Nikola Tesla Books
September 11
Tesla probably thought that he would more easily detect standing waves in the vicinity of the laboratory if the wavelength was shorter. He assumed that the ball-cable system would produce waves which could be registered by the receiver. However, although he measured the electromagnetic field up to a mile away, he probably did not find the expected variation, and could only conclude that electrical disturbances were registered.
September 11
He continued the experiments started two days ago with the intention of finding the nodes in the ground waves. He adjusted the oscillator to produce waves of somewhat higher frequencies than common ones, probably with the intention to get nodes of "standing" waves in the ground closer to the laboratory. The electromagnetic field he measures with the apparatus in Fig. 2, very slightly changed with relation to the previous one (please see Sept. 5, Fig. 3). Although he registered a signal at one mile distance from the laboratory, he does not mention how the signal varied with regard to distance.