Here are the brains of the digital readout. This unit slides along the aluminum track reading the sensor strip. Now this can be used on either side of the fence depending on your needs. The small round pieces sticking out of each end are very strong magnets that come in contact with a steel bracket that is mounted to your fence. Then when you move your fence it also moves the DRO and lets you know your distance, in both decimals and fractions.

The on/off/cal button turns the unit on and off and if held down for three to five seconds goes into calibration mode.

The ABS/INC button does double duty. The ABS is for 'absolute measuring mode' (which you would use most of the time) and the 'incremental measuring mode' is like a secondary measurement, or point-to-point measuring. However, if you do use the INC mode, make sure to switch it back to ABS mode or you'll find that your measurement is way off. Pushing the button once toggles between each mode.

There is a cover at the bottom that holds two AAA batteries, that you have to supply.
 

The back of the DRO is where it reads the sensor strip. The white felt strips at each end are to help keep dust out of the business end. Also, the instructions say that you can loosen those four screws if the unit doesn't slide easy enough. I opted to do this and now the unit sides much easier.
 

This is a universal magnet bracket that came with the unit, which will get placed against the magnet on the DRO and is how it moves. But for my application that tab will need to be removed first (arrow).
 

Here you can see the universal magnet bracket against the magnet (arrow). The hinge point to lock my fence is where I attached the bracket. This was a super easy installation and looks like it will work great. And if I ever need to use the unit on the left side, I can move this setup to the other side of my fence.
 

Another view of the DRO. You can also see how the bracket can be moved to the other side if you need to. This worked out pretty nice and I'm very happy with the bracket and the placement of everything.

Another nice feature of this Wixey unit is that you can remove the rip fence without loosing calibration.
 

The good news:

After messing with the calibration mode, I set my fence to 1/2", cut a piece of scrap and checked to see what size I had. And if you look below you'll see that it's almost perfect. However, I did get some varied results. I cut a few more pieces to experiment if it repeats or not and so far this Wixey digital readout is working pretty good.

• It's easy to install and setup.

• You can acquire a certain dimension very fast without the use of a tape measure or a scale.

• This unit also has an auto shut off, which means extended battery life.

• You have the option of using ABS or INC when working.

• You can remove the rip fence without loosing calibration.

• It's pretty accurate.

• It will readout in decimal, fractions or metric.

• Retains memory when you turn the unit off.

Now the bad news:

Before buying this unit I read that it will measure to the third decimal place, which it does but only when the appropriate fraction is being used, like 1/2" or 1/4", etc. However, the rest of the time the Wixey DRO only reads out to two decimal places. With that being said, you can move the fence a small amount in either direction without the number changing. How much you ask? I put a dial indicator on the fence to find out and it's between .005" and .010". And Wixey claims the resolution is .005", which may not sound like much but I'm just not use to that kind of inaccurately.

Final thoughts:

Would I recommend this digital readout to my friends? Yes I would. Let me explain: I happen to be a special case because I've been a machinist all my life and accuracy is the name of the game in that world. But this isn't aerospace work, it's woodworking, which means everything doesn't need or have to be that exact. With that being said, this unit should work and please almost everyone that uses it.