# Blinking digital calipers driving me nuts!



## ossaguy

I got a new pair of digital calipers awhile back at Rockler,and it's driving me nuts that whenever I measure something,in about 10 seconds it's display starts blinking constantly til I turn it off,then start all over.

 I thought it was a low battery so I put in the spare one that comes with it,and it seemed better for a short time,but it's doing it again.I'm careful to make sure it's turned off all the time.

 Anybody else experience this?


  Thanks,
      Steve


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## Sylvanite

It's pretty common for inexpensive digital calipers to come with bad batteries - both the installed and spare.  Put in a fresh one and the display should stop blinking.  Also, these calipers often do not have an automatic shutoff, so if you forget to turn it off, the battery runs down.

Regards,
Eric


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## hunter-27

my calipers do that for a low battery.  I buy higher quality batteries than it came with, they last quite awhile.  Mine has an auto off feature.


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## ThomJ

Yes, I bought a set of calipers and both batteries that came with it were dead from the get go. Like Hunter, I put good batteries in them, mine doesn't have auto shutoff but I sometimes forget & leave them on for days, batteries still going strong.


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## les-smith

Mine is doing it right now.  I assumed it was the batteries, because that's what the instrcutions say.  But, I aslo thought it might be because they get to cold at night in the garage.  I'm dealing with it.


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## LeeR

Chinese batteries = CRAP

Just replaced mine, now works like a charm.


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## terryf

calipers with displays??

we're talking about a vernier here are we not?


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## MatthewZS

Like these


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## terryf

MatthewZS said:


> Like these



yip, a digital vernier


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## ossaguy

What's a good battery to get?    Duracell?

I'll buy some this week,and hope it does the trick.

Thanks guys!
Steve


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## ctubbs

There was a thread here a bit back about buying garage door opener batteries and taking them apart.  Much cheaper that way.  Or was that just another bad dream I had?
Charles


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## terryf

ossaguy said:


> What's a good battery to get?    Duracell?
> 
> I'll buy some this week,and hope it does the trick.
> 
> Thanks guys!
> Steve



Duracell not quite as good as they used to be but still def worth the money.


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## randyrls

Some of the cheapest calipers do not shut off completely when turned "off".  They continue to draw a small amount of current and will eventually drain the battery.  If you are not going to use the caliper for long periods, remove the battery.

To demonstrate this, move the slide away from zero, and press the "zero" button.  Now turn off the caliper.  Move the slide closed.  Turn on the caliper.  It will "remember" the zero point because the caliper was never off.  Remove the battery for about 30 minutes, The zero point will be forgotten because without the battery the caliper will truly be off.


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## nava1uni

I use good quality batteries, either Alkaline or electronic by Energizer.


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## shull

Actually a vernier is a type of scale used on calipers.  A digital readout takes the place of the vernier scale

replace the batteries.


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## LeeR

Also, check around for pricing. I found my replacement at the grocery store for $1.99 (Energizer), and the same brand was $4.99 at Walgreens! My digital came with an older LR44, which I could not find, so I Googled it and there are a number of alternates/replacements (303, 375 -- I forget now). But in tiny print, the Energizers do list the batteries a particular size will replace on the front of the card. 

Once I see how long it lasts, I'll decide if it is worth it to buy in 3-packs or in bulk, but hopefully I'll get decent life with a name brand replacement.


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## Sylvanite

LeeR said:


> Also, check around for pricing...., I'll decide if it is worth it to buy in 3-packs or in bulk, ...


Well, shop4tech.com has AG13 (equivalent to LR44) batteries on sale at $3.91 for 20 (regularly $4.60 but 15% off with coupon code SS15 - expires today) with free shipping.  That's less than $0.20 each.  At that price, it's hard to go wrong.

See http://www.shop4tech.com/item8805.html for item details.

Regards,
Eric


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## jd99

*Guess I'm old fashion.*

I use this type. But when I was working in the Tool and Die Trade, we had Vernier or Dial Vernier, the digital stuff didn't come out until a few years before I retired from that trade. CNC was all new stuff also when I retired, we had to be real craftsman back in those days anything complex was done by hand and a lot of scraping; no computer to cut it for us. :bulgy-eyes:


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## Dudley Young

Use Energizer, they keep going and going and going.


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## phillywood

Energizer, is what I use for my hearing aids and if the darn thing last me 3-4 weeks at times it's pretty good, since any other brands won't hold that long, you know if we the hearing impaired use it for long hours at the end then it should do you very good on the calipers. The other thing you have to bear in mind is that some of those chinese products are just that so you get what you pay for.


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## bradh

Another trick was shown to me by the shop clerk. Sometimes the foam in the case lid will hit the power button when you press the case lid closed. I was told to cut out the foam in the area over the power button and this helps prevent unintentional power-ups when you close the case lid.


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