[GreenKeys] Intro -- new to the list but not to RTTY

[Duncan Brown]

Jim,

Welcome1

The "Coke Machine" you refer to was probably an AN/TGC-1, the first of 
the "store & forward", torn-tape relays.  It was made by Teletype 
Corporation.



There is only one or two of these still around that anyone knows about.  
One is owned by K6OSM.  Later, both Teletype Corp. & Kleinschmidt Labs 
made fancier ones, generally 6 or 12 channels.

I was an Army-trained TTY repairman.  In 1966, we trained on both the 
M14/15/19 and on the Kleinschmidt TT-4/98/76, FGC-25.  Also trained on 
the TGC-1, though it was obsolete at the time.  I guess it was just to 
give us a feel for tape relay equipment.

have fun,

Duncan Brown, K2OEQ
USASA  31J

Antique Wireless Association Museum Asst. Curator, Commercial Equipment
(also Chief TTY operator & repairman)
http://www.antiquewireless.org/

On 17-Dec-13 11:47, Jim Sheldon wrote:
> Hi all -- Been an RTTY enthusiast/operator since I was first licensed in 1963.  I was in the Army, stationed in Northern Japan at the time.  Over the 3 years I was there I got to work with a whole bunch of older Teletype Corp. Model 14, 15, 19 and there ancillary equipment.  I was operating the base MARS station during the big earthquake that tore up Anchorage, Alaska back then and because of our location, propagation wise, we handled most of the MARS health & welfare between Elmendorf AFB and the U.S.  We had one unique piece of equipment that we called the "Coke Machine".  Not sure what company made it but it was a stack of typing reperforators and transmitter/distributors.  Receivers were Collins R-390A's and the transmitters were OLD (even then) BC-610's that ran about 400 watts out.  We did have one huge 5KW CW/RTTY transmitter (don't remember the number but it used a pair of 833 triodes in push/pull).  We were set up to receive & transmit simultaneously on several frequ
>   encies and picked up the traffic from Elmendorf on 8.080 MHz, re-transmitting it to AF Headquarters in Hawaii on 14.832 MHz.  The typing reperfs were punching tape and when it got long enough, we fed the tape into the T/D's for re-transmission.  We also were communicating directly with Hawaii on 13.995 MHz using another BC-610 and Model 15 so if they got a garbled message, we could stop the tape and either back it up or break the bad msg out and feed it into the T/D on the "order wire" re-running it until they got it.
>
> Haven't had to do anything anywhere near that hectic in the years since, but we really wound up with a sense of accomplishment and a lot of thank-you letters from the Army, Air Force and the recipients of the messages.  Amazing that the mechanical machines ran better then than some of the electronic stuff we use today - LOL.
>
> Jim - W0EB
> Park City, KS
>
> Retired Army Sergeant
> Retired Master Electrician
> ______________________________________________________________
>



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