Carl and Jerry were
early adopters of the near field communications (NFC)
craze that is going full-swing today. As they often do, the harmlessly mischievous teenage duo
used their combined grasp of modern electronics to pull off gags on unsuspecting
friends ... and sometime adversaries. In this episode, a near-field transmitter and
receiver pair is designed to help Carl bedazzle a scientist who was attempting to
disprove the ability to use "Extrasensory Perception" (ESP) - the title of this
1956 Popular Electronics magazine
technodrama™ -
to determining what another person was thinking about. In this case it was detecting
which playing card was being displayed on an overhead projector. Of course Carl
didn't really have "the gift," but relied on his co-conspirator, Jerry.
Carl & Jerry: Extra Sensory Perception
By John T. Frye
It was a bleak Saturday afternoon in early December and Carl and Jerry were sitting
in Jerry's basement doing absolutely nothing. This was most unusual, for the two
were generally busy at something or other. But there they were: Jerry sprawled on
the old leather-covered couch along the wall; and Carl sitting across the workbench,
elbows on knees and chin propped on hands.
"Hey, Jer," Carl finally drawled, "do you have trouble staying awake in that
second period assembly?"
"Sure do," Jerry said with a reminiscent yawn. "Guess neither of us needs to
do much studying in there, and there's nothing else to do. Even the surrounding
scenery is no good. Did you notice the girls who sit on both sides of me? Real beasts!"
"Naw, I don't pay any attention to girls," Carl said, just a trifle too emphatically;
"but I wish we had something to do in there. If we could just talk to each other
some way-"
He stopped speaking as Jerry suddenly swung his feet to the floor and sat upright
on the creaking couch. '''That's an idea!" Jerry exclaimed. "Why don't we build
a couple of little transmitters and receivers and chew the fat during that period
instead of wasting time?"
"Well, I dunno," Carl said doubtfully .
"We'd have to use code instead of phone, and it would have to be doggoned quiet
code at that. You know how still that crabby old Miss Dean keeps things in that
study hall. I've seen her send kids to the office just for shuffling their feet."
"Yeah, that's right," Jerry said thoughtfully. "We couldn't use earphones, even
the hearing-aid type. She would certainly spot something like that."
"If we just had some system so we could feel the signals instead of hear them-"
Carl started to say.
"That's it!" Jerry interrupted. "We'll use a low-frequency note to modulate the
transmitter. The receiver will amplify this and feed it to a diaphragm-type earphone
with the diaphragm taped right against a sensitive portion of the skin. With a little
practice, we should be able to interpret the buzzing sensation produced by dots
and dashes just as well as we could if we were hearing an audible note."
"What kind of transmitter and receiver will we need?"
"Transistor types in both cases in the interest of small size and low battery
drain," Jerry promptly said. "I think the receiver should be a regenerative detector
with a couple of stages of audio behind it to furnish plenty of drive to the earphone
- or perhaps we should call it a 'skin-phone.' The transmitter will consist of an
r.f. oscillator modulated by a low-frequency audio oscillator. We'll key this audio
oscillator and let the r.f. generator run all the time. Since we'll only be working
over distances of a few dozen feet, no antennas will be necessary."
"What kind of a key can we use?"
"A tiny one made with a couple of pieces of spring brass will be good enough.
The leads from this can run through a shirt sleeve so that the key can be concealed
in the palm of the hand and worked by simply squeezing the contacts together. After
all, we won't be sending thirty-five words per, minute. When the key isn't in use,
it can be slipped back inside the shirt sleeve."
"Well, let's get started!" Carl suggested, hopping off the bench. "I want to
have this thing ready to go by Monday, and if we don't run into some bugs that need
ironing out, it will be the first time."
This time was no exception. The receivers gave no trouble; but the transmitters
made up for it. Even at the low frequency used-around 550 kilocycles - the oscillators
were sluggish. They tried several circuits before they found one that was stable
in performance and would accept modulation from the low-frequency oscillator. Finally,
though, by late Sunday afternoon the problems were all apparently licked, and the
boys were ready for a trial. Each boy had a small earphone, with its cap removed,
taped to the inside of his upper right arm so that the face of the diaphragm was
flat against his skin. A tiny transmitter was carried in one shirt pocket, a small
receiver in the other.
"Are you ready?" Jerry asked, as he looked across the laboratory at Carl.
"Fire at will!" Carl answered.
Jerry started squeezing the "key" concealed in the palm of his hand, and Carl
flinched and began to giggle. "Hey, that tickles!" he announced, "but I can make
out your 'CQ' all okay. Try something else now."
Jerry began tapping out the dots and dashes to ask: "Can you read this?" And
he jumped in turn as Carl promptly came back with the "dit-dah-dit" of "received
okay" followed by the "dah-dit-dah-dit" that means "yes" in the code used by amateurs.
In the few minutes remaining before supper, the boys found that they could easily
work each other up to about a hundred feet. Then they had to lay their new playthings
aside.
The next morning their mothers did not have the least trouble getting them started
off for school; but oddly enough, the boys did not walk together as they usually
did.
Instead, they went down opposite sides of the street, with faraway looks in their
eyes and their right hands working spasmodically.
It was during the second period study hall that they had the opportunity to give
their brainchild the acid test. As soon as the bell had rung and everything was
quiet, Miss Dean started her gimlet-eyed stroll through the aisles. Just as she
walked past Carl's desk, Jerry tapped out: "What a sour-puss!" He did not need to
feel the buzzing acknowledgment against his arm; Carl's heaving shoulders told clearly
that he had got the message.
... The scientist flashed card after card on the screen, and
Carl called off each one correctly ...
The boys had a real picnic during the study period sending messages back and
forth. Every boy is a lodge brother at heart, and the fact that what they were doing
was secret and entirely unnoticed by others in the room added tremendously to the
flavor of the accomplishment. Time went very fast, and just before the end of the
period, the voice of the principal boomed through the loudspeaker on the wall announcing:
"Instead of going to your next class or study hall, all students will proceed to
the auditorium for a special program to be presented by Professor Karns of the psychology
department of our state university."
The boys' study room was directly across the hall from the auditorium; consequently
Carl and Jerry were in the vanguard of the thundering herd that surged through the
doors of the auditorium. As a result, they were seated in the second row from the
stage when the curtains parted. .A dapper man wearing pince-nez glasses stepped
to the proscenium and said:
"Good morning, students. The program that you will see now is going to be a little
unusual. To some of you it will be quite interesting. Others will find it dull.
What you think of it does not really matter. You are going to be permitted to take
part in an experiment in what is known as 'Extra Sensory Perception.' There is a
growing belief in some quarters that a certain amount of information can be transferred
from one mind to another without the aid of any of the usual senses. To check the
validity of this belief, our psychology department is conducting experiments, such
as the one in which you are about to participate, at various high schools and keeping
a careful record of the results. Out of these experiments, we hope to arrive at
some definite conclusions as to whether there actually is such a thing as 'ESP'
or not.
"To go on with the experiment, I shall need an assistant. Experience has taught
me that it is useless to call for volunteers from a high school group; so I'll draft
one of you. Let me see now. The tall young man wearing glasses in the second row
looks like a bright chap. Will you please come up here, young man?"
Hands on all sides, even those of his buddy, boosted a reluctant Carl to his
feet and shoved him out into the aisle.
He walked awkwardly up the steps to the stage and faced the professor.
"Don't look so frightened," the professor said jovially. "This is not going to
hurt a bit. You are familiar with the names of a deck of playing cards?"
"Yes," Carl said in a small hoarse voice. "Fine! I want you to stand right here
at the front of the stage facing the audience. On the elevated screen at the back
of the stage I'll show a card at a time with this projector. As each card shows
on the screen, I want all of the students to concentrate on its name and suit as
hard as they can for five full seconds. At the end of that time I shall strike this
little bell, and I want you to name the first card that comes into your mind. For
example, you may say, 'Ace of diamonds,' or 'Nine of clubs,' or whatever card is
in your mind at the second you hear the bell. What we shall be trying to do is to
transfer the knowledge of the card directly from the mind of the audience to your
mind. A young lady back in the wings - she is too, pretty to have on the stage because
she would distract attention from the experiment - will keep a careful record of
each card shown and the cards you name.
"But let me warn the audience not to expect too many correct identifications.
The odds against your correctly naming even one card are tremendous, and it is against
these mathematical odds that we are competing. If you can better the law of probability
by just a little, it will be significant."
Jerry was watching Carl closely, and he saw the latter's mouth draw into a straight
line that meant he was not taking at all kindly to the glib man beside him. Jerry
did not like him either. He sounded too much as if he were trying to be "cute,"
as though he were talking down to his youthful audience.
The lights were lowered, and suddenly a huge queen of spades appeared on the
screen above and behind Carl. With a sudden inspiration, Jerry squeezed the little
brass contacts already held in the moist palm of his hand to spell out "QS." As
he finished the last dot, the bell tinkled and Carl promptly said in a loud voice:
"Queen of spades!"
"An astounding, auspicious beginning!" the professor exclaimed. "Let's try another."
He flashed the seven of hearts on the screen. Jerry immediately tapped out "7H,"
and Carl called out: "Seven of hearts!" the instant he heard the sound of the bell.
"This places too much of a strain on coincidence," the dapper man said in a suspicious,
harried voice. "Maybe you can see some reflection of the screen, or perhaps some
smart aleck in the audience is signaling you in some fashion. Would you mind letting
me blindfold you?"
"Go right ahead," Carl said in return.
After a moment of indecision, the scientist won over the fashion plate, and the
professor removed the handkerchief that was peeping meticulously from his breast
pocket and securely blindfolded Carl. Then he went back to his projector and flashed
the jack of spades on .the screen. Carl easily translated the dots and dashes of
"JS" buzzing against his arm into the name of the card. Desperately, the scientist
flashed card after card on the screen, and Carl called off each one correctly.
By this time the professor was so disturbed and puzzled that he had forgotten
all about his appearance. Frantic fingers run through his hair had left it tousled.
He tugged at his shirt collar as he walked slowly around Carl, looking at him with
deep, incredulous interest.
"I just can't believe it!" he muttered.
"One-hundred-percent correct identification! Young man, can you explain how you
perform this feat?"
"I just did what you told me to do," Carl said blandly. "I simply called out
the card that was in my mind when the bell sounded. Guess it must be a kind of telepathy,
or something."
"'Or something; is right," Professor Karns fervently agreed. "I must take you
down to the university with me and give a demonstration of your phenomenal ability
to my colleagues."
"Aw, I don't think I could do that," Carl objected, as he started backing toward
the steps leading down from the stage. "I don't like to mess around with this sort
of thing. Makes me feel kind of creepy."
"But you owe it to science!" the professor argued. "If we can repeat this experiment,
my account of it will appear in every scientific journal in the world."
"I'll think about it," Carl said, hastily going down the steps.
The assembly was dismissed, and as Carl and Jerry walked along the hall Jerry
whispered:
"That was a lot of fun, but it certainly means that we'll not dare wear these
contraptions to school again. And' don't ever breathe a word about them. If it is
ever found out how we helped ESP, you and I are going to be the guests of honor
at the darndest tar-and-feathering party you ever saw; and I can just see Professor
Karns ladling out the hot tar right now!"
Posted April 4, 2022 (updated from original post on 3/5/2015)
Carl Anderson and Jerry Bishop were two teenage boys whose
love of electronics, Ham radio, and all things technical afforded them ample opportunities
to satisfy their own curiosities, assist law enforcement and neighbors with solving
problems, and impressing – and sometimes toying with - friends based on their proclivity
for serious undertakings as well as fun.
Carl & Jerry, by John T. Frye
Carl and Jerry Frye were fictional characters in a series of short stories that
were published in Popular Electronics magazine from the late 1950s to the early
1970s. The stories were written by John T. Frye, who used the pseudonym "John T.
Carroll," and they followed the adventures of two teenage boys, Carl Anderson and
Jerry Bishop, who were interested in electronics and amateur radio.
In each story, Carl and Jerry would encounter a problem or challenge related
to electronics, and they would use their knowledge and ingenuity to solve it. The
stories were notable for their accurate descriptions of electronic circuits and
devices, and they were popular with both amateur radio enthusiasts and young people
interested in science and technology.
The Carl and Jerry stories were also notable for their emphasis on safety and
responsible behavior when working with electronics. Each story included a cautionary
note reminding readers to follow proper procedures and safety guidelines when handling
electronic equipment.
Although the Carl and Jerry stories were fictional, they were based on the experiences
of the author and his own sons, who were also interested in electronics and amateur
radio. The stories continue to be popular among amateur radio enthusiasts and electronics
hobbyists, and they are considered an important part of the history of electronics
and technology education.
This content was generated by the ChatGPT
artificial intelligence (AI) engine. Some review was performed to help detect and
correct any inaccuracies; however, you are encouraged to verify the information
yourself if it will be used for critical applications. In some cases, multiple solicitations
to ChatGPT were used to assimilate final content. Images and external hyperlinks
have also been added occasionally. Courts have ruled that AI-generated content is
not subject to copyright restrictions, but since I modify them, everything here
is protected by RF Cafe copyright. Your use of this data implies an agreement to
hold totally harmless Kirt Blattenberger, RF Cafe, and any and all of its assigns.
Thank you. Here are the major categories.
Electronics & High Tech
Companies | Electronics &
Tech Publications | Electronics &
Tech Pioneers | Electronics &
Tech Principles |
Tech Standards
Groups & Industry Associations |
Societal Influences on Technology
|
-
Lie Detector Tells All - November 1955
-
The
Educated Nursing - April 1964
- Going Up
- March 1955
-
Electrical
Shock - September 1955
- A Low Blow
- March 1961
- The Black
Beast - May 1960
- Vox
Electronik, September 1958
- Pi in
the Sky and Big Twist, February 1964
-
The
Bell Bull Session, December 1961
- Cow-Cow
Boogie, August 1958
- TV Picture,
June 1955
- Electronic
Eraser, August 1962
- Electronic
Trap, March 1956
- Geniuses
at Work, June 1956
- Eeeeelectricity!,
November 1956
- Anchors
Aweigh, July 1956
- Bosco
Has His Day, August 1956
- The Hand
of Selene, November 1960
- Feedback,
May 1956
- Abetting
or Not?, October 1956
-
Electronic Beach Buggy, September 1956
-
Extra Sensory Perception, December 1956
- Trapped
in a Chimney, January 1956
- Command
Performance, November 1958
- Treachery
of Judas, July 1961
- The Sucker,
May 1963
-
Stereotaped
New Year, January 1963
- The
Snow Machine, December 1960
-
Extracurricular Education, July 1963
-
Slow Motion for Quick Action, April 1963
- Sonar
Sleuthing, August 1963
- TV Antennas,
August 1955
- Succoring
a Soroban, March 1963
- "All's
Fair --", September 1963
-
Operation
Worm Warming, May 1961
|
-
The Electronic Bloodhound - November 1964
-
Great Bank Robbery or "Heroes All" - October 1955
-
Operation Startled Starling - January 1955
- A Light
Subject - November 1954
- Dog
Teaches Boy - February 1959
- Too Lucky
- August 1961
- Joking
and Jeopardy - December 1963
-
Santa's Little Helpers - December 1955
- Two
Tough Customers - June 1960
-
Transistor
Pocket Radio, TV Receivers
and
Yagi Antennas, May 1955
- Tunnel
Stomping, March 1962
- The Blubber
Banisher, July 1959
- The Sparkling
Light, May 1962
-
Pure
Research Rewarded, June 1962
- A Hot Idea, March
1960
- The Hot Dog
Case, December 1954
- A
New Company is Launched, October 1956
- Under
the Mistletoe, December 1958
- Electronic
Eraser, August 1962
- "BBI", May 1959
-
Ultrasonic
Sound Waves, July 1955
- The River
Sniffer, July 1962
- Ham Radio,
April 1955
- El
Torero Electronico, April 1960
- Wired
Wireless, January 1962
-
Electronic Shadow, September 1957
- Elementary
Induction, June 1963
- He Went
That-a-Way, March1959
- Electronic
Detective, February 1958
- Aiding
an Instinct, December 1962
- Two Detectors,
February 1955
-
Tussle
with a Tachometer, July 1960
- Therry
and the Pirates, April 1961
-
The Crazy Clock Caper, October 1960
|
Carl & Jerry: Their Complete Adventures is
now available. "From 1954 through 1964, Popular Electronics published 119 adventures
of Carl Anderson and Jerry Bishop, two teen boys with a passion for electronics
and a knack for getting into and out of trouble with haywire lash-ups built in Jerry's
basement. Better still, the boys explained how it all worked, and in doing so, launched
countless young people into careers in science and technology. Now, for the first
time ever, the full run of Carl and Jerry yarns by John T. Frye are available again,
in five authorized anthologies that include the full text and all illustrations." |
|