April 1960 Popular Electronics
Table
of Contents
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles
from
Popular Electronics,
published October 1954 - April 1985. All copyrights are hereby acknowledged.
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"So if I can work out a really
efficient way of changing part of this wasted noise into electrical energy, it can
be charging batteries and taking some of the load off the plane's generating plant."
That passage, from the April 1960 Carl and Jerry adventure story, reads
like a modern day energy harvesting project. Each month Popular Electronics included
an electronics saga that normally included some high tech sleuthing by the teenagers
a la the Hardy Boys. This is a particular favorite of mine because it involves a
radio controlled airplane model. BTW, according to the Google translator, the title
of this story is "The Electronic Bull."
Carl and Jerry: El Torero Electronico
By John T. Frye, W9EGV
As Carl stepped through the open door of the
electronic laboratory he shared with his pal, Jerry, in the basement of the latter's
home, his ears were assailed by a loud, piercing, unwavering tone. It was coming
from a hi-fi speaker in one corner of the room, and Jerry was crouched over some
electronic equipment directly in front of the speaker.
"What are you doing?" Carl shouted. "This is no day to be messing around indoors.
Spring is busting out all over out there. And shut off that blasted noise!"
Obediently Jerry reached out and shut off the sine-wave generator connected to
the input of the hi-fi amplifier.
"I'm experimenting with converting sound energy into electrical energy," he explained.
"Look at this sound level chart that appeared in the February 1959 issue of Electronics
World and at this one prepared by Bell Telephone Laboratories. See: the audio power
in peak sounds from a seventy-five piece orchestra is 65 watts. The sound of an
ordinary airplane at eighteen feet is better than 20 db, or 100 times more powerful;
so it must put out close to 6500 watts of sound. Think how much more sound power
is put out by one of those six-engine jets at the air base. When they take off,
you can't hear yourself think."
"So-o-o-o ?"
"So if I can work out a really efficient way of changing part of this wasted
noise into electrical energy, it can be charging batteries and taking some of the
load off the plane's generating plant."
"How're you starting out?"
"I'm trying to find the most efficient device
for translating sound into electricity without worrying about the actual efficiency
percentage of the device. Measuring actual sound power is real tricky even when
you have elaborate sound-measuring equipment and a sound-deadened room. By measuring
the voltage developed across the eight-ohm voice coil of this speaker by my 1000-cycle
tone, I'm setting the electrical power fed into the speaker at exactly one watt.
I figure the speaker has an efficiency of between five and ten percent; so I estimate
that the sound power output is only around one-fifteenth of a watt or thereabouts.
"This transducer I'm trying first is a sound-powered phone. As you can see, it's
mounted exactly a foot away from the speaker and directly in front of it. These
sound-powered phones arc designed to be transducers of sound into electrical energy
and electrical energy into sound. When two of the units are connected together,
sound striking the diaphragm of either moves an attached coil in a strong magnetic
field, producing currents in the coil. These induced currents travel along the connecting
wires and flow through the coil of the other unit, causing it to vibrate its diaphragm
and produce sound again. Notice that all the power used - and you can carry on conversations
up to twelve miles with a pair of these phones - is produced by sound waves.
"Any other transducers I use, such as sound-powered units working on a slightly
different variable-reluctance principle, speakers, crystal units, etc., will be
mounted in the same position as this moving-coil unit. They will be subjected to
the same dynes per cm2 of sound power as long as I keep one watt of 1000-cycle
tone feeding into the speaker. This will allow me to compare relative efficiencies
by simply taking into account the pickup area of my transducer and noting the electrical
power developed across a resistive load. Of course, impedances between the transducer
and the load must be carefully matched to develop maximum power. That's what I'm
doing now."
"Sounds like a real neat idea, but let's save it for a rainy day," Carl suggested.
"Come along and help me tryout my brand-new radio-controlled plane. The thermometer
is up to 75 out there, and the buds are bursting like popcorn."
Jerry needed little urging, and a half hour later the boys were parking their
bicycles along a narrow dirt road running alongside a large pasture with a single
tree growing in the center of it.
Carl's plane was not a sleek modern aircraft. Instead, it was a sturdy old-fashioned
biplane model of the sort he had seen crop-dusters using in the South. The large
wing area permitted it to stay in the air at slow speed, and an oversize engine
gave it lots of power for hedge-hopping tactics. Carl had spent a great deal of
time - and no little money - designing the most responsive and complete remote control
possible for maximum maneuverability. It was his intention to fit a smoke emitter
in the plane and give a realistic demonstration of dusting procedures at a model
airplane meeting coming up in a couple of months.
Carl handled the controls, and Jerry hand-launched
the plane. Right from the start it performed beautifully. Carl first sent it high
above the pasture to test it out; but when he saw how quickly and smoothly it answered
every electronic command, he brought it down until it was skimming only a few feet
above the fresh green sod.
"What a sweet-flying job!" he chortled happily. "Watch this, old buddy; watch
me put it in a tight circle around that tree."
The little plane lifted easily to the top of the tree and went into a tight banked
left turn. At this moment there was a terrific rumbling roar right in the boys'
ears, and Carl was so startled that he dropped the control box. Standing in front
of the boys, with only the fence between, was a red-eyed black bull emitting a low
earth-shaking bellow through his flared nostrils.
"Wow!" Jerry exclaimed shakily; "what a beast! I'm sure glad that fence is there.
He must have sneaked up on us while we were watching the plane."
"Where is the plane?" Carl asked as he snatched up the control box and anxiously
scanned the empty sky. "Oh, oh! he groaned. "There it is in the tree."
Sure enough, the little plane was resting in the upper branches of the tree with
its motor still snarling away. Carl cut the motor off with the control box, and
the two boys tried to drive the huge animal away by shouting at him and waving their
arms. But this only seemed to add to the bull's ill temper. Finally they went down
the road a short distance and hid in the side-ditch.
The bull eventually calmed down and wandered
over to the far side of the pasture. Stealthily Carl and Jerry crawled under the
barbed wire and quietly approached the tree. They were almost to it when the beast
spotted them. Its tail went up into the air, and it came in a lumbering run straight
for them.
The tree was a lot closer than the fence, and both boys started to climb it simultaneously.
Since the trunk was only about a foot in diameter, this caused some confusion. They
made it up to the branches, though, and as they sat there, breathing hard and staring
down at the bellowing animal below, Jerry said bitterly:
"You and your superior muscles! What's the big idea of climbing over the top
of me? If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a show-off!"
"I didn't mean to climb over the top of you; I had help from the bull," Carl
explained, tenderly rubbing the area of his hip pocket. "I was having a little trouble
climbing, though, with you standing on my face. I'm going up to get the plane. You
keep Ferdinand entertained."
In a few minutes Carl had inched his way back down to Jerry's level with the
plane in his hands. "Not hurt a bit!" he gloated. "When I dropped the control box,
the plane must have pulled up in a stall and then pancaked into the tree. We're
lucky."
"Oh, we're lucky, all right!" Jerry exclaimed sarcastically. "We have a choice:
we can either sit up here in this tree and freeze to death tonight or we can let
that bull make shish kebab out of us on his horns."
"It's not that bad - I hope," Carl comforted. "We'll get out of this some way.
He'll get tired after a while and wander away. Let's be quiet and see if he doesn't
forget us."
The boys remained absolutely still for half an hour, but the bull did not calm
down. He circled around and around the tree, pawing the earth and throwing great
clods of soft turf up over his back while slobbers ran from his bellowing mouth.
"Gee, what a grouch!" Carl finally exclaimed as he looked anxiously at the sun
touching the horizon. "I never realized what 'bull-headed' really meant until now.
He's not going to cool off. We've got to think of something else."
"You might jump out of the tree and sprint for the fence," Jerry suggested. "You're
pretty fast and may be able to out-run him. While he's chasing you, I'll carry the
plane to the fence on the other side of the pasture."
Before Carl could answer, the bull thrust a sharp pointed horn into the trunk
of the tree and ripped off a great slab of bark.
"Let's think of another idea," Carl said as he tightened his grip on the quaking
limbs. "What we really need is a toreador to coax him away from us."
"That's it!" Jerry exclaimed: "an electronic toreador! You got any red cloth
about you?"
"I don't think so," Carl answered; "but if you think I'm going to get down there
and wave a red flag in front of that couple of tons of pure cussedness, you've got
another think coming."
"That lining of your jacket is red silk," Jerry observed. "Take my pocket knife
and cut out a chunk a couple of feet square."
"Mom will kill me if I do."
"Would your mother rather have a whole jacket or a son with a whole hide? Get
with it while I unravel a sock to get a piece of strong thread. We'll fasten the
piece of red cloth to the plane with about ten feet of thread. Then we'll make the
plane drag the cloth back and forth in front of Ferdinand. If we're lucky, we may
be able to coax him away from the tree long enough for us to reach the fence."
Carl butchered a large square of cloth from
the jacket lining and fastened it with the thread to the plane at a point where
the drag would have a minimum effect on the plane's maneuverability. Then Jerry
inched out on a limb until he could launch the plane in the clear. The motor was
started and, at a word from Carl, Jerry gave the little plane a strong push. For
an anxious moment it swooped down until the piece of cloth brushed the grass, but
then it started climbing and sailed around the pasture easily.
Carl worked the control box expertly, and the little plane came back toward the
tree carrying the bright red cloth about three feet above the ground. The animal
turned his great head toward the sound of the purring motor and spied the approaching
red cloth. With a bellow of anger, he charged it.
The plane went into a steep climb and carried the cloth out of reach; then it
wheeled about and came back and actually dragged the bright fabric over the back
of the startled bull. As it flipped off his horns in front of his eyes, he charged
fiercely after it. Carl throttled the motor down until the plane was almost stalling
and flew a zigzag course that kept the red cloth tantalizingly in front of the animal's
nose until he was led into a far corner of pasture; then both boys leaped to ground
and ran for the closest fence.
Carl, as he ran, still kept an eye on the little plane and used the control box
to keep it flying. The bull was so engrossed with his new "enemy" that he did not
notice the boys' escape at all. When they were safely across the fence, Carl brought
the little plane sailing to them. He handed the control box to Jerry and had him
put the plane into a tight circle while he caught the dangling piece of red cloth
and broke the thread; then he took over and brought the plane in for a smooth landing
on the narrow dirt road.
"Well," Jerry observed, getting astride his bicycle; "that's that, and we'd better
be getting home or we'll miss supper."
"Yeah," Carl agreed as he shot a malevolent look at the snorting bull, once more
just on the other side of the fence; "and I just hope we have beefsteak!"
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.
- See Full List -
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.
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-
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
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-
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
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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." |
Posted May 30, 2019 (updated from original post on 7/16/2012)
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