Hello - and thank you for sending a link to the article. That unit is a variation of the Terraquaphone concept. The unit in the Sept. 1961 Electronics Illustrated magazine was, essentially, a transistorized amplifier that switched a pair of ground-rods from the output of the amplifier to the input of the amplifier - like a walkie-talkie. It used germanium transistors. Two were need to establish communications through the earth between the units. The group that published that article you linked to has spoken of the 1961 E.I. article, but no-one posted a copy of it for some reason.
I appreciate your taking the time to send me the link.
Regards,
DanR.