Analog needle meter still useful in digital age?
Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2026 2:00 pm
Young techs laugh at my old Sanwa analog meter. But it catches things digitals miss.
Where analog wins:
I keep both on the bench. Analog for feel, digital for numbers.
Anyone under 30 still reach for analog? Or truly dead skill?
Where analog wins:
- Trending: watching a needle sweep shows rate-of-change, digits just flicker numbers
- Peaking/nulling: adjusting a trimmer for max/min, needle is intuitive
- Fast intermittents: needle twitch visible, digital sample rate misses it
- No battery for voltage/current (only ohms needs battery)
I keep both on the bench. Analog for feel, digital for numbers.
Anyone under 30 still reach for analog? Or truly dead skill?