Warning: Wasted $300 on a fancy digital angle finder

Bought one of those digital angle finders with Bluetooth last month thinking it would save me time on crown molding. Worked great for about a week until the battery died and it wouldn't calibrate right again. Called the company and they said it needed a firmware update, which I couldn't even do without a special cable. I'm back to using my old Swanson speed square and a bevel gauge. Has anyone else had luck with those basic digital finders from Home Depot?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessica_hall494mo ago

The cheap digital ones from Home Depot have been solid for me.

joelh644mo ago

Bought one of those for a buddy's birthday a couple years back @jessica_hall49 because he kept showing up to cookouts with a busted thermometer and just guessing. He laughed at me at first, said it looked cheap and probably wouldn't last. Fast forward to this spring, he dropped it in a full cooler of water by accident. Left it in there for like ten minutes before he fished it out. Dried it off, swapped the battery, and it still reads within a degree of his fancy Thermapen. Tells everyone about it now like he discovered some hidden treasure.

jana1194mo ago

Oh man, that stinks! I had a similar experience with a fancy digital level a couple years back. It was supposed to be this super precise thing for hanging cabinets, but after a month it just started giving me random readings like it had a mind of its own. I ended up sending it back and got one of those little basic digital protractors (the kind that's just a simple orange and black plastic thing) from the hardware aisle. That cheapo has been going strong for like three years now, dropped it off a ladder twice and it still works perfect. Sometimes the simple stuff really is the best, you know?