acculab exorcism?

[taliv]

I've had my acculab sartorius scale for many years. (about 10, I think) Probably weighed 60k-80k charges on it. until two weeks ago, every one of those charges ended with an even number in the "hundredths column". i.e. .x2 .x4 .x6 .x8 .x0

suddenly, on feb 6 for no apparent reason, i threw a charge that read 36.47 grains. I was so surprised, I even took a picture of the scale, which I can post if needed. And trickling up and down it clearly was measuring .46 .47 .48 but no other odd number. e.g. not .45 or .49.

a few days later, the scale started reading lots of odd numbers. not all of them, but quite a few, and it stopped displaying the next higher odd number. so for instance, if you were trying to hit .48, you could trickle up from .46 to .47 and then it would skip .48 and .49 and jump to .50. this lasted maybe a week.

today, it has returned to normal, only displaying even numbers.

I haven't cycled the power on the scale in a few weeks. I'm fairly confident the scale is weighing accurately, as I chronographed my match load twice and both times got a 4 fps ES.

possible explanations might include
-demons
-hacker joke celebrating chinese new year
-unnamed three letter agency, in collaboration with the illuminati

any other guesses? this happened to anyone else?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

North korean hackers

 

[sparker]

I heard a rumor that this guy out in Bakersfield California was working on a computer virus that would eventually infiltrate every digital scale. Supposedly on Halloween, 2016 the virus will switch all the scales over permanently to metric units. This could be part of the beta test.

Anonymous.

 

[Comrade Terry]

Whenever any of my electronic devices (hard drives, routers, etc.) start acting wonky, I interpret that as a sign that the end of its life is near. You might start looking for a replacement scale.

 

[jlow]

A lot of scales are setup to only give even numbers. The idea behind this is the rounding of the number will reduce the flickering the user will see between odd and even numbers and so give the impression of a more stable response (yes it’s psychological…).

Most scale that does this is set to do this in their setup menu. If your scale changed this by itself, then it maybe that it got zapped by a surge or static and some items in the menu was inadvertently changed. The best way to deal with this is to first turn it off and back on, look up in the instruction to see if there is a way to “reset” the scale back to factory specs.

This is THE reason why you don’t leave the scale on when you are not using it. Learn to turn it off when not in use to protect it from line surges and only turn it on an hour or so before use – it’s plenty to allow it to warm up and stabilize.

 

[dkhunt14]

A lot of scales are setup to only give even numbers. The idea behind this is the rounding of the number will reduce the flickering the user will see between odd and even numbers and so give the impression of a more stable response (yes it’s psychological…).

Most scale that does this is set to do this in their setup menu. If your scale changed this by itself, then it maybe that it got zapped by a surge or static and some items in the menu was inadvertently changed. The best way to deal with this is to first turn it off and back on, look up in the instruction to see if there is a way to “reset” the scale back to factory specs.

This is THE reason why you don’t leave the scale on when you are not using it. Learn to turn it off when not in use to protect it from line surges and only turn it on an hour or so before use – it’s plenty to allow it to warm up and stabilize.

I thought it didn't matter if it was on or off. If the line got surged it would still get the scale. I know I have seen TV's wiped out and they weren't on. I have a power filter and protector on mine. Matt

 

[jlow]

Matt – it’s a question of degree. A big surge will blow the electronics and you might even see smoke. Those small surges/spikes that can weaken and damage you electronics but not blow it and that’s what I am describing here. It’s not all or none and yes you need to UNPLUG the scale from the line, not just turn it off. Normally when I see a big electrical storm come in, I always unplug the electronics I want to protect and not just turn it off.

BTW, those power filters are only good against the small surges/spikes, any big surge will blow right through them so unplugging is still the best protection.

 

[dkhunt14]

BTW, those power filters are only good against the small surges/spikes, any big surge will blow right through them so unplugging is still the best protection.

The company I got it from said they will replace anything blown out by a surge. We will see if it ever happens. I had it plugged In for 8 years now. Matt

 

[jlow]

That’s correct; I think the protection is really against surges and spikes and not against the kind of power that comes down the line from a close lighting strike. Check the joules rating on the machine, but since amount of energy that comes from a lightning strike is in the million/billion joules range, really nothing can protect a machine that is still connected to the line. We rarely gets that kind of strike, it’s a bit like getting hit by a tornado, rare but it’s best to be safe and unplug.

 

[dkhunt14]

Jlow you are probably correct. I know lightning hit my well pump a couple of years ago. It fried the box in the house. Melted the stuff inside. Matt

 

[Sheldon N]

Wow, I've never seen that before on my Acculab.

I think you could probably sell it and make a profit. After all, your scale just doubled in precision capabilities going from 0.02 grains precision to 0.01 grains precision.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

You have unlocked the code for more precision. Usually they charge double for the reprogramming

 

[RemingtonAI]

It hasn't like... displayed any messages telling you to do...things...has it?

 

[Sheldon N]

Has your scale developed a red eye and started talking to you?

"Just what do you think you're doing with that powder charge, Dave?"

"I'm afraid that's too much H4831, Dave. I can't let you shoot that."

"I'm worried about your ES, Dave."

 

[taliv]

funny stuff


i expect you're right, that i will be having to buy a new scale soon. sucks.