MidwayUSA MTM 1,200gr digital scale $30 / 6" Caliper $13

[LiveLife]

Just got the March flyer from MidwayUSA (sale ends 3/31) and thought about new reloaders needing these items. If someone has used the MTM digital scale, can you comment as to how good/bad it is?

http://www.midwayusa.com/General.mvc/Index/FlyerOnline?utm_source=fsflyer&utm_medium=homepage

MTM Mini Digital Reloading Scale 1200 Grain Capacity - $29.99

Frankford Arsenal Electronic Caliper 6" Stainless Steel - $12.99:

 

[marineshooter]

Yes I use the scale. I have had it about a year now with no problems at all. just make sure that you use it on a hard surface or it can give strange results. I am also a fine scale moldeler and I use a rubber cutting matt to trim the parts off of the trees. I could not find out why the scale would not read right, untill I moved the matt. once on my bench no more problems. I use a 30 year old dial caliper from sears. but that looks like what harbor frieght sells, and i hear only good things about them

 

[Retired in 2001]

Good luck with that scale.Mine had to send back,it was very finicky sometimes it would turn on sometime not.Checked the batteries,took them out put them back in.What a pain bought a RCBS didnt look back.

 

[Sport45]

If there's a Harbor Freight in your area they sometimes put that same caliper (with a Cen-Tech label, I believe) on sale for $10 and you don't have to pay shipping. Just watch for a coupon.

 

[LiveLife]

Good luck with that scale.Mine had to send back,it was very finicky sometimes it would turn on sometime not.Checked the batteries,took them out put them back in.What a pain bought a RCBS didnt look back.

Retired in 2001, are you talking about the MTM 1200 grain scale ($30) or the FA DS-750 scale that sells for $20?

Frankford Arsenal DS-750 Electronic Powder Scale 750 Grain Capacity:

 

[Randy1911]

I have a florscent light about 3' above my bench. It was giving me problems with my PACT digital scale. I had to go back to a beam scale. Does this MTM get affected by florscent lights? I would like to go back to a digital scale.

 

[mkl]

I have had the MTM 1200 scale about 10 months or so. A couple of months after I received it, it started having problems with its battery contacts. I would use the scale then put it away for a few days, and when I pushed the "on" button nothing happened. I would have to take the batteries out and reinstall them and all was fine.

The problem got worse and worse, so that when I finally gave up it was taking me ten minutes of fussing with the batteries to get the scale to work.

I gave up and soldered a couple of fine wires to the battery contacts and now run the scale off an external power supply. Works like a charm.

I have no complaints about the accuracy of the scale, but it is a good idea to re-zero every few minutes or so for the first 30 minutes of use while it is warming up. I wish I could defeat the auto-off function which I no longer need, but I'm sure that is on an eprom as part of the scale's programming.

 

[helg]

Both products are not manufactured by companies that are printed on the products, but are just branded with the names.

I have no doubt that both the scale and the caliper will work fine. The technology behind these devices is no longer a challenge to worry about. It is like watches a decade ago.

You have to understand though that about half of the advertised price is for branding. Same stuff less brand can be easily found for half of the price.

 

[azar]

I have the MTM scale. It's decent, but mine isn't accurate enough that I trust it for weighing powder charges. It drifts too frequently and seems to be measure closure to 1/5th of a grain rather than the advertised 1/10th.

It's nice for a quick weighing of bullets, H20 case capacity, etc.

 

[mongoose33]

I had the same experience as AZAR. Not long after I got mine, I discovered that it would not settle on a 5.0-grain weight...nor a 25.0-grain weight.

I'd sit there and trickle the powder one granule at a time, and the scale would jump from 4.9 to 5.1, with nary a stop at 5.0. Same with 25.0.

So I didn't trust it. I called the company, and they told me that this was characteristic of the chip in scales like these. It's the price you pay for cheap.

It's ok for some things, but if you're buying a digital scale for measuring powder, get a real one. I ended up buying the Dillon D-Terminator and never looked back. Stunning scale. Pricey, yes, but I've never regretted it for a moment.

 

[counterclockwise]

I've never had success with a cheap digital weight scale. Hysteresis usually shows up. Finally bought the lower end of a Chargemaster 1500. It seems to work OK, even under fluorescents.