To understand the origin of radionics, one must first look into its predecessor, E.R.A. These letters stand for the Electronic Reactions of Abrams, Radionics is not the same as E.R.A., but is an outgrowth of it. Without E.R.A. there would probably have been no radionics.

THE RADIATIONAL NATURE OF DISEASE

The originator of E.R.A. was Dr. Albert Abrams, M.D. of San Francisco, California. He was born Dec. 8, 1865 and died Jan. 13, 1924. He obtained his medical education at University of Heidelberg in Germany — the country which at that time led the world in medical advancement. He took postgraduate courses in London, Berlin, Paris and Vienna. In fact he was one of the most highly trained medical physicians of his time. He held numerous posts of honor; there were many publications to his credit; and he was held in the highest respect and admiration by the medical profession of the United States up until the time that he propounded the theory of E.R.A. That theory was so far in advance of the thinking of his period, that he then became a lonely figure in the medical profession of the United States, though the profession in England was more open-minded in its approach to E.R.A.

Late in the last century, when Dr. Abrams was taking post-graduate work at University of Heidelberg, he studied under a Professor De Sauer, who lectured extensively on the concept of the radiational nature of disease. Dr. Abrams was so impressed with those lectures that upon his return to California he embarked on an extensive series of experiments to test the validity of Professor De Sauer’s theories. The results of numerous experiments convinced him that those theories were correct. The mention two of the experiments as illustrative examples:

1. 1. A test-tube of TB bacillus culture, held by means of adhesive tape to a location over the 5rd and 4th dorsal spinal segments of a healthy person, produced blanching of the face that was typical of a tubercular. Upon removal of the test-tube of culture, blanching ceased.
   2. Dr. Abrams diagnosed tumors by a characteristic dull sound elicited by percussion upon certain areas of the patient’s abdomen. Patients without tumors did not manifest the dull sound.

After diagnosing a tumor in a patient in this manner, the growth was removed by surgery, and then strapped to the forehead of a healthy person. Thereupon, that individual exhibited the same diagnostic dull sound upon abdominal percussion, that had manifested in the patient from whom the tumor had been taken! Upon removal of the tumor from the healthy person’s forehead, the dull sound disappeared.

The phenomena involved in these and numerous other experiments, pointed directly to the radiational nature of disease. The test-tube of TB bacillus radiated something into the healthy subject’s body, that induced a TB symptom. Radiation from the tumor tissue produced a diagnostic signal indicative of a tumor, so long as the tumor tissue was within radiational range of the healthy subject. The evidence from Dr. Abrams long series of experiments was so overwhelming, that he thoroughly accepted De Sauer’s concept, and initiated a program of research and development to produce equipment for practical use of that concept.

ELECTRONIC REACTIONS OF ABRAMS

The first book devoted exclusively to the development of E.R.A. was Dr. Abrams’ “New Concepts in Diagnosis and Treatment”, published about 1916. This followed very closely upon Spondylotherapy editions referring to E.R.A. — the 5th edition and possibly an earlier edition. Many of the preliminary experiments which led to the development of E.R.A. are detailed in the book “New Concepts in Diagnosis and Treatment”.

In accordance with the results of over a decade of experiments, Dr. Abrams propounded two basic hypotheses:

1. 1. That all matter radiates, and that the characteristics of the radiations from any type of matter are dependent upon the molecular constituents of the material involved. (Author’s note — this means that every different element or compound has a radiation differing from the radiation emitted by any other element or compound.)
   2. That the radiations emitted by the different types of matter (and by the different organs of a living organism) can be detected, selectively differentiated, and the radiational amplitudes measured, by a trained operator using relatively simple equipment.

The first hypothesis was in contradiction to scientific principles as understood by the scientific community of Abrams’ time. It was believed then that only the so-called radio-active elements radiated, such as radium, uranium, etc. It was not until after the advent of atomic physics that science evolved to the point where it recognized that all matter radiates. See any scientific text on “magnetic resonance”, including two types: NMR (neutron magnetic resonance), and EMR (electromagnetic resonance). In scientific encyclopedias, one can now look up these subjects and see diagrams and descriptions of elaborate laboratory set-ups that prove the existence of radiation from non-radioactive elements. These laboratory set-ups involve the use of extremes of temperature and pressure (or vacuum), in conjunction with element samples and electrical circuits. There is a different set-up for each element involved. The set-ups are cumbersome and expensive; but at least they prove the underlying principle, first propounded in modern times by Dr. Albert Abrams.

The second hypothesis has not received any general acceptance by the scientific community as yet, although it is self-evident to every successful radionics operator, and to any accomplished radiesthesist.

The use of rheostats for tuning, involved a problem of practical use. One could not be sure that a previous setting would be exactly duplicated in the future. Even with the aid of a pointer on the rheostat knob and a scale marked on the panel, there was always the possibility that the sliding arm on the rheostat would be set slightly higher or lower than before, when the operator wanted to duplicate a previous tuning. To eliminate this problem, the tuning mechanism was changed. Instead of rheostats, selector switches were adopted. Fixed resistances were connected between each adjacent pair of switch contacts, as shown in the accompanying diagram. All resistances used between contacts of one rheostat were of the same resistance value, designated as ohms. In this way, use of the switch knob determined how many equal units of fixed resistance were placed in the circuit. For example, if the switch knob was turned to place the switch arm at position No. 5, then three of the fixed resistances were placed in the circuit. Similarly, if the switch knob was turned so as to place the switch arm at position No. 6, there would then be six units of fixed resistance included in the circuit. Usually the switches that were used gave a choice of 10 or 11 positions, numbered from zero to 9 or zero to 10. The resistances used had to be of the non-conductive type, and preferably of very close tolerance with respect to the resistance value.

Previously when rheostats were used, the rheostat dials were usually marked from zero to 100 in 1-unit or 2-unit steps. This range of 100 units could be duplicated by using two selector switches as shown in the accompanying diagram — in place of a 100-ohm rheostat, the left-hand switch would have 19-ohm resistors between each adjacent pair of contact points, while the right-hand switch would have 1-ohm resistors between each pair of adjacent contact points. In this way, each resistance value from zero to 100, in steps of 1 ohm (the customary unit of electrical resistance measurement) could be included in the circuit by using the appropriate settings for the two switches. Correspondingly, two rheostats in series were replaced by four selector switches in series.

In an early period each resistance step was represented by a switch contact point mounted on a panel in the form of a screw having a large flat head. The heads were installed on the curve of an arc; the switch had a metal arm bent down at one end to make contact with the flat heads — the other end of the arm had a collar and set screw for attachment to the switch shaft or axle, which was rotated by a knob. Later this rather cumbersome arrangement was superseded by the use of rotary single-gang selector switches in which the arm and all contact points are contained inside the switch housing. From this housing protrude the contact connections and the shaft for changing the switch setting.

Because of Dr. Abrams’ experience with tuning rates derived from the use of rheostats, he assumed that it was the quantity of resistance in the circuit which tuned the emanations coming from the human body, and from other organisms and types of matter. This assumption was accepted for many years by his followers and successors, but was later proven to be a fallacy. There was another factor in the use of the rheostat, which went unrecognized for many years. It will be discussed in a later instalment, devoted to the theory of radionic tuning.

MEASUREMENTS OF AMPLITUDE OR VOLUME

The inauguration of tunings for disease radiations as outlined previously in this series, was a major, even a revolutionary advance; but there was a further need — some means to determine the magnitude of each radiation detected. Before this was found, the operator could get some idea of the magnitude through variations in the apparent strength of the percussion reflex, but this was not at all specific and depended too much upon the interpretation of the operator.

It was then learned that once the tuning rate of an incoming radiation had been ascertained and placed on the instrument panel, another rheostat could be brought into use to find the relative strength of the radiation being detected. This auxiliary rheostat was used to extinguish the reaction — if the magnitude of the incoming radiation was small, a low setting of the rheostat would cause the reaction to disappear. If on the other hand the magnitude of the incoming radiation was large, then the rheostat would have to be advanced to a considerably higher setting, adding more resistance to the circuit, before the reflex action disappeared. Thus for the first time it became possible to measure disease radiation electronically!

MEASURING ORGANIC CONDITIONS

Later, when tunings were found for radiations from body organs, the measurement process was applied to the determination of extent of organ function, since the strength of radiation from an organ was found to be indicative of the condition of the organ and of its extent of function. Then the operator could determine which organs were functioning normally, which were below par in function (and just how much below par for each deficient organ) and which if any were functioning at an abnormally high rate (over-active).

For even more precise measurements of extent organ function, or of magnitude of disease radiation, two or more rheostats could be used in series, for example, a 100-ohm rheostat for gross measurements and a 1-ohm rheostat for fine measurements. The measuring rheostat or rheostats could be connected in series with the tuning rheostats, but had to be an a different position on the vertical (top to bottom) axis on the instrument panel from that occupied by the tuning rheostats. In other words, the measurement rheostats had to be placed either above or below the row of tuning rheostats — ordinarily they were placed below the rheostats used for tuning. If placed on the same horizontal row as the tuning controls, the rheostats intended for measurement purposes ceased to serve these purposes and instead became part of the tuning mechanism. It was possible also to use other than series connections between the tuning controls and the measurement controls, provided that the pre-requisite of keeping the two types of controls on separate horizontal rows was observed.

When tuning rheostats were replaced with selector switches, some instruments makers continued to use rheostats for volume measurement purposes, while others replaced them with selector switches to which a series of fixed resistances were connected as with the tuning controls.

As Dr. Abrams’ practice grew, spurred by the increasing accuracy and thoroughness of his diagnoses, more and more instances arose of patients who wished to avail themselves of his method but who could not visit his office, either because they were too ill to make an office visit, or lived too far away. In the effort to be of service to these individuals, experiments were made with blood specimens taken from people who were ill, and placed in a metal cup (which Dr. Abrams termed a “dynamizer”), with connecting wires to the head and foot plates attached to the healthy subject (reagent) on whom the percussion diagnosis was performed. It was found that the blood carried all the radiations of the body from which it had been drawn, and could therefore be used as a substitute for the presence of the patient in the examining room. With the blood in the metal cup connected to the healthy subject, the diagnostic tests performed on that subject produced the same tunings and measurements as those prevailing when the patient (from whom the blood had been drawn) was personally connected to the reagent, through the tuning controls.

Since the blood flowed through every organ, gland and tissue of the body, it was reasonable to assume that all the radiations from those organs, glands and tissues would be absorbed by the blood including the radiations of any diseases present. This theory was later proven independently by the blood crystallizations method developed by the late Dr. Ehrenfried Pfieffer. He perfected a technique for evaporating a small amount of blood in a copper sulphate solution. Crystalline patterns were formed, each different disease resulting in a different pattern.

The blood came to be used in the E.R.A. method (and later in radionics by some of the practitioners), in dried form, on a piece of blotting paper or other absorbent paper; this is in contrast to laboratory procedures, for which the blood is used, in liquid form. Since liquid blood spoils rapidly, it has to be mixed with a quantity of preservative. For the purpose of E.R.A. or radionic tests, a preservative must not be used, since it adds a strong foreign vibration or radiation of its own. Since dried blood serves equally well as liquid blood for the purpose of E.R.A. or radionic tests, the blood came to be used in dried form to avoid the use of preservatives.

The use of blood specimens broadened the utility of E.R.A. method but introduced special problems. One of the problems was that of contamination. Both the E.R.A. and the radionic method are extremely sensitive, to the extent that if someone other than the patient handled the piece of paper on which the patient’s blood specimen was placed, even a very slight amount of skin perspiration from the other person would place that person’s radiations into the paper, to a degree. The result was that the practitioner would then likely detect the combined radiations of the two individuals — the patient, and the Doctor or other person who had handled the specimens. This of course led to detecting and reporting of ailments or conditions not present in the patient. When this was discovered, special precautions were laid down for the preparation of blood specimens, to keep them free from contamination. However, those who would try to trick the practitioner were not interested in observing such precautions.

Another disadvantage of the use of blood specimens lay in the fact that the door was opened to trickery of various kinds. For example, blood specimens from animals and poultry were sent to the Doctor, ostensibly as human blood specimens. When the reports came back listing the various diseases found, the method was derided and ridiculed, Actually, the same trick can be successfully perpetrated on medical laboratories, since the laboratory work required to perform blood counts does not disclose whether the specimen is from a human or from an animal! The blood count ranges differ somewhat, but only to the extent that a reading that would be normal for some of the animals occurs frequently in humans who are ill. Animals and poultry are subject to the same toxic and infectious diseases as are humans; primates have the same organs and glands as do humans, quadrupeds have most of the organs, glands and other structures of humans. Poultry are now being used as the subject of spin tests in the astronaut program “because their circulatory system is so similar to that of humans”. The reports of disease radiations found in the animal specimens did not in the least invalidate the method, but those unskilled in a new field are quite prone to unthinkingly accept adverse criticism that seems logical on the surface.

In modern radionics there are tuning rates to differentiate human and animal specimens; however this requires extra checking and so are not always used.

EVOLUTION OF THE DETECTION METHOD

In the evolvement of the Abrams method of detecting disease radiations, the next step taken was the abandonment of the percussion tests, and in their place the adoption of the method of rubbing or stroking the abdomen of the healthy subject, with a glass rod. The percussion method of eliciting the signals or responses required a very high degree of skill, and was too difficult to teach to others. The use of the glass rod, while not easy to learn, at least proved possible for some others besides Dr. Abrams. In the use of the rod, the ease with which it slipped over the abdominal surface was noted. A significant manifestation occurred when the rod appeared to “stick” over a particular abdominal area, where more energy or force was required to move it a given distance on the skin of the subject. This phenomenon of “sticking” occurred in conjunction with tunings for disease and would disappear when the volume measurement control was advanced to a setting indicative of a strength of radiation greater than that which was being received.

COLORED LIGHT AND DISEASE

A further development was the addition of colored lights to shine on some element of the detecting circuit. These were said to have been originally suggested to Dr. Abrams by a Dr. McManus, an osteopath from Kirksville, Mo. The original colors used were red, yellow, green and blue, in addition to incandescent light of nonspecific color, termed “white light”. A selector switch was incorporated, permitting the use of any one of those lights, or the use of no light. The reason for the use of colored light was because it was found that certain disease radiations manifested more strongly in the presence of specific colors of light. Thus the TB radiation was stronger and more easily detected when the red light was used; staph. radiation was stronger when the blue light was on; strep. was more readily detected with green light; and inflammation came in more clearly when the yellow light was used. Bacteria, cold or flu toxins manifested better when white light was turned on.

We have seen that the evolvement of the detection method of E.R.A. arose mainly through Dr. Abrams’ endeavors to improve his techniques of physical diagnosis, with the direction of these endeavors influenced by Professor de Sauer’s concepts. In contrast, the development of the Abrams treating equipment was from the start a project directed specifically toward the goal of neutralizing or eliminating disease radiations by electronic means.

Dr. Abrams was convinced that the most effective treating current would have to be low enough in amplitude to avoid heating the body tissues and also would avoid causing any pain or discomfort. A further feature of the equipment was that it should be capable of being tuned to the radiational frequency of the specific disease to be overcome. This was a major advance in therapy. The Abrams treating equipment operated in the short-wave band, but differed from short-wave diathermy in many ways, including the following:

1. 1. Short-wave diathermy uses heavy power which heats the body tissues. The Abrams treatment equipment purposely avoided heating up the tissues.
   2. Short-wave diathermy operates on one frequency only. The benefits or advantages of tuning or frequency selections are lost when enough power is applied to heat the body tissues. The Abrams equipment incorporated the beginning of the principle of tuning the treatment current to influence the disease radiation, by offering a choice of eleven different frequencies.
   3. Short-wave diathermy current is not interrupted. Interruption of such heavy treating current, which has for its goal the production of heat, would slow down the heating of the body, and require longer treatments. In contrast, the Abrams equipment used an interrupted or pulsed current, for better results in therapy.
   4. Another difference lay in the high degree of damping of the current from the Abrams equipment.

Several parts of the short-wave band were used by Abrams and his immediate successors at different times, but most of the work was done in the lower third of the 43-megacycle band. In the Oscilloclast, the final form of the Abrams treating instrument, the eleven treatment frequencies (from which the operator selected one at a time by means of push-buttons) were in the range of 43.000 megacycles to 43.357 megacycles. (This is in the 10-meter band of very high radio frequencies and just below the television bands. Channel 2 starts at 54.000 megacycles. RHC) Some of these eleven frequencies were designated for the treatment of specific diseases or groups of diseases, as the result of correlations found between disease emanations and short-wave radio frequencies in the detection research. The other treatment frequencies were for the stimulation of function of major organs such as the liver and spleen. It was considered that an interrupted current was more effective than a continuous current, with the combination of high frequency and low power used.

For over twenty years the Abrams treating equipment used mechanical means of interruption of the current output, termed the “tic toc” apparatus, due to its similarity to the pendulum of a clock. The mechanical making and breaking of the circuit produces periodic sparks, The spark itself is known to have some therapeutic value, as witness the Lakhovsky multi-wave oscillators, and the S. S. Knight machines.

In 1958, quite a few years after Dr. Abrams’ death, when radio circuitry with vacuum tubes had become well established, the mechanical means of interrupting the treatment current was abandoned by the Foundation carrying on Dr. Abrams’ work. From then on, the current instead was chopped or pulsed electronically, by an oscillating circuit using vacuum tubes and a condenser. The condenser discharged periodically. There were some practitioners who felt the earlier Abrams treating units using the mechanical make and break were superior.

When the Abrams treatment equipment was in use, the output current, at low voltage and very low amperage, was conducted to the patient by connecting wires attached to metal electrodes placed dry on the patient’s skin. Besides the pulsed, damped short-wave treatment output, variable in tuning to the extent already mentioned, the apparatus also delivered another type of treating current — namely an alternating magnetic current, applied through a separate set of electrodes.

The Abrams treatment instruments, the Oscilloclast and the Oscillotron, are now of interest more for their historical than for their therapeutic value. While they undoubtedly produced some favorable results in many cases that had not yielded to orthodox methods, the length of time and number of treatments required to produce a given result were far greater than for modern radionic equipment. The differences between Abrams treatment equipment and radionic treating units will be outlined in a later instalment of this series.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUBBING PLATE OR DIAPHRAGM

From the time Dr. Abrams gave his first class to doctors in the use of the E.R.A. diagnostic method in the middle of the second decade of this century, efforts started on the part of some of his followers to see if the use of the human “reagent” could be eliminated. There were three disadvantages to the use of the reagent (healthy subject on whose abdomen the responses were elicited); these disadvantages were of three types — technical, human and financial. The technical problem lay in the difficulty of finding a person who was completely healthy, free of toxicity, with all organs, glands and types of tissue functioning at par. Any deficiency of function, disease radiation or toxicity in the reagent, would be combined with the reactions of the patient, so that the responses would be a mixture of the factors from the two individuals, instead of solely from the patient.

The human problem lay in the fact that very few individuals were willing to stand for long periods of time with abdomen bared, while submitting to the percussion procedure or the stroking of the abdominal skin repeatedly with glass or plastic rods for the purpose of compiling the patient’s electronic analysis data. The economic or financial factor was the necessity for paying for two individuals’ time for each analysis — that of the doctor or other person who operated the equipment, and that of the reagent on whose abdomen the reflex indications were detected.

Dr. Earl Smith, one of those who took Dr. Abrams’ first class in E.R.A. method, reasoned “What is the difference between rubbing a glass-rod on the skin, or rubbing the skin over a piece of glass?” From this question, experimentation began on a set-up in which the operator used his own skin for the purpose of detecting the radiations involved, specifically, the skin of the underside of the operator’s fingers, particularly the balls of the finger-tips and the areas just back of the balls. These skin areas were used for the purpose of stroking the glass plates or slides. The patient’s radiations were conducted to the glass by means of a connecting wire or wires from the tuner, leading to a metal coin or disc placed underneath the glass plate. It was found that glass had to be covered with a certain type of coating, in order that the “stick” could be obtained in accordance with appropriate settings of the tuning and volume-measurement controls in relation to the patient’s radiations.

Various substances for the coating were tried, including india ink, photographer’s re-touching fluid, photographic emulsions, etc. Later it was found that other substances could be used instead of a glass plate; these tried included rubber, leather, wood, and plastic. Rubber was difficult to learn to use, though once mastered, some operators liked it. Leather gave a strong “stick” but required a heavy stroke. Some plastics were very sensitive and gave a stick easily, but also had the fault of giving false sticks — that is, signals when none should have been given. Certain fine-grained hardwoods were preferable, at least for many of the operators. For this purpose, mahogany and manzanita were fairly good. Brazilian rosewood or macumba were among the best. (Rosewood fingerboards are common on stringed musical instruments. RHC.)

While the stroking of the reagent’s abdomen with a rod was not quite as difficult as the original Abrams method of diagnosis by percussion, it still was quite far up in the scale of difficulty, and very few could be found who could be successfully trained in the method. A good rubbing plate assembly was noticeably less difficult to learn to use, hence it became possible to enlarge the field of practise to include more substantial numbers of practitioners. The rubbing plate became an integral feature of radionic equipment, while E.R.A. retained the use of the reagent. The E.R.A. method has died out since the Electronic Medical Foundation went out of existence some years ago (the organization to which Dr. Abrams willed his fortune, for carrying on his work). Radionics continues to be used openly and freely in England, to a lesser extent in some other European countries, and on a reduced scale in the United States due to pressures brought to bear against it in recent years by the forces of orthodoxy.

The second half of the decade of 1920-1930 witnessed the development of four types of radionic equipment, all more advanced than the Abrams E.R.A. apparatus, and each having its own particular features. These four types were:

1. The Calbro Magnowave
2. The Pathoclast
3. The Radioclast
4. The Drown equipment

Each of these types will be described in this series, as they all played a part in the development of the art.

The Calbro Magnowave had the greatest tuning scope of any of the four, including on its tuner panel. Four horizontal rows of tuning dials, six dials per row, giving a total of 24 dials. This permitted the use of more advanced technique than could be utilized on the other types of equipment. Other features of the Calbro Magnowave:

1. A rubbing plate warmed by a built-in, low power electric heating element. It was found easier to elicit signals on a rubbing plate kept warm.
2. A slotted-screw adjustment for tuning the rubbing plate assembly.
3. A button which, when pressed, would clear the instrument of all accumulated radiations. This sometimes was of help to avoid carry over of radiations from one condition to another, and was always of use when changing from one patient to another.
4. A specimen well into which a test vial containing a sample of a vitamin, mineral, food or remedy could be inserted, to ascertain what effect the radiations from the test substance would have upon the patient’s organ functions and disease readings.
5. A treatment circuit which for the first time used the same type of tuning for treatment as for the diagnostic procedures. This permitted the art of radionic treating to be developed to a far higher peak of selectivity and effectiveness. It opened the door to a tremendous variety of treatment effects, such as had never been known previously. Most of the remainder of this instalment will be devoted to the treatment aspect of the Calbro Magnowave.

Previous use of radionic treating had been on the basis of one tuning for each type of disease. However it was learned that, for example, strep in the liver required a different treating rate for effective elimination than for strep in the thyroid, and similarly a different treating rate was required for treating that bacteria out of each different organ or gland in the body. Also, the treatment rate that will most effectively eliminate strep (to continue to use an example) from one person’s liver will not be the rate that will most thoroughly eliminate it from another person’s liver! Every individual has different bio-chemical and electro-chemical reactions, just as every individual has different finger-prints and foot-prints. These differences mean that only by individualized or personalized adjustment of treatment tunings can the quickest and most thorough results be obtained.

The prime virtue of the Calbro Magnowave is that for the first time it permitted the utilization of “personal” treatment rates, individually developed for each patient, for the most thorough elimination of disease factors from specific organs, glands or other tissues of that particular person. This was done by providing pre precise matching of individual bio-electric radiations in specific organs of the person, as altered by specific disease factors. This introduced a degree of precision into therapeutics which far outmatched anything available in medical practise to this day, over no years later.

Personal treatment rates are only possible when the tuning apparatus in the treatment circuit is of the same type as used in the diagnostic circuits. Also, personal treatment rates cannot be satisfactorily used on instruments of limited tuning scope such as the Pathoclast or Drown instruments, and most of the Radioclast models. With the Calbro Magnowave, and successor instruments to be described later, the operator first performs the diagnostic analysis and determines which organs require treatment and also determines what disease conditions should be eliminated. Usually there is more than one disease condition or type of tissue pathology, and more than one organ that needs attention. Choosing the condition and organ to be treated first, the tunings for the condition and the organ are placed on the tuner panel, the intensity of the adverse condition in that organ is noted, then the tuning dials on the treatment row are brought into play, from one end of the row to the other, the operator determining for each dial the setting that will best neutralize the disease condition in the organ or location involved. This determination is made by means of resonance detected on the rubbing plate, which is used constantly during the period of time in which the operator is developing the personal treating rate.

The procedure is not automatic, and results vary with the skill of the operator. Assuming a competent, skillful operator, the procedure opened up a whole new field of therapy. It permitted conditions to be cured which hitherto could not be touched — examples will be given toward the end of this series. Right now, the nature of the treatment current should be mentioned.

In contrast to the Abrams Oscilloclast, which used a small number of short-wave radio frequencies for treatment, the Calbro Magnowave and successor instruments used the emanation from one side of the 110-volt house current, tuned radionically by the treatment row of tuning dials.

In conventional electricity it is not generally known that a current can be obtained from one side of the electric line — from the “hot” side only. However, the fact that such a current is obtainable is known to some radar experts, as it is a disturbing factor in radar. The presence of such a current can be readily demonstrated with a 1/25th watt neon test bulb: connecting one terminal of the bulb to the hot side of the alternating current line, the bulb will light dimly when its other terminal is touched with the finger.

This current, obtainable from one side of the alternating current line, is extremely low in magnitude; thus it does not disturb or upset the normal flow of nerve energy in the human being. It is therefore an ideal carrier wave for the subtle effects of the tunings introduced by the radionic treatment dial settings — effects which would largely be lost or seriously overwhelmed by more gross electrical currents such as the sine wave or faradic.

Any Calbro Magnowave instruments that may still be in existence inevitably have badly corroded, worn or loose contacts due to the age of the equipment, and would need to be completely rebuilt in order to function properly.

The First word of the name, “Calbro Magnowave”, was obtained from the last names, Caldwell and Bronson, of the two men who formed the company that developed and made the equipment. The second word was coined. Over a thousand of these instruments were said to have been sold during the late nineteen twenties and early thirties. It was the first radionic instrument to attain such a side sale, and possibly the only one that did so. A convention of users of the equipment adopted the term “radionic” as descriptive of the equipment, and at the same convention an association of users was formed, termed the “International Radionic Association”, which continued in existence for nearly thirty years.

Around 1926, Dr. Wigelsworth and his company, the Pathometric Corporation, produced the Pathoclast, of which a number of models were manufactured during ensuing years. It differed from previous equipment in two significant respects — the use of variable condensors for tuning, and the inclusion of vacuum tubes for amplification.

Tuning was accomplished by means of a large dial for each variable condenser, the dials were calibrated 0 to 100 in 1 or 2 degree divisions. There were two dials per tuning row, and two or three rows, depending upon the model. On a 2 row instrument, the upper row could be used for condition tuning rates and the lower row for visceral (organ) tuning rates. A tuning rate encompassed settings of both left and right hand dials; with each dial capable of being set at any of 100 positions, the total possible number of tuning rates per row therefore was 100 x 100 or a total of 10000; while this may seem to be quite a large number, yet it falls far short of the million-plus combinations possible with a tuning row on the Calbro Magnowave, which incorporated 6 dials each of which could be set anywhere from zero to 10 in unit steps. Many tuning rates used on the Calbro Magnowave and successor instruments had no representation on the Pathoclast so could not be used on it or on any condensor-tuned equipment.

Since the tuning equipment was fundamentally different for condensor tuned apparatus, the tuning rates were not transferable from one type of instrument to the other. Nevertheless, within the scope of tuning usable on condenser-tuned equipment, much valuable diagnostic and therapeutic work could he done by an operator experienced in the use of that type of equipment.

Some years later, Mr. T. G. Hieronymous, an electrical engineer, developed the Electro-Biometer, which incorporated a number of improvements over the Pathoclast, and was the most advanced condenser-tuned radionic instrument ever made. It included facilities for charging vials of water with a radionic treatment rate selected for the patient. The rate-charged water could then be given to the patient to drink or administered by hypodermic injection. Treatment rates could also be given from the instrument in the customary manner, with the treatment output being led by wires to electrodes placed on the body surface.

Both the Pathoclast and the Electro-Biometer used vacuum tubes for amplification. It was hoped by many and believed by some, that the vacuum tubes amplified the radiations from the patient which were utilised in the radionic diagnosis, but this was never proven. In fact, quite a few operators found they could use the equipment for diagnostic analysis just as effectively when the power supply current was shut off. Since the application of the house current was necessary to activate the vacuum tubes, this indicated that the use of tubes did not actually improve the sensitivity of the equipment in receiving and making manifest the radiations from the patients. Electricity plays no part in the operation of the true radionic detection equipment.

AMPLIFICATION FOR TREATMENT

There was a greater element of success in the use of vacuum tubes to intensify the treatment current. It was round that when this amplification was used, treatment time was considerably shortened, both as to the duration of each treatment, and the number of treatments required to treat out a diseased condition. With condenser-tuned equipment, treatment was accomplished with the tuning dials set at the positions required to detect or receive the condition of disease it was desired to eliminate. By using an odd number of vacuum tubes in the amplifier (usually three), the treatment current was administered in reverse phase, thus neutralizing or cancelling out the disease radiation from the patient.

Transistors should never be used in any radionic treatment circuit, as the transistors contain small amounts of arsenic, selenium, or other elements poisonous to the human organism. If incorporated into a treatment circuit, the radiation of the poisonous metal is conducted into the patient and can produce adverse effect.

In the same fertile period of radionic development, the latter half of the 1920s, the Radioclast came into being. It used 10-step dials like the Calbro Magnowave equipment, but lacked the tuning scope of the latter equipment, as most of the Radioclast models had only a very few tuning dials. Vacuum tubes were included, as in the Pathoclast. The Radioclasts were made in Ohio, and obtained a group of followers, mainly in the Eastern U.S, and up into South-East Canada. Within the handicaps imposed by the limited tuning scope and consequently limited range of treatment technique, a considerable amount of worthwhile work was accomplished.

Radioclast instruments, besides their radionic circuits, included two auxiliary treating circuits using conventional electrical treatment modalities — one was a faradic current.

In the latter part of the 1920, Ruth Drown, D.C., who had been taking treatments from a practitioner in Southern California using Abrams equipment, decided to produce a better instrument. She came up with a small one with a total of nine tuning dials arranged in three rows, three dials per row. The dials had 10 steps each, as before. In contrast to other equipment, hers used no power behind the treatment rates. Her theory was that all vibratory rates were ever-present in the atmosphere and being received by the human organism. Tuning the equipment to a particular rate set up a resonant circuit between the equipment and the patient with regard to that rate, intensifying its effect.

Although she and her assistants did some office treating, most of her treatments were given “broadcast” style — that is, the patient’s blood specimen was placed on a metal plate incorporated in her instrument, to which the treatment circuit was connected. In practise, while some individuals with particularly sensitive constitutions could benefit from being connected to a treatment circuit with no power behind it, others did not obtain adequate therapeutic effect. The broadcasting of treatments further attenuated the effect. Again, some individuals were susceptible to being treated broadcast fashion, while others were not. Apparently no attempt was made to ascertain into which category each patient fell. The result was that some of those who paid a substantial monthly sum for daily broadcast treatment and who did not benefit naturally complained. This was undoubtedly a factor in the legal persecutions brought against Dr. Drown, though her practise of selling treatment instruments to laymen at high prices was also responsible for drawing legal difficulties.

Dr. Drown undoubtedly had a great deal of ability and a very wide range of knowledge; she therefore attracted a group of enthusiastic followers. She called her work “Radio Therapy” and tried to set it apart from radionics. It would seem that her ability and knowledge transcended the limited scope of her equipment.

RADIONIC PHOTOGRAPHY

A very intriguing development of hers was the use of the equipment to produce photographs of internal organs or tissues. The equipment would be tuned to the organ or tissues in the body it was desired to photograph, and a wire from the equipment tuning circuit led to a clip attached to the unexposed film. She accumulated a remarkable series of photos produced this way. There has never been any satisfactory explanation of how this was done. Dr. Drown was not able to merchandise or commercially exploit this method, as it would not always work for her and it rarely worked for anyone else. Apparently it was akin to some form of psychic photography — a unique personal talent. If the person of whom an internal organ photo was to be taken was connected directly to the instrument at the time of the “exposure”, the resulting picture was a view of the outside of the organ tuned in on the equipment. In contrast, if a blood specimen was used, the resulting photo was an inside view of the patient’s organ, assuming in each case that the process was successful.

(The next instalment of this series will consider the De la Warr equipment, and the equipment produced by successors of the Calbro-Magnowave.)

Continuing with a review of the equipment used in this art, the successor to the Calbro Magnowave was the Art Tool & Die Co., of Detroit, Michigan. It produced a variety of models from the middle of the nineteen thirties until 1942, when shortage of electronic parts for civilian use during World War II forced the company to discontinue production.

Just as the Calbro Magnowave was the best instrument of its day, in terms of tuning scope, features and effectiveness, so were the Art Tool & Die Co. instruments the leaders of their periods. The later models made by this company differed in design, and had a number of improvements as compared to the Calbro Magnowave. The number of tuning controls per horizontal row was increased from six to nine. This was done mainly in response to the theoretical and practical advances incorporated in the teaching of a remarkable individual named A. Stanley Rogers, whose work merits a separate instalment in this series. With nine tuning dials per row, the number of possible tuning combinations was still further increased. Accuracy of tuning was enhanced, enabling the instrument to be brought more squarely in resonance with certain factors that had not been adequately expressed in 6-dial tuning rates. Above that, the incorporation of nine dials in the treatment circuit of the instrument brought a very significant improvement in the effectiveness of the personal treatment rates, since they could now be tuned to much greater precision.

At one time, 13-dial tuning rows were tried, but this was abandoned as it was seldom more than nine dials were needed for any diagnostic factor, and it was found that the use of more than nine dials in a treatment rate narrowed the frequency band of delivered impulses to too great an extent. The greater number of tuning dials in the treatment row of controls, the more powerful becomes the therapeutic effect within the band delivered by the treatment circuit, and the narrower becomes the band. Up to a certain point, the increase in therapeutic power produces increasingly better results with the patient. Beyond that point the narrowing of frequency band becomes too great, with the result that some of the band that needs treatment in the patient is missed.

It has been established that the optimum number of dials to use in a horizontal row for the treatment circuit lies between seven and nine. By using an instrument with nine dials per row, the optimum can be obtained for each patient, since if the use of seven dials is required for that purpose, two of the dials in the treating row can be left at zero and with have no effect. The result is as if one had a seven-dial-per-row instrument; while with another patient for whom the use of nine dials is desirable in the treating circuit, all nine can be brought into use.

SAVING TIME

A feature added by the Art Tool & Die Co. was tuning rates which could be taken in or out of the circuitry by means of toggle switches. This added nothing to the effectiveness of the equipment, but was a great convenience to the busy practitioner as it saved time in checking the rates for which toggle switches were provided. It meant that instead of having to set several tuning dials in turn at specific settings in order to incorporate a particular tuning rate, all the operator had to do was to flip the toggle switch designated for that rate and it would be placed in the circuit. Flipping the toggle back to its “off” position removed the corresponding tuning rate from the circuit. There were two rows of those toggle switches, one row for visceral or organ tuning rates, the other row for condition rates. The addition of tuning rates that could be taken in or out of use by toggle switches considerably increased the complexity of the circuitry and therefore the cost of the equipment.

Besides time saved by using tuning rates controlled by toggle switches, there was the additional advantage that more factors could be incorporated into the circuit at a time. For example, if a type of toxicity was found in the patient, such as strep or staph, the tuning rate for the toxic factor could be left in the circuit and then different organs could be checked to determine how many of them this toxic factor had invaded. Each of the tunings for organs having that factor would then be left in the circuit — perhaps five or six or even more. Then the personal treatment rate could be worked up, to treat the toxic factor out of all the organs that had been affected by it. This could not be done with one rate on instruments not having the toggle switches for tuning rates, as the control panel would not incorporate tuning for that many organs at one time.

As in so many fields, an advantage in one direction brings a disadvantage in another direction. Using the toggle switches was so much easier than setting individual rates on the tuning dials that operators tended to restrict their analysis to the limited number of factors for which toggles had been provided. This sometimes resulted in failure to perform the amount of analytical checking required to uncover the principle factors involved in a patient’s illness.

Before leaving the Art Tool & Die Co., mention should be made of their automatic instrument, an ambitious project which came very close to providing an instrument that would register the readings automatically instead of requiring the operator to rub a plate. The instrument was terms the Electro-Metabograph; it was quite large and impressive, had many radio-type vacuum tubes, and fed its output into a cathode-ray tube for visual sighting  of the radionic impulses. A few dozen of these instruments were made, sold and placed in operation. They seemed to work satisfactorily for a while, but the circuitry was unstable and difficult to keep balanced. When un-balanced, the instruments became inaccurate in diagnosis and ineffective for treatment. The company had just one man who was able to keep the instruments balanced, or to re-balance them when they went out of order. When this particular man retired, no one else could be found who could perform the necessary adjustments. Therefore the owners either discontinued the Electro-Metabographs or had a rubbing plate installed for hand operation.

TESTING COMBINATIONS OF REMEDIES

Kenneth Hunter had worked for Art Tool & Die Co. prior to World War II. At conclusion of the war, Mr. Hunter started producing instruments using essentially the same circuitry by with different exterior design features. The specimen well was made considerably larger, so that combinations of vitamins, minerals or food supplements could be checked for the patient. Rates controlled by toggle switches incorporated, as with the later models of the Art Tool & Die Co. The Hunter instruments were installed in beautiful cabinets. Several hundreds of his instruments were sold, mainly in California, but a few of them were used in the Pacific Northwest and in states farther East.

Mark L. Gallert, N.D., followed the general line of development from the Calbro Magnowave, Art Tool & Die, and Hunter instruments, but added a number of fundamental improvements, to make the equipment more sensitive, and easier to operator. Three tuning controls were introduced in the circuit to the metallic element under the rubbing plate, one for the purpose of tuning the detector plate to the characteristics of the operator, and two for tuning the instrument to the radiational characteristics of the environment in which it is used.

Instead of one metallic element under the detector or rubbing plate, two were used, of different metals and of different sizes and shapes. The detector assembly in the Gallert equipment was composed of seven layers, all of different materials, and each with a characteristic pattern different from that of the pattern of any of the other layers. The shapes were purposely non-symmetrical. The combined result of these and other improvements was that the period of time required for a new operator to learn how to operate the equipment is greatly reduced, and it can be operated easier and with less energy expended.

Other improvements involved variable coupling between patient input, the tuner, and the treatment output. This enabled each instrument to be tuned to peak efficiency. The specimen well had a separate section assigned to it, with the factor of directional light separated from the factor of color ray, as Gallert found there had been confusion between the effects of the two factors in previous equipment. Also the method of inter-connecting the five rows of tuning dials, nine dials per row, was changed from a straight series circuit to a special arrangement which is neither series nor parallel, and appeared better adapted to the purposes of the equipment. Only a limited number of these instruments were made, as their production was never a commercial undertaking. When any company goes into the business of making radionic equipment to sell at a profit, there is inevitably the pressure to sell as many instruments as possible. This usually results in selling instruments to some who lack the necessary capabilities, education or training for proper use.

(The next instalment in this series will consider the radionic equipment produced in England.)

The late George de la Warr of England, first developed his radionic instrument after seeing the Drown instrument. De la Warr instruments are similar to the Drown instrument in having only a small number of tuning dials, which greatly limits the tuning scope of the equipment, and are also similar in the lack of power for use in treating, lack of a heater for the rubbing plate or detector element, and lack of a clearing circuit, among other features used on the larger and better radionics instruments that were formerly available in the U.S.

De la Warr instruments differ from Drown instruments in a number of respects, including:

1. the use of a rotatable magnet,
2. Connection of each tuning control to a central area or mixing platform, instead of using series connections.

The latter difference changes the resonance characteristics considerably, and one of the results is that diagnostic and treatment rates are not transferable between the de la Warr instruments and the other makes of equipment.

It is unfortunate that for many years, the entire radionic movement in England has been handicapped by the built-in limitations of the Drown type of equipment. Very recently, we hear that larger instruments are now being produced by another source in England; the details of their construction have not yet reached us.

George de la Warr established a laboratory in Oxford, England, employed very competent personnel, and a great deal of valuable research, both theoretical and practical, issued from that source. Langston Day’s book “New Worlds Beyond The Atom” gave the results of some of the theoretical research. Charting the fundamental ray patterns of the different elements found on earth was one of the major achievements. On the practical side, the effects of the different frequencies of sound for healing were established, also a great deal of work was done in the use for healing of various electro-magnetic wave patterns, impressed on recording tapes and delivered to localized body areas of the patient by means of vibrator heads driven by tape recorder output.

De la Warr laboratories also originated a radionic camera — different from the Drown photographic process, in that de la Warr’s used an optical system in addition to the radionic connections. But as with Drown’s, it would work only when operated by a person with very special characteristics, so is still in the psychic phenomena realm. There is a great deal more therapeutic freedom in England than in the United States; radionics can be and is openly practised in England, principally by lay practitioners.

There is another radionic instrument available from England, namely that produced by Bruce Copen. He has an organization that issues courses in radionics, Naturopathy, herbal therapy, etc. and advertises from time to time in magazines in the U.S. Unfortunately his instrument is even less adequate than either Drown’s or de la Warr’s. Besides being as small with as few tuning controls, it lacks a rubbing plate. Detection is made with the aid of a pendulum. It is therefore not a true radionic instrument at all, but rather a hybrid affair!

There are a few practitioners who can do excellent work with a pendulum, but they are rare. It seems to us that it is more difficult for most aspirants to achieve accuracy with a pendulum than with a radionic rubbing plate.

Both Copen and de la Warr Laboratories have indulged in the practise of selling their instruments by mail, for those who do not find it convenient to come for personal instruction. To sell any type of radionic diagnostic instrument without personal instruction is in our opinion a very unfortunate practise, since it is very rare that a newcomer entering this field can learn to operate the equipment properly by himself. Personal guidance by an experienced practitioner is essential if the proper technique is to be acquired, and without the right technique, results are likely to lack accuracy.

This completes the review of the various types of radionic equipment that have been developed and utilized during a period of over 50 years. We shall now turn our attention to some fundamental aspects, together with results obtainable and problems involved.

As originally developed, there seemed to be no system or logical correlation between the various radionic tuning rates for conditions and for body organs. This lack of system continued until the early nineteen thirties, when a remarkable and very fruitful series of experiments were made by an electrical engineer, T. G. Hieronymous, and A. Stanley Rogers, who later became an outstanding teacher of radionics. The procedure used for these experiments included the use of a battery-operated Calbro Magnowave radionic instrument by A. Stanley Rogers inside a tent staked down on a Kansas prairie. The tent was completely closed so that one could not see out of it. Hieronymous would bury a quantity Qf metal at different distances, different depths, and different directions from the tent. Each time the metal was buried, Rogers would operate the Calbro Magnowave and find out which tunings would most strongly bring in the radiations from the buried metal. This was done day after day until a great deal of data had been accumulated. From this data some very significant principles emerged. They formed the basis for the first and in fact the only methodical, systematic, scientific system of radionics. These principles will be discussed in the next instalment of this series.

References

1. Abrams, Albert. New Concepts in Diagnosis and Treatment: Physico-clinical Medicine, the Practical Application of the Electronic Theory in the Interpretation and Treatment of Disease: with an Appendix on New Scientific Facts. San Francisco, Calif: Philopolis Press, 1916. Print. [Digital: <http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001588073>; reprints are available through BSRF in our classic xerographic format: <#B0210, “New Concepts in Diagnosis and Treatment”>]
2. Abrams, Albert. Human Energy. San Francisco: Philopolis Press, 1914. Print. [Digital: <http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008904901>; reprints are available through BSRF in our classic xerographic format: <#B0211, “Human Energy”>]
3. Abrams, Albert. Spondylotherapy: Physio and Pharmacotherapy and Diagnostic Methods Based on a Study of Clinical Physiology. San Francisco: Philopolis Press, 1914. Print. [Digital: <http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/002089090>; reprints are available through BSRF in our classic xerographic format: <#B0177, “Spondylotherapy”>]- An introductory review of Abrams and his work can be found in “ERA: Electronic Reactions of Abrams” (#B0025).
4. Day, Gerald W. L., and George de la Warr. New Worlds Beyond the Atom. London: V. Stuart, 1957. Print