[GreenKeys] Ted Minchin, ZL1MT - Silent Key

[gil smith]

Hello George:

So sorry to hear about Ted.  He recently sent me a copy of the RSGB 
Teleprinter Handbook, first edition, in which he had inscribed my name.

Back in December, Ted told me:  "I just enjoy each day for what I can 
do.... got my old 15 rattling away again printing Sitor from the USCG in 
Hawaii..... I have a Hal ST8000 demod with an ARQ1000B which takes the 
Sitor which sounds like 100 baud RTTY (it isn't, its Moore code) and spits 
it out as 50 baud RT.. The mode from the USCG is FEC (forward error 
correcting) and it prints out as 99% error-free machine speed RT.. You get 
mostly wx and shipping bulletins and warnings. Prints every 2 hours from 00 
00 UTC. Amtor was the amateur radio version which is really the same stuff. 
I just love the sound of the old 15 rattling away....!"


A couple of years ago, Ted was telling me his opinions on machines:  "Would 
you really like to know all about Creed junk? In New Zealand and, I
guess Australia to a lesser extent, all the tty gear was made by Creed and
Co. Some of the earlier examples such as the Creed 7B and Creed 54 (which
was a development of the 7B) were great old machines. They were large and
heavy but very reliable, if somewhat more complicated than the Teletype 15.
The accompanying Creed tape machines were the model 85 (chadless) and 86
(chadded) which were basically 7B's with the carriage removed and replaced
with a tape punch. The 86 used 7/8th wide tape. Tape readers were the Creed
6S series (I had 2 6S6's) The 54 had a reperf and reader built in (if you
were lucky and the gears weren't stripped!!).

The real Creed abominations were the model 75's....! They were (I think)
sort of copied from the later Teletype 32's which had a moving multi-tiered
typehead. The problem was that the Poms (Kiwi derogatory slang for what you
call 'Limeys') (no offence intended, tongue very much in cheek!) never
really came to grips with proper production engineering. So they were an
absolute nightmare to work on and adjust. They were OK on 50 Bauds but fell
to bits pretty quick on 75 bauds which they were supposed to be designed to
do. I used to rebuild them for other local hams and that is one of the
reasons that I don't have alot of hair left....To me they were the main
reason I gave up on mechanical Teletype.

My interest was rekindled by the acquisition of a couple of Model 15's from
the NZ Civil Aviation department of the NZ Government who were the ONLY NZ
government department to have Teletype gear. This stuff was left behind in
NZ after the War by the Americans, which is why the CAA was still using it
until 20 odd years ago. Everywhere else in the government the only machines
used were Creed, later replaced by Olivetti ( Now that's REAL junk!)

Also my good friend GeorgeW7TTY sent me a model 14TD and a 28KSR to round
out my collection. I still have a Creed 54 but seldom run it these days...."


Many years ago, Ted sent me a beautiful stuffed Kiwi for my son.  This 
unique New Zealand bird has been sitting majestically on my son's bookcase 
ever since.

As Ted told me:  "Kiwis are ONLY found in New Zealand.... They are about 
the size of a small chook...(Chicken) and they live in the forest eating 
worms.... Hence the
long beak. They are the national symbol of NZ....  We also have a variant on
the Black widow called the Katipo... and of course, we have millions of
opossums....(from Australia) these are a small tree dwelling marsupial
animal about the size of a cat. They look very appealing but are highly
destructive of the trees etc and considered a noxious pest. We have no
snakes (yet) but just about every other known bug I think..! We have a lot
of different birds which are rapidly becoming extinct...."

We'll miss you Ted.  To quote you:  "73 ol' mate"

gil


At 11:48 PM 5/27/2006, you wrote:
>GreenKeyers - - -
>
>It is with great sadness I report the passing of Ted Minchin, ZL1MT,
>from Putaruru, New Zealand.
>
>Ted was a man who did not say much on GreenKeys, but was an avid
>teletype enthusiast, and read everything that came down the pike on
>this reflector.
>
>He was a man of incredible knowledge of a veritable plethora of
>subjects. I never met him in person, nor on the air, but had many a
>protracted telephone conversation with him, each one being a session
>of learning and laughter.
>
>He regularly copied the WA9XHN and WC2XPF teletype broadcasts I used
>to run, and was disappointed that the FCC blockheads nixed the whole
>concept of TTY broadcasting. He thought BPL and Michael Powell's
>political affiliations had much to do with the termination of the
>project.
>
>Ted had developed inoperable brain cancer, and was given a few months
>to live, perhaps to December. A week or so ago he fell in his yard
>(he had developed difficulty walking) and seriously injured his face
>on some edging around some planting area. He passed away at 1015 New
>Zealand time Saturday morning, 27 May.
>
>73, Ted.  I, and I'm sure others, will sorely miss you.
>
>73,
>
>George - W7TTY
>
>
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