Which is more accurate when measuring resistance, a pointer multimeter or a digital multimeter?

Many engineers usually use pointer and digital multimeters when measuring resistance with a multimeter. But they often don't know how to choose between pointer and digital multimeters. This article will explain how to distinguish these two multimeters and how to choose between them. 
As two important branches of the multimeter family, these two different multimeters have their own strengths when testing resistance or current. So the question is, pointer and digital, which multimeter is more accurate in measuring resistance? What are the advantages and disadvantages of both?

In the process of measuring resistance with a multimeter, the disadvantage of the pointer multimeter is very obvious, that is, when measuring and reading, the technician's reading accuracy is poor, but during the test, because it is a pointer reading, the pointer swing process is very direct, especially when the amplitude changes greatly, the swing speed and amplitude of the pointer can more objectively reflect the size of the measured resistance. In comparison, the reading of a digital multimeter is very smooth and accurate, and the changes in the decimal places can be clearly seen, but the digital change process of this multimeter sometimes looks more messy and sometimes causes confusion.

In terms of its internal structure, the working drive of the pointer multimeter requires two batteries to complete it together, one low-voltage battery with a voltage value of 1.5V, and the other is a high-voltage battery with a voltage value of about 9V or 15V. The black test lead is the positive terminal relative to the red test lead. The digital multimeter often uses a 6V or 9V battery. In the resistance range, the output current of the pointer meter's test lead is much larger than that of the digital meter. Using the R×1Ω range can make the speaker emit a loud "click" sound, and using the R×10kΩ range can even light up the light-emitting diode (LED). Therefore, if this problem is not taken into account during the resistance test, it is easy to cause the test accuracy to decrease, which is also one of the small defects of the digital multimeter.

Through the brief analysis above, we can see that in the process of measuring resistance with a multimeter, both the pointer multimeter and the digital multimeter have their defects and advantages, which requires engineers to reasonably use their advantages to perform resistance testing. As for several common application situations at present, it is more appropriate to use a pointer multimeter in the measurement of analog circuits with large current and high voltage, while a digital multimeter is suitable for the measurement of digital circuits with low voltage and small current.