In this chapter we will go over some more data concerning metering. It is mainly 'Do's and Don'ts that is part of becoming an expert Meter operator and auditor.

How To Smooth Out Needles
Sometimes you will find pc's with a continuous odd needle behavior. The needle can be jerky, you get random reads; you get prior and latent reads; the needle does scratchy patterns or wild enduring rock slams.

Such a needle is of course hard to read - and worse: the pc hasn't been 'in-session' (interested in own case and willing to talk to the auditor) for a long time. An auditor faced with such a needle will have a hard time reading the instant reads through all this. He may feel prone to find 'big' explanations. "It is clear to me, that this pc has Withholds, Overts and huge, sinister secrets and I need to find out right away!" Starting on such a course can however easily make things even worse. What auditor needs to do is something entirely different and somewhat less dramatic.

The pc's needle reacts that way because of 'No Confidence'. He is on auto-control, not under the auditor's control. This is what is behind this Dirty Needle, etc. He lacks confidence in what is going on. Raise his feeling of easy prediction and his confidence will come up. There is a simple way to do this: You give the pc about three sessions, each about an hour long, just running rudiments and havingness, just straight forward and by the book; you use the pattern of Model Session exactly, no chit chat, no Q and A; you just make sure it is a textbook session; you carefully check each rudiment question with nothing added. If you do this session and session control is perfectly predictable to the pc; if you do it for about three sessions you get even more predictability for the pc; the needle will mysteriously become much cleaner. Why?
Because the pc gets off this auto-control and he is now 'in-session'.

Here is how his needle got that way in the first place:

1. Auditor took up prior reads and overlooked instant reads when flying the rudiments.
2. He used an improvised and unpredictable session pattern.
3. Auditor double questioned any rudiment question. (Double Question: a type of Q and A. The auditor asks a question. The pc answers. The auditor asks a new question about the answer.)

The needle of any pc, even if clean to begin with, will tighten up and the needle will dirty up if the auditor fails to use the predictable form of a textbook session. Don't think, that because the pc is new to auditing he won't notice. A pc who has become unwilling to get auditing is easily cured by three textbook sessions as described. Just establish a perfect session pattern which he can predict and his confidence will shoot up.

There are no difficult pc's. It all comes down to auditors not giving textbook sessions. Dirty Needles are always caused by out basic auditing. It is a session ARC break or cut itsa. It is not caused by something esoteric in the pc's Bank. It is not caused by using the wrong technique or process. It is caused by auditors whose basic auditing is poor. It is caused by Q and A, cut itsa, invalidations and evaluations. It is caused by cleaning a clean (nothing there - yet auditor keeps asking for it). Or it is caused by Missed Withholds. So when you see an auditor with pc's with dirty needles you know right away that his basic auditing, his TRs and metering, is out.

One way to remedy it is to tape the session and analyze it. Simply do an audio tape recording and listen to it afterwards can be very instructive. Even if the auditor's technique was perfect, but his basic auditing was out, he would turn out ARC broken pc's with dirty needles. What we are talking about is not a dirty needle as a read, but chronic dirty needles.

An ARC broken pc's needle may be dirty, sticky or stuck. Oddly enough it may also appear as a floating needle (ARC break FN). This type of 'F/N' is not a release point, however. This becomes clear when the auditor observes the pc. A pc with an ARC break F/N will have bad or very bad indicators.

When a student auditor's pc's develop DN's it is caused by one of these things:

1. The auditor has out TRs
2. The auditor doesn't keep his Auditors Code in.
3. The pc has Withholds.

You remedy the auditor's TRs by having him do each of them in clay and show the lines, actions and function of each TR. After that he has to do TRs with another student.

Auditors Code breaks can be remedied by having the auditor do 'invalidation' and 'evaluation' in clay.
He has to make examples of possible upsets that could be caused by breaking each point of the code.

The remedy for the pc's Withholds is handling it in session as an out-rudiment.

If you have a pc with a chronic dirty needle you would send pc to a review session to have him checked for Withholds and have bad auditing cleaned up.

An auditor whose needles gets dirty should have his TRs and his adherence to Auditors Code checked out.

Rings Causing "Rock Slams"
There have been cases where pc's "rock slammed" on many, many items. In many cases it was later found that there was an unsuspected cause to this. A pc that wears rings can actually get 'rock slams' showing on the Meter, even when there is no charge. What has happened is that the rings could hit the cans in such a manner as to cause this. Since rock slams can be a serious matter it is important to rule this out completely.

Therefore it is now standard to have the pc remove any rings before session. In case the pc can't get off a ring it should be covered with band aid, tape or a piece of paper so there is no direct contact metal to metal.

Sensitivity Setting of the Meter
The sensitivity setting of the Meter can seem unimportant. The fact is however that setting it too high or too low can lead to unsuspected problems. Usually the needle will get looser and looser the more auditing the pc has had. You compensate for that by setting the sensitivity lower and lower.

Too Low Sensitivity: Setting the sensitivity too low for the pc can obscure reads and make them look like ticks. It may also obscure F/N's.

Too High Sensitivity: If the sensitivity is set too high for the pc, it can cause problems for pc's that are flying (doing real well). The F/N's can be wider than the dial. It bounces off when it hits the stop pins at the sides of the dial; it can appear that there is a read, when it is only a bounce back from hitting a stop pin. This can cause uncharged items to be taken up. This slows down the case. It accounts for invalidative actions, upsets and need for repair.

The normal rule is to set the sensitivity so the needle makes a 1/3 of a dial drop on a gentle can squeeze. This is done once in the beginning of the session. If the auditor during session determines that another sensitivity setting is called for he should do so and note it in his worksheets. He can set the sensitivity so an F/N shows up as half the dial.

Meter Position 
You never place the Meter so the pc can read it. This could cause the pc to worry about his TA position and take the attention off his case. It causes a situation that violates clause #17 of Auditors Code.
(17. Never enter comments, expressions or enturbulence into a session that distract a preclear from his case.)

You should use a Meter shield. It can be made of cardboard. It keeps the Meter and the auditor's worksheets out of sight of the pc. You can make it out of a big piece of cardboard or three file folders. It should just cover the Meter's height and cover about 30 cm (1 foot) at each side of the Meter.

Metering and  In-session
The auditor never tells the pc anything about what the Meter is doing. The definition of 'in-session' is 'Pc interested in own case and willing to talk to the auditor'. If you all the time tell the pc 'the Meter did this' or 'The Meter did that', you are putting pc's attention on the Meter and not his case.

The only apparent exception is indicating F/N's. This is done after an action is complete and as a part of the ack of the EP. You say it gently and as you are agreeing with the pc: "I want to indicate your needle is floating" or "Your needle is floating". This is only done after you have made sure the pc has VGI's and looks done with the process.

In case of Meter steering, meaning you observe the same read that read instantly, but the pc had difficulties finding the answer, you say "That...that...that" each time you see the read. You are not putting the pc's attention on the Meter but on the pc's Bank so this is a valid technique.

In case of a big Blowdown on the Meter, when you are assessing for charge, you can indicate By-passed Charge by: "I want to indicate charge was bypassed on that".

To say 'that blew down on the Meter' would be incorrect, as you put pc's attention on the Meter instead of his Bank. So keep the 'in-session' definition in mind and leave the pc's attention on his case.

Be quiet during Blowdowns
Sometimes you will see a big Blowdown (BD) on the Meter. It is when the TA has to be moved rapidly to the right to keep needle on Set. Realize this is a moment of relief for the pc. It is usually followed by a cognition. The cognition is often expressed, but not always.

It is a serious goof for the auditor to speak or even move during a Blowdown or for a moment afterwards. The auditor quietly adjusts the TA with his thumb as to catch an F/N that often will follow. He keeps quiet to invite the pc to speak and voice any cognitions occurring. To get auditing results the auditor must use a good comm cycle. He must accept the pc's answers and handle his originations smoothly. He must not attract attention to the Meter or his auditing actions. He keeps his report writing out of sight and keeps up with the pc without holding him up. He does not use odd tricks or ideas as waiting for the pc to look at him before he gives the next command or the like. He makes sure he does not prematurely acknowledge as it can start a compulsive itsa. And he is very quiet and attentive during and just after Blowdowns.

Meter Trim Checks
A Meter can go out of trim during session. This can be due to temperature changes or possibly slight discharge of the battery.

In setting up the Meter for a session you do it per Meter drill 4. You set the TA position at 2.0 and use the trim knob to adjust the needle to the exact 'Set' mark on the dial.

After a Session
At the session end you do something different. After the pc has left you do the following:

You don't move the trim knob.
You unplug the jack that connects the cans to the Meter.
You adjust the Tone Arm until the needle is on the 'Set' position. 
This will usually be very close to 2.0.
You read the exact TA position and write it on your Auditor Report Form. 
If your after session TA position was 1.95 you would write Trim Check TA =1.95, meaning the 2.0 at the beginning of session equaled 1.95 at the end of the session.

During Session Trim Check
You can check the Meter trim during session, but only if you need to. You quietly pull the can wire jack out of its socket (to disconnect the cans). You put the TA at 2.0 to see if needle is on 'Set'. If it isn't you turn the trim knob to adjust the Meter back into trim. You quietly slip the jack back in its socket. The whole check should be done without the pc noticing anything.

Note on Reads and Advanced pc's
On pc's who are Clear, and sometimes anywhere above Grade 4, the needle can occasionally read on the pc's analytical thought. A read, therefore, does not mean invariably "yes" or that the question is charged. All it means is that the Meter has read.
On such a pc postulates can read as a fall, usually fairly long (over 1"), "No" can read if the pc says it to himself as an answer to a question asked.

On such pc's the Auditor must find out what the read was before determining he should do something about the rudiment question or a question on a prepared List. One doesn’t just assume the read means "yes". One asks about the read as a general rule, not assuming at once the thing asked was charged.

Example:

Auditor: "Do you have a Missed Withhold?" Meter reads.
Auditor: "What was that?"
Advanced pc: "I thought, No I don’t."
Auditor: "Ok. Do you have a Missed Withhold?"
Advanced pc: "No."-Meter didn’t read.
Auditor: "Anything suppressed-asserted-protested-invalidated. Ok that’s clean."

Here the auditor checks these buttons before he leaves question as clean as he rely on his Meter in finding or discarding charge.

This phenomena can also play a role in doing some Meter drills (especially dating drills EM-22 and EM-25) among students with advanced case levels. If the student has an advanced pc as coach and asks, "Was it before 1980?" and the coach "answers" NO. That "NO" can register on the meter giving the student a wrong steer. The student would interpret the read as meaning "YES, BEFORE 1980".  Therefore when doing the drill one must take this into consideration if the coach's case level is above grade four. Instructing the coach not to "think answers" may help.