“The distance that the dead have gone Does not at first appear -Their coming back seems possible For many an ardent year.” - Emily Dickinson
!bversive "irc!its #td. $s deeply indebted to %ichard #avengood for sharing his vision for &hat became the original pirit Pend!l!m '. (e are also deeply indebted to %oni hachnaey and Tony Par) for their help in creating this version.
(ith this statement9 !bversive "irc!its #imited hereby releases this doc!ment into the p!blic domain for free redistrib!tion to &hoever may benefit from the information it contains. /o! are free to copy9 share and other&ise transmit or distrib!te this doc!ment &itho!t restriction provided that yo! leave the entire contents intact incl!ding this paragraph. 1.2
Rationa#e
(hereas copyright adds restrictions to a prod!ced &ork9 "opyleft removes restrictions. (e &ant this man!al to be read by &hoever can benefit from it. 3b:ectively9 the pirit Pend!l!m ' is an e)pensive piece of e;!ipment9 and &e &ant yo! to see e)actly &hat yo!
%roa&ca't Performance Rig(t'
=ereby granted to the o&ner of a pirit Pend!l!m ' is the right to !se the device in any broadcast medi!m as long as that performance does not e)pose the nat!re or &orking of the device. !bversive "irc!its &ill p!rs!e anyone infringing o!r rights thro!gh the co!rts. e nice9 and do not piss !s off. (e bite. =ard. 1.)
(ange Log
Date '84841'
Ver'ion 1
Note'
$nitial version
Page + of 11
2 Intro&*ction (e &o!ld like yo! to read this man!al all the &ay thro!gh before !sing yo!r pirit Pend!l!m ' for the first time. (e have spent considerable time collating val!able information abo!t the device9 and five min!tes reading &ill save yo! ho!rs of disappointment and fr!stration9 not to mention batteries. $t &ill also save yo! the embarrassment of emailing !bversive "irc!its on info>s!bversivecirc!its.co.!k &ith a problem only to be directed to the relevant section in this doc!ment. 2.1
Regi'tering Yo*r S!irit Pen&*#*m 2
$nside yo!r pirit Pend!l!m ' is a serial code. This consists of a se;!ence of n!mbers and letters and is globally !ni;!e to yo!r !nit. /o! &ill need to ;!ote this code to register yo!r pirit Pend!l!m ' so that yo! can receive s!pport. (hen yo! contact !bversive "irc!its for help or advice9 al&ays ;!ote yo!r !nits serial code. /o! can register yo!r !nit by simply sending an email to info>s!bversivecirc!its.co.!k . (e &ill ackno&ledge receipt of the serial n!mber by ret!rn. 2.2
De'ign %ac+gro*n&
The pirit Pend!l!m ' is designed to replicate aspects of the devices !sed in the first half of the '8 th cent!ry as serio!s parapsychology research tools. There &ere many designs9 mostly b!ilt by their !sers9 and o!r research indicates that beca!se of this9 the basic designs &ere more f!nctional than fancy. Pend!l!ms are still !sed in a variety of &ays in the s?ance room9 incl!ding e)ploring the ideometer response and for e)periments in spirit possession. eing easily dist!rbed9 they are also considered ideal for enabling &eaker spirits to interact &ith the corporeal &orld. The original pirit Pend!l!m &as designed as a c!stom device for *merican s?ance performer %ichard #avengood. =e kindly allo&ed !s to develop the original design into a portable !nit that co!ld be transported by performers to s?ances. The apparently solid &ooden base acted as a convincer that there &as nothing going on inside. The pirit Pend!l!m ' feat!res a complete redesign of the base to incorporate a f!ll length9 f!ll depth dra&er. This serves t&o p!rposes. First9 it serves as a convincer that there is nothing special abo!t the insides of the base. econdly9 it provides yo! &ith some&here in &hich to store tarot cards and other small items. /o! can arrive at a performance and !npack yo!r act in front of the spectators before
Page of 11
going on to demonstrate ho& the spirits can be s!mmoned to move the pend!l!m. =o&ever9 l!rking &ithin is an embedded comp!ter. This r!ns c!stom9 real-time soft&are that constantly controls the position of the pend!l!m to prod!ce a range of movements and even allo&s yo! to command it to come to a near halt @ all on demand. The radio link from the transmitter keyfob is encrypted so that the receiver cannot be controlled by any other so!rce of radio signals. *s this is a professionally made transmitter9 it is also g!aranteed to operate only at the legally designated fre;!ency of +,,5=A B,15=A in the 0C. This prevents the transmitter from inadvertently interfering &ith a!dio or recording e;!ipment.
Page 7 of 11
$ Setting U! t(e S!irit Pen&*#*m 2 $.1
Part' of t(e S!irit Pen&*#*m 2
The pirit Pend!l!m ' consists of fo!r parts. These are the pend!l!m itself9 the brass stand !pon &hich it s&ings9 the base into &hich the stand is inserted9 and the dra&er. T!rning the base over reveals a s;!are access hole9 enabling yo! to get at the battery compartment. $.2
%atterie'
The pirit Pend!l!m ' takes a single9 standard PP, battery. * good battery is essential9 so &e recommend that yo! !se a type and brand designed for prolonged heavy-d!ty !se9 s!ch as D!racell Pl!s. Please don
) A,o*t t(e Pen&*#*m It'e#f The e)cl!sive9 hand made9 pend!l!m consists of three parts. First is the &ooden bob meas!ring cm from top to bottom. e)t is the string. Finally9 there
A c#o'e *! of t(e '*!!#ie& !en&*#*m
Page of 11
Tho!gh designed to look old and &orn9 the s!pplied pend!l!m is9 in fact9 very highly t!ned. The knot at the top and a short section of string belo& has been stiffened to ens!re that the pivot point is an e)act distance a&ay from the bottom of the bob. This stiff section is ;!ite rob!st9 b!t please be caref!l &hen handling the pend!l!m so as not to damage it.
- U'ing t(e S!irit Pen&*#*m 2 -.1
Sitc(ing /n/ff
To s&itch on the pirit Pend!l!m '9 &ith the dra&er f!lly closed9 simply insert the stand into the base. This is all that
entring t(e Pen&*#*m
Place the pend!l!m on the stand and position it so that it is as central to the middle of the base as possible. This ens!res that the infl!ence of both coils is as e;!al as can be9 and &ill res!lt in the best control being e)erted over the pend!l!m. To help yo!9 the stand can t!rn9 and the top of the stand &here the knot rests forms t&o “r!nners” along &hich yo! can slide the knot @ a little like a constr!ction crane yo!
Page 2 of 11
very s!btly mark it by gently r!bbing the eraser tip of a pencil lightly on the centre of the cross. -.$
Man*a##" Stea&"ing t(e Pen&*#*m
(hile yo! can bring the pend!l!m to a halt !sing yo!r fingers9 if yo! are nervo!s it may take a fe& seconds to steady. *lternatively9 yo! co!ld have the ;!estioner steady the pend!l!m herself9 b!t another !sef!l techni;!e is to !se a long feather. This has the advantage that its to!ch is very soft9 so its infl!ence on the pend!l!m is very s!btle. -.)
Pro&*cing Linear Motion
(ith the pend!l!m at rest9 press the triangle b!tton on the s!pplied keyfob. The pend!l!m &ill begin to s&ing slo&ly left to right &ith the intensity of the s&ings increasing each time. *fter ten s&ings the pend!l!m is left to s&ing freely and can be stopped !sing yo!r hand. Press the circ!lar b!tton and the pend!l!m &ill s&ing back and forth instead. *s before9 after ten s&ings9 the pend!l!m is free to be bro!ght back to rest. -.-
Preenting Unante& /a# Motion
The pend!l!m may have a nat!ral tendency to move in a slight oval motion &hen yo! &ant an absol!tely linear motion. To overcome this9 lift9 rotate and reseat the knot at the top of the string and try again. The &eave of the string can coil and !ncoil slightly &hen at certain angles and this ind!ces the oval movement. 3nce yo! overcome the problem of !n&anted oval movement be s!re to make a mental note of the angle re;!ired for the knot. -.
irc*#ar Motion
The pirit Pend!l!m ' can prod!ce both clock&ise and co!nterclock&ise motion9 perhaps to indicate “maybe yes”9 “maybe no” or even “don
Page 6 of 11
-.3
D"namic %ra+ing
3nce s&inging9 the pend!l!m can be instr!cted to red!ce the length of its arc to a very small amo!nt9 as if a spirit has left it9 or the spirit is angry. To initiate braking9 &ait for three or fo!r s&ings after starting the pend!l!m s&inging9 and then press the red b!tton. *fter the !s!al initial ten s&ings9 the pend!l!m &ill begin to lessen the intensity of its s&ing far more noticeably than it &o!ld do if left to simply come to a halt. (hen it is noticeably more stationary9 press the red b!tton again to stop the braking action. The pend!l!m can no& be bro!ght man!ally to a complete halt ready to pose the ne)t ;!estion to the spirits. The reason yo! m!st press the red b!tton a second time is beca!se the process of decelerating the pend!l!m is designed to take into acco!nt pend!l!ms yo! might &ant to !se and &hich may &eigh more than the s!pplied &ooden one. =eavier pend!l!ms &ill take more s&ings to come to decelerate lighter ones fe&er s&ings. eca!se of this9 the deceleration phase !ses a ma)im!m of '8 s&ings9 &hich yo! c!t short by pressing the red b!tton the second time. Practice for a fe& min!tes to become comfortable that yo! can bring the pend!l!m to a halt or near halt. $t is not !s!ally necessary to bring it to a dead stop as the dramatic drop in speed is !s!ally eno!gh to impress most s?ance goers. -.4
S*,t#etie'
ince &e originally released this man!al to accompany the previo!s version of the pirit Pend!l!m9 several people have emailed to tell !s abo!t interesting s!btleties that can heighten the e)perience of !sing the !nit. elina (hite &as a beta tester for the pirit Pend!l!m ' and says that she stands behind the sitters in her s?ances9 partly so that she can operate the pend!l!m !nseen9 and partly to have them place their fingertips on the edge of the base from all aro!nd the table. he then calls !pon a spirit to make its presence kno&n9 “$t
Page 18 of 11
*lec !rns is a iAarre magician &ho has this great tip for !se &ith e)citable or s!ggestible sitters “$f the performer &ere to place his4her fingers on the board in demonstration first b!t then &ith a s!dden high pitched yelp9 ;!ickly &ithdra&9 this &o!ld shred the nerves of those present. (hilst recoiling9 perhaps say something like GDid anyone see thatH Did yo! see that flash &hen my fingers to!chedH I!ys9 &e donJt have to do this if yo! donJt &ant.<” "reepy st!ffK
U'ing Yo*r /n Pen&*#*m /o! can !se yo!r o&n design of pend!l!m in place of the one s!pplied. To do so9 it m!st be gaffed &ith a neodymi!m magnet &ith the o!th Pole facing do&n. This &ill give it the right polarity to be attracted rather than repelled &ith every s&ing9 &hich is more efficient and &ill res!lt in the biggest movement. The pend!l!m s!pplied is gaffed &ith t&o 2mm ) mm neodymi!m magnets. The s!n is al&ays in the so!th aro!nd abo!t l!nchtime9 so if yo! let the magnets come together then place them on a dinner plate9 they &ill be able to t!rn aro!nd to align themselves to the Earths!bversivecirc!its.co.!k stating yo!r !nit
3 *'tom 5ini'(e' The standard finish of the pirit Pend!l!m is cherry mahogany. =o&ever9 for a small additional charge &es!bversivecirc!its.co.!k
