[GreenKeys] Information on Extel Printer.

[Sheldon Daitch]

Charles,

Interesting.

I worked at only one UPI station, and I don't remember in the two years I was there that we had any issues with the Extel.

I am almost certain that unit had the built-in modem and did not use the external Lenkurt box.

A tale of that time.

We were going to do some election reporting from the county elections office and the news team wanted a UPI printer
at that location.  I contacted UPI for a price for a temporary install, and that number was way out of line.

I realized the UPI machine was feed with the VF tone circuit, on a voice grade phone line, so I took a chance and had the
local telco install local loop from the radio station to the elections office.  I jumpered the UPI line audio over to that
local loop, took the Extel out of the station and tried it at the elections office.  Worked perfectly.

Sheldon

From: Charles Ring [mailto:w3nu at roadrunner.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2013 5:35 PM
To: Sheldon Daitch
Cc: Bill Allen Jr; greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] Information on Extel Printer.


On 5/28/2013 0558, Sheldon Daitch wrote:

 I am going to go out on a limb, as I am having to go from memory of things I knew more about, roughly 30 years ago.



If the Extel printer had an RCA logo on it, it was probably in UPI use.  UPI used RCA Service to maintain their equipment, while the AP tended to use in-house technical staff to keep their machines working.



The print head is seven pin, with a small electromagnet to drive that pin to print the portions of the completed printed item, as the print head stepped across the paper.



Any possibility the model is an AH-11R?



The AP Extels were generally loop current driven, as the AP had numerous Lenkurt 25A stand-alone single channel VF demodulators.



The UPI Extels were generally outfitted with a tone demodulator which was installed in the Extel case.



Was this always the configuration?  Don't know.  Might have been what the AP or the UPI had on hand when a subscriber had an Extel installed.



The two stations I worked at had 60 mA loop current Extels with Lenkurt 25A's on UPI. They were so unreliable that both stations asked for and got Teletype 15ROs as backups. They were wired in series with the Extels.
--
Charles Ring W3NU
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