Oh well here goes nothing...
There is a record of my exploits with my 29/30 tubes on a gable wall. It details a fair bit of the various problems and successes and also demonstrates a fair few of my own personal failings. Quite how one drills holes for 28mm pipe accurately at strange but precise angles through the sort of cast off seconds brick that architects and builders chose back in the early 80's is an exercise in futility I would wish on very few but that is how one learns. You might wonder where this story is? Well surprisingly it's on this forum!
Now, I have my vanities, as do we all, and I wouldn't expect people to have read the forum from cover to cover, but one hopes that a little of the flavour might have developed by now and so when people talk on particular subjects, it is often with a world weary shrug one realises that the same old ideas have once again surfaced. Now on most forum this isn't too much of a problem, it's just personalities after all, and we're all fairly new to this Internet thing ( It could hardly be said to have managed 20 years of general use yet ) so we dwell, complacent in the rightfulness of our own approach, are jealous of our betters and either complacent or dismissive or those we see as inferior in some way. The Navitron forum, however, has slight differences all of it's own.
Firstly a great vote of thanks to one individual, Ivan, for setting it up, and sticking with it. He has walked a very difficult tightrope, massively changing situations and it is important to remember our debt to both him and the company behind him. And that is where things are different, This is an altruistic endeavor on the side of a commercial enterprise in an area of increasing interest offering independent advice in an area increasingly beset by snake-oil salesmen and weaselly wasters of time and effort.
It might surprise people that we are not constantly fighting off the channeled energy and ley line communities, certainly there is enough people out there who think that if one were to believe hard enough then things might just happen, but since we have people round here who, when faced with a crystal tend to ask about it's refractive index, we tend to be keep the discussion pretty scientific.
What this boils down to is try to extract the actual from the imagined. Electrons don't worry about the colour of the insulation they travel under, water will find it's own level even if this is all over the bathroom floor and Thermodynamics cares not a fig for our sensibilities. So just because someone, however qualified, says it's the case, the actual physical effects that are being described will blunder on regardless.
What David claims to have managed is another perpetual energy machine. He's in some pretty good company
http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/museum/people/people.htm, but at the end of the day he claims to be warming himself at the expense of , well what...? Could it be the warmth of his wall? could it be temperature of the soil in the garden? I don't know, but certainly any attempt to refine the question is being met with increasingly aggressive responses. Sadly this is another characteristic of the Perpetual energy community. The reference to their own integrity over provable data and the anger are recognised characteristics
http://www.ka9q.net/crackpots/index.html.
And there in lies the community skepticism. Because I don't believe this is a malicious hoax, I believe it's simply an individual outside of his own area of expertise, worried because he has started to realize some of the flaws. Having re-read the 'mirrors' thread in light of the beast it has become, I'm surprised by how much consideration was given. The original premise of mirrors seems to have moved from the top to the bottom upon suggestion, and it is interesting to note both Martin and myself worried about wind blowing things off, independently, but the overriding approach has been similar to a spoilt child, I'll take my toys away if you don't play my way, wait till winter is over and how dare you question me?, cos I've got lots of massive projects waiting, and you'll loose all these orders if you don't act nice.
There does seem to be a certain credence in some of the concepts, supported by outwardly similar projects elsewhere, but it would not be the first occasion when revolutionary schemes have generated enough momentum to make themselves almost self sustaining, but in the end the laws of thermodynamics find them out.For precident one only ha to cross Westminster bridge and consider the building in the centre of the roundabout there ( it might have gone now, it's been a while since I've been to W1 ) . An eco-folly by the GLC that was uninhabitable from its first day.
This may seem cruel, I could have used far stronger language, so it is moderated in some senses but the overall impression is irrelevant. Until something is presented that is considerably more precise than stock industry pictures of data gathers and measurements that are actually relevant it will be necessary to treat this whole area with considerable skepticism. That is sad. David obviously has skills but, for better or for worse, posting here relies on the assumption that we are all peers and he seems keen to aggregate praise but unwilling or unable to afford respect in return.
Chris@wyleu
I've given him a applaud for effort thou'
