Digital scales
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sam vimes
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Despite the occasional tale of woe regarding the RH9000s, I bought some. I've been very impressed with mine. They haven't eaten batteries (still on the original set which are at least a year old, maybe two) and they are accurate. Can't fault mine. The only other option I would consider are the little Electro Samson.
Log onto Ebay and find the scales that weigh luggage for air flight.
I paid £5.99 for an excellent pair, ounces and grams to around 30lb 50lb depending on the one picked.
Worth a punt or you could buy a set designed for fishing at 5 times the price?
I paid £5.99 for an excellent pair, ounces and grams to around 30lb 50lb depending on the one picked.
Worth a punt or you could buy a set designed for fishing at 5 times the price?
rich66
Well-known member
I have some Berkeley ones they seem pretty accurate, button battery style last a couple of seasons easy.
I've read old batteries can make the reading off a bit either way on digital scales but never tested the theory.
I've read old batteries can make the reading off a bit either way on digital scales but never tested the theory.
mikench
Well-known member
I have a set of scales bought by mistake( I have others) which are calibrated in drams and ounces! The trouble is they only go up to 1lb
Mind You they would have been all I needed today! There was more weight in the wild mushrooms!
Mind You they would have been all I needed today! There was more weight in the wild mushrooms!ian g
Well-known member
I have a set and have been impressed , no battery issues yet and a lot easier than messing about zeroing the spring scales I also have.
flightliner
Well-known member
I have the RH 9000s, had them since early may , they seem fine so far, whatever you do dont go anywhere near the korum digitals.
Mine went kaput inside the guarantee period and with a little extra cash opted for the RHs.
Mine went kaput inside the guarantee period and with a little extra cash opted for the RHs.
steve2
Well-known member
Just how accurate and expensive do fishing scales need to be?
I bought a pair in the bargain shop that appears to be just as accurate as my more expensive ones. Weigh in pounds and ounces, grams or kilos and have a built in tape measure. Only cost £4.
I bought a pair in the bargain shop that appears to be just as accurate as my more expensive ones. Weigh in pounds and ounces, grams or kilos and have a built in tape measure. Only cost £4.
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For larger fish, big carp for example, I'd be happy to be within a lb but for the Rudd, roach, chub and perch I occasionally catch I want something that will be accurate to the ounce at least.
I'm sure your absolutely right about some of these cheaper scales but being the sucker I am, I've just hit the button on a RH9000 for £35.
With no like button to show appreciation, thanks to all for your input.:thumbs:
sam vimes
Well-known member
Need and want are two different things. If I didn't care how accurate scales were, I'd not bother carry them at all. I'd be rather unimpressed with any scale that couldn't get within an ounce.
As ever, there's little doubt that brand premiums come into play. There's also a chance that you could find unbranded versions of tackle brand scales for buttons. However, you have no idea whether they are made to the same standard or not. Identical looking items from the same factories don't necessarily share identical internal components. If I pay a premium for scales, it would only be from companies that specialize in scales (RH, Salter, etc), they have a reputation to maintain.
There's a good chance that your £4 scales would cost £10-15 (or more) if someone imported them and slapped a tackle brand on them. There's also a chance that the Reuben Heatons would be £10-15 if they were to be found unbranded or direct from China. You pay your money and take your choice.
I always say this when the question of digitals comes up...the issue for me is that I am concerned that accuracy will be impacted as the batteries begin to run low ...and before anyone says just change the batteries - how do you even know they are starting to run low ?
You may already be weighting out before it becomes apparent they need changing.
You may already be weighting out before it becomes apparent they need changing.
sam vimes
Well-known member
A decent design should work well (and accurately) until the batteries run down enough for them to work no more, much like high quality torch designs. A digital scale that goes haywire as the power levels of the battery drops is a poor design. For me, the biggest issue with digital scales is going to them and finding that they are dead.
Torches get dimmer as the batteries start to fade. I have not seen a torch yet that shines at perfect brightness and then goes directly to flat dead. There is always a certain period when it still works but not as well.
Thats the moment digitals could weigh out and you wont know as its not apparent like with a torch light.
I will admit my comments are not based on first hand experience as I have avoided them for this reason.
sam vimes
Well-known member
Cheaper torches get dimmer as the batteries fade. Top notch ones with decent circuitry work and then stop working once the battery drops to a specified voltage. Any battery operated device can be made to do exactly the same. In electronics terms it's very easy to do. The problem is that it costs a bit more, batteries are useless before they would be in another device and some people simply don't like the feature. I make no claims as to which scales work in this manner, but it's not beyond the wit of a decent electronics designer to do it.
steve2
Well-known member
I suppose the need for accuracy is dependent on how important you think how much a fish weighs is.
In my fishing it means very little these days but in days gone by it seemed at the time very important when chasing up and down the country in search of bigger fish. How accurate were my scales then I have no idea but as I weighed all fish on the same set of scales it didn’t matter if they weighed light or heavy. All my fish back then were weighed on Avon dial scales like most fish were.
In my fishing it means very little these days but in days gone by it seemed at the time very important when chasing up and down the country in search of bigger fish. How accurate were my scales then I have no idea but as I weighed all fish on the same set of scales it didn’t matter if they weighed light or heavy. All my fish back then were weighed on Avon dial scales like most fish were.
I dont doubt they can build into the circuitry that a device switches off when power/voltage reduces to certain level.
I do doubt anyone does that on scales and i doubt even further anyone has ever bothered doing any testing to determine at what power/voltage weighing accuracy is impacted on their device.
Reality therefore is your scales are impacted as you battery drains and you have zero indication at what point you accuracy is being imparied.
Whether you care or not is of course another question. For many a rough idea is all they want. Nothing wrong with that.
sam vimes
Well-known member
No argument, provided you make the assumption that you have inferior quality (no comment on price) scales. Possibly a very safe assumption to make, but not necessarily the whole truth. I've little doubt that most electronic scales, especially angling branded ones, don't have such a feature. However, there will be such scales on the market. How much extra you have to pay for such a thing is anyone's guess. I know that with torches, you generally pay a significant premium for such voltage regulation.
We are talking about fishing scales. If someone makes digital scales with that feature i doubt its going to be for the fishing market for the cost reasons uou mention. It would more likly be for something like a lab for example. I would also expect anyone worried enough to put the feature in would also connect the device to the mains not a battery unless they absolutly had to.
sam vimes
Well-known member
Do I anticipate £20 Korum scales to have such a feature? No. All I was arguing was that digital scales don't have to suffer from inaccuracy as batteries run down. It's a doddle from an electronics design point of view to negate such an effect. I quite agree that most people worried about accuracy would choose mains power and that most anglers wouldn't pay the extra for such a feature. Though the number that are happy to pay £60 and upward for better quality dial scales makes me wonder. I'd happily pay for relatively small, accurate digitals, with voltage regulation, in preference to huge dial scales that are considered de riguer by most specimen anglers and the match fraternity.
That doesn't mean that they don't exist. Not all scales used by anglers are aimed purely at angling. The Electro Samsons by Salter are an example. Whether they have voltage regulation for their inflated price, I've no idea. Unlike you, I'd be surprised if there are absolutely no handheld, battery operated, scales out there that have such a feature. There's no technical reason why they can't.
Well where we do agree is if they made one that fits in a pockets for less than 50 quid i would have it ! ...as i imagine would allot of others. Until then i'll stick to a spring.