Feedback Loop

Feedback Loop

Q John Kladstrup’s letter in June’s Service concerned the erratic behavior of his Harley’s voltmeter when riding through the Wall area in South Dakota. When I was a kid, there were stories about people getting lost in the Badlands near Wall. The explanation was that there was so much lodestone (magnetic rock) in that area that compasses (Boy Scout type) were worthless, and GPS receivers did not yet exist. I don’t know if lodestone can affect voltmeters, but if so, that could explain Mr. Kladstrup’s experience without involving visitors from another galaxy. Aliens or lodestone, though, the response to the letter and the accompanying cartoon were great. Art (Oscar) Piehl

Sidney, Nebraska

A What, no E.T.s? No little green men wielding death rays and magnetic tractor beams? Geez, thanks for the buzzkill, Art. I was really looking forward to the gowhere-no-man-has-gone-before adventure promised by my next ride through Wall. Now what am I supposed to do with the aluminum underwear I bought to fend off the aliens? That stuff’s non-returnable, you know.

Seriously, thank you for the input. Yours is the most rational theory I’ve yet heard to explain Kladstrup’s voltmeter incident. It still leaves a lot of questions unanswered, though, such as why no other gauge or system on his bike was affected, or why no one else has experienced such an phenomenon. Actually, maybe they have, but they became disoriented and got lost

in the Badlands. Hey, it could happen...