[GreenKeys] 28 typer with a pretty full stunt

[Sheldon Daitch]

Long ago and far away, before email, Voice of America stations had RTTY schedules for administrative traffic.

At the time I came to VOA, we were running all M-28 equipment.  The page printers were set up to print all incoming and outgoing traffic, but we did have a level of selective calling to start the tape punch equipment - 
they were set up to start punching tape on FAXFAX.  Actually I think they would start on only on FAX sequence,but the message traffic headers always used FAXFAX.   The tape punch equipment would stop on NNNN.

Jim, the question regarding the FAA, for maybe I am misreading your comment.  If they never had a machine off sequence, eventually all the machines would be on and running.   How were the machines turned back off?
73Sheldon

      From: Jim Haynes <jhhaynes at earthlink.net>
 To: tony.podrasky <tony.podrasky at gmail.com> 
Cc: greenkeys <GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net>; Pete Lancashire <pete at petelancashire.com>
 Sent: Friday, June 15, 2018 1:55 PM
 Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] 28 typer with a pretty full stunt
   
On Fri, 15 Jun 2018, tony.podrasky wrote:
> I don't recall what the option was named - but I had
> one 28-ASR that would run, making all the noise like a
> regular one but without actually printing - and then when
> it received the correct code, would print messages until
> it received the NNNN sequence.
>
It's called Selective Calling, where it takes a certain sequence of
characters to make a printer print, all others on the same line are
nonprint, and then the end of message code puts them back into the
regular case.  The fact that it requires NNNN suggests military.

The FAA was a big user of this feature, but they did not use the
NNNN sequence - rather it was the three letter station identifier
(about the same as a three-letter airport code) that enabled printing.
And most of the FAA machines had a solenoid on the left end plate that
would put the machine in condition to print everything.

In some systems there might have been more than one code to enable
printing, as there might be a code to turn on a certain group of printers
in addition to one for the individual printer.


   
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