Analog vs Digital wind inst.

[CharlesM]

Hello all

Could anyone tell me the difference between analog and digital wind instruments?

The analogue ones always seem more expensive than the digitals...

Thanks
Charles

 

[Anthony]

analogue ones have a stepper motor driving the needle around the dial, where as the digital ones display a line on a screen.

I think it really comes down to personal perferance.

You can generally set a 'damping factor' on both types to adjust how sensitive / quick it is to respond to changes.

Anthony

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'day CharlesM,
I would also add the fact that digital has fewer moving parts so can be more reliable in a corrosive environment.

However I think I would hate a digital speedo in my car, the analogue version looks more natural.

Avagoodweekend......... /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[boatmike]

Analogue requires much less interpretation and is more "instinctive." As oldsaltoz says think about a digital speedo in a car. You see your speed at a glance without thinking about numbers. Digitals usually have a pseudo-analogue dial for this reason but they are not as clear or responsive. For all other functions go digital but for wind direction analogue.

 

[DJE]

We have an analogue wind instrument and a multifunction digital repeater. (Raymarine ST60) I have tried all manner of different damping settings when the digital display is set to wind angle and none of them are much use. The numbers either change too quickly to read or they leap about in random steps. The analogue display is much easier to read. The speed and direction of movement of the needle gives you a rate of change information which you just can't get from the numbers.