Thomas Edison may not have succeeded in developing a device to talk to the deceased, but that hasn't stopped others from trying. One of the most notable examples was a German researcher, Klaus Schreiber (1925-1988). According to this online article, Schreiber "was a cheerful, kind man and loved friends and parties, but his life was marked by heavy losses and economic hardship." After marrying his first wife Gertrud in 1946, Schreiber endured a number of sorrows in his life: after their fourth child Karin was born in 1960, his wife died shortly after childbirth. Their son Robert was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1968 at the age of 22. Their daughter Karin then suffered a workplace injury in 1978 at the age of 18, dying herself shortly thereafter.
All of these tragic events may have been enough to destroy Schreiber's life, when in fact it was only the beginning of many weird and unexplainable events for him. After listening to some radio programs on EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena), Schreiber decided to do some experimenting of his own. Quoting from the aforementioned article again:
"On a morning of 1982, Klaus was listening to the show "Incredible Stories" (amazing stories), on RTL (Radio Télévision Luxembourg), about the electronic voice phenomena, [wihch] was the moment that changed his life. Klaus, on the same night, during a meeting with friends in the basement of his house, decided to comment on what was heard in the morning on the radio about EVP. After discussion with his friends, Klaus decided to do an experiment. He got a tape recorder, put a [blank] tape and started a recording, addressed to Peter, [who was] a deceased friend of all those present at the meeting. To everyone's surprise, Peter responded [on the tape]: 'Hello, friends!'" Most of Schreiber's friends were so shocked that they left his house, never to return.
Meanwhile, Schreiber began to take on the task of converting his basement into an audio-video experimental lab, utilizing T.V. sets, video camcorders, amplifiers, Ultraviolet lamps, infra-red lamps, and microphones. Enlisting the help of an engineer friend, Martin Wenzel, Schreiber dubbed his system the "Vidicom", which allowed images of the deceased to show up on his T.V. screen. The TCI Seattle article contained the following schematic and goes into more detail on how Schreiber and Wenzel were able to get their assembled device to work:
The components in the schematic were as follows: 1) Video camera; 2) Video amplifier; 3 & 5) video recorders; 4 and 6) black and white TVs; 7) microphone; 8) sound enhancer; 9) UV Lamp; 10) Infrared lamp; 11)Aluminum Foil. According to the article, their device worked in this manner:
"In addition to the UV and Infrared lamps, the lab was lit by ambient and natural light. The UV lamps, infrared and the ambient lighting were combined in a way to create an energy field and illuminate slightly the television screen. The aluminum foil reflected light on the TV screen. With the video camera pointed at the TV and a RCA cable connected, the camera transmitted and filmed the TV's own image, forming a feedback system, where the image of the television was repeated several times, as an infinite mirror. By changing the camera position (angle and distance), increasing or decreasing the zoom, adjusting the focus and controlling the lights reflection , he got on the screen a kind of luminous effect that periodically vibrated or oscillated. The recording time was short, only 1 to 3 minutes, because the video [had to] be analyzed frame-by-frame, and was very time-consuming."
Schreiber was able to capture many images of deceased individuals on the TV screen, apparently able to communicate from the afterlife, including King Ludwig II, Albert Einstein, Austrian actress Romy Schneider, and his own daughter Karin.
Schreiber in his basement lab, with an image of what appears to be his deceased daughter Karin on the television screen.
Even if Schreiber's images are not truly genuine, there quite possibly is something else extraordinary going on that remains unexplainable. Unfortunately, duplicating his experiments might prove difficult, as many of the devices he used were quite commonplace in the 1980s, but are no longer being manufactured.
Schreiber passed away from a massive heart attack on January 7, 1988. His obituary contained these words:
"There is no death – there is only a passing to an other level of existence. – I am with you."
Sources (with additional images from Schreiber's experiments):
http://www.worlditc.org/h_08_schreiber_0.htm
https://en.tciseattle.com/klaus-schreiber-portugues