[GreenKeys] Big Bird #30 has landed!

[Christian Fandt]

. . . and boy, is it nice!

It's a model MPC-1000T Tempest unit with the KOS-100T Keyboard Operated 
send module, as most seem to be out of that pallet that was purchased. Mine 
has a s/n of T/LCO250 on the back panel while the typed paper label on the 
cover is for a model MPC-1000T/LCO.228 (s/n 228). (Anybody have the s/n 228 
unit with the s/n 250 cover on it? (As if that really matters a whole 
helluva lot, but the typed specs may be remotely possibly different twixt 
the two. Might be important to either of us.))

Now, I need to someday get some old iron to hang it onto :-/  At the time 
we all purchased our units in the Big Bird Project I was beginning to hunt 
for a decent Model 15 or 19 (or maybe even a 28, but should stick with a 15 
for space considerations) in the local area.

However, that is a little out of the realm of possibility for the next year 
or so. At the end of last May I got laid off from my job at a local 
furniture components manufacturer (I was Engineering Director there. 
Foreign imports put much pressure on the business, amongst other issues, 
hence the place now has about 33 employed vs. ~75 when most of us left. 
Furniture carvings and turnings are still made there as always, at least 
for now until it closes. :-/ )  I'm presently a rather non-wealthy 
management student at the local unit of a college that is part of The State 
University of New York.

Anyway, lacking a 15 or 19, I will use one of the bunch of PCs I have 
around here instead.

Al Tipsword had posted six Dovetron docs on his website ( 
http://www.qsl.net/w6ger/pdfdocs/dovetron/index.html ). I plan to study 
them to glean out whatever applies to the -1000T model. But the best info 
will be found in the -1000T manual itself found on David Freeman's website: 
http://dandydavef.topcities.com/MPC-1000T.pdf . Note that the cover 
indicates MPC-1000CR/T and paging further into the manual a section on the 
MPC-1000T itself appears at .pdf page 18. Calibration procedures are shown 
on .pdf page 34 (pg. 15 of printed manual). If David or someone else could 
provide good scans of the schematics there would be a complete set of 
documentation available for these units.

Gil Smith had posted about his TTY-CONNECT project and I need to get my 
mind wrapped around that material now as it will serve to help me connect 
up to my PC for now. He also posted about a simple cable assembly one could 
make to lash the PC up to the Dovetron, but I like more complicated 
hardware projects :)

Bill Bytheway has recently offered his RTTYArt source under GNU GPL to 
anyone willing to tackle developing it into a RTTY terminal application. 
That sounds like a very viable and practical project which would help us. 
I'm not into C++ programming at all. Pascal and Delphi have been my 
choices, albeit nine years ago was my last heavy involvement, so I cannot 
offer needed help there I'm sorry to say. I'm more hardware-oriented 
anyway. HeavyMetal is also another choice I understand. Need to find and 
download that.

Glen Galati is working on obtaining the MS3106E AC line connector for the 
Dovetron for $9 each and I've given my request to buy one.

Notice that this is quite a group of folks who've been involved with the 
project separate from just handling the logistics of the purchase. 
Therefore, MANY MANY thanks go out to George Hutchison (especially), Roy 
Norris, Glen and Yvonne Galati, and all the others who have a hand in this 
project!

Regards,  Chris


Christian Fandt,    Electronic/Electrical Historian
Jamestown, NY  USA      cfandt@netsync.net
         Member of Antique Wireless Association
         URL: http://www.antiquewireless.org/