At the Treasure Show, Mr. Thomas was displaying three models: the “Night Hawk” ($995), the “Raven” ($1595), and the “Oro Grande” ($1995). This report covers the “Raven.” Shown in Figure 1, the Raven consists of a control box with a swivel handle, and 3 antennae protruding from the front. The control box, shown in Figure 2, has a power switch, battery test button, a small knob marked “Discrim.”, and a large vernier control that is labeled “Frequency Select.”

However, the Raven came with a video tape which shows Mr. Thomas demonstrating the features of two other Treasure Scope devices. The quality of the video is extremely poor — it appears to have been taped at a public park, with some excessive background noise, and the recording quality indicated that it was at least a third or fourth generation copy.

The video covers the “Model II” and the “Quad”. The Model II, which looks very similar to the Raven, has a main antenna and two side antennae, making the scan “narrow side-to-side but broad vertically”, about +/- 70 degrees we’re told. It is made to use with a metal detector. The Quad adds two more “parasitic” antennae which, as Thomas explains, focuses the scan in the vertical direction, so that pinpointing can be achieved without a metal detector.

In the video, Mr. Thomas shows how to select the desired target mode, by setting the vernier control to the number indicated by the label on the back of the box. He also explains that the center antenna should be fully extended, with the “parasitic” antennae mostly extended. The device is swept just like other swivel box -type dowsing locators (such as the Electroscope), and the user should feel a “hesitation” as the antennae sweep by a desired target. He claims that 2 silver dollars have been detected at a range of 1/4 mile.

In his video, Mr. Thomas describes how he has used his Treasure Scope in a test situation at treasure clubs, and also related this story at the treasure show seminar. He said he takes gold, silver, diamond, and paper money samples, and club members can “wrap them up in foil, they can put them in a steel box and shut the lid, and from across the room I’m able to detect what’s in the box with 100% accuracy.” This, of course, is a highly testable claim.

Besides pitching his wares at treasure shows and detecting clubs, Mr. Thomas also sells the “Raven” ($1595) — as well as a model called the “Thunder Stick” ($895) — through a dowsing rod salesman named Bob Fitzgerald (www.treasurenow.com). His web site states that the Raven does not transmit a frequency, but “is an electronic RECEIVER ONLY that detects undisturbed resonant frequencies that the locator is precisely tuned to. Furthermore, Fitzgerald includes the following paragraph on the Raven:

The claim that “it receives a frequency that is the same as the resonant frequency of the object you are looking for” is false. The concept of a buried treasure emitting frequencies on its own is nothing but pure fantasy, and the general claim that a dowsing device can detect any kind of emination, from buried treasure or otherwise, is nothing but a delusion. The claim that “it has good depth and can detect objects of approximately one quarter of a mile distance, depending on size and length of time buried” implies that it can detect buried objects about a quarter mile away, which is false. The specific claim that the Raven can detect “small items, (coins, jewelry, etc.)” a distances of “approximately 50 – 100 yards” is false. The Raven cannot detect buried objects at all. It can, however, detect AM radio stations from many miles away.

At the Texas Treasure Show, I saw Mr. Thomas performing a demonstration of the Raven, using it to “detect” his gold ring, which was laying in clear view on his table. I asked if he could still detect his ring when he could not see it, and did not know where it was. He said he could, so I challenged him to a simple test using paper cups to conceal the ring. He was highly reluctant to do this, but finally agreed. Although he had been demonstrating his LRLs during the treasure show with 100% “success”, when we did the paper cup test, he failed to locate the ring even once in six attempts. This is explained in more detail in the Treasure Scope Test article.

My own tests of the Raven failed to produce any response whatsoever. The device gave no indication for a 10-ounce gold bar, a 10-ounce silver bar, and a stack of 20 one-dollar bills, even when the targets were very close, and plainly visible. However, because operator skill might play a role, the best test is one in which an experienced user demonstrates the device. Generally, the most experienced user should be the manufacturer himself, and so I offer my $25,000 prize money to Jim Thomas, if he can successfully demonstrate that one of his LRL devices works. Since prior knowledge of target locations could influence the response a user feels, demonstrations should always be performed using a double-blind protocol, which will closely replicate field conditions, where target locations are completely unknown.

Jim Thomas has already refused my prior offer of $10,000 for a successful demonstration, and has also refused James Randi’s offer of $1 million for the same.

Total material cost on the Raven is around $30. The other Treasure Scope models I’ve personally seen — the Quad, Ore Grande, and Nighthawk — are also dowsing devices, and I suspect that all the other Treasure Scope devices are dowsing rods as well. Externally, the Raven has a homemade look to it (as do the other Treasure Scope devices), of about the same quality as other LRLs I’ve seen. Internally, it was also about as sloppy as other typical LRLs.

The AM radio circuit has no real physical function in the operation of the device. The only purpose of the circuitry is to make an ordinary dowsing device look “technical”, in order to justify a ridiculous price. The instruction manual and video are of poor quality. The operational theory of the Raven is bogus. The claim that the Raven will mechanically lock on a target, is false. The claim that the Raven will detect any “object”, is false. The only “things” the Raven is capable of detecting, are AM stations, gravity, and strong wind. The Raven is complete and utter nonsense.