Booty M',
I think you've probably got the idea at this point so won't tell you how to read a cross needle meter. I do like them, they're a sort of 'hands free' kind'a thingy, don't have to switch between forward power and reflected power or SWR, you see the whole mess at one time.
Are they more accurate than other meters? No, not any more accurate than the manufacturer makes them / calibrates them, and since they use a mechanical meter movement, figure something in the 10% accuracy range (same for ALL mechanical meters). Are they easier to use? They certainly are for me! Don't have to remember if I switched it to read something other than what I wanna read now.
I don't own a 'Palstar'. I've got/had a couple of the MFJ meters. Better? Not really, just cheaper and they do the same things. I've found that 'status symbols' are very low on the list of thingys I just gotta have. That 'status' doesn't 'do' anything except cost more.
One other thing, not all that important except to me. The movement of a needle tells me as much as the number it points at when it's stopped moving. It shows 'trends' when making adjustments, faster recognition of going in the wrong direction, sort of. (Does NOT mean that there's anything wrong with 'digital' meters! I just don't find them all that useful.)
Do you like the Palstar? If so, then why not? Like something else better? Get that instead...
- 'Doc