[GreenKeys] Re Teleprinter Collecting - Letter from new subscriber

[gil smith]

Hi Richard:

Welcome to greenkeys!  I got your message sent to me this morning, so I 
subscribed you to greenkeys, along with a couple of other first-posters.

Yes, to join this list you do have to at least like the smell of oil and 
grease.

Nice to have more Creed knowledge on the list -- you need to spread it 
around, since the Creed has a pretty small audience these days.  I'd like 
to find one someday myself.

As for being new to computers and email, well, quite frankly, both 
computers and email are a pain in the ass, but we grumble our way through 
it.  Sure is nice to be in touch with the good folks on greenkeys though.

thanks,

gil smith
(greenkeys moderator guy)


At 09:05 PM 9/25/2004, you wrote:
>Greenkeys.
>
>Hi, my name is Richard YOUL and I live 15 miles south of Brisbane Australia.
>
>I first heard about your organization some months ago through Larry Rice 
>of Perth, and more recently have been in contact with Jim Haynes, 
>including by telephone. I have been interested in Teleprinter and to some 
>degree switching systems on and off for over 30 years.
>
>I would be interested in knowing what is required to join Greenkeys, so 
>this is a little of my background.
>
>
>
>In 1968 I attended the Postal Training School in Sydney. As well as 
>learning general Post Office counter duties, we had to learn to touch type 
>for sending telegrams.
>
>
>
>There were about 20 Creed teleprinters in the classroom, and the noise was 
>thunderous when all were running together. The Creeds have a pretty 
>horrible keyboard, but if you can get up a rhythm on a Creed, you will fly 
>with anything else. Anyway these machines caught my attention. I had no 
>idea they existed before that.
>
>
>
>About 5 years later when living about 50 miles south of Sydney, I found a 
>Creed on the ground at a local scrap yard. I think he wanted $7 for it, 
>and I could not get it home quick enough, and had it working locally 
>within an hour or two. That was just the start of my collection, which 
>really took off once I moved to Brisbane and became involved with the 
>Telecommunication museums here and in Sydney.
>
>
>
>I now have around 20 machines, keyboard as well as reperforators and 
>transmitters from a variety of manufacturers. All but one is connected and 
>ready to run, either back to back with other machines or to other 
>teleprinter collectors, via modems over the phone lines.
>
>
>
>There is a network of around 100 former post office telegraphists who are 
>set up with Morse sets and modems at home and they can call each other up 
>(or museums similarly equipped) for Morse conversations. Nearly all worked 
>for the post office, the last Morse line being replaced by teleprinter in 
>1962 (most were replaced with teleprinters in 1959 using a system based on 
>Western Union principles). Anyway with some guidance from other people, I 
>adapted or devised interfaces which would allow either single current 
>(make and break) or double current (polar) teleprinters to work with 
>modems of the same type as the Morsecodians use. Later I adapted a 
>combiner or hub circuit used by Morse people to have 3 and 4 way 
>conversations (using several phone lines into the hub location), and this 
>allows me to operate single current and double current printers back to 
>back, as well as into the modem at the same time.
>
>
>
>Ultimately there were around a dozen people or museums fitted up for 
>printer modem use, but unfortunately most rarely bother to use them.
>
>
>
>A longtime friend Barry Neilsen now lives a few doors up the road from me. 
>His career path and hobby interest is extremely similar to mine. The main 
>difference is he started earlier in the post office and did a lot more 
>telegram transmission than I did (unfortunately for me).
>
>
>
>I am now Secretary of the Telstra (phone company) Museum in Brisbane, and 
>until we were given a new computer system a few weeks ago, I had never had 
>any experience with E-mails, and still have never browsed the web myself. 
>Mostly there are more interesting things to do than waste hours trying to 
>get a computer to work. My museum duties dictate I check and send E-mails, 
>so I have now to learn, want to or not!
>
>
>
>If I can get this onto disc, then put it into an E-mail I'll send this 
>tomorrow (Wednesday, and normal museum day) from the museum. Barry has 
>internet at home, and we hope to check out Greenkeys site on Thursday night.
>
>
>
>Very sincerely,
>
>Richard YOUL
>
>
>
>P.S. I could not get the disc to work but another neighbour has assisted 
>with this. for the monent, Barry's E-mail address has been quoted for 
>correspondence.  Thanks
>
>_______________________________________________
>GreenKeys mailing list
>GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net
>http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys

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