[GreenKeys] SELCAL

[Roy Norris]

It is true that operating practices on Ham RTTY today are deplorable.  I 
fully agree that a typical autostart frequency would not work.  Hence the 
reason for SELCAL.  It would keep most of the lids from tripping the 
machines.  Of course, all us old RTTY'ers had to learn the proper protocols 
ourselves at one time.  Today, there is no one around to set an example and 
to be a source of "the proper way to do it".  But with the resurgence in 
mechanical RTTY, in large part as a result of this mailing list, there is 
the opportunity to change this.  I have been very encouraged by the number 
of people expressing interest in the Dovetron terminal units.  And more and 
more of us are actively working to get mechanical RTTY back in 
operation.  And, people like George Hutchinson with his efforts in RTTY 
broadcasting and as a coordinator for the distribution of the Dovetron 
units are making the resurgence of mechanical RTTY a real possibility.

Wouldn't it be great to move most of the conversation on this list over to 
on-the-air RTTY on real, mechanical, teletype machines instead of the 
sterile computers we now are using?  Better yet, lets have both.

I see this movement as similar to the resurgence in interest in AM now 
going on with ham radio operators.  AM rigs that were recently considered 
worthless are now commanding thousands of dollars.  I saw a Collins KW-1 go 
for $18,000 here the other day and a Globe Master 500 will command as much 
as the best SSB tranceiver available today  I think it will go the same 
with  RTTY.  I think that we are finding that in our headlong rush to new 
technology, we have lost something not easily defined in the older modes of 
communication.  Call it a "charm" or a "grace". or a "style" that has value 
to us in its own right.  While the latest introduction of PACTOR III and 
all computer digital communications have their place, there just is 
something about having a chat with a fellow enthusiast over the "Green 
Keys"; the paper on the floor, the smell of hot oil, and that wondrous 
sound !

My fondest memories of my ham radio hobby are Saturday mornings in the 
basement, the Model 15 clacking away and the flashing elipses of the TU 
tuning indicator with the diddle, diddle, diddle of Irv Hoff, W6FFC 
blasting in on 20 meters.  Paper all over the floor, the smell of oil in 
the air,  and me cutting a tape just as fast as I could between sips of hot 
coffee so that I could respond at a full 60 wpm speed.

It could be that way again.