Testo manual giving me ahead ache...

[hvaclover]

You know, I am not lacking in intellect one iota, although I am not as cognitively nimble as a first year rookie, but Testo instructions give me a frigging head ache.

My nephew opted for the SMAN 3 over the Testo 557 kit I bought for him. I gave them both to him but he does not even want the Testo in his truck.

Ok so I figure I'll use it. I am pretty well along the road to recovery and am starting to ac C and Cs.

I looked at the Testo manual and Wow do the Germans write their tech specs in a completely different way than we do.

if you read the manual you know what I mean.

I have been waiting for a chance to practice with the Testo on my ac but Mama Clover has been around on all the warm days (kinda got a business loan to retool the biz and I didn't tell her).

I don't know if I am going to like the 557 til I have seen how it works.

Please fell free to add any helpful or constructive comments.

[itsiceman]

You shouldn't need to read a manual to know how to work you gauges Clover :whistle:
Did you look into Digi-Cool at all?
Except for some secondary features a manual isn't needed at all :.02:

[hvaclover]

The SMAN was not a problem. But Testo is a different animal to me.

I suppose if I got it out in the field i could experiment with it 'til I got it right, but I don't think my customers would appreciate that.

And I don't think you are accurate in saying "I should know how to use my gauges". Yeah, I can turn them on and get the micron reading function to work, but there is a lot of toggeling back and forth to change setting. There's fifteen pages of instructions. That is not something I can pick up and guess at what all the soft pads do.:gah:

Buy knowing you you are just having a little fun:grin2:

[itsiceman]

No BSing you Clover

A tech should be able to pick up his gauges and get to work.
Not anything bout you its the stinking gauges with the silly buttons, screens and freaking stupid manuals :angel:

The new Digi-Cool has everything on one screen after you turn it on with no button pushing and the rest of the buttons are fairly well marked with no secret multi lingual abbreviation code.

[itsiceman]

http://digi-cool.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/AK900_data-sheet-web.pdf

[hvaclover]

Thanks for the Diggi link...if the 557 turns out to be a White Elephant I gonna try a set of Diggis.

I like German engineering but they have a rep for over doing it...they lost a war by being "too good at designing huge tanks" and other war implements:cheers:

[chucko615]

Well did you figure those 557's out yet?

[hvaclover]

Im getting there...the ol' noggin' wants to keep pushing the wrong buttons.

but I'll get it...like driving a stick....you know where the gears are but just don't quite shift it right.

My nephew took a SMAN3 for his truck. I bought another SMAN myself.

The Diggis 1250 are no longer available....so I guess I wait for a new diggi to come out.

[chucko615]

Clover, I've brought 2 sets of the 550's in 2010 (one for R22 and one for R410A) and I got a SMAN3 last summer. I got the SMAN for the micron gauge and I really like it, but it doesn't have the leak check function like the Teso's and I really like that about the Testo's. I can leak check a system while I'm doing a PM, that's why I'm thinking about the 557. I want to be able to just pull one manifold out for the whole job from leak checking, to pulling vacuum, to charging and dialing it in.

[jaygee10]

I've got a lot of Testo gear that I really enjoy using, but you're right. It takes several readings of their instructions, e.g.Testo 435, to even begin to learn to navigate multi-function buttons and screens. Something is definitely lost in translation from German to English. And though you can read the words they are less understandable since they are thoroughly technical, appearing to be written for engineers in the obscure language of academics (might as well be Latin!). Someone could make alot of money writing booklets for practical applications using Testo instruments - as long as they're written in the vernacular for an American field tech like myself.

BTW I have barely tapped into the capabilities of my Testo 435 because of its cumbersome approach to data measurements. More often than not, I'll just pull out my Fieldpiece and be done with it.

[hvaclover]

one of the reasons Germany lost ......:grin2: