Appreciation post: the old analog multimeter on the bench beats my fancy digital one for quick checks | Avionics Technicians

Troy Morgan · 2026-10-20T14:40:03.679492+00:00

I know everyone loves their fancy digital meters with all the bells and whistles (and I have one too, a Fluke 87V that I use for anything critical), but last week I was chasing a intermittent short in a Cessna 172's nav light circuit and the digital meter was just too slow to show the flicker. I grabbed the old Simpson 260 that's been on the shelf for who knows how long, and the needle jumped right when the short hit, clear as day. The digital just flashed numbers too fast to read, but the analog needle gave me a smooth swing that told me exactly where to look. I'm not saying ditch the digital, but for quick go/no-go checks and finding intermittent stuff, that old needle meter has saved me more time than I can count. Anyone else keep an analog around for stuff like this, or am I just old school?

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Appreciation post: the old analog multimeter on the bench beats my fancy digital one for quick checks | Avionics Technicians - The Community Guide