I have stated before that DAS Distributing is by far my favorite manufacturer of Paranormal Equipment - and for many reasons. One of course, is the fact that the equipment is not merely "adapted" for use from its original intent and design for the paranormal field. DAS makes equipment designed from the very beginning to serve us paranormal investigators. DAS Distributing is run by Gary Galka, who is the inventor of the equipment. I own every piece of equipment they make (and Gary invents) - including several RT-EVP real time recorders, the P-SB7 spirit box, several static E-Pods, and several MEL-8704 meters of various types. It is very high quality equipment, and is effective. But, there is another more human reason I love the equipment and the company.
It is common for us, on ghost hunts, to ask, "Who's got the Mel meters?" We toss that name around without knowing how the equipment got its name. I am referring to the Mel 8704 EMF meter that, in my opinion, is the best one made. Well, here's the "rest of the story":
Gary Galka's daughter was named Melissa. He had always called her "Mel" for short since the time she was very young. I can relate to this, because I call my own daughter Ana when her full name is Anastasia. Several years ago Melissa, or "Mel," was on her way home one evening around midnight. For some unknown reason, she swerved off of the road and struck a tree. She sustained horrible injuries that night, which occurred on September 24, 2004. Mel was born in 1987. She was on life-support until September 28th, before her family made the decision to stop the life support, and she passed away. It was not long afterward that Gary’s new found interest in the paranormal field began. The MEL 8704, one of Gary's inventions that came out of that, was named for Mel, with the 87 being from the year of her birth, and the 04 from the year she passed away.
“Most of the proceeds from the product (Mel 8704) go to charities such as Compassionate Friends and other known charity organizations.” - Gary Galka
The following details about Mel's death are directly from a telephone interview with Vince Wilson: “From the moment my wife and I and two daughters got home,” Gary explained, “Mel began to let us know that she was still around.” Gary explained how Mel began playing around with electronics in the house. The TV, radio and lights would come on and turn off and switch channels by themselves. “We could smell her perfume,” he added, “Over a period of time we could feel her hugs and kisses.” These experiences didn’t just happen to him either. His wife Cindy, and daughters Heather and Jennifer also had these wonderful After Death Communications (ADC’s) as well. They all believe that Mel reached out to them in order to help them heal and move forward with their lives. Within six months of her passing, Gary and his wife began to reach out and help other bereaved parents in their homes and through the formation of grief counseling groups. He began researching the paranormal and related topics to better understand what was going on in this field. After reading several books, and watching a few of the paranormal shows on television it became apparent that most paranormal enthusiasts had to resort to using mainstream gadgets and devices that were typically intended for a totally different purpose. Many were modified or adapted to suit the application of paranormal research. Gary, with over 30 years of test and measurement experience sat down and began to design the Mel-Meter. Not only to help give the paranormal community a push forward, but the biggest accomplishment, as Gary explained with pride is that, “Most of the proceeds from the Mel product series goes directly to grief support charities such as Compassionate Friends and other known charity organizations”.
So now, you too know the rest of the story and much more about the Mel Meter than you probably did before. Makes you want to go out and get another one doesn't it?
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