https://community.element14.com/technologies/test-and-measurement/The electronic test and measurement group is intended to prove information on electronic test and measurement equipment, including thermal imaging technology, and also answer any questions you may have.en-USTelligent Community 12https://community.element14.com/technologies/test-and-measurement/b/blog/posts/shahe-wireless-bluetooth-digital-calipers-a-quick-reviewSat, 21 Mar 2026 13:15:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:40138fdd-e66e-4fd2-955a-62f39b007d43shabazIntroduction I own two pairs of high-quality Moore & Wright calipers, which offer several advantages: an excellent LCD screen, soft-press buttons, and straightforward operation. However, there are some drawbacks. The battery compartment slide cover can become loose and eventually be lost, and the battery itself is fiddly to remove. Over the years, I lost both the battery cover and the locking screw. Additionally, the battery runs out of juice and needs replacement every few months, which is inconvenient. I prefer left-handed digital calipers, which are quite rare for a high-quality product at a reasonable price - Moore & Wright, for example, does not offer them. I wondered if Bluetooth calipers might suit me better, as I could hold them in any orientation without worrying about seeing the on-device display. I considered purchasing Bluetooth calipers locally from the same organization (their parent company, to be exact) and was quoted £236, plus an additional £106 for a Bluetooth dongle for the PC if needed. I appreciate it's unfair to compare prices for locally supplied and supported products, but sadly, while these prices might be acceptable for some businesses, they were not viable for me. After all, calipers are typically stated accurate to +-0.02 mm - not at the level of an ultra-high-precision instrument such as a micrometer. As I am not a machinist or mechanical engineer, I cannot assess the demand for calibration certificates at this level of measurement. After some research, I discovered that Wenzhou Sanhe Measuring Instrument Co.’s website offered a range of calipers , with a specified accuracy of +-0.02 mm over the 0-150 mm range. They also had an official AliExpress store, so I purchased their SHAHE 5101L calipers. The 'L' suffix in the product code signifies wireless capability. That purchase was a year ago; this short review covers my findings since then. Look and Feel The calipers arrived in a sturdy, purpose-built plastic case. While the case is excellent quality, I rarely use it since the calipers are in near-daily use. In my experience, the calipers are as well-built as the Moore & Wright models I previously owned. The metal components slide smoothly, are well-machined, and feature a brushed finish. The plastic and front scale have a matte surface. The instrument feels great in the hand, and nothing has become loose over the year I’ve used the calipers. Overall, the 5101L is heftier than my old calipers. The electronics housing is substantial and made from thick, high-quality plastic. The battery door is secure and unlikely to get lost, as it slides in like a drawer and has a rubber seal. The locking screw has ample rotational travel before it could fall out. On the rear of the plastic body is a table with fraction-to-decimal conversions. I haven’t needed it, and while the text is quite small, it’s still readable thanks to clear black print on a thick metallic label that covers as much of the underside as possible. The label isn’t recessed but has remained intact after a year of use. The ergonomics are excellent - even when wearing gloves, the calipers are comfortable to operate. The buttons are clicky, with a spongy travel before the click is felt and heard. Personally, I preferred the softer press of the Moore & Wright calipers, but that’s just a matter of preference. Usability The device has its pros and cons. The LCD refreshes at four times per second, which is reasonably fast, though a speed closer to 8 Hz would be ideal. The digits are legible, but slightly thicker segments and squatter characters would enhance readability. Display contrast is acceptable and perfectly usable, though not exceptional. When powered on, the instrument always reads zero, regardless of the caliper’s actual position. Initially, this was frustrating, as I had to move the calipers to true zero and press the power button again to set the display correctly. However, I soon learned to power on the device only when fully closed, ensuring the displayed zero is accurate from the start. One user interface quirk is the somewhat cumbersome power-off process. You must hold the power button for a few seconds to cycle through menu items, then quickly press it again when ‘OFF’ appears. I can see why they did this; the design likely assumes most users will rely on auto power-off, especially since battery life is excellent - I haven’t replaced the original battery in a year. Still, as someone who prefers powering off manually, I find this extra step mildly inconvenient. Aside from that, as mentioned earlier, it’s actually a pleasure to use the calipers. The measured values match the Moore & Wright calipers each time I compare. Bluetooth Functions After contacting the manufacturer, I received a mobile app for the instrument. As expected, installing it requires adjusting settings to allow installation from outside the app store. Fortunately, because the calipers use standard Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), it’s straightforward to monitor the protocol and create a DIY custom app with a bit of AI assistance (the link to this app is below). The custom app simply displays the measured value in large, clear digits (in millimeters), but adding inch conversion, or even nearest fractional values, would be easy. The wireless capabilities are demonstrated in this 2-minute video. www.youtube.com/watch Summary I was pleasantly surprised with these calipers. They are clearly well-made, and still look almost as good as new after a year of use. And I’m happy it’s all held together and no lost bits! The instrument matches the accuracy of my older calipers, carries an IP54 rating, and is easy to use. There are minor annoyances - for example, I wish the calipers would remember if Bluetooth continuous measurement mode was enabled, rather than requiring me to re-enable it through the menu each time. (According to the manufacturer, this cannot be configured remotely via BLE.) Still, sending a measurement to mobile devices is fast and straightforward with a single button press, as shown in the video. For anyone interested, I purchased from AliExpress a year ago, for £36, and total of £43 when shipping was included. Currently (March 2026), the 5101L is lower cost (£35, and £1 shipping fee) from the official store. The 'L' suffix model is the one with wireless. Regarding the custom app, it can be run by clicking here: SHAHE Caliper Tool , and the source code is on GitHub (it's just a single .html file). Thanks for reading the review.bluetoothblecalipersshahe5101Lcaliperhttps://community.element14.com/technologies/test-and-measurement/b/blog/posts/pico-scpi-lablib-now-has-configurable-usb-idsFri, 13 Mar 2026 15:22:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:595914cd-7373-4c70-85bb-a76ddb5fae53Jan CumpsMichael Stoops submitted pull requests to make a set of USB parameters configurable in your CMake file. What USB IDs can be configured? USB_VID USB_PID USB_MANUFACTURER USB_PRODUCT USB_SERIALNUMBER FW_VER_BCD FW_VER_STR Before this new functionality was introduced, these attributes were defined in the LabLib source code. They had the same values as those of the Pico SDK examples. When you want to commercialise a device, you need to set those to IDs that you license from the USB.org, and to your internal IDs. In the past, you needed to alter LabLib's source. You can now define these, in the build file (or from the command line). Setting the IDs In your CMake config file ( example from LabTool ), you can add a section with the defines. # set the USB IDs for this device target_compile_definitions(${CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME} PRIVATE USB_VID=0xCafe USB_PID=0x4000 USB_MANUFACTURER=0x01 USB_PRODUCT=0x02 USB_SERIALNUMBER=0x03 FW_VER_BCD=0x0100 FW_VER_STR="01.00" ) If you don't define (some of) those, the initial example values from the Pico SDK are used. link to all postspico_usbtmc_scpipicoUSBTMCPico SCPI labToolscpilabtool