well, Ric Hjertberg (Wheel Fanatyk) did the original design for that tension meter, so I guess it would be rather similar.

I recently bought a Chinese knock-off of the DT Swiss design. The action is very good, but the calibration is off quite a bit. I'm a little concerned about the way the indicator interfaces to the arms, but I don't use one often enough to worry about it too much. All the DT's I have used have been a little sticky at the spoke interface, so they can be inaccurate if not used very carefully.

I find that I'm pretty good at using pitch to tension a wheel. At least for relative tension. Once I get it the way I want it, I use a tension meter.