There is nothing like having a great measuring tool. Having an accurate tool is important as measurements that are off can add up and cost a lot with wrong estimates. So lets get into my new Milwaukee LDM 2280-20.
The unit is powered by two AAA batteries that can take up to 5,000 measurements before you need to replace the batteries. Now we didn’t test this, but we will take Milwaukee’s word about this figure. The unit is small at 4-1/2″ long and 1″ thick. On the sides and corners, there is rubber that protects it from drops and bumps, which is prefect for someone like Dan. So when you have it in the provided carrying case that can be attached to your belt, it doesn’t get in the way. The screen has a nice display that is easy to read and the green backlight makes it easy to read in different lighting conditions. Before I decided on this LDM, I was a little concerned because the screen is only 1-1/8″, but after playing with it, I can easily read the display. The unit can measure from .16′ to 197′ and has an accuracy of 1/16″ which boggles my mind.
On the back, bottom of the tool is a small metal lever that comes out which is used for corners and edges. There are nine buttons on the face of the LDM that allow the user to do a wide variety of things. The top button is the power button to turn the unit on and take a measurement. The next two buttons are the + and – buttons for adding and subtracting. The next two buttons are the function button and the location button. The function button lets you take a variety of measurements like area, volume, pythagorean (wow is that a calculus word) and min/max. The location button lets the user pick where they want to take the measurement from such as the front or back of the unit. The measurements all are taking at the front of the unit, but it will calculate from the back of the unit. The next two buttons are the memory which it can store up to ten measurements. The other button is a timer function which it will take a measurement after a certain amount of seconds which is defined by the user. With this button you can also adjust the meters to feet/inches mode. The last two buttons are the backlight button and the Clear and off button.
The display will show all features when a button is pressed, but some items stay on the screen at all times. The display will show the last two measurements, plus your current measurement. The battery life is also a permeant feature on the upper right corner. On the upper left corner, it shows where the measurement is being calculated from.
This is a tool that is great for the contractor, real estate agent, estimator or countless other professions. The display is very easy to read and most important, the tool is very easy to use. Just point and measure. As with other Milwaukee tools, this has a five year warranty.
