February 26, 1997: Project S.T.R.A.T. UFO's - John Shepherd | Mel's Hole Update
The Art Bell Archive · Arthur William Bell III
August 26, 20233h 27m
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Show Notes
John Shepherd, a self-taught electronics enthusiast from rural Michigan, has spent his entire adult life converting his grandparents' home into a massive ultra-low-frequency transmitter designed to attract UFOs. Art Bell walks listeners through astonishing photographs on his website showing an 18-foot-tall resonator array, high-voltage coupling stations reaching 150,000 volts, and rooms overtaken by floor-to-ceiling racks of hand-built equipment. Shepherd explains he chose extremely low frequencies after observing that UFOs are drawn to 60-hertz power lines, and he broadcasts music and tonal sequences at up to 1,000 watts in the 40-hertz range.
Shepherd recounts the childhood sighting that set him on this path, his grandmother's willing investment of her life savings into the project, and early experiments that appeared to attract unexplained aerial objects. He describes building custom capacitor banks from glass plates and hand-wound magnetic coils, blowing up equipment in spectacular high-voltage failures, and the constant struggle to fund his obsession.
The episode opens with a stunning final fax from Mel Waters announcing he has leased his property to an unnamed party in exchange for monthly payments, immigration funds for Australia, and the promise that his remains will someday be disposed of in the hole. Art reads the farewell message as Mel's Hole passes into what Mel himself calls urban mythology.
Shepherd recounts the childhood sighting that set him on this path, his grandmother's willing investment of her life savings into the project, and early experiments that appeared to attract unexplained aerial objects. He describes building custom capacitor banks from glass plates and hand-wound magnetic coils, blowing up equipment in spectacular high-voltage failures, and the constant struggle to fund his obsession.
The episode opens with a stunning final fax from Mel Waters announcing he has leased his property to an unnamed party in exchange for monthly payments, immigration funds for Australia, and the promise that his remains will someday be disposed of in the hole. Art reads the farewell message as Mel's Hole passes into what Mel himself calls urban mythology.