I, like many others, have digital calipers that drain the battery while sitting, and have no on/off switch, so the battery must be removed when not being used. I recall a conversation here some time ago about this and some had found different brands that worked better than others, in this regard. Anyone recall the names of the brands that don't drain the battery? -- Rick C. - Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging - Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209
Digital Calipers That Don't Drain the Battery
Started by ●November 11, 2022
Reply by ●November 11, 20222022-11-11
On Fri, 11 Nov 2022 07:40:06 -0800 (PST), Ricky <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:>I, like many others, have digital calipers that drain the battery while sitting, and have no on/off switch, so the battery must be removed when not being used. I recall a conversation here some time ago about this and some had found different brands that worked better than others, in this regard. > >Anyone recall the names of the brands that don't drain the battery?Yeah. The expensive ones, like Mitutoyo. But you do need to use the silver oxide batteries, not their alkaline "equivalents". I do have a Harbor Freight 6" digital caliper with an on/off button that (with silver oxide) doe last a long time when turned off every time. Joe Gwinn
Reply by ●November 11, 20222022-11-11
On Friday, November 11, 2022 at 9:40:10 AM UTC-6, Ricky wrote:> I, like many others, have digital calipers that drain the battery while sitting, and have no on/off switch, so the battery must be removed when not being used. I recall a conversation here some time ago about this and some had found different brands that worked better than others, in this regard. > > Anyone recall the names of the brands that don't drain the battery? > > -- > > Rick C. > > - Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging > - Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209I don't, but that is the reason I buy dial calipers, I buy cheap, but stainless steel calipers (they make plastic dial calipers) . I misuse them by scribing lines, but that function is so handy, it is worth replacing a set occasionally. Mikek
Reply by ●November 11, 20222022-11-11
On 11/11/2022 15:40, Ricky wrote:> I, like many others, have digital calipers that drain the battery while sitting, and have no on/off switch, so the battery must be removed when not being used. I recall a conversation here some time ago about this and some had found different brands that worked better than others, in this regard. > > Anyone recall the names of the brands that don't drain the battery?The ones with an on/off switch! Actually mine just has an on switch and times out after a few minutes. -- Regards, Martin Brown
Reply by ●November 11, 20222022-11-11
On Fri, 11 Nov 2022 08:43:35 -0800 (PST), Lamont Cranston <amdx62@gmail.com> wrote:>On Friday, November 11, 2022 at 9:40:10 AM UTC-6, Ricky wrote: >> I, like many others, have digital calipers that drain the battery while sitting, and have no on/off switch, so the battery must be removed when not being used. I recall a conversation here some time ago about this and some had found different brands that worked better than others, in this regard. >> >> Anyone recall the names of the brands that don't drain the battery? >> >> -- >> >> Rick C. >> >> - Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging >> - Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209 > >I don't, but that is the reason I buy dial calipers, I buy cheap, but stainless steel calipers (they make plastic dial calipers) . >I misuse them by scribing lines, but that function is so handy, it is worth replacing a set occasionally. > MikekThe good ones last forever. I like the analog display too. I scribe lines on copperclad FR4 and that doesn't seem top dull the points. They could be sharpened too.
Reply by ●November 11, 20222022-11-11
On Friday, November 11, 2022 at 1:03:14 PM UTC-4, Martin Brown wrote:> On 11/11/2022 15:40, Ricky wrote: > > I, like many others, have digital calipers that drain the battery while sitting, and have no on/off switch, so the battery must be removed when not being used. I recall a conversation here some time ago about this and some had found different brands that worked better than others, in this regard. > > > > Anyone recall the names of the brands that don't drain the battery? > The ones with an on/off switch! > Actually mine just has an on switch and times out after a few minutes.I suppose I was not clear as to my meaning by "on/off" switch. They typically have a push button to turn on. I've never seen one with a mechanical switch to directly disconnect the battery. Turning them off by the push button seems to only mute the display. -- Rick C. + Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging + Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209
Reply by ●November 11, 20222022-11-11
On 12/11/2022 2:40 am, Ricky wrote:> I, like many others, have digital calipers that drain the battery while sitting, and have no on/off switch, so the battery must be removed when not being used. I recall a conversation here some time ago about this and some had found different brands that worked better than others, in this regard. > > Anyone recall the names of the brands that don't drain the battery? >For the record, I got so tired of this problem that I bought a non-electronic one. There's a slight learning curve, but they're very easy to read to the nearest 0.1mm, and can do 0.02mm with a bit of effort. Sylvia.
Reply by ●November 11, 20222022-11-11
On Friday, November 11, 2022 at 5:49:47 PM UTC-4, Sylvia Else wrote:> On 12/11/2022 2:40 am, Ricky wrote: > > I, like many others, have digital calipers that drain the battery while sitting, and have no on/off switch, so the battery must be removed when not being used. I recall a conversation here some time ago about this and some had found different brands that worked better than others, in this regard. > > > > Anyone recall the names of the brands that don't drain the battery? > > > For the record, I got so tired of this problem that I bought a > non-electronic one. There's a slight learning curve, but they're very > easy to read to the nearest 0.1mm, and can do 0.02mm with a bit of effort.I have a dial caliper, but they are subject to damage easily and are hard to read if you have vision issues. I'm going to be needing good measurements in the coming six months and thought it would be good to have a digital unit again. I have one, but got tired of the battery running down or having to take it out each time I use it. I suppose I could leave it on the bench and only take the battery out when I clean up, but that might be a different decade. LOL -- Rick C. -- Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging -- Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209
Reply by ●November 11, 20222022-11-11
I just thought by now, there might be lower cost units that don't drain the battery. It's a damn simple circuit to implement that. I don't even think it requires a separate part. It's just a p-channel pass transistor with the switch as a bypass. Can't they put that on the chip and bring out a pin for the push button switch to bypass the pfet? I guess it's a matter of them selling a bazillion of the ones they are making now. Why would they change? But once one of the low cost devices starts bragging about not draining the battery, they will all have to switch. It doesn't take much sales pressure when you are only making a few cents per device. -- Rick C. -+ Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging -+ Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209
Reply by ●November 11, 20222022-11-11
On 12/11/2022 9:00 am, Ricky wrote:> I just thought by now, there might be lower cost units that don't drain the battery. It's a damn simple circuit to implement that. I don't even think it requires a separate part. It's just a p-channel pass transistor with the switch as a bypass. Can't they put that on the chip and bring out a pin for the push button switch to bypass the pfet? > > I guess it's a matter of them selling a bazillion of the ones they are making now. Why would they change? > > But once one of the low cost devices starts bragging about not draining the battery, they will all have to switch. It doesn't take much sales pressure when you are only making a few cents per device. >Yes. The actual circuitry required is really simple. I think it's not included because if the thing is powered down, it loses its zero position (there are more advanced designs that have absolute positioning, but they probably cost more to make). So it may come down to that. People would notice the loss of zero and complain before they realise that the batteries run down quickly. For me, I'd probably zero it out of habit when I turn it on and not even notice the loss, but perhaps people differ. Sylvia.
