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deemery
Fireman
USA
3706 Posts |
 Posted - 07/05/2012 : 1:14:13 PM
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I'm surprised no one did this earlier... http://www.micromark.com/ho-scale-digital-caliper,10681.html
Like most MicroMark products, not inexpensive. I use my regular digital calipers all the time, it's one of those tools that I don't understand how I worked without it.
(no financial connection to MicroMark.)
dave |
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eTraxx
Fireman
USA
1947 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2012 : 2:11:27 PM
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Dave. I had wondered about that myself. I picked up a small 3" (cheap) digital caliper the other day just for carrying into the hobby shop or Lowe's to measure 'stuff'.
- Getting to the point -
These calipers have a switch - you can read out in mm, decimal inches or fractional inches.
Seems to me .. that more then one scale could have been included in the calipers .. O, N for example. Unless (oh NO!) they figure to sell a separate caliper for each scale.
I use my dial calipers all the time. Couldn't do without them. |
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AVRR-PA
Fireman
USA
4605 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2012 : 2:12:09 PM
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I'll wait for them to turn up at Harbor Freight for $5. 
Don |
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dnhman
Fireman
USA
1049 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2012 : 3:54:19 PM
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I am with Don, I picked up a mini cutoff saw at HF for I think $25 where as MM has it for $50,, and works just fine,
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Cheers!, Joe |
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deemery
Fireman
USA
3706 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2012 : 5:33:17 PM
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I kinda doubt Harbor Freight (which does have affordable digital calipers) will have digital calipers calibrated for HO scale.
dave |
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eTraxx
Fireman
USA
1947 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2012 : 6:20:48 PM
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One thing to keep in mind is that not all digital calipers are equal ..
Those 3" digital calipers I picked up at Lowe's work fine for walking into a hobby shop and calipering strip-wood .. in fractions. For ANY KIND of precise measuring .. as in switching to decimal .. they suck. They suck so loudly that I could only compare them to a jet engine at full blast.
Just saying .. |
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Neil M
Fireman
Australia
2173 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2012 : 07:04:38 AM
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As you say, Ed, it wouldn't have been that hard to make a set with more than one scale programmed in (or my preferred option of allowing you to set the scale to whatever you want).
I am just glad I use metric measurements. It is very easy to go from real to model sizes that way. In O scale I just divide/multiply by 50 (close enough to 48 for my purposes) to go from scale size to real size |
Built a waterfront HO layout in Ireland http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22161 but now making a start in On30 in Australia |
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jaynjay
Fireman
USA
4340 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2012 : 08:23:43 AM
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I guess my memory isn't as bad as I thought. HO calipers were brought out many years ago. They were on the market for a year or to and then went away
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John |
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deemery
Fireman
USA
3706 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2012 : 09:33:54 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by jaynjay
I guess my memory isn't as bad as I thought. HO calipers were brought out many years ago. They were on the market for a year or to and then went away
General made HO scale dial calipers in plastic. A bit less accurate/harder to read to .001 and not as durable.
dave |
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andykins
Fireman
United Kingdom
3890 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2012 : 09:56:03 AM
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| ask a silly question, is it not possible to have digi calipers calibrated to scale feet/inches? |
"Is it really "rivet counting" if it's regarding NBW castings?"
Unknown |
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deemery
Fireman
USA
3706 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2012 : 11:25:06 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by andykins
ask a silly question, is it not possible to have digi calipers calibrated to scale feet/inches?
Silly answer: yes it is possible. :-)
It's just a small matter of a couple lines of computer code, and then the larger problem of contracting manufacturing and then distribution/sales. What this required was someone like MicroMark to put the up-front money to start the supply chain.
Just out of curiosity, what would people want for 'less than inch', fractions or decimals?
dave |
Edited by - deemery on 07/06/2012 11:26:33 AM |
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andykins
Fireman
United Kingdom
3890 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2012 : 3:36:39 PM
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| im just wondering because my father uses a local calibration firm on his electrical testing stuff, and im half wondering if they would be able to do such a thing. |
"Is it really "rivet counting" if it's regarding NBW castings?"
Unknown |
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Rusty Stumps
Fireman
USA
5929 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2012 : 5:29:19 PM
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I have one of those HO Scale white plastic dial calipers that were sold many years ago by General. It also has O scale on it. I love it and use it all the time. I'll wait until Micro-Mark has one of it's big sales with discounts and get one then.  
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Walt
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Edited by - Rusty Stumps on 07/06/2012 5:30:05 PM |
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clif
Engine Wiper
USA
211 Posts |
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OldGuy
Section Hand
USA
59 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2012 : 10:29:27 AM
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| PFM marketed HO scale (maybe others as well) a number of years ago. I still have mine. |
Bob Dye
Livin' large on a pond |
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nebrzephyr
New Hire
8 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2012 : 3:42:39 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by OldGuy
PFM marketed HO scale (maybe others as well) a number of years ago. I still have mine.
Me too.....I love it. Bob |
Edited by - nebrzephyr on 07/07/2012 3:43:02 PM |
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Topic |
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MicroMark announces HO scale digital calipers
