# Low price iGaging DRO's - Looking for the contact name



## rourkek4 (Dec 10, 2014)

Hi Folks,

I've tried elsewhere but got no joy. I have somewhat go the cart ahead of the horse in that I have gone and built two or Yuriy's 3-axis bluetooth transmitters for the "iGaging" type magnetic scales, before actually having the scales! (component availability + some free time + over eagerness)

Trying to retrofit some of my late-fathers equipment to help me keep the machine restoration show on the road and assumed these would be readily available on this side of the pond too. unfortunately not the case.

To my question, there was a guy i saw mentioned on here i thought, that was selling iGaging magnetic scales, at pretty much cost price definitely a damn sight lower than anywhere else online, a labour of love if you will. Has anyone got his name to hand? Couldn't find the reference and I'm hoping he might be obliging enough to ship across the pond to Ireland.

I know I'm not half pushing my luck, but if there is one thing I've learned this year, it's if you don't ask, you don't get. )

Thanks,
Kevin


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## gregg (Dec 10, 2014)

think I saw the add in a side bar?  I think the ad was why there's is better than other DRO's. Hope this will help you remember?


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## brasssmanget (Dec 10, 2014)

look for davidh - pretty sure he was handling the igaging stuff......


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## markknx (Dec 10, 2014)

There was a guy here I got some from, but I believe he quit selling them. His name was David as I recall nice guy maybe he will post in with some help for you.  Mark


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## davidh (Dec 10, 2014)

oh ya, im still here.  im the guy that was selling iGagin stuff.  I thought I had flooded the market so i stopped, but I guess there are still guys out there that are interested.   Ive surely been satisfied with the ones I have installed on my two machines.
Shipping every where was not at all difficult,  it just was a little costly for the purchaser.   The farthest away order went to Australia.   
If there is enough interest I could / would place another order, of course im confronted to a minimum dollar order to get the prices as low as possible.  I will watch this post and see if interested guy wanted to sign on. 
 if you use my regular email address (tooldoc at cheqnet dotnet) I will reply with a price list.
I probably won’t order until after the Christmas rush. . . large parcels might not fare very well in the Christmas shipping traffic.  
I have and will also consider offering the newer, more costly units called “Absolute”..
Let me know. ..  ..  .. 
Davidh


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## jpfabricator (Dec 10, 2014)

Im in. Lets hear more on this absolute model.

Jake Parker


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## thayne_1 (Dec 10, 2014)

I would like 1 for the spindle on my BP


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## CluelessNewB (Dec 10, 2014)

I'm considering for my 10" Logan lathe, thinking about doing the Android DRO thing.  If that works well I might also consider adding them to my SB Shaper.


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## brav65 (Dec 10, 2014)

I just picked up a 7x14 mini lathe and would consider trying out some inexpensive scales. I am not sure what I would require, but would like to see pricing.


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## sgisler (Dec 10, 2014)

+1 interested; SB 10k
Would like to know the differences between the iGauging and Accuremote


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Hawkeye (Dec 10, 2014)

When I finally get back into my house, I will probably have to replace all of my DROs. That may not be until closer to summer, though.


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## dave2176 (Dec 10, 2014)

I would also be interested in a couple or 5 depending on how medical bills add up by the first of the year. 
Dave


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## markknx (Dec 11, 2014)

Dave it sounds like you might be back in buisness soon. ha ha. Ifafter the 1st of the year I may be looking for aseton my lathe. I have enjoyed the ones on my mill. I will tell you this to I leave mine on over night at least once a month and have only replaced batteries once in to of the three. as a matter of fact I need to check them now. Mark


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## GK1918 (Dec 11, 2014)

Davidh rules  I have not had any problems whatso ever with his products (still havent replaced batterys either)

sam


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## invisabledog (Dec 11, 2014)

I would be interested in something that would work on my 9x42 bp clone


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## rourkek4 (Dec 16, 2014)

Thanks folks, Have contacted David, all going well we should be doing business soon enough. Delighted!


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## Holescreek (Dec 16, 2014)

How does it work regarding sizes considering you need to place a pre-order?  I think I'd like to put a pair on my lathe, and of course they would be an unusual size. Are they just ordered long and cut down?


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## dave2176 (Dec 16, 2014)

Holescreek said:


> How does it work regarding sizes considering you need to place a pre-order?  I think I'd like to put a pair on my lathe, and of course they would be an unusual size. Are they just ordered long and cut down?



Yes, they can be cut. I believe they come in 6, 12, 24 and 36" sizes.
Dave


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## Cadillac STS (Dec 16, 2014)

I would be interested depending on cost.  3 axis mill

Do these work with the Touch DRO system with them plugging into a tablet like this?

http://www.yuriystoys.com/p/android-dro.html


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## sk1nner (Dec 17, 2014)

If cost is favorable I want for lathe and mill.


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## Cadillac STS (Dec 17, 2014)

If they are comparable tie the Touch DRO system they bluetooth to the tablet and the tablet is the display.  Also means with (wireless) bluetooth you can use the same tablet for your mill and lathe with it syncing up just taking to over to the other machine.  Or so it seems, not have done it myself yet.


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## JPigg55 (Dec 17, 2014)

A couple other threads here discussing igaging scales and Yuriy's Toys Touch DRO.
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/26283-igaging-DRO-comparison
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/show...ng-Absolute-DRO-installation-on-Clausing-8520


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## JPigg55 (Dec 17, 2014)

I have another question that goes along with this thread.
I've installed igaging Absolute DRO scales on my mill and lathe. I'm currently building the Yuriy's Toys controllers using Arduino (http://www.yuriystoys.com/2014/07/anrdoid-dro-step-by-step.html).
Here's my question/problem. I'm thinking I want to keep the original scale read-out displays connected in parallel with the controller/wifi interface. I'm thinking I could connect them and use them similar to the battery back-up found here (http://www.yuriystoys.com/2014/01/battery-backup-for-dro-interface.html).
If I'm correct in my thinking, the original displays with battery power would keep the scales from losing position in the event of a power loss to the controller and allow using the original read-outs to be used for quick, simple jobs without using a tablet with the Touch DRO App if one so desired.
So, could anyone tell me if the position signal would be affected if the scale inputs to the Arduino controller were connected in parallel to the original scale read-outs ?


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## rourkek4 (Jan 30, 2015)

Folks,

This week I took receipt of a package from DavidH all the way over in Ireland. I just wanted to acknowledge him on here. All interactions were very prompt and pleasant, without knowing him, I like the guy!

The package (1X 36", 2 X 24" & 2X 12" scales) were very well packed, minimizing volume  weight as much as he could and arrived safe and sound to me, hopefully to be fitted over the coming week or so.

without David i wouldn't have been able to complete my "Yuriys Bluetooth DRO" as i could not source the scales anywhere on this side of the pond, particularly not at Davids Prices.

David I am indebted, Thank you. And as i mentioned earlier, I am hopefully picking up another lathe for my own house this weekend, so i could be back onto you as soon as funds recover!

Kevin


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## davidh (Jan 30, 2015)

kevin, thanks for the kind words.  i still have a "boatload " of these things waiting for new homes. . . .:talktogod:


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## Bamban (Jan 30, 2015)

Is it possible to obtain an adapter cable/connector to plug the iGaging scasles to an existing read out box? I suppose the savvy types can interface these assuming they have the schematic and pin connections.

Thank you.


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## kd4gij (Jan 30, 2015)

Bamban said:


> Is it possible to obtain an adapter cable/connector to plug the iGaging scasles to an existing read out box? I suppose the savvy types can interface these assuming they have the schematic and pin connections.
> 
> Thank you.





 Thay arenot compattable with most all dro systems. Yuari's touch dru and Shumatech dro kits are the only ones.


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## fastback (Jan 31, 2015)

Has anyone mounted one of these on a Southbend lathe?  I have a Heavy 10 that I would consider for this set up.  I would be interested in seeing pictures and comments.  

I installed an absolute DRO on the quill of my BP mill and have been very happy with it.  I purchased mine from David.

Paul


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## davidh (Jan 31, 2015)

from the looks of a photo i just saw, its a tight squeeze between the back of the bed and the taper attachment but it just may work.  i used firefox and put "image Southbend Heavy 10" in the search box.  there was an image of the back of one that somebody was selling.  a formed sheet metal bracket attached to the cross feed and the scale attached to the lower part of the bed. . .  you could probably do it with 6 tapped holes with #6 socket head capscrews.


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## arvidj (Jan 31, 2015)

Bamban said:


> Is it possible to obtain an adapter cable/connector to plug the iGaging scasles to an existing read out box? I suppose the savvy types can interface these assuming they have the schematic and pin connections.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> ...



In case you are wondering why they are not compatible:

Most DRO's use an interface that is commonly known as quadrature encoding. It is a relatively simple protocol that is based on movement rather than location. By this I mean that that two streams of pulses are sent to the DRO from the scale as the head moves. The DRO knows how much the head has moved with each pulse [it is a setup configuration value on the DRO] and can tell which way it moved based on how the two pulse streams interact. In the end what the scale is sending to the DRO is relative information ... "The head has moved xxx amount". I assume that this protocol is based on the fact that the scale was never designed to display anything. The scales job was to accurately respond to a change in position, send that information to some other device as quickly and easily as possible, and not worry about what the change might mean to some real world location ... i.e. xx.yyy from some reference location.

The IGaging [and other similar] scales send a pulse stream to Yauri's DRU and Schumatch DRO that is an absolute position. Every so often [like every 100th or 30th or ??? of a second] the scale sends a stream of data to the DRO that says "I am at xx.yyyy". Note that this is significantly different than the information that most DRO's are expecting ... 100% incompatible. Again I am speculating here, but I believe this is based on the original intent of the scales. The scales had a display integrated into the device therefore all of the processing that was required to determine a location from some reference location ... set when you pressed the 'zero' button on the display ... was done on the scale. When someone decided they wanted to make the information available to the world outside of the scale they decided to send the processed information ... i.e. the location that was showing on the LCD ... rather than the raw data that the display was using to determine the location.

After the initial 'lets do this' was working every other manufacturer did the same thing and the style became a 'standard' [very loose use of the term]. Of course it really wasn't a standard because the format of the stream of information that comes from the scale varies depending on who the scale manufacturer is and if they were simply ripping off some other manufacturers work or if they thought they could do it better\faster\cheaper by having their own protocol. Having their own protocol also mitigated the risk of an end user being able to use some other manufacturers remote display head with their scale ... i.e. if you use our scale you must use our expensive remote display.

What all that means in the end is that there is no guarantee that any particular non-quadrature scale will work with Yauri's DRU and Schumatch DRO. They can decode most of the protocols from most of the non-quadrature scales but that is because Yauri and Scott have researched what the protocols look like and have written the software necessary to decode it. A scale manufacturer who decided on some better\faster\cheaper protocol Yauri and Scott have not implemented will not work with their displays either.


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## davidh (Jan 31, 2015)

thanks arvid,,  thats a technical overload for me.  " in a battle in electronics I'm weaponless"  really i am. .


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## roadie33 (Jan 31, 2015)

What size DRO for a 12 x 36 Craftsman Commercial 101.28990 would I need for the cross feed and Bed?
I was looking at some and thinking it would be very advantageous to have these for doing threading.

Thanks

Mike


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## n3480h (Jan 31, 2015)

I bought and installed iGaging DRO's from David about 2 years ago. Three axis on the HF mini mill, and two on the HF 7x14.  I have had absolutely no problem with any of them, and I can't imagine ever going back to not having them on these machines.  I bought appropriate sizes and cut them to the custom lengths I needed.  Mine appear to be very repeatable, and I am still running with the original batteries.  They have auto shutoff when a particular axis does not move for a few minutes, but when turned back on they are still spot on to position - even overnight or a few days later.  Really enjoyed working with David - honest and affable.

Tom


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## Bamban (Jan 31, 2015)

arvidj,

I give up, I can't find this anywhere - Schumatch DRO. Could you point me in the right direction?


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## arvidj (Feb 1, 2015)

Bamban said:


> arvidj,
> 
> I give up, I can't find this anywhere - Schumatch DRO. Could you point me in the right direction?



Sorry, I didn't bother to validate the spelling in the original post.

http://www.shumatech.com/

And for completeness ...

http://www.yuriystoys.com/


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## Rick Leslie (Feb 1, 2015)

I just wanted to chime in with more kudos for David. I bought a 4 scale set two years ago for my Induma mill and couldn't be happier. The product and price were great, but best of all was dealing with David. I felt like I had known him my whole life after our initial contact. 

As for the product, I've forgotten and left mine on for days at the time and I'm still running on the original batteries. 

When ordering, don't forget to pick up one of his Angle Cubes as well.


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## Ed ke6bnl (Feb 16, 2015)

I would be interested in 2 x and y for my Burke Millrite


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