[Collins] 32S-1 unknown mod

[Dr. Gerald N. Johnson]

On 3/8/2014 7:11 PM, Carl wrote:
> Thanks Jerry.
>
> What I do remember in the early 60's was S Line and a RTTY unit in place
> at several USAF MARS/ham stations I visted while in the USN. Mostly in
> the Med.

I think they all used AFSK. Took no mods to the transmitters just 
keeping the drive down and a fan on the PA was a benefit.
>
> I have no idea what model S Line or anything about the RTTY at the
> time....it might have been a Model 28; we were still using the Model 15
> on the WW2 Fleet Oiler I was on.

There fundamentally were only two different S line transmitters. the 
modulator circuits varied a bit, but mostly once the early transmitter 
were updated to four diodes they worked the same. The later transmitters 
used plug in filters while the early tranmitters used round case solder 
in filters. The late transmitters had better provisions for spotting 
frequency without putting a signal on the air.

I got my first acquaintance with RTTY model 15 and 19 (15 with paper 
tape punch and paper tape reader) about 1962. In those days one had to 
know someone at the right junk yard to acquire pieces and then to build 
and adjust the machinery. I had a model 14 paper tape strip printer in a 
couple years for my own and put it on the air. Then I acquired a model 
15 in running condition and kept it for at least a decade. The model 15 
(a type bar printer) was reliable at 45 baud (60 speed), but stressed at 
75 speed. Weather service and press wires ran at 75. But mostly a 15 
printer would get along fine if lubricated once or twice a year with the 
right oil. Many ham RTTY publications called for #30 nondetergent engine 
oil. I found that was a BAD choice because exposed to the air and a 
little heat it would change to gum in about 6 months. A detergent engine 
oil would not have done that, nor did official Teletype oil and grease. 
I still have containers of both that came with that first printer about 
50 years ago and its still a good lubricant.

The model 28 (type box printer) was built for higher speeds and survived 
100 speed and seemed to loaf at 75 speed in wire service, but a weather 
client of mine got tired of paying Teletype for twice a year repairs on 
the 28 and put me to fixing theirs. It was always needing parts, not 
just lubrication. A 15 is a lot easier to work on than a 28.

I got tired of that fixing and bought a couple KayPro CP/M computers and 
a Japanese dot matrix printer for about what Teletype charged for annual 
repairs. I programmed the kaypro to take in serial data, buffer it, 
scrap some of it, and put it to the parallel printer. I still have at 
least one of the Kaypros, they use internet and satellite now. But for 
at least a decade all the printer maintenance needed was ribbons and 
paper. No cleaning, and no lubrication. And by letting the buffer be a 
little selective they saved on paper.

Somewhere in the 70s I swapped for a model 33 that had caught fire and 
about $100 in parts (felts, bushings, springs, plastic parts) and 
restored the printer to working. I installed an electronic keyboard and 
used it for a computer terminal for a few years. I swapped it for a 
broken model 38 printer (type box and upper/lower case) that wasn't 
working and didn't have the base and I thought I got the best of that 
deal. Sometime later I bought a TTY model 43 which I still have but I've 
not powered it up for a couple decades. I have a couple more bought from 
university surplus for parts I guess. Ribbons are hard to find and the 
paper was special though I have a couple cases of that special paper 
yet. Sprocket feed, 11 inches wide with the perforated edges torn off. 
The 42 and 43 were dot matrix printers with lots of electronics. 
Somewhere in there I also had a model 40 chain printer. It was fast and 
very loud even in a soundproofed cabinet. Where a dot matrix printer 
went brrrp and put out a line, the 40 went BRRRRP and put out a page. It 
was expensive to maintain and mine got to be so old that the TTY shop 
told me don't bring here any more we can't get the parts to fix it where 
its wearing out.

My HP laser printer isn't as fast as the 40, but has more versatility in 
fonts and graphics. I'm not going back.

I owned and I serviced them, there are other things more interesting to 
do now. The manuals for 14, 15, 19, 28, 40, and 43 required adjusting 
with spring gauges and feeler gauges and when adjusted they worked fine. 
The manual for the 33 was distinctly different. It was a cheap machine 
to begin with and the manual gave a page or two of adjustments, then at 
the bottom said, "Refine these adjustments until the printer works." 
There were few in the world that could put one together and make it run, 
and they worked at TTY. It was low cost to buy but expensive to maintain 
and adjust.

When I was drafted in 1967 during basic training I was offered a chance 
to go to the army's teletype school, but I would have had to have 
changed from draftee to enlistee and sign up for another year and I 
already knew how to care for 14, 15, and 19 and how to read the TTY 
manuals. I also already had a MSEE and preferred to be designing rather 
than fixing. Because some other drafted engineer had gone AWOL from 
basic before finding he was assigned to the Night Vision Laboratory I 
got that position that involved solid state physics, TV camera tubes and 
a bit of computer between trips to the mess hall for 16 hour shifts of 
KP and overnights for guard duty. So between those chores I did 
engineering work for $90 to $280 a month where outside I would have been 
making at least $800 a month but paying for groceries and shelter. That 
experience affected my attitudes about authority and has affected my 
income ever since.

73, Jerry, K0CQ, Technical Adviser to the Collins Radio Association.
>
> As an ET I didnt have to service them.....thankfully!
>
> Carl
> KM1H
>
>