[GreenKeys] What brought you here?

Tue Apr 7 23:19:08 EDT 2020

Sorry this is long.

Phase 1.

I got my technician and novice license in January 1959 (K9QYM/KN9QYM). 
That summer I went to Madison Wisconsin for a summer job before starting 
in Electrical Engineering that fall.  I managed to link up with the UW 
radio club during the summer.  Fred Laun (W9SZR at the time, now K3ZO) 
kind of took me under his wing.  The club (BARS - W9YT) had a room in 
the basement of the Engineering Building and consited of the components 
of a AN/GRC-26 less the hut and generator.  BC-610/ 2 R-388/ TU?/ model 
15, 14 TD and 14 typing reperf.  Fred let me type during a couple of 
QSOs and I was hooked.  This was the time when I got W9DDD assigned as a 
second station license.

I soon became introduced to other locals off campus.  One of them was 
Dr. John Schroeder, K9YXW, who at the time had a 14 KTR.  I rode with 
him down to pick up a 28KSR from Ray Morrison.  I came back with a 
15KSR.  The cover was from an RO and it needed a few type pallets 
replaced (maybe it was just the P to get slashed zero?)..  I used a hack 
saw and a nibbler tool to convert the blank panel of the RO cover to 
have the cutout for the keyboard.  I still remember how sore my hands 
were after nibbling  those arcs over the part where the screws went to 
hold the keyboard in place.

Dr John and I were soon up and running on 6 meters AFSK.

Next trip to Ray's place resulted in a brand new FRXD still in the wood 
shipping crate.  Gear change and I was up and running with a reperf and TD.

I then got the pieces to make a 19.  The table came by truck from East 
coast somewhere.  At this point I don't recall if I was still dealing 
with Ray, or I had been introduced to Bert who became my primary parts 
contact.

I got a summer job at WISC-TV and continued to work there for several 
years.  At one point in time the 15 KSR went to the transmitter site 
where I worked Army MARS during the morning transmitter shift. (keep a 
program log and read the meters every half hour, yawn.)  I don't recall 
why there was an HF antenna there, but it work well into the Chicago NCS.

Phase 2
Off to work for uncle.  Teleprinter use was limited even though I was 
assigned an AN/GRC-46 during my tour at Camp Casey.  The TT-98 had been 
removed to use in the wire center, so all I had to play with was the TT-76.

Phase 3
Back in Madison with new wife and starting a family.  Back at work at 
Channel 3.  I suspect the 15KSR might have stayed at the transmitter 
site and diappeared while I was gone or I sold it at some point.  Also 
don't know when the FRXD disappeared.  I went back to UWl and my lab 
partner was Tom Aschenbrenner, WA9EXS.  He was the dormitory radio 
station engineer.  He had access to the surplus center.  Lot of neat 
parts, but the creme de la creme was a pair of 28 typing units.  That 
triggered a trip to chicago to pickup 2 keyboards and cabinets from Bert.

We got set up to autostart on two meters.  He had a base station 5V 
transceiver which he moounted in the base of the KSR cabinet.  1/4 wave 
mobile whip went in placa of the red lense top left side of KSR.  All is 
fine expect his roomies didn't care for the 28 cranking up after 10PM. I 
had a bad habit of getting off shift at channel 3 and generating the lab 
report for the next morning.  Cut a tape on the 19 and let her rip. We 
took turns writing up the report.  The lab assitant accepted the all 
upper case reports.

Collecting continued with the aquisition of more gear.  By 1970 I had 
the 28 KSR floor console, a skin tight 28KSR and a skin tight 28RO.

1971 was spent in Bogotá Colombia as W9DDD portable HK3.  I spent most 
time on the 20M autostart frequency. with the KSR and a KWM-1.  I 
remeber W6FFC and K4EID being on the frequency.  I don't recall others.

Ampex Corporation had some sort of scandal with insider trading of upper 
management etc.  I moved back to the states and landed in the Quad 
Cities.  Trips to Chicago continued and I was starting to build an ASR. 
This was the period of raising kids and my interests started to move 
towards computers.  As time went by a PHP11 and 33ASR captured most of 
my time.

1982 and I moved to Dallas Texas.  All Teletype gear was sold at "going 
out of business" prices to K9MVJ.  It was a take it all or none.

Phase 4

Sometime in the summer of 2018 I had this sound in my head of a 28 
typing at 60wpm.  I started googling to see what was going on these 
days.  Soon found Green Keys and here I am.  (I called Leo, K9MVJ that 
fall to see what happed to my old collection.  It had all gone to the 
land fill about 2 years before.)

John, W9DDD

On 4/7/2020 12:44 PM, Jeff G wrote:
> I'm sure this has been done in the past, but figured I'd ask as I'm a 
> bit of a newb here and it would give me something to read. What got you 
> into Teletypes, and ultimately to Greenkeys? Can be a simple answer or a 
> short story!
> 
> For me...I always had an interest in them, and I'm into vintage 
> computing amongst many many many other hobbies. I acquired a Teletype 
> Model 32 and HAL ST-6 last year, and its been a learning experience to 
> learn about the history, how they work, current loops, baudot, etc. I'd 
> love to get a 33 some day, and (hopefully) have lines on a couple older 
> models as well now, as I LOVE the old/steampunk/electromechanical aspect 
> of them, and have several older items displayed in my living room, like 
> an Edison cylinder player (Edison Triumph). That said I'm probably a 
> youngin at 42.
> 
> I'm also a new-ish ham (licensed in 2016) and definitely want to try 
> RTTY, outside of a contest. Also just before the s--- hit the fan, I 
> started volunteering on the Battleship NJ and aimed to help them get 
> some of their TTY stuff going again.
> 
> Jeff KC3GJX
> 
> 
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