Digital Epiphany [Uncomplicating the Digital Manifold Gauge]

Digital Epiphany: Trending versus Evolution

American Heritage Dictionary – Cite This Source – Share This trend (trěnd)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
The general direction in which something tends to move.
A general tendency or inclination. See Synonyms at tendency.
Current style; vogue: the latest trend in fashion. 

American Heritage Dictionary – Cite This Source – Share This ev·o·lu·tion (ěv’ə-lōō’shən, ē’və-)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form. See Synonyms at development. The process of developing.
Gradual development.

These two words are your key to understanding the crucial significance in the differences that exist in digital manifold gauge OEM’s. I can’t begin to estimate the number of emails I’ve answered and replies on boards that I’ve made in the past two – two and a half years to questions like, “Aren’t all digital gauges the same?” “What’s the real differences in the Refco and the Digi-Cool or the Testo?” “How come this, how come that?”

A day or so ago I was replying to a thread at RE titled simply, “Digital Manifold”. The jist of the thread as it was originally authored was what do you know about the Mastercool digitals. Another member responded that the Mastercools were in his apparently less than scientific assessment, “entry level”. He continued to proclaim – rather proudly I took note that he had just invested – wisely he felt in the digital technology we all know so fondly as the Digimon. Now everyone here knows me, or are at least familiar with my overall philosophy on the DMG – and in particular the Digimon, so I couldn’t resist the temptation to respond to this member. And I did so cordially.

The Mastercool, I am unfamilair with so cannot offer any impressions on them aside from personal opinion based upon what I have read, and I added, everything I’ve read has been published by the OEM – not a wholly reliable source of objective assessment I reasoned.Before I concluded that response, as I typically attempt to do I offered first my opinion of the Refco and advised in my opinion – if ever there were an entry level DMG – the Refco would be it and followed that up with some supportive data to confirm my evaluation.

That thread aside, from a thank you from the OP lie dormant for several days – perhaps approaching weeks, until the other day I received an email notification that a reply to the thread had been made.

To my astonishment another member replied by saying he had looked at the Mastercool website – proceded to quote an introductory paragraph from that website – and concluded based on the information he had gleened from their site – the Mastercool did not appear to be entry level at all.

I have relatively little doubt that my jaw almost certainly hit the desktop. How can anyone I thought nearly aloud, be so naive as to assume that any self biographical description could be taken as law? I mean look at the Digimon fliers – they sound good – look at least adequate, but most of the trade by now knows what lies behind that green casing. But realistically speaking would anyone expect Refco to do otherwise than to project the “tool” in the best light possible? Of course not. Do any of the companies we work for now or have worked for previously run to the local newspaper every time they screw something up and ask to have an advertsiment published listing all of our defficiences for that week?

I responded to the most recent reply in that thread, almost under the assumption that whomever posted that reply must have been joking – but who knows? Mastercool may or may not be worthy of being classified as a digital manifold gauge – an instrument – I don’t know, there is no way to know until it’s been tested and reviewed by our peers – other technicians using it under field conditions. We are negotiating with them to acquire a set for evaluation – rather or not it actually comes to fruition remains to be seen, but that wasn’t the point in my reply to that thread.

At some point in the course of that reply it occurred to me – call it an epiphany or call it what you like but it became crystaly clear to me the key to differentiate these OEM’s.

Does the introduction of any given OEM’s digital manifold gauge follow trending or do they fit into the category of following evolution? Based on the definitions I provided above, at least on the surface the opposition between the two words seem negligible – almost non existent. In fact there is a critical difference in the two.

Some music follows trends, hairstyles follow trends, kids toys follow trends, clothing follows trends. Here today gone tomorrow is a cliche that appropriately fits the characterization of trends. Trends are based on the whimsical notion of something as mundane as what a movie star is wearing, or eating or how they cut their hair. And statistically trends tend to be cyclical – which is a crucial identifying hallmark in the way that SPX views and reacts to the digital manifold gauge. They put the Tif 9600 Series away when they could no longer be given away – only to return with the 41875 and followed suit by putting it away until now – in what they assess as a trend, by introducing the 11000 series that have already began to pick up where their predecessors left off.

Evolution on the other hand is a natural progression of technology – it is the next right thing. It isn’t something that sprang to mind because some engineer had a dream about how they could market a digital version of the analog while making their company untold tens of thousands of dollars – irrespective of it’s inherent failure rate. The true version of the digital manifold gauge evolved applying new technology to achieve with greater reliablity and greater accuracy the same thing the analog gauge was supposed to be doing for the past three quarters of a century.The same reason we are using digital multi-meters, digital combustion analyzers – digital satellite television signals, digital video recorders, digital cameras – fill in the blank yourself, digital manifold gauge are better than their analog counterparts – not just better they are exponentially better in every aspect – if you get the right one.

Does the DMG OEM you are considering making this purchase from have a legacy with the technology? A progressively favorable legacy? You don’t know? Then the answer is probably no. J/B, Digi-Cool and Testo are proud of the legacy they have in this technology – it’s progressive. Each version of the new has been significantly refined in comparison to the previous – but that does not mean the previous was abandoned and rendered obsolete and that’s because each of the successive models fill a legitimate position in the evolutionary ladder – it was not something thrown together to meet the demands of an emerging trend. Each model in any given OEM’s digital manifold gauge series should stand on it’s own merit – if it does not, it has no merit.

It makes no difference if you are an entry level tech or an experienced lead technician if you are considering making a transition from analog to digital manifold gauges – ask these kinds of questions. The more questions you are equipped to ask the OEM – the better you will be able to evaluate the legitimacy of thier instrument as it compares to others.