We love our gadgets! And we love our gadgets that give us numbers and data. Which way is north? How hot is this potato? How loud is the traffic outside? But something that is often overlooked when it comes to this returned data is how accurate it really is.
A thermometer may read that it’s 80 degrees outside, but is it really? The only way to make sure that our gadgets are giving us proper info is by calibrating them regularly. The following three tips will give you some insight into the concept and application of calibration.
Calibrating Professional Level Gear
When it comes to certain industries, like major construction, or perhaps the health industry, there are actually legal requirements for the calibration of gear. There isn’t really any room for error when it comes to people’s lives. In those cases, always send your gear to have it professionally calibrated. With these particular gadgets, there are specialized methods and equipment that are required to make sure state, federal and local laws regarding calibration are followed, and sensible and reasonable ones as well. You don’t want to be at fault regarding an accident simply because a gauge was reading incorrectly.
Calibrating Personal Use Gadgets
Personal use gadgets would be like a digital meat thermometer that you use to see if your chicken is cooked when you’re at home. You can research easy calibration methods and find practical ones like dipping the thermometer in boiling water and seeing if it reads 212 degrees. Easy stuff like that for physical checkpoints. Or checking that a pocket compass you have matches the same readings as a professional compass, and then knowing how much they differentiate by and taking that into account when you need to read your particular device.
Calibrating Individual Application Software
Our smartphones are great gadgets, but occasionally internal applications need to be calibrated as well. For instance, you can download audio loudness apps, but they will often need some type of microphone calibration to get them started properly for the first time. Usually it’s just a matter of following directions, and then you may have to calibrate the app regularly after that in different environments, for example.
Appreciating Consistency Personally and Among Other Users
The best things about properly calibrated devices and gadgets is that you can rely on them for your own personal consistency, and also trust that when you give that data to other people, it will be accurate. If everyone in your group that shares data has properly calibrated tools, there will never be discrepancies that need to be double checked, and that can save a lot of time and money in the long run.