For people setting up A simple plane with A single elevator and A one servo aileron basic set up the TLAR may work for you. I have used the old floor and ruler A number of times myself. However, if you have two servos on your split elevator and A servo on each of your ailerons then maybe you should rethink this. I have been making and using my own meters for years, very simple to make and work every bit as well as the 20 and 30 dollar meters you can buy. You can make them to clamp on or sit on, your choice. When you are setting up A more advanced plane making sure your control surfaces are zeroed to each other and the throws are exactly the same is very important compared to A 4 servo plane. I like to do loops, not roops!! The throws are A pilots choice and the instructions give you A good starting point. In my case I start at 12 degrees up and down for my high rates and about 8 degrees for the lows. That's just me, A 3-D plane sets up at about 18 & 12. My first meter was the #2 from Tower and I just gave mine to one of my students, I also gave him A set of meters and taught him how to use an incidence meter, I was very surprised at the difference on the incidence of the same ARF from plane to plane. Problem is the ARFs don't state what it should be.