electronic height gages- what do you use?

WILLEO6709 · Sep 27, 2016

I have an aging Tesa-hite 600, I have had it at least 10 years and bought it used at auction. It has quit powering up and I am in the process of seeing if its reparable. I don't think I really need a full blown micro-hite style... and I don't really want to spend over $5k if I have to replace it. whats out there?

Gordon B. Clarke · Sep 28, 2016

WILLEO6709 said:
I have an aging Tesa-hite 600, I have had it at least 10 years and bought it used at auction. It has quit powering up and I am in the process of seeing if its reparable. I don't think I really need a full blown micro-hite style... and I don't really want to spend over $5k if I have to replace it. whats out there?

If you are willing to pay up to $5k then there are probably more "out there" than you can shake a stick at. If you are/were more than happy with your Tesa then what I'd do is contact a Tesa dealer and hear what they can offer. Maybe they'd even be willing to take the one you have and pay something for it.

If you don't have a preferred brand name then probably the advice you get in PM will be based on what the various members have. I doubt if many members have several types/brands in their shops to pick and choose from so it will be "the one they know".

Maybe things are different in the USA but buying something like that at an auction isn't something I'd do. I'd rather pay a bit more from a reputable dealer and they also have used.

moonlight machine · Sep 28, 2016

Mitutoyo works fine for me.

Mike1974 · Sep 28, 2016

We have Mits and Starrett. Mits hands down - fit, form, and feel are just much nicer.

RTM · Sep 28, 2016

Ours are too old to compare to newer stuff but we have a pair of Mitutoyo height gages, one digital the other Vernier style. I took a look at the Micro-Hite and it's in a different league.

I think we bought ours used over 25 years ago and they are both as smooth as glass and as accurate as they were made to be.

WILLEO6709 · Sep 28, 2016

The tesa 600 has an 02 in the serial number...... I would believe its 14 years old, which may as well be a century in electronic stuff. The youtube videos of the new ones have some things that would be nice. I don't need the complexity of the micro hite, but the cl and diameter functions once you have them you miss not having them. makes reverse engineering parts much much quicker.

cheapest I have found is a tesa magna 700 on amazon of all places....but I hate to spend that kinda cash until I know the repair cost. still waiting for a call back on that

Gordon B. Clarke · Sep 28, 2016

WILLEO6709 said:
The tesa 600 has an 02 in the serial number...... I would believe its 14 years old, which may as well be a century in electronic stuff. The youtube videos of the new ones have some things that would be nice. I don't need the complexity of the micro hite, but the cl and diameter functions once you have them you miss not having them. makes reverse engineering parts much much quicker.

cheapest I have found is a tesa magna 700 on amazon of all places....but I hate to spend that kinda cash until I know the repair cost. still waiting for a call back on that

I just don't get it but probably because we think differently. The "cheapest" you have found?

If I were you, and I'm not, I'd be looking for the best one (not the cheapest) I could get for the money I was willing to pay.

Of course you might get lucky but then again, you might not.

I saw Starrett mentioned. Once upon a time Starrett was excellent quality. I'm pretty certain most of their measuring equuipment is imported (outsourced) now but with their logo on it. Not saying it's bad, just that it isn't what it used to be.

CarbideBob · Sep 28, 2016

There are height gages and then there are Height Gages.
The "cheapest" one you point to is a serious guy.
Mits also has nice units in the same class. You don't specify height but you may find them at around the $5000 mark.
A few of these high end units pop up on amazon and it's not a bad place to buy mitutoyo stuff as some places get better pricing from the factory.

Since you have owned a Tesa 600 I suspect you understand the first sentence here.
Bob

WILLEO6709 · Sep 28, 2016

in my case the least I would want would be what I had when the tesa hite 600 powered up- 24 inch- dual surface, diameters, inch/ metric, easy to use ( as in not so complicated it takes a phd in metrology and 47 selections to measure a simple measurement.

We are WAYY past the dual beam with lcd display ( which are priced about what I paid for the tesa height in 2003-ish). Look up the 700 tesa hite magna..... not a cheap gage, just a cheaper price than most- and I already know how it works.

Milland · Sep 28, 2016

WILLEO6709 said:
cheapest I have found is a tesa magna 700 on amazon of all places....but I hate to spend that kinda cash until I know the repair cost. still waiting for a call back on that

If it's the 00730059 the Amazon price I got was about $7400. I found the same model here at ~$4100 :
:bowdown:

59 Brown & Sharpe TESA-HITE MAGNA 7 Height Gage 28"/7mm

Did you see a lower price on Amazon?

WILLEO6709 · Sep 28, 2016

3950 + 250 ish shipping on amazon

Milland · Sep 28, 2016

Interesting - when I search Amazon for either 00730059 or Teas Magna 7000 I just get the higher price.

WILLEO6709 · Sep 28, 2016

Brown & Sharpe TESA-HITE 7 Magna Electronic Height Gage; 28"/ 715mm SpanCalibrated: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

RJT · Sep 29, 2016

We have 4 of these and love them.
Height gauges : Height gauge Hi_Cal
We also have one of these , but its not anywhere near your price range
Height gauges : Trimos height gauges

Gordon B. Clarke · Sep 29, 2016

RJT said:
We have 4 of these and love them.
Height gauges : Height gauge Hi_Cal
We also have one of these , but its not anywhere near your price range
Height gauges : Trimos height gauges

If you got it - flaunt it LOL :cheers:

IMO Sylvac beats Mitutoyo hands down.

Winterfalke · Sep 29, 2016

We had a Tesa micro-hite with all those fancy features, it lasted about a year and a half before the display went poof. We shipped it back to be fixed in the factory box with the height standard and all the parts, and they shipped it back minus the bubble wrap. The height standard was just bouncing around loose with all the probes and clamping arm. It took me over an hour to smooth over all the dings so it would sit flat again, and the clamping arm needed to be reamed out for the probes to fit because there was a dent in the front that displaced into the hole. When we called them about it, they told us to piss off. I might also add I think it was like $3000-3500 to have the stupid thing repaired. I will never touch one of their products again.

Gordon B. Clarke · Sep 29, 2016

Winterfalke said:
We had a Tesa micro-hite with all those fancy features, it lasted about a year and a half before the display went poof. We shipped it back to be fixed in the factory box with the height standard and all the parts, and they shipped it back minus the bubble wrap. The height standard was just bouncing around loose with all the probes and clamping arm. It took me over an hour to smooth over all the dings so it would sit flat again, and the clamping arm needed to be reamed out for the probes to fit because there was a dent in the front that displaced into the hole. When we called them about it, they told us to piss off. I might also add I think it was like $3000-3500 to have the stupid thing repaired. I will never touch one of their products again.

Who exactly is "them"?

apoc_101 · Sep 30, 2016

Mitutoyo Linear height... the computerized one. absolutely fantastic to work with, measures bores and positional heights between features extremely well. the air-ride feature is totally solid too. much faster than using a CMM and less maintenance, lower space consumption, and more precise than a more basic dial-digimatic height gauge.

Kaszub · Oct 4, 2016

After owning a Mitutoyo for 15+ years I made a jump to Tesa Micro-hite plus M600 absolutely love it!

Gordon B. Clarke · Oct 5, 2016

I've got a feeling height gauges are like everything else. If one brand was better than all others then there would only be one brand.

When buying something expensive (and "expensive" varies from person to person) logic would dictate that a list be written as to what is wanted and not wanted. Usually though the choice is made by "gut feeling" or "I like this".

I'm human so I don't always go by logic either

electronic height gages- what do you use?

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