Troubleshooting Your Digital Pocket Scale

A digital pocket scale on a white background.
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  • Beginner
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A digital pocket scale is a very handy device to have when you do a lot of weighing of small items. This small, personal-sized scale is very accurate and can be used for a wide variety of uses. If you have a lot of packages to mail, jewelry that you want to evaluate, or need to determine the weight of small farm animals, the diversity of uses is what makes owning a digital pocket scale fairly important. If your digital pocket scale doesn't seem to be working correctly, some troubleshooting may help you fix the problem.

Check Battery Supply

One of the first things to check with your personal digital pocket scale is the battery supply. You might think that they are new batteries, but if they have been sitting for any length of time, they will drain their power. Replace the batteries that you have in your pocket scale currently with new ones to see if the problems have been fixed.

Check Calibration

While a lot of pocket scales are calibrated at the factory where they are manufactured, others require that the owner do the calibration after purchasing it. Each make and model of the digital pocket scale is going to have a slightly different method for calibration, but the process is very straightforward. With different uses, turning on and off, jarring while you are moving it, and other small things that can happen to the scale, recalibration is necessary to keep it accurate.

Clean Platform

A common problem with all digital pocket scales is dirt. Dirt, lint, small pieces of crud, and other debris can find itself onto the weighing platform of your scale. This will severely hamper everything that you are trying to weigh and make calibrating difficult. You should keep your digital pocket scale clean from anything that can settle on the scale platform.

Not Using Correctly

When you are using a digital pocket scale there are several factors that you want to make sure to consider. One of these factors is that the scale needs to be on a flat level surface. There are times when people try to use the scale while it is being propped up on their hands, on uneven surfaces, or other places where it is not level or stable. Your scale will give false readings, or no readings at all when it is not on a flat surface.

Package Is too Heavy

Another problem that is associated with a digital pocket scale not working correctly is that the objects that are being weighed are too heavy for the scale to register. Pocket scales are meant for small items that are not going to weigh down the scale too much. If the object presses the scale down so that it can not work correctly, you will not receive any reading. It might seem like the scale is not working, but if you place a smaller item you will see that the previous object was too heavy. There will also be some recalibration needed in the event that the object was too heavy.