March 1957 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.

In this "Carl & Jerry" technodrama from a 1957 issue of Popular Electronics magazine, the two boys start out enjoy a casual day of kite flying, using a homebrew radio-controlled camera attached to the kite to capture an aerial view of Round Island in a lake. After successfully taking a picture, they develop the film and discover two men and an odd setup on the island. Curious, they return the next day, find a hidden tunnel, and stumble upon an illegal liquor still. As you might expect, the teens run into a heap of trouble when the moonshiners nab them. Using their combined ingenuity and knowledge of communications methods common to Ham radio operators of the era, contact was made and help was on the way. Read about Carl and Jerry's exploit and exactly what it was that saved the day - and their hides!

Carl & Jerry: Secret of Round Island

By John T. Frye

"Hey, Jer, I didn't know flying a kite" could be so much fun!" Carl remarked, as he let the tugging kite string pull his relaxed arm up and down in front of him. "This is as big a kick as flying model planes and less nerve-racking. We've sure got a perfect day for it, too - just look at her sail."

"The pull of a big box kite like that one does give you a thrill," Jerry agreed, leaning back on his elbows and letting his eyes follow the graceful curve of the kite string out over the water of the lake and up to the kite, which was sailing gallantly against the blue March sky. "Let outa little more cord, though. I want the kite directly over Round Island when I push the button on this radio-control unit and trip the shutter of the camera up there in the kite."

"Why do you want a picture of the island out there?" Carl asked as he obediently let out some more line from the dangling ball of string wound figure-eight fashion on a stick so that the kite did a wild dance in mid-air.

"No particular reason. I just wanted to take a bird's-eye view of something, and Round Island in the middle of the' lake seemed as good a subject as any. Then, too, I've always been curious to know what the center of that island looks like. None of us has ever been able to climb those rock walls that rise straight up from the narrow strip of sand around the base to get a good look-see."

"Think the camera will work ?"

"Natch! How can it miss? When I push this button, the little remote-control receiver up there will close the relay contacts. This will actuate the tiny solenoid, whose short stroke will pull away the bit of Bakelite propping up the shutter lever. Finally, the rubber band will pull that lever down. Presto! One aerial picture on film!"

"Yeah," Carl said sarcastically at this recital of a Rube Goldberg chain of events. "How can it miss? Well, you may as well push the button and find out. As near as I can judge, the kite is right over the middle of the island."

Jerry pushed then button on the little transmitter, and Carl immediately started winding in the several hundred yards of twine holding the kite. Sure enough, when the kite settled gently to the ground in front of them, the shutter control of the little box camera had been pulled down by the rubber band. The boys quickly collapsed the folding kite, mounted their bicycles, and started for home to develop the roll of film.

"We've got something, anyway," Jerry said an hour or so later as he held the strip of developed negative up to the light.

"Looks a lot like a fried egg," Carl observed disparagingly, peering over Jerry's shoulder.

The film was quickly dried and placed in the enlarger, and a short time afterwards the blown-up print loomed up at them out of the developing pan. It soon became apparent that the "fried egg" of the negative was actually a surprisingly clear and sharp picture of Round Island as seen from above. A dark fringe of vegetation around the rim of the island and a bare white area in the center gave it the look Carl had noticed in the reversed negative picture.

"Must have been a pond in the center of the island at one time," Carl observed, as they studied the still-wet picture. "Hey, look over here at the edge of the bare area! There are a couple of, men."

"You're right!" Jerry said in astonishment. "And here's their boat pulled up on the sand on the far side of the island. What do you suppose they're doing? That thing between them with what looks like a stovepipe sticking out of it resembles an outdoor oven ... but what a funny place for a picnic!"

"Let's go out there tomorrow morning and see what's cooking on that outdoor oven," Carl suggested impulsively. "If those guys can get into the middle of the island, so can we. We'll borrow a boat from a friend of Dad's who lives on the lake front, row clear around to the back side of the island where their boat is beached, and find out how they got in there."

"It's a date; see you about eight," Jerry agreed.

Nine o'clock the next morning found Carl plying the oars of the small boat as it moved across the mirror-still waters of the lake toward the deserted shore of Round Island.

"It's a good thing we did our kite-flying yesterday," Jerry observed from where he lolled comfortably on the rear seat studying a print of the picture they had taken the previous day. "There's not a breath of air stirring, and that's something for March. If you'll pull in here, we should land just about where that boat was yesterday."

Their boat pulled up on the narrow beach. One boy started in one direction along the sand while the other went the opposite way in search of some means of climbing the sheer rock wall that rose some 75 feet from the edge of the water. Jerry had gone scarcely a hundred yards when he heard Carl calling. He hurried back down the strip of sand and found his chum busily engaged in pulling a pile of dry brush away from a narrow opening in the cliff.

"Here's how they got in," Carl said; "look at those footprints in the sand! I can see daylight on the other end of this natural tunnel through the rock. Come on Let's find out what's in there."

"Maybe we'd better be a little quiet about it," Jerry whispered as they started edging their way along the crevice. "Those fellows may still be there; and if they went to all this trouble to be alone, maybe they don't want company."

The tunnel was not more than a couple of hundred feet in length, and the boys scion found themselves standing at the other end. The center of the small island was shaped like the inside of a bowl. Around the sharply sloping edge, brush and small trees were growing, but the flat bottom of the bowl was a circular expanse of white sand.

"No one here ... but there's that outdoor oven we saw," Carl exclaimed, pointing to the right of the tunnel exit. "There's still a fire going in it, too; so those fellows must not have been gone long."

The boys walked over to a strange array of barrels, jugs, kettles, and stacked firewood almost concealed in the edge of the brush.

"Hey, Jer, look at the big tank coil in this barrel of water!" Carl called. "It's made of copper tubing and looks like it would handle a couple hundred kilowatts in a transmitter."

Jerry did not answer. He was too busy noting the rusty pipe that brought cold water from a spring up in the brush down into the barrel. He also noted the flexible piece of pipe leading from one end of the "tank 'coil" to a connection on top of the close-fitting cover of a large boiler over the fire of the outdoor oven. Finally he sniffed the air and eyed speculatively the earthen jug sitting beneath the open bottom end of the copper coil which emerged through a water-tight fitting near the bottom of the barrel. A clear fluid dripped from the coil into the open mouth of the jug.

g. "If you've got a cold, why don't you use your handkerchief?" Carl demanded somewhat irritably, as Jerry continued his audible sniffing.

"I've not got a cold, but I am getting an idea," 'Jerry retorted. "Take a good deep breath and tell me what the smell of this place reminds you of."

Carl obeyed and then said promptly: "Passing the doors of the saloons on Third Street on a warm summer evening."

"Your nose has a good memory," Jerry applauded. "This has to be a liquor still. The sour-smelling stuff, in those barrels must be mash. Both the smell of the still and the small amount of smoke created by burning bone-dry wood stay cupped up in this depression and can't be detected from the outside."

"And dig that booby trap over the mouth of the tunnel," Carl said, pointing to a bunch of rocks restrained behind a log on the steep side of the bowl just above the tunnel opening. One end of the log was prevented from slipping by a short length of wood braced between it and a niche in the rocky slope. A strong rope was fastened to this piece of wood and led down to the floor of the basin. "With a slick setup like that, there's no telling how long this thing has been in operation. Those two guys must be rich by now."

"If they don't want company, all they have to do is yank that rope and a miniature rockslide comes down and seals off the tunnel," Jerry said admiringly. "Which reminds me - we had better get out of here muy pronto. Those fellows may come back any minute, and it's just possible they'd take a dim view of our snooping around. Let's hightail it back to town and tell the sheriff about all this."

They started back through the tunnel, Carl leading the way, and had almost reached the other end when Carl suddenly halted and went into reverse so quickly that he flattened Jerry's nose against a bony shoulder blade.

"What's the idea?" Jerry demanded, dabbing at his nose and then peering at his fingers in the dim light to see if there was any blood.

"Shut up and back up!" Carl hissed. "Two guys are just getting out of a boat out there - real Dogpatch-looking characters, too."

Jerry needed no further prodding. In a matter of seconds, the boys were back inside the bowl looking vainly about the steep sides for a possible place of concealment.

"Come on; grab this rope and help me pull," Jerry said suddenly, as he picked up the end of the rope leading to the trigger of the booby trap. "Maybe we can slow them down a little."

Both boys heaved on the rope, but the log did not budge. "Harder!" Carl urged as the growling voices of the men issuing from the nearby mouth of the tunnel grew louder. With a desperate effort, the two lunged in unison and the prop flew from beneath the log, sending both boys sprawling in the sand. Rocks clattered down over the opening and piled up until it was almost entirely closed.

Still sitting on the sand, the boys stared in fascination at the narrow opening that was still left between the top of the rock pile and the top of the tunnel. Suddenly two glaring, bloodshot eyes appeared in this opening and looked coldly down at the boys.

"What do you young punks think you're doing?" a grating voice demanded.

"Just hunting mushrooms," Carl said, without the least intention of being funny. As he explained later, he felt someone should say something; and that was the first thing that came into his mind. It didn't improve the situation much.

"We'll mushroom you!" the grating voice promised, as a hairy, dirty hand reached forth to clear away the rocks.

Jerry quickly got the idea, and the two boys kept up a steady fire of rocks at the opening every time a head or hand appeared.

"Aw, Bill," a second voice drawled, "let's quit fooling around. Let's just drag back some of the rocks from this side so the pile will cave in and we can get at those rock-chucking little devils."

"I declare, Hank, you are a brainy one!" Bill said admiringly; and from the sounds they heard, the boys soon realized that the men were putting the plan into action.

"Our goose is about cooked," Carl said desperately. "You'd better think of something, and fast!"

Jerry glanced wildly about for a moment and then threw down the rocks in his hands and began to scoop up damp leaves from around the overflow of the barrel.

"Keep throwing rocks through that hole to slow them down all you can," he told Carl as he opened the door of the furnace, tossed the leaves on top of the glowing bed of coals, and slammed the door shut. Then he ran around and closed the butterfly damper in the stovepipe that served as a chimney. In a few seconds, dark gray smoke was leaking from every crevice of the furnace. Suddenly Jerry opened the damper, and a puff of smoke shot up into the still air. Instantly he closed the damper, left it shut for a few seconds, and then opened it again. A second puff of smoke followed the first.

Carl, who had been watching this performance in popeyed wonder, now realized what his companion was trying to do. The three round puffs of smoke were followed by three longer columns, and then three more short puffs were allowed to escape.

"SOS," Carl spelled out to himself, automatically continuing to toss rocks at the opening. "Oh, brother, what a long shot that is! Probably no one in miles can read smoke signals in any fashion, let alone standing on end!"

But Jerry stuck at his smoke signals because he could think of nothing else to do. Carl kept throwing rocks into the opening, and now and then a yowl of pain or a curse told that he had scored a hit; but the men continued working away at the rock pile on their side, and an ominous settling of the rocks now and then proved that their plan was working. Suddenly the whole top of the pile rolled down into the tunnel, leaving the mouth of the tunnel half revealed. The boys could clearly see the two men gathering up rocks and preparing to rush the entrance.

"Come on, Jer," Carl yelled, as he grabbed a jagged chunk of stone in each hand. "They'll probably get us, but let's give them some lumps, before they do!"

"Hold it, all of you!" a strange voice boomed from the tunnel. Peering past the figures of the men, the boys could see the familiar outline of the sheriff silhouetted against the light. A drawn revolver was in his hand.

In a few minutes, he had herded the men out into the basin of the island, where a strange posse waited. The sheriff's deputy was first, but behind him were a scoutmaster and eight rather small boy scouts.

An explanation was quickly forthcoming. The boy scouts had been on the lake in a couple of boats on their way to an overnight camping site. Seeing the smoke signals, they correctly interpreted them as a call for help, and the scoutmaster went ashore to telephone the office of the sheriff. A radio call was sent out to the sheriff and his deputy, who luckily were patrolling nearby. Then the law officers joined the boy scouts, and circled the island until they spotted the two boats pulled up on the shore. Since the men had been in such a hurry to find out who had discovered their secret still that they did not take time to replace the brush across the tunnel opening, it was easy to locate. As the sheriff and his deputy prepared to conduct the handcuffed moonshiners back to the boats, a small bespectacled boy scout stood squarely in front of Jerry and stared up into his face. "Were you the one who sent the smoke signals?" he asked.

"Why, yes, I guess I was," Jerry said modestly, preparing to be overwhelmed with fulsome praise.

"That was pretty sloppy spacing," the boy scout said curtly, as he turned on his heel and stalked away.

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. p.s. You might also want to check out my "Calvin & Phineas" story(ies), a modern day teenager advernture written in the spirit of "Carl & Jerry."
Wrecked by a Wagon Train - February 1962 Gold Is Where You Find It - April 1956 Little "Bug" with Big Ears - January 1959 Lie Detector Tells All - November 1955 The Educated Nursing Bottle - 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 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 Improvising - February 1960	Secret of Round Island - March 1957 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 1954 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."

Posted September 9, 2021
(updated from original post on 8/5/2014)