Digital angle gauges

I was wondering if any members have purchased these and had them die for no apparent reason.

I have had 2 of them one being a Wixiey, I do not use them a lot but have found that after a fairly long time on the shelve they were dead, new batteries did not revive them.

I was wondering if they had a built in self destruct.

Hi Garth,

The one I have still works after several years, I do have to replace the batteries after a year or so.

Thor

I bought my Wixey from the US when they first came out and it is still going strong.

If you are not using them often you can save the battery from draining by taking it our as the machine still runs in the background to remember the last set zero and it is just the display that is turned of. I don't bother with doing this as mine gets used a lot.

My generic one is several years old and still working.

Open it up, it may be corrosion of a battery wire.

Neil

I have a Wixey - which is very useful for "casual" angle settings - given you can 'zero' it against a reference surface.

But as it's not in constant use - I also take the battery out before I put it away...

Regards,

IanT

I also own a Wixey, I do as IanT. I keep mine indoors in the warm..until needed.

I use a cheapo from Lidl/Aldi; the one that looks like 2x6" steel rules on a pivot with a little DRO.
Like the cheap digital calipers, they seem to stop reading after a while as the centre battery contact corrodes slightly, and not always visibly.
This is particularly the case where I've used cheap replacement batteries; the ones where you get loads on a bubble/card display pack. They seem more susceptible to it, but I normally keep a cardfull in stock for emergencies.
A quick wipe with a glass-fibre pencil and a feint smearing of Vaseline/silicon grease holds the problem at bay for quite a long time.

For the fibge pencil, I use a length of strengthening member from a fibre optic cable; I saved a few lengths from out of the scrap bin when I worked for BT. It makes a good mouse for feeding wires under floorboards too.
If you have Telecom contacts who work with fibre cables, make discrete enquiries; the orange sheathed stuff works better than the later white variety.

I've discovered electronics in my garage workshop tend to die sooner than those kept in the house. I suspect temperature swinging repeatedly from high to low and/or condensation does the damage. Same problem with button cells: batteries from the same pack last longer inside the house.

Dave

I've had a 'GemRed' brand for a couple of years now & have only needed to change battery annually, I just zero it at start of use then switch it off when done using it, had no probs with it Usual disclaimer applies.

George.

I got the clinometer app for my iPhone. It reads to 1/10 degree. Hardly use it.

Hi all thanks for your replies,

I usually make sure I have a dab of anti corrosion oil on all my coin cell instruments to avoid cell leakage problems. Not usually a problem with Lithium cells.

Just my luck I guess, I am going to give this one a go who knows it might survive my Jinx [254125037490]

.

Having briefly engaged 'infinite improbability drive' ...

I can confirm that there is an ebay listing of that number ^^^

MichaelG.

.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Cube-Inclinometer-Angle-Gauge-Meter-Digital-Protractor-Electronic-Level-Box/254125037490

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 15/03/2019 06:38:42

Hi, I've had my Wixey for 12 years at least, it has spent the most part of it's life in my holdall that I use for my lunchbox etc. for work, I've put the battery in this morning for the first time in months and it still works fine. I only have the battery in it when I need to use it, as been said it will drain away when not in actual use. I dropped it once while using it at work and it fell about 2 metres onto the ground and it still worked, but a few days later I found it was giving unstable readings. Opening up the case, I found that the mechanism was almost detached from the case. bonding it back into place cured the unstable readings and it has worked fine ever since.

Regards Nick.

I used to keep my Wixey in it's little case, found the battery went dead so kept it in there with the battery taken out, now it sits on a shelf ready to use upside down with the battery stuck to one of the magnets.

I have one of these and have always felt it possible to press the on button inadvertently through the soft case.

Good news, I have received the digital angle gauge mentioned previously.

It works well can recommend it. Good to 2 digital places and auto switch off plus a relative function, this is better than a Wixey.

Don't rely too much on the auto switch off - that may well be just the display. The Wixey draws current from the battery even when "off", that's why they go flat even when left unused for a while. Wixey also has a relative function.