[GreenKeys] AN/fgc-80 ....Nick England... Did Navy use these too!!?

Sun Dec 28 22:34:01 EST 2014

Guys:

Some background on the use of the Kleinschmidt AN/FGC-80 high speed or  
"data line
printer". I was in the Army. The Army was a big user of Kleinschmidt  
machines. The
AN/FGC-80 was a "limited production" machine which came out in the early  
70s
(I think) as a small, high speed printer for use in data communications.  
Recall that
in those days, "high speed" data printers of the day were usually  
monstrous, room filling
things, so the AN/FGC-80 was Kleinschmidts' answer to something smaller  and
just as fast. The AN/FGC-80 was a good machine, reliable, but was also lost 
 in the
developments of the era when everyone was building higher speed  
communications
equipment and printers.

The users: Primarily AUTODIN Switching Centers (ASCs), usually in the  R&A
Sections (Reports and Analysis). Most such printers in an ASC were set  up
for ASCII. I never saw one set up for Baudot, although they were advertised 
 as being
Baudot capable. By that time, Baudot was on its' way out, and ASCII was  the
"new" protocol in most comms applications (except for Model V AUTODIN  and
tactical field CommCenters which still used older teletype  equipments).

The AN/FGC-80 was a fixed-station piece of equipment. It was not used  in
the field or tactical operations. Probably too new, and too expensive for  
field use,
and not ideally suited for that kind of work. (Field units in the Army were 
 still
largely using 1950s era Kleinschmidts such as TT-4s, TT-98s, TT-76s
and AN/FGC-25Xs).

The other users of the AN/FGC-80s were DPUs in the Army, or Data  Processing
Units which were non-communications facilties and operations. DPUs  handled
requisitions, supply, logistics, etc (and sent their online traffic  
requirements via
CARD ("Data") traffic to the servicing CommCenter for transmission (and  
reception).
Most CommCenters had a Card (Data) send and receive capability as well  as
teletype (called "narrative"), and other media.

Within AUTODIN, AN/FGC-80s replaced some of the Model 32/33s and  some of 
the Model 28
ASRs that were then in use, but not necessarily all of them (for instance,  
within
most AUTODIN ASCs, we were still using multiple sets of Model 28 ASRs in  
the
SERVICE Section before those were replaced by the AN/FYA-71 (DSTE)  
terminals.
(The "Service" Section was that part of a CommCenter or ASC that handled  
mutilated,
garbled or lost messages and other message "servicing" actions. Depending  
on traffic
volume, this was usually a full time job for the service clerk(s) working  
in the Service
Section).

In the case of the DPUs, the AN/FGC-80s replaced older, leased UNIVAC  1004
and 1005 machines, themselves huge beasts, along with several variations of 
 IBM
equipment. DPUs generally did not, or never used teletype equipment, since  
this
type of equipment was not compatible with Data Processing  requirements.

I worked in CommCenters in the Army. Tape Relays, and Tributaries in the  
General
Service Common User networks did not use the AN/FGC-80s, and neither  did
the DSSCS (Y side) CommCenters (SPINTCOMM/CRITCOMM). The distribution
of AN/FGC-80s was very, very limited and tightly controlled.

The Navy ASC at Albany, GA (RUCL) had a few AN/FGC-80s (2 of them in  the
R&A Section). These were generally used for printouts of reports rather  
than 
online operational communications traffic. I know because I was TDY  (TAD)
to ASC Albany a few times from my post in Florida. (In the 70s, ASC  Albany
was always short-staffed, and often requested TDY/TAD augmentation from  
its'
outlying connected trib stations. TDY personnel were mostly Army and  Air
Force for 6 to 8 weeks at a time).

Hope this helps,

Dave
DE RUMLNHA

In a message dated 12/28/2014 3:07:08 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
navy.radio at gmail.com writes:

Not that I know of - never seen an FGC-80 or seen anything about it
The USN used almost 100% Teletype Corp. equipment until the computer  age.
Then they added a DataProducts TT-624/UG line printer (too new  for me!)
Shown aboard USS Midway in bottom right of this photo
http://www.navy-radio.com/ships/cv41-2/DSCN0040.JPG
and here
http://www.navy-radio.com/ships/cv41-2/DSCN0122.JPG

Cheers,

Nick England K4NYW

_www.navy-radio.com_ (http://www.navy-radio.com/) 

On Sun, Dec 28, 2014 at 2:45 PM, Ed Sharpe Archivist  for SMECC via 
GreenKeys <_greenkeys at mailman.qth.net_ (mailto:greenkeys at mailman.qth.net) > wrote:

> AN/fgc-80 ....Nick England... Did Navy  use these  too!!?

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