[GreenKeys] AN/UGC-74B?

[Edward Greeley]

Good evening, Bob,

You are right, the UGC-74B(V3) IS NOT a model 28, or even a distant 
cousin. What it is IS A PIECE OF JUNK! Allow me to explain:

The machine is a good idea in theory that was very poorly implemented in 
practice. It's supposed to be a universal data terminal that will do 
both ASCII and Baudot, RS-232 or current loop at data rates from 110 
baud up to (IIRC) 9600 baud. Those are the basic options that can be 
selected by various switches. There are a number of other options that I 
don't remember off the top of my head.

It has a really goofy typing mechanism that is sort of reminiscent of 
the old GE Terminet printers, yet different. The Terminet had a belt 
with alpha and numeric charcters on metal fingers inserted into the 
belt. The belt rotated continuously in front of the paper and when the 
appropriate character appeared at the appropriate spot on the page, the 
type finger was whacked by a print hammer to drive the finger against 
the ribbon and onto the paper. There was a print hammer for each 
character position on the paper. Sheesh! If you can picture all that and 
think it was a Rube Goldberg machine, you're right.

Well! The UGC-74B(V3) has a large drum (the axis of which is 
perpendicular to the edge of the paper) that rotates continuously BEHIND 
the paper. The drum contains a complete type set (letters, figures, 
punctuation, etc) for EACH character position on the paper. Like the 
Terminet, the machine's logic knows where the drum is at all times, and 
knows what character is supposed to print at each position, and tells 
the print hammer at the specified character position to whack the ribbon 
against the paper when the selected character on the drum comes around. 
Again, there is a print hammer for each character position on the paper.

The real problem with the machine is that the paper feed rollers, which 
are under the drum, were made of some sort of "miracle material" that 
miraculously turns into a substance rather like very thick rubber cement 
after a few years, and plasters itself all over the print drum when you 
fire it up. There are no replacement rollers available, AFIK. Even if 
rollers were available, it is a major surgical operation to remove the 
drum to effect roller replacement. Not to mention cleaning the goo off 
of the drum and everything else it got on.

The second big problem is that there are no replacement ribbons 
available for the machine. Gotta reink the old one. When that wears out, 
then what?

I speak from sad, sad, frustrating experience about this. I bought 
several of the damned things from DRMO at Keesler AFB several years ago 
and never was able to get any of them cleaned up and working. I found 
out AFTER I was stuck with them that the gooey roller problem was all 
too common, and I was never able to find ANYONE who had a working 
UGC-74B(V3). Other variations of the UGC-74 are different, as I 
understand it, but I have no first-hand knowledge of them.

I still have one of the damned things that you can have for FREE if you 
want to pay the freight. I should mention that the machine is supposed 
to have a front cover that completely encloses its "face". The GL 
pictures do not show that cover. It's supposedly water-proof when the 
front cover is in place. The front cover has a warning decal that 
cautions "TWO MAN LIFT", imagine that! It only weighs 100 pounds...

Caveat emptor!

Ed Greeley