I am more likely to suspect the calipers than interference.  Especially if they are the extremely inexpensive ones.

 

But it would be easy enough to drive the calipers a distance away from any electrical transmission source and see if they magically start working.

 

I have some of the low-cost digital calipers and mine have a tendency to skip sometimes and suddenly be 0.2 or 0.4 inches off or something) and also 

 

I finally bought two Mitutoyo digital calipers, 4 inch and 6 inches.  NO problems - ever.  Yes, they cost a bit.  In the long run, I think a better value.  I also have some dial calipers I sometimes use.

 

And just to be pedantic, if it is a digital caliper, then it is not a vernier.  Those are two types of calipers.  One has a digital scale.  The other a vernier (where you line up physical marks to read accurately).  Although many people still include the word "vernier" even if it doesn't fit - even listings for sale.  You have vernier, dial, and digital.

 

Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer

 

On Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 09:57:25 AM PST, Johannes <johannes@...> wrote:

 

 

I can not work without many "Digital Electronic Vernier Caliper" in my workshop.

However, they are always hiding them self when I am doing my job.

Lately I have discovered that they are missing the numbers on the display.

Both old and new ones.

Suddenly the numbers are being negative or shutting down.

I am blaming a Comunicacion tower not far from the building.

 

Someone's that has a good advice for me?

 

Best from

Johannes

 

I am more likely to suspect the calipers than interference.  Especially if they are the extremely inexpensive ones.
But it would be easy enough to drive the calipers a distance away from any electrical transmission source and see if they magically start working.
I have some of the low-cost digital calipers and mine have a tendency to skip sometimes and suddenly be 0.2 or 0.4 inches off or something) and also
I finally bought two Mitutoyo digital calipers, 4 inch and 6 inches.  NO problems - ever.  Yes, they cost a bit.  In the long run, I think a better value.  I also have some dial calipers I sometimes use.
And just to be pedantic, if it is a digital caliper, then it is not a vernier.  Those are two types of calipers.  One has a digital scale.  The other a vernier (where you line up physical marks to read accurately).  Although many people still include the word "vernier" even if it doesn't fit - even listings for sale.  You have vernier, dial, and digital.
Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer
On Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 09:57:25 AM PST, Johannes <johannes@...> wrote:
#yiv3669264674 P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;}I can not work without many "Digital Electronic Vernier Caliper" in my workshop.However, they are always hiding them self when I am doing my job.Lately I have discovered that they are missing the numbers on the display.Both old and new ones.Suddenly the numbers are being negative or shutting down.I am blaming a Comunicacion tower not far from the building.
Someone's that has a good advice for me?
Best fromJohannes

Interesting vid I did years ago showing the effect of a CFL light bulb
(the curly fluorescent ones before LED replacements) and the EMI
interference it causes on a plastic caliper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chN8c1sC0VU


LED lamps can be just as bad.  The SMPS supplies can put out quite an
amount if EMI:
Again - from years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB9BTSgTRY0
that's a TEK 1.8GHz analog spectrum analyzer

If you take something like an RF Explorer or one of those cheap
CN-made spectrum analyzers into a place like LOWE's or Home Depot's
out motion activated light aisle, watch the RF jump from about 1- 200
MHz...   nasty.






On 12/8/2024 1:16 PM, Charles Kinzer via groups.io wrote:

  I am more likely to suspect the calipers than interference. 
Especially if they are the extremely inexpensive ones.
But it would be easy enough to drive the calipers a distance away
from any electrical transmission source and see if they magically
start working.
I have some of the low-cost digital calipers and mine have a tendency
to skip sometimes and suddenly be 0.2 or 0.4 inches off or something)
and also
I finally bought two Mitutoyo digital calipers, 4 inch and 6 inches. 
NO problems - ever.  Yes, they cost a bit.  In the long run, I think
a better value.  I also have some dial calipers I sometimes use.
And just to be pedantic, if it is a digital caliper, then it is not a
vernier.  Those are two types of calipers.  One has a digital scale. 
The other a vernier (where you line up physical marks to read
accurately).  Although many people still include the word "vernier"
even if it doesn't fit - even listings for sale.  You have vernier,
dial, and digital.
Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer
     On Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 09:57:25 AM PST, Johannes
<johannes@...> wrote:
     #yiv3669264674 P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;}I can not work
without many "Digital Electronic Vernier Caliper" in my
workshop.However, they are always hiding them self when I am doing my
job.Lately I have discovered that they are missing the numbers on the
display.Both old and new ones.Suddenly the numbers are being negative
or shutting down.I am blaming a Comunicacion tower not far from the
building.
Someone's that has a good advice for me?
Best fromJohannes

Hi WAM

Maybe !!!!"

I just changed my roof lamp from a low Watt CFL to "150 W" LED.

I will test to morrow.

Maybe I still can get an old Edison lamp? It will also keep my workshop warm also  🙂

/johannes

---

From: 7x12MiniLathe@groups.io <7x12MiniLathe@groups.io> on behalf of Johannes <johannes@...>
Sent: Sunday, December 8, 2024 10:46
To: 7x12MiniLathe@groups.io <7x12MiniLathe@groups.io>
Subject: Re: [7x12MiniLathe] Digital Electronic Vernier Caliper

 

"Chuck"

Thanks, you are absolutely correct.

I have all 3: vernier, dial, and digital.

Thanks for "pinching" my ear.

/Johannes 

---

From: 7x12MiniLathe@groups.io <7x12MiniLathe@groups.io> on behalf of Charles Devore via groups.io <Claremont5@...>
Sent: Sunday, December 8, 2024 10:32
To: 7x12MiniLathe@groups.io <7x12MiniLathe@groups.io>
Subject: Re: [7x12MiniLathe] Digital Electronic Vernier Caliper

 

replace the battery

In a message dated 12/8/2024 10:17:08 AM Pacific Standard Time, ckinzer@... writes:

 

 

I am more likely to suspect the calipers than interference.  Especially if they are the extremely inexpensive ones.

 

But it would be easy enough to drive the calipers a distance away from any electrical transmission source and see if they magically start working.

 

I have some of the low-cost digital calipers and mine have a tendency to skip sometimes and suddenly be 0.2 or 0.4 inches off or something) and also 

 

I finally bought two Mitutoyo digital calipers, 4 inch and 6 inches.  NO problems - ever.  Yes, they cost a bit.  In the long run, I think a better value.  I also have some dial calipers I sometimes use.

 

And just to be pedantic, if it is a digital caliper, then it is not a vernier.  Those are two types of calipers.  One has a digital scale.  The other a vernier (where you line up physical marks to read accurately).  Although many people still include the word "vernier" even if it doesn't fit - even listings for sale.  You have vernier, dial, and digital.

 

Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer

 

On Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 09:57:25 AM PST, Johannes <johannes@...> wrote:

 

 

I can not work without many "Digital Electronic Vernier Caliper" in my workshop.

However, they are always hiding them self when I am doing my job.

Lately I have discovered that they are missing the numbers on the display.

Both old and new ones.

Suddenly the numbers are being negative or shutting down.

I am blaming a Comunicacion tower not far from the building.

 

Someone's that has a good advice for me?

 

Best from

Johannes

 

Interesting vid I did years ago showing the effect of a CFL light bulb
(the curly fluorescent ones before LED replacements) and the EMI
interference it causes on a plastic caliper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chN8c1sC0VU


LED lamps can be just as bad.  The SMPS supplies can put out quite an
amount if EMI:
Again - from years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB9BTSgTRY0
that's a TEK 1.8GHz analog spectrum analyzer

If you take something like an RF Explorer or one of those cheap
CN-made spectrum analyzers into a place like LOWE's or Home Depot's
out motion activated light aisle, watch the RF jump from about 1- 200
MHz...   nasty.






On 12/8/2024 1:16 PM, Charles Kinzer via groups.io wrote:

  I am more likely to suspect the calipers than interference. 
Especially if they are the extremely inexpensive ones.
But it would be easy enough to drive the calipers a distance away
from any electrical transmission source and see if they magically
start working.
I have some of the low-cost digital calipers and mine have a tendency
to skip sometimes and suddenly be 0.2 or 0.4 inches off or something)
and also
I finally bought two Mitutoyo digital calipers, 4 inch and 6 inches. 
NO problems - ever.  Yes, they cost a bit.  In the long run, I think
a better value.  I also have some dial calipers I sometimes use.
And just to be pedantic, if it is a digital caliper, then it is not a
vernier.  Those are two types of calipers.  One has a digital scale. 
The other a vernier (where you line up physical marks to read
accurately).  Although many people still include the word "vernier"
even if it doesn't fit - even listings for sale.  You have vernier,
dial, and digital.
Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer
     On Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 09:57:25 AM PST, Johannes
<johannes@...> wrote:
     #yiv3669264674 P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;}I can not work
without many "Digital Electronic Vernier Caliper" in my
workshop.However, they are always hiding them self when I am doing my
job.Lately I have discovered that they are missing the numbers on the
display.Both old and new ones.Suddenly the numbers are being negative
or shutting down.I am blaming a Comunicacion tower not far from the
building.
Someone's that has a good advice for me?
Best fromJohannes

    DO ya recall which light put out the most noise ?

thanks

    animal

On 12/8/24 10:42 AM, WAM via groups.io wrote:

Interesting vid I did years ago showing the effect of a CFL light bulb
(the curly fluorescent ones before LED replacements) and the EMI
interference it causes on a plastic caliper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chN8c1sC0VU


LED lamps can be just as bad.  The SMPS supplies can put out quite an
amount if EMI:
Again - from years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB9BTSgTRY0
that's a TEK 1.8GHz analog spectrum analyzer

If you take something like an RF Explorer or one of those cheap
CN-made spectrum analyzers into a place like LOWE's or Home Depot's
out motion activated light aisle, watch the RF jump from about 1- 200
MHz...   nasty.






On 12/8/2024 1:16 PM, Charles Kinzer via groups.io wrote:

  I am more likely to suspect the calipers than interference.
Especially if they are the extremely inexpensive ones.
But it would be easy enough to drive the calipers a distance away
from any electrical transmission source and see if they magically
start working.
I have some of the low-cost digital calipers and mine have a tendency
to skip sometimes and suddenly be 0.2 or 0.4 inches off or something)
and also
I finally bought two Mitutoyo digital calipers, 4 inch and 6 inches.
NO problems - ever.  Yes, they cost a bit.  In the long run, I think
a better value.  I also have some dial calipers I sometimes use.
And just to be pedantic, if it is a digital caliper, then it is not a
vernier.  Those are two types of calipers.  One has a digital scale.
The other a vernier (where you line up physical marks to read
accurately).  Although many people still include the word "vernier"
even if it doesn't fit - even listings for sale.  You have vernier,
dial, and digital.
Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer
     On Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 09:57:25 AM PST, Johannes
<johannes@...> wrote:
     #yiv3669264674 P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;}I can not work
without many "Digital Electronic Vernier Caliper" in my
workshop.However, they are always hiding them self when I am doing my
job.Lately I have discovered that they are missing the numbers on the
display.Both old and new ones.Suddenly the numbers are being negative
or shutting down.I am blaming a Comunicacion tower not far from the
building.
Someone's that has a good advice for me?
Best fromJohannes

It seems that - as you'd expect - the off-brand ones put out the most
noise.

I haven't revisited this  in a while.  I'll have to grab some newer
LED incandescent  replacements and see if they've gotten better.  I do
a lot of High Power LED PCB's for a local client and since they're for
mil and marine we test them to various standards - MIL-STD-461, Part
15.109 and some Part 18...

My lab:
https://www.ajawamnet.com

I just do pre qual... they have to take the stuff to a real EMI lab or
something like PAX ASIL -
https://lexleader.net/a-look-inside-paxs-anechoic-chamber/
Spent lots of time there...




On 12/8/2024 6:46 PM, mike allen via groups.io wrote:

    DO ya recall which light put out the most noise ?

thanks

    animal

On 12/8/24 10:42 AM, WAM via groups.io wrote:

Interesting vid I did years ago showing the effect of a CFL light bulb
(the curly fluorescent ones before LED replacements) and the EMI
interference it causes on a plastic caliper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chN8c1sC0VU


LED lamps can be just as bad.  The SMPS supplies can put out quite an
amount if EMI:
Again - from years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB9BTSgTRY0
that's a TEK 1.8GHz analog spectrum analyzer

If you take something like an RF Explorer or one of those cheap
CN-made spectrum analyzers into a place like LOWE's or Home Depot's
out motion activated light aisle, watch the RF jump from about 1- 200
MHz...   nasty.






On 12/8/2024 1:16 PM, Charles Kinzer via groups.io wrote:

  I am more likely to suspect the calipers than interference.
Especially if they are the extremely inexpensive ones.
But it would be easy enough to drive the calipers a distance away
from any electrical transmission source and see if they magically
start working.
I have some of the low-cost digital calipers and mine have a tendency
to skip sometimes and suddenly be 0.2 or 0.4 inches off or something)
and also
I finally bought two Mitutoyo digital calipers, 4 inch and 6 inches.
NO problems - ever.  Yes, they cost a bit.  In the long run, I think
a better value.  I also have some dial calipers I sometimes use.
And just to be pedantic, if it is a digital caliper, then it is not a
vernier.  Those are two types of calipers.  One has a digital scale.
The other a vernier (where you line up physical marks to read
accurately).  Although many people still include the word "vernier"
even if it doesn't fit - even listings for sale.  You have vernier,
dial, and digital.
Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer
     On Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 09:57:25 AM PST, Johannes
<johannes@...> wrote:
     #yiv3669264674 P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;}I can not work
without many "Digital Electronic Vernier Caliper" in my
workshop.However, they are always hiding them self when I am doing my
job.Lately I have discovered that they are missing the numbers on the
display.Both old and new ones.Suddenly the numbers are being negative
or shutting down.I am blaming a Comunicacion tower not far from the
building.
Someone's that has a good advice for me?
Best fromJohannes

Well it’s not just welders and LED lights…

"SOLAR STORMS ARE DRIVING FARMERS CRAZY: Planting season is a hectic time for farmers. For many, it means working through the night using GPS-guided tractors to plant thousands of acres in a short period of time. The season was in full swing on May 10, 2024, when the biggest solar storm in decades struck Earth. 

"Our tractors acted like they were demon possessed," says Elaine Ramstad, a Spaceweather.com reader and aurora chaser who helps out on a family farm in Northern Minnesota. "All my cousins called me during the May 10th storm to tell me that 'my auroras' were driving them crazy while they were planting.”

SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids spaceweather.com

Probably not Johannes’ problem, though…:-)

My shop is lit by LED bulbs or fixtures I got at Costco 4 or 5 years back to replace the old flickering  fluorescent ones; but I haven’t noticed any issues in use  with my calipers until the batteries get low, which produces just those kinds of weird issues. 

On Dec 9, 2024, at 4:40 AM, flyfishingdude9 via groups.io <flyfishingdude9@...> wrote:

When I GTAW the HF start really messes with all of my DRO's, and digital calipers/micrometers. 😮 It turns them on, turns them off, the displays show erroneous readings.  I thought they were possessed until I figured out it was the TIG's HF start that was causing the problem.  😂

-- 
Bruce Johnson

The less a man knows about how sausages and laws are made, the easier it is to steal his vote and give him botulism.

This brings back some old memories. Soon after I retired, I set up my hobby shop in the basement and also my ham radio equipment about 20 feet away from the lathe and the mini-mill. Soon I added three axis digital scales to my mill. That setup worked fine until I was not there. I recall, many times I took a break from machining and went to operate my radio for a while. When I came back to the mini-mill I found one or two of the axes displays were different from what they were before I went away. That happened eventhough I never exceeded 25 watts power for transmitting and had excellent SWR and a good Coax cable. I was confused at first but soon I found out what caused it.

 

I have since moved the radios to my bedroom and it is now a forgotten problem. 

 

Just reminiscing.

Prasad

Eastern PA, near Philly 

On 10 Dec 2024, at 01:24, Prasad via groups.io <ad_prasad@...> wrote:



Yes sir, I am AB3EH

On Monday, December 9, 2024 at 07:21:36 PM EST, Stan Gammons via groups.io <buttercup11421@...> wrote:

Oh.  Sounds like you might be an amateur radio operator?


Stan
KM4HQE

On 12/9/24 17:59, Prasad via groups.io wrote:

This brings back some old memories. Soon after I retired, I set up my hobby shop in the basement and also my ham radio equipment about 20 feet away from the lathe and the mini-mill. Soon I added three axis digital scales to my mill. That setup worked fine until I was not there. I recall, many times I took a break from machining and went to operate my radio for a while. When I came back to the mini-mill I found one or two of the axes displays were different from what they were before I went away. That happened eventhough I never exceeded 25 watts power for transmitting and had excellent SWR and a good Coax cable. I was confused at first but soon I found out what caused it.

 

I have since moved the radios to my bedroom and it is now a forgotten problem. 

 

Just reminiscing.

Prasad

Eastern PA, near Philly