Silverline 255664 Digital Range Measure, 0.6-15 m

This little gadget really is ridiculously easy to use. I was a little wary buying this after reading some of the reviews of ultrasonic measuring devices, but I have to say I'm impressed. I'm a union health and safety officer, and one of the most common complaints I get from our members when I'm doing inspections is that the employer's crammed too many people in one room, and the employees (and I) are suspecting that the room's over-occupied and doesn't meet the minimum space requirements according to the health and safety regulations. In offices packed with desks etc, trying to weave your way between desks, filing cabinets etc. with a tape measure can be very difficult, and just about impossible if you're trying to do it single-handed, but with this little device, it's easy.PROS- It really is very easy to use. Even without the aid of the handy little user manual (which really is small, but well written with clear instructions, and isn't pages and pages long with umpteen different translations) it's easy to figure out what the function of the buttons is from the little pictures/text on them. For a basic measurement, point the device at the object you want to measure the distance away from (handily a laser spot shows you what your target is), and press "read", and the measurement pops up on the screen. It's that easy.- It's very affordable. At under £20, compared to laser measuring devices costing much more, it's cheap enough to be a useful addition to a DIY enthusiast's kit without breaking the bank. Let's face it - unless you're employed in a trade where you're constantly taking measurements, or you're a DIY fanatic, it's not something you're going to be using every day, or even every week, so at this price it's cheap enough to buy for occasional use.- Not only can you measure a distance between two points, but using its 'area' function you can calculate the area of a room without having to fiddle with your calculator. Even better, for anyone who for whatever reason needs to calculate the volume of a room (as I do, as the minimum space requirements in the health and safety regs are in cubic metres), it'll do that as well, multiplying three measurements to give you a volume - the picture on the screen even tells you which measurement it's waiting for you to determine.- The device measures from the base of the unit, so you don't have to worry about adding on the length of the device to any measurements- the device seems to be fairly accurate/consistent. As its instructions recommend, I check measurements twice, just to be sure that it's accurate, and it's fairly consistent- The ability to measure single-handedCONS- There's no on/off button. The device is activated simply by pressing one of the keys, and switches itself off after a few minutes inactivity. It's not really a problem as such, but I initially spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to switch it on- It's a little larger than I'd expected. Again, it's not really a problem unless you have very small hands- Ultrasonic measuring devices aren't as accurate as laser measuring devices - with ultrasonic devices it's +/- 50mm over 10m, as opposed to +/- 2mm over any distance for laser measures.Ultrasonic measuring devices are never going to be as accurate as laser measuring devices, but overall, for the money it's a good buy.

If you need accuracy buy a tape measure. This device is grand for quick / very rough estimates but I could never find real confidence in it. Results can be affected by a myriad of different factors.

Ok, first things first; this Digital Range Measure cost me £16.27 so the important thing to bear in mind when offering a critique is how this compares with other models in relation to it's price.This is considerably cheaper than any other digital range measurer I have seen; yes it has quite basic functions, you can measure distance, area and volume - nothing more, nothing less.It has a maximum distance of 15m, so yes there are models available on the market with, and let's be honest here, quite a considerably higher range.So you may be wondering why I have given it five stars and then proceeded to point out it's inefficiencies!Ok, firstly it's a Silverline product; I have developed a respect for this brand, they offer competively priced products that compare favourably (apart from the odd occassion) with those of a a much higher price. Silverline offer guarantees on most of their products, many of the hand tools have a lifetime guarantee; with many of the electrical items having a three year guarantee, this item has such a guarantee (as long as it is registered online within thirty days of purchase).This shows me they have a confidence in the quality of their products, ask yourself how many electrical items you know of that come with such a long guarantee as standard?! Through some limited research I could find no evidence that any of the other digital distance measurers on the market, and as previously mentioned some are many times more expensive, offer anything close to this length of guarantee.The unit itself has a nice solid feel about it, although I won't deliberately test this; there are still some sensitive and delicate components inside! It would have been nice to have some sort of pouch or small carry case, but at this price (RRP £24.50) it's a minor quibble.This device is ideal for someone like me, someone who loves DIY and spends most of his time (and money!) trying to make his home as nice as he can. It is perfectly suitable for doing the sort of measurements required within the home itself, and as long as the distance is no greater than 15m (which my current garden is not) also works just fine exterally. I believe the accuracy range is approximately plus or minus one millimeter per metre, perfectly acceptable for normal DIY work.Probably the most annoying feature for me is that the device has no actual on or off switch; it is activated by pressing any button, and then turns itself off after a period of time when no button is depressed (approximately twenty seconds). Normally on it's own I would find this slightly annoying, after all how hard can it be to istall an on/off switch!, however I find it particularly strange considering the nature of this device; there will be times that measurements are taken, calculations made, that need to perhaps be written down or transferred somewhere else, and the fact that the unit may automatically shut down before you have had the opportunity to do so could prove to be problematic. To me it just seems a strange oversight by the design team.I wish to stress however that this ultimately does not detract me from the device; it's plus points far exceed it's negatives.Another winner from Silverline!

This product is fine if you can live with its limitations. You need to read the spec carefully. The resolution is just 0.01m/1m ie it is accurate to one centimeter for each meter measured. So if you are measuring a room 4 m long, the dimensions could be out by 4cm! So it is fine if you just want to measure up for floor coverings, but it wouldn't do if you were intending to install kitchen units as a four cm error could mean they wouldn't fit!It is probably no better and no worse than any of the ultrasonic based measuring devices. So for the price it is OK. However, if you need accuracy to within 1mm, you will need to go for a laser based device at ten times the price, or go back to using a tape measure!

This is pretty bad.The technology used in this particular measure is not fit for purpose. I went and tried measuring some rooms with my dad and we kept on getting different measurements, based on where the beam was bouncing off.It ended up that we measured the room with a tape measure, because it was the only way to be certain of the "real" measurements.Have ended up back on Amazon looking for an electronic measurer that works properly, because this one was a waste of money.Don't buy this is my honest advice. It is not fit for purpose.