[Elecraft] RTTY in days of old

[Bob W7AVK]

RTTY in the old days, like so much of ham radio then, was self help.   I 
was active in the late 1950s before the days of solid state Terminal 
Units.  Then the state of art TU was the TTL-2.  From QST had nearly a 
dozen tubes and used the famous 88 mh telephone cable loading coils.   
It was a real jewel in its 19 inch rack and if you were real "up town" 
included a 2 inch CRT cross tuning indicator.  Then RTTY was mostly 850 
hz shift.   Think the TTL-2 could be considered the father of the solid 
state ST series of TUs.

As for a machine.  The one I had was like a typewriter with individual 
keys coming up to hit the paper through an inked ribbon.   Not the wheel 
or box of type keys in later machines.   Model 10 or 12 maybe?   60 wpm 
was flat out for it.   You adjusted the motor speed looking through the 
head end of a tuning fork at a painted wheel on the motor.

Can almost still remember the smell of warm oil and the beat beat sound 
of the machine typing out press.

73  Bob  W7AVK