[GreenKeys] Father "RTTY"

[hsvham]

Who knows how much a $$ Model 15 / 19 setup cost (in current-day dollars, or otherwise) back in the day when that was the primary standard for commercial TTY equipment?

Steve K4KM

--- On Mon, 6/22/09, Jack <wa2hwj at att.net> wrote:

> From: Jack <wa2hwj at att.net>
> Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] Father "RTTY"
> To: "'John Beckman'" <beck8463 at bellsouth.net>, greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
> Date: Monday, June 22, 2009, 1:11 PM
> W2BFD succeeded in getting a lot of
> commercial TTY users (but not Ma
> Bell) to
> release Teletype gear through him for amateur radio use.
> The people
> who 
> obtained the TTY's had to sign a document that basically
> said they
> were only using the machines for hobby use and would not
> resell them
> to commercial users. The initial machines John got were
> Model 12's.
> He eventually had some success with WU and Ma Bell. I
> believe the
> Bell Model 26's that eventually got released were also a
> result of
> John's
> efforts. Lots of 26's were distributed in the NY area by
> Felix,
> W2ZPX... I got my 26 from him. He had a basement full of
> TTY gear and
> barrels full of parts in his Queens house.
> 
> Most of the initial RTTY work was done at 2 Meters because
> FSK was
> not allowed on the low bands (called the "HF bands' these
> days). 
> They could use make-and-break keying only...MARK was a
> carrier
> and SPACE was no carrier. This pretty much placed the TTY
> keyboard
> in place of the CW key. It was not an overly efficient
> method of
> sending RTTY signals.
> 
> Wayne, John and others pressured the FCC for FSK
> privileges,
> first getting the OK for 850 HZ shift only and then
> eventually
> any shift up to 900 HZ.
> 
> Both W2BFD and W2NSD deserve a lot of credit for promoting
> RTTY
> in the post-WW II days. Wayne covered RTTY heavily in CQ;
> the column
> was
> eventually taken over by Byron, W2JTP. When Byron's CQ RTTY
> column
> faded
> away, Gordon White (non-Ham) started the "Surplus
> Sidelights" column,
> with a lot
> of emphasis on TTY equipment. I drove Gordon crazy as a
> teenage
> "penpal"
> and obtained my first Model 28 stuff from him (literally
> junkers that
> needed to be fixed/refurbished). Gordon had a lot of
> contacts in the
> DC area and he came up with really neat TTY gear.
> 
> While Ham RTTY started on the East coast, the West coast
> soon caught
> up
> with Merrill, W6AEE, being one of the more famous RTTY'ers.
> He was the
> father of the "RTTY Journal". Us old-timer RTTY types all
> remember
> W2JAV,
> W2PAT, K2AGI, W6FFC (Irv Hoff), WA6PIR, W8SDZ, W9TCJ,
> W1AFN, and many
> others.
> 
> Jack K0TTY
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: greenkeys-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:greenkeys-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
> On Behalf Of John Beckman
> Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 12:28 PM
> To: greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [GreenKeys] Father "RTTY"
> 
> Maybe I've missed it, or maybe it doesn't matter anymore -
> but some of
> 
> the newcomers to RTTY might be interested in the man
> commonly credited
> 
> with starting and encouraging  RTTY, the best of all
> modes. We've seen
> 
> references to Irv Hoff and Wayne Green, and certainly they
> made 
> contributions and encouragement, but nothing has been
> mentioned (to my
> 
> knowledge) about  W2BFD, John Williams, "The old
> maestro of RTTY."
> 
> John started the first RTTY "net" in 1946 with 30 printers
> in the New 
> York City area. John gave lectures and demonstrations at
> tons of ham 
> club meetings during the following two years, including
> participation
> in 
> an ARRL Convention. Articles about this new mode began
> appearing in
> ham 
> magazines in 1948 (Wayne Green, W2NSD. then Editor of "CQ"
> magazine
> was 
> an avid  RTTY enthusiast and he continued that support
> as publisher of
> 
> "73" magazine.).
> 
> By 1949 RTTY stations were popping up from coast to coast,
> but had it 
> not been for pioneers like John Williams, W2BFD, who knows
> how long it
> 
> might have been before someone else discovered this notable
> addition
> to 
> the enjoyment of our wonderful hobby.
> 
> Perhaps some of the "oldest" old-timers on this list may
> have known
> John 
> and can share some more insight into this remarkable ham.
> 
> John W4BTX
> 
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