Tried a $12 digital caliper for spoke tension, now I'm doubting every wheel I've built

Bought one of those cheap electronic calipers last week to check spoke diameter before nipple swaps, figured I'd finally stop guessing between 1.8 and 2.0. Measured a set of DT spokes that I know are 1.8 and it read 1.83, then another spoke from the same wheel read 1.77. Ran it across all 32 spokes and got readings all over the place, so I checked it against my old Park caliper and the cheap one is off by almost 0.15mm. Turns out the jaws flex when you squeeze too hard, which is fine for rough work but useless for anything precise like spoke spec or rim wear checks. Has anyone else found a budget caliper that holds zero, or do I just need to spend the $60 on a proper digital one from a tool truck? My wheel builds have been fine for years but now I'm second guessing every tension reading I ever wrote down on a sticky note.

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