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The
Project
Multiple Anomaly Detection &
Automated Recording
Francis
Ridge, Director UFO Filter Center, 618 Davis
Davis Drive, Mt. Vernon, IN 47620
rive, Mt. Vernon, IN 47620. 1970-1991
Project Description The NICAP UFO EVIDENCE (1964) lists 106 instances which are included in the Group 3 or Category 3 list, of UFOs apparently producing "electromagnetic effects". E-M Effects are those which disrupt electrical circuits, cause engine failure in automobiles, produce radio interference, etc. Included in the E-M category are reports of compass needle deviations. See also, the Cartwright UFO Detector. All but two years of the operational period involved monitoring at a single isolated area, at Mt. Vernon, Indiana. The site was located in an area north of the city, isolated from disturbance sources, save lightning, and earthquakes, and ....UFOs. Purpose 1) The device could provide an "early warning system", allowing trained personnel to possibly observe a UFO and conduct scientific experiments during an event, 2) The device would operate as an unmanned automatic station, acquiring data whether manned or not. The data would provide possible correlations with visual (and hopefully radar) sightings on a regional level. UFO Filter Center & SKYNET Local member and non-member personnel who helped the Center identify reported UFOs were spread throughout Posey County were part of SKYNET. A UFO reported in a certain area or direction facilitated a call from the Center to this "Spotter". Kits designed for UFO Investigation were described in the MUFON Field Investigator's Manual, but special kits were created at the Center and used for a "rapid deployment group". CB radios, radiation detection equipment, optical instruments, etc., were all used in this effort. Other Research Projects & Databases Ray Stanford's PROJECT STARLIGHT INTERNATIONAL (now defunct) recorded several UFO-related E-M disturbances, one in which a magnetometer, a gravimeter, and a WWV time signal deviated at the same time. The calibration tone showed that the equipment was operating normal. This occurred on July 19, 1978 with two UFOs filmed. Another series of experiments with the magnet variometers was conducted in New Hampshire between November 1970 and September 1972. David Webb and John Oswald logged 22 good events out of 659 with 13 detector sites. The sensitivity in these cases was very high, with no way of analyzing the data such as magnitude or duration. In 1971, William Hunkins gave a paper to the 1971 Midwest UFO Conference. It must be made clear that once the "sensor" is isolated from all other natural or man-made E-M sources, the very small reading one is left with is simply the Earth's own magnetic field. What we are then looking for is something distorting that field. Since the Earth's magnetic field doesn't vary more than 5 per cent from its static average, the "background" is perfect. "The classic magnet variometer is a mechanical sensor...besides tending to be simple in construction and operation, mechanical sensors offer a bonus that helps improve the signal-to-noise ratio. They tend to be unresponsive to high frequency fields, which is good; we are only interested in slow changes in the steady field." The resolution is typically 0.1 gamma. It was the MADAR Project Director's hope that both magnet variometers and electronic magnetometers would be used simultaneously in the project, just as were two types of radiation detectors to check the integrity of the data for alleged unusual nuclear radiation. However, a magnetometer was never built or purchased. In spite of this, the data gleaned from the study was very interesting and surprising, even in the preliminary stages. (See The MADAR Records ) Francis L. Ridge NICAP Home Page |
