Radio News Magazine Feb. 1929

Radio prospecting is the adventurous theme for this February, 1928 issue of Radio News magazine. The feature article explains a system then in use, which apparently had some ability to detect large bodies of metallic ore near the earth's surface. The article includes this amusing sidebar:

Notice to Gold Seekers: From our readers, especially throughout the Western United States, and other mineralized regions, countless inquiries have been received during the last few years. It is evident that in the minds of the writers, in most cases, there is an idea that it is a simple matter to locate gold and silver deposits in this manner. The present article by Mr. Gleason, describing the most advanced methods of radio prospecting now practiced on commercial basis, emphasizes not only the complexity of the required apparatus, but especially the need of an expert knowledge of geology. No amount of purely radio experience will enable the engineer to determine the meaning of his results in terms of metals and minerals. We wish to caution our readers that we have on hand no further details of the construction and design of the apparatus described here, and cannot furnish them. Please do not write to this office for them. Editor.

Another sidebar provides further cautions for would-be treasure hunters:

Cap'n Kidd's Treasure: Perhaps the most persistent question that dogs the waking hours of radio editors is this: "How can I build an apparatus to locate buried treasure? Send diagrams and full information by return mail." In may cases this is inspired evidently by local legends of pirates; in others, confounded with radio prospecting methods described in this article. We have no hesitation in saying that, if we had a semi-magical device for discovering the treasures of the earth and sea, we would not be following the prosaic trade of technical journalism. We also wish to give this answer to our prospective future inquirers: it is possible to locate masses of metal at short distances but not to determine their nature, by apparatus employing a radio oscillator. And a considerable sum in gold or silver, as treasure, is so compact that it would be like the proverbial needle in the haystack to find. Nor will ten thousand dollars in gold distinguish itself from four dollars' worth of lead, electrically or magnetically. We dislike to disappoint any readers who have hopes of spending Long John Silver's doubloons and pieces of eight; but patiently, kindly, and with an air of long suffering, we must ask them not to write to us and ask directions for locating pirate hoards and other hidden fortunes.

Here are some other interesting articles in this issue:

• The Short-Wave Fan, by Hugo Gernsback
• Electrostatic Speakers Enter the Radio Field
• Condensers and Their Use in Radio
• Outdoor and Indoor Aerials—How Their Signal Pick-Up Qualities Differ
• Radio Tubes and Their Characteristics
• The "Copperclad Special"—A Short-Wave Receiver de Luxe (construction)
• A 250-Type Amplifier and Power Pack (construction)
• Hints on Operation for the Short-Wave Beginner
• Constructing a Modulated Oscillator (construction)
• A Flexible Nine-Tube Superheterodyne (construction)
• Making Good Use of "B"-Battery By-Products