Summary of NOTs 20: How You Operate A Meter This is a one-page memo focusing on operation of the Tone Arm and Sensitivity controls when auditing someone on NOTs. It is claimed here that two phenomena make meter operation more difficult for NOTs auditing as opposed to lower level auditing: 1. The F/Ns are getting "wider" (greater needle movement), and one often gets an F/Ning TA, meaning that the change in body resistance is so great that the TA has to be adjusted up and down to keep the needle on scale. Since an F/Ning TA is a strong signal to end the session, it is important that the auditor be able to recognize it. 2. The sensitivity control needs constant adjustment. This is because as BTs blow, there is less charge remaining. "The sensitivity has to be cranked way up to catch these reads", since the changes in the remaining charge are small. The solution offered to both these problems is to operate the meter with the hand in a slightly unusual position. Instead of running the TA knob with the thumb as in normal auditing, the NOTs auditor is advised to place the thumb on the Sensitivity knob and use the index and middle fingers to control the TA. Comments: - See also NOTs 40 for another discussion of these phenomena. - The three-finger technique permits both controls to be operated without visible movement on the auditor's part, which would interrupt the flow of the session. - I wonder why an auditor couldn't handle an F/Ning TA simply by reducing the sensitivity rather than constantly fiddling with the TA knob. This should not interfere with the need to detect very small changes in "charge", since sensitivity would only be reduced when gross needle movements were observed. - A bigger concern is why it's valid to crank the sensitivity up until usable needle movements are observed. There seems to be no attempt to distinguish actual phenomena from measurement artifacts. But that's typical of Scientology. - The auditor is advised that total TA action for a NOTs session is typically in the range of 1 to 2 divisions, and rarely as high as 6 divisions. But the amount of TA action to keep the needle on-scale depends on the sensitivity setting, so total TA action would not seem to be a valid measurement by itself. An auditor who chooses a high sensitivity setting will have to do more TA adjustments to compensate. Normally sensitivity is set to give a 1/3 dial drop on a can squeeze, but if there is an F/Ning TA, the current sensitivity setting would seem to be too high. -- Dave Touretzky