Which Crosby | Straightpoint Load Cell Is Right For You?

If you care about the safety of your workers, there is no room for guessing when determining the weight of a load.

Rather than guessing how much a load weighs as you’re doing your lift planning, there is a way to accurately monitor what your cranes are lifting.

Crosby | Straightpoint load cells are focused on taking the guesswork out of lifting. They want you to know your load’s exact weight and eliminate the risks associated with not using a load cell/dynamometer.

If you don’t eliminate hazards as often as possible when lifting loads, it could lead to catastrophic failure. In a worst-case scenario, a failed lift could damage the load, or more importantly, cause injury or death.

In this article, we’ll look at the following:

What is a Crosby | Straightpoint Load Cell?
What is the Radiolink Plus?
What is the BlueLink?
Which type of load cell is best for you?

What Is a Crosby | Straightpoint Load Cell?

Using a load cell or dynamometer is all about knowing how much you’re going to pick up.

The load cell is an indication device that will show you how much weight you have on your hook. Strain gauge technology measures the microscopic strain on the body of the load cell. Then, the results are converted into a pound, kilogram, kilonewton, or metric ton reading.

What Is the Radiolink Plus?

Crosby Straightpoint Radiolink Plus with Display Controller

This is Crosby | Straightpoint’s link-style load cell with shackles on the top and bottom. It is their most commonly used load cell for monitoring loads. In their opinion, monitoring load weight should be done for every lift.

You put one shackle on the hook and attach the rigging to the bottom shackle. A wireless handheld device receives the information, which helps keep operators a safe distance away from the lift.

The wireless handheld device has a 1,000-meter range, which equates to 3,280’. Although Crosby | Straightpoint rarely sees applications with a need to be that far away from the load, it means the Radio Frequency (RF) signal from The Radiolink Plus is reliable and will remain strong at these varying distances.

Reading the Results

Some load cells you may see in the industry have an integral screen or on-board display. This may be appealing in certain situations. However, it also creates some challenges, for instance:

The operator must remain in close proximity to the load
It is difficult to read the data from far away
The integral screen is much more susceptible to damage

Because of space limitations, the screen is typically an inch or less in size. In some cases, it’s not backlit, making it even harder to read. You’ve either got to be really close to the load, which puts you at more risk for serious injury/death, or utilize a lower-tech option like binoculars.

Binoculars still may not be enough, as it could be difficult to tell apart similar-looking numbers on the screen. Results obtained this way may not be able to answer if the crane/rigging gear being used to complete the task is suitable to perform safe lifts.

The Radiolink Plus load cell is strictly wireless. There is no screen / read-out built into the structure of the cell. The Radiolink Plus is manufactured from high-quality aerospace aluminum and can remain functional if gouged or dinged because it also features a completely polycarbonate front plate.

If your load cell’s screen is damaged, it can no longer be used without first going in for assessment / repair.

What Are the Key Specifications of the Radiolink Plus?

Crosby Straightpoint Radiolink Plus Rigging in Use During a Lift

Range

The wireless radio frequency signal can reach up to 1,000 m or 3,280’.

Weight

Depending on which of the 14 models of the Radiolink Plus you select, it can weigh as low as 3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg), or as large as 425 lbs. (193 kg).

Capacity

The smallest Radiolink Plus has a capacity of 2,200 lbs. (1,000 kg), and the largest model has a capacity of 1.1 million lbs. (500 metric tons).

Battery Type / Life

The Handheld Display requires 2 AA batteries, while the load cell needs 4 AA batteries.

Display Type

The Radiolink Plus comes with a separate handheld display featuring 240×128 multi-line dot matrix with backlight. Also, the handheld display is capable of reading up to four Crosby | Straightpoint load cells at one time.

Operating Temperature

The Radiolink Plus can operate between 14° to 122°F (-10° to +50°C).

Accuracy

Across all 14 models, the Radiolink Plus has an accuracy of +/- 0.1% full scale.

Frequency

The Radiolink Plus has a 2.4 GHz frequency.

Protection

The Radiolink Plus is IP67 rated. It is dust tight and watertight against water immersion between 15 cm and 1 m for 30 minutes.

What Is the BlueLink Bluetooth Dynamometer?

Crosby | Straightpoint has customers who have said, ‘Hey, I’m working on an auto crane on the side of a truck. It’s 1-ton. I don’t need to be 200’ away. I just need something that’s going be reliable, and lightweight, where I can put it in use and see the results on my phone using an app.”

Enter the BlueLink Bluetooth Dynamometer.

The BlueLink Bluetooth Dynamometer has a 6½-ton capacity. It’s a Bluetooth-only device meant to be used with Crosby | Straightpoint’s HHP app, which is free on Android and iOS platforms, and the customer can monitor the loads on their phones.

Also, the app has a record and log feature for when you need to record a particular measurement for later referral. Once logged into the app, it will allow you the convenience of exporting the details of the logged measurement(s) either to your mobile device, or send it to a particular email address in a spreadsheet format.

Monitoring the Results

Crosby | Straightpoint designed the BlueLink Bluetooth Dynamometer to connect to up to eight devices simultaneously.

Let’s say you want to monitor the load while the crane operator is executing a lift. The operator doesn’t have to pass off the phone or wireless handheld device because the app allows you to monitor the load.

As a double-check, if there’s a project engineer who wants to monitor the lift as well, all three can check the progress of the lift through the app without having to share and risk losing wireless display devices.

The app allows for teamwork and project specialization with one person executing the lift and focusing on the load. That person is watching the crane, watching the operation of the lift and controlling it.

By having a second person monitor the load cell, they will give an audio cue to the operator to keep executing the lift or to stop because the crane is overloaded.

For a solo working environment, The HHP app has an audible alarm that’s programmable, so the operator really knows when the load is nearing the crane’s capacity to help avoid overload events.