Marc Ramsey wrote in message m...
Of course, the big difference between the Themi and other recorders is
the thermal centering function. Some people love it, some people hate
it, I personally found it rather confusing. Maybe with some more
practice I would have found it helpful, but it certainly wasn't
compelling enough for me to spend my own money to buy one...

Marc and RAS,

I have had a Themi for about a year. And, while it takes a little
getting used to, I've found it surprisingly prescient at locating
thermals. Sometimes I ignore it, sometimes when I follow it against my
better judgement it leads me out of lift, and sometimes its directions
seem inconsistent (like saying the thermal center is ahead and to the
right, then a second later, it's behind and to the left). But most of
the time when it and I disagree, it's right. I was hesitant to buy
one, both for the $ and out of the belief that "it might be helpful
for a beginner, but not me."

Two conversations turned me around. John Morgan, who has posted on the
Themi here and is someone I know and trust, got one and raved about
it. I then called Tom Knauff who sells it in the US and he related the
following story:

When the inventor brought it by, asking if Tom would stock it, he
left on for Tom to try. At first Tom tested it by seeing how often it
agreed with his own judgement, and it checked out pretty well. But,
after a while, he decided to really test it, he should follow it when
their judgements disagreed. And, to his surprise, it did better than
he - especially at low altitudes where the thermals are poorly
organized. Admittedly Tom has a financial interest in selling Themis,
but I for one believe his story, especially after using a Themi for a
while. And he's certainly no beginner.

There are still times that I don't follow the Themi's signals,and I'd
like to think I'm learning when that's appropriate and when it's not.
But overall, if you can afford the price, I'd recommend it.

Martin