Digital Calipers That Don't Drain the Battery

On Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 2:31:51 AM UTC-5, Ricky wrote:
> On Friday, November 18, 2022 at 8:52:08 PM UTC-5, Rich S wrote: 
> > On Friday, November 18, 2022 at 8:44:55 PM UTC, Ricky wrote: 
> > > I bought a 4" caliper from iGaging on Amazon. It arrived the other day and seems to work fine. I hope the battery holds up. The electronics part is quite a bit larger than on the other unit I have that runs the battery down. Changing the position of the slider when the unit is off, still registers the reading when you turn it on. So it's never totally off. 
> > > 
> > > It also has both a "absolute" zero and an "origin" button, which I haven't figured out yet. The instruction sheet tells you how to change the mode, but not what it does. As far as I can tell, it's just another way to set a zero. I guess it's just a temporary zero, with the original zero being restored when you turn off the mode or the device. I expect the recessed origin button is the master zero. 
> > > 
> > > This one also has a bluetooth connection, I have not tried out yet. 
> >
> > Cool! I was interested too, especially in a model with data-out. 
> > (RS-232 is long gone; hello Bluetooth) 
> > I looked on Amazon 
> > https://www.amazon.com/iGaging-Electronic-Absolute-Bluetooth-Connectivity/dp/B0714JQG6L 
> > Where is the "Send" (via Bluetooth) function? 
> > Could the button labeled "Origin" actually be the "Send"? 
> > Put it thru some paces, let us know how it goes!
> As is usual, Bluetooth is both easy to connect and difficult to connect. When it works the first time, it's easy. When it doesn't, it's hard. lol 
> 
> I think my problem was it first connected to my phone where I was able to add measurements to text messages. The caliper shows up as a keyboard and does not interfere with the use of the other keyboards. 
> 
> When I tried to connect it to my laptop, it was still connected to the phone. But even once I figured out how to prevent that, it was a bit tricky with the laptop. As far as I could tell, I just had to wait for it to get its shit together and show up as "keyboard" rather than the other names it produced. Most likely those names were from the defaults in the Bluetooth chip or something similar. 
> 
> Anyway, once it was connected to the laptop, I could enter values in a spreadsheet, with a LF at the end, so the cell was closed and it moved on to the next cell (the default behavior set in the spreadsheet for the enter key). It includes no units, which I suppose is the best default. 
> 
> This thing not only has metric and inches, but also fractional inches. I recall reading a review on one of the iGaging calipers where the guy complained that in fraction mode, it would only count in 1/128ths of an inch (other than the integer inches, of course). This one simplifies the fraction to remove common divisors. So it will display 1-1/8 inches. In "fraction" mode, the wireless connection still gives decimal fractions to the full 3-1/2 digits past the decimal point, e.g. 1.1255. 
> 
> I don't know how often I will use the Bluetooth feature. I think a similar iGaging caliper without the Bluetooth feature was $25, or maybe it was $35, I forget. This one was $50, in fact, the same one you linked to. Be aware it is 4 inches, not the typical 6 inches. In fact, the box says 6 inches and I first thought they had shipped the wrong one, lol. But they are just using the same boxes for both sizes and I suppose one of the labels has the part number correct. Yes, I see a bar code with the 4 inch part number. Then there's a second bar code label from Anytime Tools with their part number. 
> 
> The instruction sheet is very hard to read and can be important to understanding the controls if you are easily confused, like me! Here is a PDF file I found that was not obvious from the iGaging web site. 
> 
> https://manuals.plus/m/838c3585e5aa241fa738e96815c5d2276cfdfb7fe45a1e129334fb662513527b_optim.pdf 
> 
> One thing they note is to not use the Bluetooth for 10 seconds, "It is recommended not to turn on or use the data output option within the first 10 seconds of usage." This is a bit cryptic, but I guess they are just letting the processor initialize or something. I assume they mean after turning on, don't use the data button, or maybe after making the Bluetooth connection... I'm not sure, but I think that was also part of my trouble getting it to work. 
> 
> I see the blue led blinking once in a while, which seems to indicate a Bluetooth connection. I see that even after turning off the unit, which I thought would reset the link... maybe not. A long press of the data button (the unlabeled button on the top) seems to turn off the Bluetooth. No, it flashed five times, but it returns to blinking. Maybe it will just have to time out (5 minutes of "none" use). Well, after almost 10 minutes, it shows no sign of the Bluetooth timing out. I've got a spare battery or ten (CR2032, so lots around), I guess I'll try giving it overnight. 
> 
> If it doesn't eat batteries, I think I'll be very happy with this unit. 

Even after an hour, the Bluetooth LED did not stop flashing.  So I removed the device from my laptop Bluetooth setup.  That means when I want to use it again, I will have to go back in and set it up.  It would be nicer if there was a way to turn off the Bluetooth in the calipers, such as turning off the calipers as it says in the instructions.  

It may not eat up batteries, but only if you make the efforts to turn *everything* off.  It does not seem to time out at all. 

-- 

Rick C.

--++ Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
--++ Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209

The thread convinced me to part with $41 and get a digital caliper.
I have always went with dial calipers because of the battery issue. 
I like that it doesn't have a gear set to get debris in, failure point of my last two dial indicators.
 I can't give much of a review as I just made sure it worked, noted it has a 0.0005 increment and
put it on the shelf for later use.
 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00INL0BTS
 I also bought the plasma lighter discussed in another thread, just for kicks,.
 I don't smoke, I may attach it to my propane torch that has a worn out piezo lighter.
There must be a run on them, the price is up $2 in four days since I order it.
btw, I got 2 day shipping, something I haven't got for quite a while!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098WQK4XJ?psc
                                      Mikek

On Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 7:52:24 AM UTC-5, Lamont Cranston wrote:
> The thread convinced me to part with $41 and get a digital caliper. 
> I have always went with dial calipers because of the battery issue. 
> I like that it doesn't have a gear set to get debris in, failure point of my last two dial indicators. 
> I can't give much of a review as I just made sure it worked, noted it has a 0.0005 increment and 
> put it on the shelf for later use. 
> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00INL0BTS 
> I also bought the plasma lighter discussed in another thread, just for kicks,. 
> I don't smoke, I may attach it to my propane torch that has a worn out piezo lighter. 
> There must be a run on them, the price is up $2 in four days since I order it. 
> btw, I got 2 day shipping, something I haven't got for quite a while! 
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098WQK4XJ?psc 

Let us know how the caliper battery does.   

-- 

Rick C.

-+-- Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
-+-- Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209