Electronic rangefinder: what you need to know when buying?

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Electronic rangefinders are much more convenient than metal measuring tapes. It is enough to point the meter at the desired point on the surface, press the button — and you will get the desired value with an accuracy of a millimeter. Seductive ease! In addition, electronic devices, as a rule, can measure long lengths, up to 40-50 m, and professional models — up to 250 m. At the same time, the cost of such rangefinders usually does not exceed 4-5 thousand rubles, and inexpensive models can be found in sale for 2-3 thousand rubles.

Electronic rangefinders are produced by companies that produce construction and measuring tools. Professional equipment includes Bosch (blue line), DeWalt, Hitachi, Leica Geosystems, Makita, Metabo, Ridgid; among the household — we note Bosch (green line), Elitech, Interskol.

For serious construction work, it is better to choose laser rangefinders, and ultrasonic meters can be used as a universal everyday tool in everyday life, at home or in the garden.

Ultrasound or laser?

By design, electronic rangefinders can belong to one of two types: with an ultrasonic or laser pulse generator.

Ultrasound is reflected without distortion from transparent and polished surfaces. With such a device, you can easily measure the distance to a window pane, a mirror or a polycarbonate panel in a garden greenhouse. Ultrasonic rangefinders work well in any light, and the range of a laser tool with a red laser emission in bright light is reduced.

The advantages of laser rangefinders include their high accuracy. If ultrasonic meters can give an error of several millimeters per 10 m of length, laser ones have an error of 1–2 mm. In addition, the laser beam is virtually non-scattering and measures the distance exactly to the selected point. Yes, and the measurement range of laser rangefinders is higher.

Requirements for electronic rangefinders

An electronic range finder is often used in difficult conditions, with high humidity and dust content in the air. Therefore, it must have a durable case, preferably with a dust and moisture protection index of at least IP 44. Some manufacturers of laser rangefinders produce separate models for home and outdoors, the latter are more protected.

In addition, the tool must be comfortable so that it can be easily held in the hand in a construction mitten. In professional models, the body is often equipped with pads made of soft non-slip plastic. These pads help hold the tool, and in the event of a fall, they will play the role of a shock absorber. The unprotected hard plastic case is more brittle and breaks easily in this respect.

Useful rangefinder options

• Built-in level. Helps you determine how horizontal the selected surface is.

• Measurement of area, volume. The rangefinder is sequentially aimed at the vertices of the corners of a rectangle (three points on a plane are enough) or a cube (four points specifying the lengths of the faces in three planes), then the device independently calculates the area and volume. In the same way, some models can calculate the length of the sides of a right triangle (using this function, for example, you can calculate the height of a wall).

• Continuous length measurement. The function is used when you need to find a point that is at a predetermined distance or, say, at the maximum distance (for example, the corner of a room).

• Connector for rechargeable batteries. There are models designed to work with AA batteries (or batteries), there are also models with more exotic types of batteries, for example, designed for 9 V batteries of the Krona type.

• Tripod. For higher measurement accuracy, it is recommended to additionally purchase a tripod and install the rangefinder on it. In this case, the rangefinder must be equipped with a threaded socket for mounting on a tripod.