Advantages of Digital Tester over Analog Tester

Hey, in this article we will know the key advantages of Digital Tester over Analog Tester. I mean to say about the line tester that is used to check the presence of electricity. Line tester is an essential tool and all electricians must have this. In the older days, analog testers were very popular but digital testers came into the market with so many additional features. A neon tester is an example of an analog tester that uses a neon lamp inside it. By glowing, it indicates the presence of electricity.

Anyway let's know the,

Digital Tester Advantages

1. Additional Features

We know that a neon tester or analog tester has one feature only. It only helps to indicate the presence of electricity. When we touch the metallic tip of the tester or any live part of an electrical system and touch its backend with our bare hand, the neon lamp inside the tester will glow if there is any electricity otherwise it will not glow.

On the other hand, the digital tester not only helps to check the presence of electricity even it also has other additional features such as showing voltage, leakage current, contactless conductivity features, etc. Nowadays, the modern digital tester also has an inbuilt neon lamp with it, and additionally, it has an LCD display that shows the rating in values. So simply when we want to check the presence of electricity we can use it just like an analog tester.

2. Voltage Testing

Using an analog tester you cannot check the actual voltage. But using a digital voltmeter you can check the voltage. While checking the voltage you need to touch the metallic tip of the tester to the phase and keep your finger on the voltage button. Now you will see the voltage rating in the LCD display in numbers. Remember that the digital line tester cannot show the accurate value like a conventional voltmeter it just shows the near values. So, you can get an instant idea of how much voltage is in the system.

3. Leakage in Earth and Neutral

Sometimes leakage happens in the earthing or neutral wire. In these cases, the voltage may not reach as same as the phase voltage but it can make unhealthy the system. For example, due to some leakage, 40V occurs in the neutral or earth wire. In this case, you cannot check the leakage using an analog tester because the neon lamp will glow with higher voltage only. But in this case, if you use a digital tester it will show some voltage in the display so you ensure that there is a leakage fault.

4. Contactless Indication

The analog line tester only works or gives an indication when you touch it directly to the bare conductor. But on the other hand, the digital tester can indicate even without directly touching the bare conductor. In this case, neither the neon lamp will glow nor it shows any digit, it just shows a dot symbol on the screen if there is electricity present. This feature helps a lot to identify the phase and neutral wire with the same color and any fault or cutting inside a cable.

5. DC Voltage Measurement

The digital line tester not only helps to measure the AC voltage even it helps us to measure DC voltage also. You just need to touch the metallic tip to the positive point. And, your one hand should touch the back end of the tester and another hand should touch the negative point of the system.

Some examples of Digital Line testers are, 

1. Taparia MDT 82(recommended)
2. Taparia MDT 81

Read Also: 

• Most Usable Electrical Tools List and their uses
• List of Electrical Safety/Protective Devices used in Home
• List of Undervoltage Protection Equipment, Devices, and Their Function
• Different Types of Protection for Capacitor Bank Explained
• What is Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter(GFCI)? Use

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