June 1958 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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Carl & Jerry: The Tele-Tattletale

By John T. Frye

The cool interior of the basement laboratory was empty as Carl stepped in out of the June heat, but he noticed that the door leading into the other part 'of the basement was open, and he heard the voice of his chum, Jerry, calling: "Come on in here, Carl."

Jerry was kneeling on the floor in front of the deep-freeze. A couple of tiny wires coming from beneath the lid of the unit were connected to a pair of earphones lying on the floor. Another pair of phones led to a variable-frequency audio oscillator, and Jerry was adjusting this instrument until the tones from the two sets of phones were of the same frequency. When he was satisfied that the frequencies were zero beat with each other, he carefully noted the reading of the oscillator dial in a notebook. Carl said nothing, but his eyebrows arched above the horn rims of his glasses were shouting questions.

"I'm calibrating the temperature-reporting unit of our Tele-Tattletale," Jerry explained, with a teasing grin on his round face.

"Oh, fine! I didn't know we had one!" ejaculated Carl.

"Certainly we have," Jerry replied, opening the lid of the deep-freeze and lifting out a small wooden box with flat sides and rounded ends. The sides had large numbers painted on them, and one end was painted blue while the other was red. "This it is. I've been reading a lot about telemetering - or measuring at a distance - in connection with the satellites," he explained as he gathered up the equipment and started back into the laboratory; "so I decided we ought to get a little experience with that sort of thing-even though we have to do it in a pretty crude way.

"This little box," he continued, "can be placed anywhere so that its small, self-contained transmitter is within range of that transceiver on the bench. We can determine four things by listening to the signals from the Tele-Tattletale: (1) the temperature of the interior of the box; (2) the amount of light falling on both the red and blue ends; (3) if it is resting on side 1, 2, 3, or 4; and (4), what sounds are to be heard in its vicinity."

"Interesting, if true," Carl said doubtfully.

"It's true and really rather simple," Jerry insisted, as he removed some screws and took off one side of the box. "I use the spiral hi-metal unit out of an advertising thermometer to turn this easily working variable resistor. The resistor determines the frequency of a transistorized oscillator. I've calibrated the oscillator's frequency as a function of the surrounding temperature; so I know from the note it puts out how warm the box is. Photocells are mounted behind the openings in each end of the box. The resistance of each cell depends on the amount of light falling on it, and the cells are connected in twin oscillator circuits so that their varying resistances separately control the frequencies of the oscillators. By noting the frequencies of these oscillators, I can tell how much light is falling on either end of the box."

"You said you could tell on which side the box was resting. How do you do that?"

"That's easiest of all. I just fastened a sort of pendulum rod with a ball of lead on the end to the shaft of a variable resistor that can turn around and around. The weight always hangs down; so there is a different amount of frequency-determining resistance placed in still another oscillator circuit for every position of the box. And this little speaker here is used as a microphone driving a simple amplifier as the modulator so that the carrier of the transmitter is modulated by any sounds near the Tele-Tattletale."

"Surely you don't use a different transmitter on a different frequency for each of these information-reporting units."

"Oh, no; that would be wasteful and unscientific. There's just one transmitter whose output is modulated in sequence by each of the information sources.. I use a tiny electric motor with a gear train to drive a cam at a speed of one revolution per minute. Here's the cam right here. As it goes around, it closes in order these five microswitches, each for a preset length of time. As switch #1 is closed, the temperature-indicating oscillator modulates the transmitter; switches #2 and #3 feed the light-indicating oscillators to the transmitter; #4 samples the position-indicating oscillator; and #5 connects the microphone. Each of the oscillators is on for five seconds out of every minute, with two-second separations between them; then the mike is on for thirty seconds before the whole thing starts over."

"She's a gabby little thing, but it's going to be a one-sided conversation," Carl observed with a grin.

"Not necessarily," Jerry remarked, pushing the transmit button on the transceiver. "How are you, Carl?" he asked with his lips close to the microphone, and his voice issued clearly from the speaker in the box. "The carrier from this transceiver operates a remote-control relay that connects the speaker-mike to the tail-end of the amplifier and feeds the output of the superregenerative receiver into the amplifier input. Since the two transmitters work on quite different frequencies, we can do this. Later, I intend to work it so that the Tele-Tattletale is silent until I command it to speak with a carrier from the transceiver."

 "So what are going to do with the blabbermouth now?"

"Test it. I want you to take that box anywhere within a radius of three-quarters of a mile, leave it, and then come back here. We'll listen to the signals from it, and I'll try to tell you all I can about the surroundings in which you left the box. You can check me and see how close I come. Before you start back, just twist these two wires together; and that will start the Tele-Tattletale to talking."

Carl clicked his heels together and gave an exaggerated salute. "Start the countdown," he said, tucking the box under his arm and heading for the stairs. "As soon as I get my bicycle, T-T and I are going into orbit!"

Jerry busied himself cleaning up the littered workbench, and he had just finished When the little speaker of the transceiver began to emit a regular series of musical notes of different pitches. Jerry spread out on the bench some graphs of the calibration of the different oscillators, and he ran a couple of leads from the transceiver speaker to the vertical input terminals of his scope. Then he connected the variable -frequency audio oscillator to the horizontal input terminals.

As this was completed, Carl came clattering down the steps and burst into, the laboratory, wiping the perspiration from his red face. When he heard the beeping from the receiver, he relaxed with a pleased grin.

"Okay," he challenged; "what do you hear from outer space?"

Jerry was busy resetting the dial of the oscillator each time one of the brief notes was heard, so that the trace on the face of the scope settled down to what looked like a crudely drawn circle. With his left hand, he wrote down the dial settings of the oscillator.

"When the oscillator frequency is exactly the same as that coming over the receiver, the 1 to 1 ratio between the frequencies produces the circular or elliptical pattern, just like it said in that article on Lissajous figures in the March, 1957, Popular Electronics," he pointed out. "Now let's look at the graphs and see what we have. Hm-m-m-m, the temperature is about 86° for a tone of 470 cycles; so the box must be in the shade. The red end is 'seeing' light of around 200 foot-candles per square foot, and that is what a light meter shows looking to the north in open shade; but the blue end only reads about 25 foot-candles. The box must be lying with one end out in the open and the other end back in some sort of enclosure."

Jerry paused in puzzled fashion for a moment and then demanded: "You dog, did you prop that box up edge?"

 Carl chuckled an admission. "I used a couple of rocks to do it."

"Okay, but you have it lying on the edge separating sides #1 and #4. The tone is just halfway between the ones it would have if the box were lying on either of these sides. Be quiet now and let's see if we can hear any sounds picked up by the mike."

As the sequence of tones ceased, the steady hiss of the carrier was modulated by some faint tinkling sounds. Jerry listened carefully for the full thirty seconds and then exclaimed: "That's rippling water! Let's see; the box is in the shade, near water, and it's half in and half out of some sort of enclosure. I've got it. I'll bet you parked the Tele-Tattletale at the mouth of the culvert where the highway crosses Tick Creek!"

"You're just too good," Carl said, in pretended disgust. "That's exactly where it is. I hid it in a clump of grass growing at the north end of the culvert---"

He was interrupted by the sudden sound of boyish voices echoing hollowly and coming from the speaker of the transceiver:

"This is a dandy place," one voice was saying. "No one can see us here. You got the fags? Here are the matches."

"Sure, I sneaked them out last night."

The conversation was cut off as the Tele-Tattletale started reporting on the temperature, etc.

"I'll bet anything that's the pair of little kids I met as I started back," Carl declared. "They were acting kind of sneaky."

The mike cut in again. ". . . green onions are to take the cigarette smell off our breath," a boyish voice said. "My old man uses an electric razor, but he's still got a razor strop, you know."

"He'll never know about this," the other voice replied. "Come on; give me a light."

As the mike cut off again, Carl suddenly reached for the transceiver. With a smile crinkling the corners of his blue eyes, he pitched his voice as low as he could and spoke in sepulchral tones directly into the mike of the transceiver:

"That is what you think. Someone always knows when you try something as foolish as you boys are doing now."

That was all he said. The transceiver was switched back to the receive position. The Tele-Tattletale turned on the micro- phone, but at first not a sound could be. heard except the rippling of the stream; then, suddenly, just before the mike cut off, there was a scrambling, scuffling sound followed by rapidly retreating footsteps.

"Come on," Carl said, heading for the door. "We'd better go rescue that precious little electronic snitcher before someone finds it. I don't want to lose that thing. It's got too many possibilities."

the culvert was less than a half-mile away, and Carl and Jerry were there on their bicycles in no time at all. The Tele-Tattletale was still purring quietly away where Carl had hidden it in the tall grass. The boys walked along the narrow bank near the huge culvert; and soon they found four freshly pulled green onions, several wooden matches, and the contents of a broken package of cigarettes strewn over the narrow walkway.

"I'll bet we really made believers out of those two," Carl said with a chuckle as he kicked the cigarettes into the stream with the toe of his shoe and carefully picked up the matches. "As long as they live, those little boys will probably always feel that somebody - or something - is watching every bad move they make."

"I guess somebody or something really is," Jerry said thoughtfully, looking down at the little box he held in his hands. "You can call it 'conscience' or 'electronic Tele-Tattletale' or whatever you like, but it adds up to the same thing. Someone knows.

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. I have posted 86 of them as of February 2026. p.s. You might also want to check out my "Calvin & Phineas" story(ies), a modern day teenager adventure written in the spirit of "Carl & Jerry."
The Tele-Tattletale - June 1958 Hello-o-o-o There - November 1962 The Hot Hot - March 1964 The Girl Detector -  January 1964 First Case - June 1961 The Bee's Knees - July 1964 A Rough Night - January 1961 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	Out of the Depths - June 1957 ROTC Riot - April 1962 Togetherness - June 1964 Blackmailing a Blonde - October 1961 Strange Voices - April 1957 "Holes" to the Rescue - May 1957 Carl and Jerry: A Rough Night - January 1961 The "Meller Smeller" - January 1957 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 27, 2019