A&D 120i Question

[wkdickinson]

I just took delivery on a new A&D 120i scale and I have an AutoTrickler V4 on order. For those of you are using an A&D 120i - do you turn the scale off when not in use or leave it powered up all the time?

 

[Gb300wm]

I turn mine off when not in use. I’ll turn it on for about an hour or so for the electronics to warm up before use.

 

[FeMan]

I leave mine on all the time.

 

[Liven The Dream]

The manual states warm up ????
I warm my unit up for a couple Hours ,some times over night.

 

[ED3]

I leave mine on all the time.

Yep;
24/ 7/ 365

 

[ballisticdaddy]

They do not give an explanation as to why but below is a screenshot from the instruction manual...

 

[Jet]

Makes me curious as to why? We’re not making a cake. Is there a circuit board that needs to reach a particular temp of are there calculations going on in there. What’s up ?

Manual says turn on 30 min prior to use. Thats what I do

 

[powderbrake]

When you warm up the scale, the electronic components are warming up to their normal operating temperature. At this point the scale will meet the claimed accuracy. The signals, ( voltages and current ) in the electronics are VERY small, and the drift with temperature of the amplifiers, resistors etc, can affect the accuracy until they hit their normal temperatures.
I follow the A&D instruction manual, and let it warm up for 1/2 hour, and turn it off when I am done with it.

 

[JEFFPPC]

Two things come into play.
#1 Failure to read the directions.
#2 Monkey see, monkey do.

 

[JFrank]

When you warm up the scale, the electronic components are warming up to their normal operating temperature. At this point the scale will meet the claimed accuracy. The signals, ( voltages and current ) in the electronics are VERY small, and the drift with temperature of the amplifiers, resistors etc, can affect the accuracy until they hit their normal temperatures.
I follow the A&D instruction manual, and let it warm up for 1/2 hour, and turn it off when I am done with it.

Thx for the explanation, I ask questions because I didn’t know the answer, now I do.
J

 

[dthomas]

I turn mine off after use

 

[wkdickinson]

Thanks for all the responses!

 

[Dave M.]

I just took delivery on a new A&D 120i scale and I have an AutoTrickler V4 on order. For those of you are using an A&D 120i - do you turn the scale off when not in use or leave it powered up all the time?

I leave mine on 100% and I’m powering it through a surge protector. I also calibrate it every time I’m going to do a critical work with it.

 

[ronemus]

On 24/7/365 - standard practice with analytical instruments.

 

[madmixerman]

Plug it in and turn on before starting to prep brass for loading. Unplug when finished.

 

[Doom]

In the olden days of vacuum tubes and other high heat producing electronic components the failure rates of electronics was driven by time in service. Today most electronic and digital equipment is still subject to time in service failure but the time between failures is many times greater. Your computers and iPhone are turned off seldom if ever. The reality is it probably doesn't make much difference.

 

[Benchrest Braxton]

You 100% absolutely need to warm it up.

don’t believe me? if not then try this.

turn scale on, throw a charge on it, record the weight, come back in 30-60 mins and see what the current weight is vs the weight when first turned on.

I do suggest to throw a charge on the pan (so the scale is reading something) while the scale is warming up. not sure why but it seems to help lessen drift. I do like to warm my scale up for at least an hour or two (with a charge on it) to be sure.

 

[divingin]

I just took delivery on a new A&D 120i scale and I have an AutoTrickler V4 on order. For those of you are using an A&D 120i - do you turn the scale off when not in use or leave it powered up all the time?

Turning it off doesn't actually turn it off. It sits in a kind of standby state.

The manual is kind of ambiguous on the warmup:

In the section "Assembling":
"Connect the balance to the power for at least 30 minutes with nothing on the weighing pan
before use."

Under the Power Supply section, it reads:
"When the AC adapter is connected, the balance is in the standby mode if the standby indicator
is on (refer to “4. DISPLAY SYMBOLS AND KEY OPERATION”). This is a normal state and
does not harm the balance. For accurate weighing, warm up the balance for at least 30 minutes
before use."

Finally, under "Before Use":
"Plug in the AC adapter and warm up the balance for at least one hour."

Note that it doesn't clarify whether warmup is performed in standby (as implied in the Assembling section) or with the scale actually turned on.

 

[TonyL]

I have the scale plugged into a Tripp-Lite model LS606M line conditioner which I leave off until 30 or more minutes before using.

 

[ronemus]

Note that it doesn't clarify whether warmup is performed in standby (as implied in the Assembling section) or with the scale actually turned on.

Standard practice should be to warm it up in the ON state, otherwise it won't really warm up properly because much of the electronics are turned off. I leave mine in the ON state 24/7/365; that was standard practice for analytical instruments , including scales, in the laboratories I worked in. I was a system engineer for a major instrument manufacturer, and their systems were designed to be on continuously with the exception of light sources.