Is this tester junk or worth the $$ ?

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There's a lot of discussion on digital testers on this forum and the consensus is they simply aren't worth the money. Often they are somewhat inaccurate to begin with, then they get worse and you have to pay for recalibration.
 
Those things aren't worth it. Based on what folks here have reported about similar products, they can't really measure FC (even though they say they can), and so all you're getting is a pH reading. TDS isn't useful, nor is ORP. Aside from CYA, it also doesn't measure TA, CH, or CC. Drop tests like the TF-100 are they only reliable way.
 
No electronic meter with one point calibration is going to be all that good. You need at least two point calibration. There is also no chance that it's FC reading is going to be correct (other than luck). ORP sensors are delicate and tend to fail, and even when working converting from ORP to FC is problematic at best. It is also missing TA and CH.

The drop based tests, like the TF-100 and K-2006, are going to be more precise and repeatable than any affordable electronic tester. If you are dead set on getting an electronic tester, look at the ColorQ, but drop based tests really are the best way to go.
 
As a noob to pool testing that just got my drop test kit 3 days ago, I can tell you that the Taylor kit (and I'm sure the TF-100) really is easy to use. As the pros will tell you, there is no need to test every component every day, but even if you did, it only takes about 5 minutes after you do it the first couple of times and get the hang of it. The bottles have color coded caps, so you know which chemical to use with each test. If all you are testing is FC and pH, you can do that in about 2 minutes and the results so far for me have been consistent and easy to read. I had alot of trouble reading the strips and even using a drop based kit from Walmart, but the Taylor one is easy to use.

I had considered trying to buy a digital reader myself, but now that I have the Taylor kit, I am glad I did not spend the extra money.
 
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