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Debate: Did the shift from analog to digital test equipment actually make us better troubleshooters?
I remember when I was training back in the early 2000s, we had to use old analog multimeters and scopes for everything. You had to really understand the waveforms and signals to find a fault. Now with digital stuff, it spits out numbers and you can zoom in on a glitch in seconds. But I've noticed something... guys who started with digital seem to miss the big picture sometimes. They stare at a reading and don't know if it's reasonable. My question is, have we gained speed but lost some of the deeper understanding? What's your take?
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iris57415d agoTop Commenter
Miss the big picture" thing is real, I find myself double checking my digital meter with an old analog one sometimes.
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miles94615d agoMost Upvoted
That old analog meter is probably more honest than half the people I know. Mine only lies when the batteries are dying, which is still more reliable than the digital one that decides to give me a perfect reading while the house is pulling twice the load. At least with the spinning disc you can see the lie happening in real time.
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