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 Post subject: Recommended Portable Carat Scale?
PostPosted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 2:26 am 
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Location: Vancouver, Canada
Okay, my trusty Dendritics Gemscale 125 just karked it. One moment working fine, the next moment won't get past the AU032 startup message, or if it does, it jumps all over the place from 0.02 to 5.28 to -0.70 from second to second.

I suspect it's going to cost more to repair than to buy a new scale (this one's from 2002)

I'm looking for something with 100ct+ capacity with 0.01ct resolution. Repeatability and accuracy are more important than price.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

-Allan

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 Post subject: Re: Recommended Portable Carat Scale?
PostPosted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 2:27 pm 
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I have a tanita which is super reliable.
It's this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Tanita-1210N-Prof ... +gem+scale

and Lang uses a portable Tanita for gold weighing, it's this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Tanita-KP400M-KP- ... +gem+scale


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 Post subject: Re: Recommended Portable Carat Scale?
PostPosted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 4:29 pm 
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Hi Allan,
Unfortunately Dendritics is gone which really is a shame because their line of jeweler's scales was not only beautifully executed, the founder of the company actually developed or implemented a new measurement principle.
These scales use displacement and capacitive measurement to determine mass.

Whatever you (or anyone else with a Dendritics Scale) do DON'T Remove the battery. If you do it will forget it's programming (you can change the battery but do it in one motion) and it can't be reprogrammed.

The founder of the company will still answer emails or at least would years ago but they won't service them anymore. Time to buy a new scale. :(


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 Post subject: Re: Recommended Portable Carat Scale?
PostPosted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 5:48 pm 
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Probably a dumb question, but have you tried replacing the battery?


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 Post subject: Re: Recommended Portable Carat Scale?
PostPosted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 11:43 pm 
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Location: Vancouver, Canada
Quote:
Probably a dumb question, but have you tried replacing the battery?

Not a dumb question at all! But yes, it was one of the first things I tried.

I got a reply from John at Dendritics who recommended wiping it down with a warm soapy towel to eliminate any static that may be building up. This seems to have done the trick for the moment, and though Vancouver is normally not a place where static is an issue it's been rather dry and cold lately - and yes, static-y also.

Hopefully that's all the problem was, as I quite like the scale for size, accuracy and repeatability. It was expensive when I bought it in 2002 but it's lasted 12 years so far... I have to admit that my heart sank when it started acting up as it's been rock-solid all this while.

-Allan

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 Post subject: Re: Recommended Portable Carat Scale?
PostPosted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 1:05 pm 
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Fingers crossed, Allan. I love it when comatose instruments regain consciousness. :wink:


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 Post subject: Re: Recommended Portable Carat Scale?
PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 10:08 pm 
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let's note that a specific gravity kit will fit the 1230, while the 1210 models aren't appropriate for that purpose.


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 Post subject: Re: Recommended Portable Carat Scale?
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 1:13 am 
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Well the verdict is... ALIVE!

Seems the wipe-down has eliminated the static - as has the inch of rainfall in the last 24 hours. :wink:

The unit is back to working like it should. A quick test of accuracy was performed by weighing some stones that have their carat weights labelled - 100% correlation to the 3rd party!

Yes, I'm happy. Not that I don't like new toys, but I am very attached to this one.

Thanks for the suggestions and feedback - I had my eye on the 1230 but will file that one for future reference.

-Allan

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 Post subject: Re: Recommended Portable Carat Scale?
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 2:15 pm 
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 Post subject: Re: Recommended Portable Carat Scale?
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 3:13 pm 
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It is nice when they come back to life. Remember to be quick about the battery replacement so it doesn't forget who it is. (that was sort of a design defect actually in an otherwise nice product. I don't know if all there products were made that way)

You could swab the outside surfaces and the bottom of the weighing pan with anti static spray. That would make it less affected by relative humidity.


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 Post subject: Re: Recommended Portable Carat Scale?
PostPosted: Thu Dec 25, 2014 9:42 pm 
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Location: San Diego
The lost programming issue only applied to the Gemscale 50 and Gemscale 100. Their programming was stored in volatile memory maintained by a lithium backup battery which was only drawn on when the 9 volt main battery was being replaced or was dead.

The newer Gemscales like the 55 and 125 stored their programming in a permanent "eeprom" memory chip. http://dendritics.com/scales/gt-lost-data.asp

I have a 50 and a 125, both barely used, and might consider parting with the 50. The 50 is better for specific gravity measurements than the 125 as I recall because it is less sensitive to off center weights.

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 Post subject: Re: Recommended Portable Carat Scale?
PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2014 12:48 am 
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Barbra Voltaire wrote:
Lang uses a portable Tanita for gold weighing, it's this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Tanita-KP400M-KP- ... +gem+scale


Thanks for the links! I'm looking to buy a gold/silver weighing scale in the near future, this sounds perfect. :D

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