OK, I can't hold back throwing in my story. It's kind of an X-Files, delete
now if you can't handle it.
I live in the country, on the edge of the Kansas City metro area. Rural
water supply district. I'm on a corner lot, so the water district has
north/south + east/west easements for their lines/valves which run along my
property line. A lot of the mains are still old metal pipes, the newer stuff
they're putting in is plastic (with attached signal wires).
About 15 years ago they had to do some utility cuts and were out here
putting down flags. (This had nothing to do with my tower or antennas, which
are located well inside the easements). I happened to be around when the
water guy was marking his lines. He had a L-shaped wire (about 18" per leg)
in his left hand, and an identical one in his right hand. (Water Witch.) As
he walked, the wires would align (like a dipole) above his pipes, and that's
where he put the flags....they later dug, and that's where the water lines
(old metal pipe) were located.
Now, whether he was moving them himself or not, I can't say; but I did
witness the wires change as he moved. Pure Voodoo, as far as I was
concerned, and I felt like I was watching a carney at a county fair.
I was flabbergasted. I've studied engineering, believe in Newtonian physics
and the Scientific method, and don't believe in Magic, Voodoo, etc., but I
swear this guy was using a water witch and it worked! I asked him "what's
this !#$%^&*()" and he basicvally told me "I don't know, but it works!". I
can't explain it to this day, and I still don't believe it, but I saw it.
I've told this story to lots of people and many have said they've either
"done witching" or witnessed it too. Wonder how this would hold up in a
court of law if a utility marked their lines and then something blew up from
mis-marked lines.
Wonder how many of 811/DigRight contractors still use this technique?!?
Sorry if this is too far off topic. I couldn't help myself.
73
Dan
K0DAN
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|