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Date: Tuesday, 11 Feb 2014
Text version created by Rich
Vitello
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Page 2 UFO INVESTIGATOR/MARCH 1973 "UFO DETECTOR" STUDY CONDUCTED AT EXETER"
Can a series of sensitive magnetometers detect
the presence of UFO's? This question remains
essentially unanswered despite exhaustive efforts
by NICAP member John Oswald during a 20-month
period near Exeter, N.H.
Oswald, intrigued by numerous sightings
reported around Exeter during 1965-66, set out in
late 1970 to establish and monitor a "UFO
detector" network surrounding this famous New
England town.
The timing for the experiment, Nov. 1970
through Sept. 1972, proved excellent, according to
Oswald, who noted in a report to NICAP "that
significant UFO activity occurred within the test
area during the period covered."
The test results, however, were not as
encouraging. Oswald reported, "Although it
would appear that UFO's may have been detected on
two occasions and that it is actually not possible
to say that some other detector alarms were not
caused by UFO's, it is clear that most of the
hundreds of detector alarms recorded were caused
by geomagnetic storm activity."
Difficulties Encountered
One of the difficulties encountered by Oswald
during the course of his experiment was the
extreme sensitivity of the detectors he had
designed. "When I started building the
detector network in New Hampshire, I did not think
that the instruments were sensitive enough to
detect sunspot-related geomagnetic storms."
Despite this problem, the experiment yielded
two instances in which UFO sightings by witnesses
were simultaneously detected by Oswald's
magnetometers.
According to Oswald, on Jan. 13, 1971, at 7:30
p.m. at least two witnesses near Exeter observed
three or four lights making strange maneuvers near
power lines. Simultaneously, according to
Oswald, one of his 13 detectors sounded its alarm.
On another occasion, Nov. 23, 1971, at 1:55
a.m., a large, fast-moving oval white light was
observed by a single witness. According to
Oswald's report, two of his detectors sounded
their alarms within seconds of the sightings.
The Detector
All 13 detectors used by Oswald during the 20
month period followed the same basic principle in
design and construction (see Photo #1).
In each detector, a bar magnet was suspended on
a fine cotton thread "such that the magnet would
rotate in horizontal plane and come to rest
with its poles oriented toward the magnetic poles
of the earth."
A delicate copper needle was attached to the
magnet and extended from one pole. The
needle was made to protrude through a small loop
of heavier copper wire several inches away.
The needle and loop were incorporated into an
electrical circuit which was completed when
magnetic deflection caused the needle to touch the
loop. The circuit was powered by a battery
and incorporated a small alarm bell.
The device, as designed by Oswald, contained a
lock-on device which caused the alarm bell to ring
continuously once it started until the circuit was
broken manually.
The supporting structure for the magnet and
needle was made of a heavy copper or aluminum wire
which in turn was mounted on a square of three
quarter-inch plywood. The entire device,
excluding the battery and bell, was protected from
the elements and air currents through the use of
an inverted glass jar securely fastened to the
plywood base (see Photo #2).
Visual Sightings
During the course of his experiment, Oswald
investigated more than 70 UFO sightings reported
in the Exeter area. To assist him in later
correlation of sightings and detector alarms,
Oswald classified UFO reports into three basic
categories; A-Unknown; B-Likely
Unknown C-Possible Unknowns. Of the
70-odd cases, Oswald classified only 12 in
category A, or those having the strongest
likelihood of being "true UFOs."
The two sightings recorded simultaneously by a
detector and witnesses were among the 12 cases
investigated by Oswald and listed in category A.
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