[GreenKeys] Newbie seeking help please

[Duncan Brown]

Chris,

Welcome to the group!

You have a nice looking Teletype Corp. Model 15 teleprinter or 
teletypewriter. The keyboard is a separate module and was often left out 
for machines used just to receive the news, such as in radio & TV 
stations. This is known as an "RO" or "receive only" unit Since your AP 
unit has a keyboard, yes, the news department could send local news 
items out on the line to AP headquarters. This version is known as a 
"KSR" for "Keyboard Send & Receive.

The M15 was the standard digital communications device in the USA from 
the 1930s in to the 1950s.  ( In 1950, Teletype Corp came out with a new 
model, the Model 28, but M15s continued to be used up into the 1980s.) 
Besides news distribution, they were used extensively by the military, 
police, airlines, railroads, etc. There was also an early "e-mail" 
system know as TWX (in Europe "TELEX") where one could send a message to 
anyone else on the network and the message could be recived unattended.

You can find manuals on the M15 at
http://www.bitsavers.org/communications/teletype/15/144_Model15_Descr_Feb31.pdf 
and 
http://bitsavers.org/communications/teletype/15/138_Model15_Adj_Oct41.pdf

A good history of the teletypewriter is "Printing Telegraphy ... A New 
Era Begins", by Edward E. Kleinschmidt.  It can be found at 
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/53481/53481-h/53481-h.htm.

To answer the question of whether your machine can be made to work, the 
answer is probably YES!  These machines were very rugged and as long as 
there are no broken parts, it can probably be made to work.

Hope this will help you get started.  See my video below for some 
history and different machines.

Have fun,

Duncan Brown, K2OEQ
USASA    31J30

Antique Wireless Assoc. Museum,
   Asst. Curator, Commercial Equipment
(also chief TTY op & repairman)

www.antiquewireless.org

Virtual TTY Museum Tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpB6jM90VV8



On 14-Oct-20 12:36, Chris Mele wrote:
> Hello and thanks for adding me to this list!
>
> I am a 34-year-newsman and I recently came into possession of an 
> Associated Press teletype/wire machine with a keyboard. I am very 
> excited to have it for my office.
>
> I can recall one of these machines in the journalism department at my 
> college and remember the more modern versions of the machines that 
> were printers -- all of course before the wires converted to 
> electronically delivering feeds directly to newsroom computers.
>
> I have been diving into the impressive, deep archives here and been 
> searching online for a better understanding of how the machine worked 
> or even a simple diagram of the names of its parts. Was the keyboard a 
> way for reporters to transmit from the field? I am also trying to get 
> an approximate date for this model.
>
> I've been hunting for a book or instruction manual that might shed 
> light on the history of these news wire machines. If anyone has any 
> recommendations or knows of a particular thread that might address my 
> questions, I'd be most grateful. I'm not at all tech savvy so I'm 
> looking for something that might be a bit more with the layman in mind 
> but certainly welcome any technical insights.
>
> I very much admire the sense of community in these threads and I'll 
> continue to methodically work my way through them in the meantime.
>
> Thanks very much.
>
> Best,
> Christopher Mele
>
> PS -- I have been repeatedly asked whether this machine works or could 
> be made to work again, and I have no idea.
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> GreenKeys mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net
>
>>>> Jordan Spencer Cunningham's GreenKeys Search Tool: https://teletype.net/gksearch
>>>> 2002-to-present greenkeys archive: http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/greenkeys/
>>>> 1998-to-2001 greenkeys archive: http://mailman.qth.net/archive/greenkeys/greenkeys.html
>>>> Randy Guttery's 2001-to-2009 GreenKeys Search Tool: http://comcents.com/tty/greenkeyssearch.html
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to duncanancy at earthlink.net