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Fix your stupid cheap digital caliper

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PaulR:
Yes CI, easily the most used item and therefore really annoying when it plays up!!

Chris, we always used to put a dab of 'Vaseline' petroleum jelly on car battery contacts to keep moisture out - I rarely even look under the bonnet (hood) of my car these days, there's nothing to see except black plastic.

Steve, thankfully my garage workshop is very dry but it does get pretty cold. I've got a bunch of unused, sealed, erasers I use for archaeological drawing but they're labelled 'PVC and Latex Free' - I wonder what they're actually made from, some other sort of plastics??. Presumably they also contain an abrasive compound.

Jasonb:
Does depend on the calliper, mine switches completely off and does not remember last position and a battery will last 2-3 years quite easily.

I'm still on the same one my brother gave me back in the early 80s when he no longer had the need for it. So probably quite cheap in the long run when compared to getting through several cheap ones and a continuous supply of batteries. It is a Mitutoyo. Not had problems with it.

PaulR:
Well that seems to have worked! Using a magnifier I could see some greyish build up on the high point of the battery contact (and a small blister in the chrome plating lower down but not in the contact zone). I cut up a used eraser to get some unused surfaces and gave the contact a good rub. It's now nice and shiny, the readings aren't all over the place and even the buttons seem to be working with just a light touch rather than having to hold them down as I did before. Before and after photos. A bit of the grey stuff is left on top of the eraser in the second photo but I broke that corner off while being a bit over zealous!

vtsteam:
Jason, yes, I think I had one of those types a while back. Paul, great, glad it worked.  :cheers:

vtsteam:
Guys, yes vaseline and bearing grease works great for those kinds of big contact surfaces and 12 volts. When you get down to micro components and contacts at 2 volts it's probably kinda thick for them. I was trying to find a video I saw years ago about Corrosion X when I was making R/C models. I just found it. This stuff is pretty different from a grease. In model aircraft back then, we used fairly hazardous LiPo cells and ESC speed controllers which DID NOT like water (Chris I'm sure with subs you know). Not to mention the receivers and servos...

This video shows Corrosion X being tested in this kind of ...ahem.... "damp" environment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4z8QMgTEA4

I've used it to save other kinds of dunked electronics after they got wet, and also on connections to things like depth sounders on my boat.

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