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FX120i drifting issues

TackDriv3r

I warm up my Chargemaster as a primary scale and top off with my FX120i to the kernel. I let both warm up for about 15 minutes before weighing, once I'm about halfway done, the scale starts drifting in .02 -.04 grains. I just wait about 30 seconds or so and it automatically goes back to zero. I keep seeing this issue, sometimes it don't even go back to zero, so I have to press the reset zero button to resume, and go back to the case I just filled to confirm weight. Starts acting up each time I weigh, so I take a break and turn the scales off and go back and resume after an hour,,,,soon after it acts up again. No electronics are on in the office. I put my laptop and cell phone in a another room as well. A/C is shut off as well, no drafts in the office.
Does anyone have this issue and a fix?
 
Not too long ago I was thinking my Fx120i was drifting like you described. I seem to have fixed the problem by making sure the bubble level on the unit was perfectly centered and there was no air currents. To check the air current theory I placed the one shield panel in front of the open space. The other three sides of the shield and the top are always in place when i use it.
 
ShtrRdy said:
Not too long ago I was thinking my Fx120i was drifting like you described. I seem to have fixed the problem by making sure the bubble level on the unit was perfectly centered and there was no air currents. To check the air current theory I placed the one shield panel in front of the open space. The other three sides of the shield and the top are always in place when i use it.
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A small static charge that you are not even aware of on your hands might affect the scale. Can you ground the scale to a water pipe? At work I could see a difference in scale readings using different types of protective gloves. Do you walk on a carpet by your reloading bench? Does your chair have cloth cover? Repeatedly touch something that's grounded with your hand to reduce the chances of static.
 
texascavediver said:
Get a Trip Lite power conditioner, plug the 120i into it and leave the 120i on 24/7.
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this worked for me. when i called fx support, the guy said to leave it plugged in 24/7. thats in warm up mode so you dont have to wait 30 minutes every time you use it. you can turn off the power button, but leave it plugged into a hot plug.
 
rwj said:
How “clean” is the sine wave produced by the inverter and does it impact scale operation?
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How clean you ask.....it's clean enough for my use, it is my portable setup to load at the range, I've been using it for three years now, my FX120 does not drift or misbehave but I,m NOT an electrical engineer so there's that.
 
The possible snag is "pure sine wave" could mean lots of things. Rarely do consumer inverters specify harmonic distortion or harmonic content for their outputs. On top of that, these are generally high frequency switching inverters that can generate EMI which can affect your scale. It's a bit of a crap shoot buying these from Amazon or eBay. If the product does the job, it's a win. Just know that there's often more to it than marketing claim. I'm an aerospace power conversion engineer, so I may know what I'm talking about.
 
Mine is plugged into a line conditioner and have a ferrite bead on cord leading to scale. Usually turn on about an hour before use. No drifting at all.
 
Someone else here mentioned using a Sola precision power supply instead of the Chinesium one that is supplied. I got one of those a few months ago - refurbished from ebay and it resolved any drifting issues I was having. The model you want is sdp 2-12-100t. Here

I setup my scale with a granite plate, sorbathane pads, grounded it, using a line conditioner with ferrite choke. No air currents, temperature and humidity controlled, warmed up for 30 minutes prior to using it. It usually wasn't too bad, but would occasionally would drift .02 to .04 for no apparent reason. I would turn the scale off and turn it back on and continue loading, but it still irked me that it would do this.

Since installing the Sola PS it has never drifted. After warming it up I use a 100g calibration weight to verify it is where it should be and recalibrate if needed. After a loading session I check it with the calibration weight and it is still dead on with zero drift. It feels like swatting a gnat with a tactical nuke, but it works.
 
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This is what someone here suggested, and they were discontinued, but i found a recoditioned one for $75
 

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The single biggest issue for units returned for warranty is static.
Get in the habit of regularly wiping everything down with antistatic wipes.
 
TRSR8 said:
The single biggest issue for units returned for warranty is static.
Get in the habit of regularly wiping everything down with antistatic wipes.
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THIS. 'Tis the season for static buildup -a regular wipedown with a new dryer sheet might fix the issue, and certainly won't hurt.

Frank
 
Remove the platen and clean under and around looking for maverick kernels. Calibrate prior to use and keep smallish check weights near your objective charge handy. As long as the balance resolves the check weight value returning to zero prior to adding a cup of powder won’t change the outcome.
 
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