9:01 PM, P E Schoen wrote:
>> I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
>> problems with one of them especially, where the display will go 
>> blank.
>> It seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I 
>> thought
>> it was a bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't 
>> work.
>>
>
> That's why I like the Dial calipers vs Digital Calipers, no concern 
> about batteries or electronics.
> (Dial Calipers, Item # 66541, Out of Stock)
>
> Although a couple years ago HF had the 6" Digital calipers on sale for
> $9.99, I bought two. They are still in the boxes and I use my Dial 
> calipers. I think I might give one away as a Christmas present.
>                                  Mikek

I have a vernier Calipe. I never need to set the dial, cause there isn't 
one ;)

Cheers
 

On Nov 20, 11:55=A0am, Bob Engelhardt <bobengelha...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Jamie wrote:
> > I have the HF digital calipers and I need to pull the battery when not
> > in =A0use other wise, it'll be dead next time I need it. It seems to dr=
ain
> > quite fast.
>
> ...
>
> I have one & the battery lasts quite a while (doesn't get used much).
> Maybe a different model. =A0Or a different batch. =A0Or different spots o=
n
> the quality curve <G>.
>
> Bob

Silver oxide batteries cost a bunch more, but last twice as long.

Full details: http://www.fliptronics.com/tip0006.html

--
Cheers,
James Arthur

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 08:29:39 -0500, "Dave Plumpe"
<lastname@mindspring.com> wrote:

>Not only do they remember where Zero is, they even keep track of any 
>movement that occurs while they're turned off.  Smart little devils.
>
>I find myself more & more reaching for the digital ones for the ease of 
>swapping between inches & millimeters.
>
>-Dave

As do I.

My Mitytoyo digital mics..never could figure out how they work
though..Ive got one thats had the same battery in it for 4 yrs so
far..still reading just fine and its always displaying whenever I open
the box

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that, 
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers 
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid. 
                                   Gunner Asch

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:23:32 GMT, Doug White <gwhite@alum.mit.edu>
wrote:

>I discovered the hard way that the little cube electronic levels also eat 
>batteries, and they require a diet of the larger more expensive coin 
>cells (2032?). 

Just a heads up..a lot of the local 99c stores sell a card with 3 to 5
of the 2032s for ....99c

I buy a couple cards every year just to have them on hand

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that, 
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers 
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid. 
                                   Gunner Asch

On Nov 19, 9:01=A0pm, "P E Schoen" <p...@pstech-inc.com> wrote:
> I have two Harbor Freight digital calipers, item #47257, and I've had
> problems with one of them especially, where the display will go blank. It
> seemed to work sometimes if I squeezed the enclosure, and I thought it wa=
s a
> bad battery or bad connection. But a fresh battery didn't work.
>
> So I took it apart, which meant peeling off a foil backing to expose four
> small phillips head screws, which removed the electronics module, and the=
n I
> removed the PC board with four even smaller phillips screws. The LCD disp=
lay
> connects to the board with a flexible conductive strip, which relies on
> pressure to maintain contact. I cleaned it and the mating contacts on the
> PCB, reassembled it, and it now works fine!
>
> My house is always very humid and I think that's what caused the problem.
> It's hell on all my tools. Everything is rusty or mildewed.
>
> It's quite interesting to see the mechanism that is used to make
> measurements. There is an array of PCB traces that are aligned with an ar=
ray
> of stripes along the length of the caliper, and (I assume) these create
> pulses that are counted as the head is moved. But it also needs to know
> which way the head is being moved. Probably something like a quadrature
> encoder as used for rotary position sensing. I'll have to look it up.
>
> Paul

Interesting..it sounds like you may have a serious mold problem.

It can destroy a house if left untended.

TMT

"Stormin Mormon"  wrote in message news:jaaun0$a9m$1@dont-email.me...

> Cleaned, how? Trichlor? WD? Cotton swab?

I used rubbing alcohol, which I also use for defluxing PCBs. I also =
scraped=20
the surface and dried it with a paper towel.

> Have you considered something to reduce the humidity,
> like vent fan, central AC, or dehumidifier?

I've lived with the problem for a long time. I have two houses, adjacent =
to=20
each other, and the lower levels have a stone foundations built into a =
hill.=20
It is worse in the house where I have my workshop and storage. And the=20
houses are in a low-lying area under lots of trees and the water table =
is=20
close to the surface. I've also had leaks in the foundation as well as =
the=20
roof so moisture has gotten in. Some time ago I basically gutted both =
houses=20
and replaced the old rotten frame studs and mud sills with new=20
pressure-treated lumber, but did not add vapor barrier, insulation, or =
new=20
drywall, until recently, and only partially. Being below grade, it's =
like=20
being in a cave, and it's often so cold that a dehumidifier freezes up. =
And=20
without insulation and vapor barrier, it's almost futile to try.

You can see my houses, and some of the work I've done (and some of my=20
tools), on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/PaulAndMuttley#p/u/50/oxKL2p8O3EM
(there are also part 2 and part 3)

Paul
www.muttleydog.com

I have a cheap Caliper too and it recently went flakey.

I did my standard trick:  Remove battery.  Short battery contacts:
Insert new battery.  Worked.

Mine uses an LR44 and you HAVE TO use an LR44, not a substitute
battery that you can get a Radio Shack.
Mechanically they are not the same.

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:47:25 -0800 (PST), "Ron D."
<ron.dozier@gmail.com> wrote:

>I have a cheap Caliper too and it recently went flakey.
>
>I did my standard trick:  Remove battery.  Short battery contacts:
>Insert new battery.  Worked.

My cheap electronic caliper goes nuts when I transmit on UHF anywhere
near it.  However, it doesn't require the battery removal ordeal to
recover.  I just reset to zero and continue.

>Mine uses an LR44 and you HAVE TO use an LR44, not a substitute
>battery that you can get a Radio Shack.
>Mechanically they are not the same.

I beg to differ.  The general package name is LR44 in an 11.6mm dia x
5.4mm thick package alkaline cell.  There are slight variations, but
the IEC LR1154 equivalents (LR44/LR154, A76, 157/303/357) are all the
same size.  Where you can have problems is that the SR44/SR1154 silver
oxide cells come in the same package.  They have about 50% more
capacity and a much flatter discharge curve.  Some of the cheapo
calipers crap out below about 1.4V.  The alkaline battery has plenty
of capacity left at 1.4V, but the caliper doesn't want to run.  If
your caliper cames with a silver-oxide cell, it should probably use
silver oxide batteries.  If it came with alkaline and has a short
battery life, it might be worthwhile trying silver-oxide.  If you're
ambitious, it might be useful to run the caliper off a bench power
supply and check how low a voltage will work.


-- 
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 17:45:47 -0800, the renowned Jeff Liebermann
<jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote:

>On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:47:25 -0800 (PST), "Ron D."
><ron.dozier@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>I have a cheap Caliper too and it recently went flakey.
>>
>>I did my standard trick:  Remove battery.  Short battery contacts:
>>Insert new battery.  Worked.
>
>My cheap electronic caliper goes nuts when I transmit on UHF anywhere
>near it.  However, it doesn't require the battery removal ordeal to
>recover.  I just reset to zero and continue.
>
>>Mine uses an LR44 and you HAVE TO use an LR44, not a substitute
>>battery that you can get a Radio Shack.
>>Mechanically they are not the same.
>
>I beg to differ.  The general package name is LR44 in an 11.6mm dia x
>5.4mm thick package alkaline cell.  There are slight variations, but
>the IEC LR1154 equivalents (LR44/LR154, A76, 157/303/357) are all the
>same size.  Where you can have problems is that the SR44/SR1154 silver
>oxide cells come in the same package.  They have about 50% more
>capacity and a much flatter discharge curve.  Some of the cheapo
>calipers crap out below about 1.4V.  The alkaline battery has plenty
>of capacity left at 1.4V, but the caliper doesn't want to run.  If
>your caliper cames with a silver-oxide cell, it should probably use
>silver oxide batteries.  If it came with alkaline and has a short
>battery life, it might be worthwhile trying silver-oxide.  If you're
>ambitious, it might be useful to run the caliper off a bench power
>supply and check how low a voltage will work.

Be sure to check how high a voltage too, and report back. ;-) 



Best regards, 
Spehro Pefhany
-- 
"it's the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com