[GreenKeys] Using the AN/UGC-136BX

[Nick England]

OOPS- I meant
no issue today with a station that was sending LTRS as diddles

Nick

On Sat, Aug 2, 2025 at 2:01 PM Nick England <navy.radio at gmail.com> wrote:

> I was net control today for the 40m 850 shift net using my new toy. Zach
> W8ZJT was also using his UGC-136BX. This may have been the very first
> UGC-136 QSO that didn't involve a submarine...
> Here are some miscellaneous notes on actual operation
>
> My ribbon got stuck a few times - probably just the 35 year old ribbon
> sticking together and being too hard for the mechanism to pull around.
> Twisting the manual ribbon advance knob got it going again. Since it was my
> first time using this machine I had my nearby 28ASR printing as a backup.
>
> Be sure the XMIT_ACT lamp is lit when you are trying to transmit from the
> keyboard. Mine got thrown out of XMIT_ACT when I switched my radio from
> transmit to receive - I have a lot of long cables running together so a
> glitch was getting in somewhere. After I keyed my transmitter I had to
> enter TX_MSG, ENTER again, sometimes several times to get the mode to
> stick. If the XMIT_ACT lamp is not lit, you can be merrily typing away
> locally but only transmitting a steady mark.
>
> Again, because it was my first on-the-air experience, I had a backup
> receiver on a nearby speaker so I would notice if I was stuck in steady
> mark through a glitch or human error.
>
> Composing a reply while receiving will take some getting used to. It isn't
> like having a FIFO buffer you can type ahead into. You compose a message,
> exit C/E, and then when you are ready to transmit and hit TX_MSG you have
> to remember the number of the message you just composed.
>
> If you want to insert a stored message when you are typing from the
> keyboard, you
> 0. turn the radio to transmit
> 1. start keyboard mode with TX_MSG, ENTER, type some and then
> 2. exit keyboard mode with CTRL-ENTER
> 3. start the stored message with TX_MSG, number, ENTER
> 4. when the message has been transmitted, the lamp will go out and then
> 5. restart keyboard transmit mode with TX_MSG, ENTER, type some and then
> 6.turn the radio back to receive
>
> Zach says it gets easier as you gain experience. I'm still freezing while
> looking for FIGS/LTRS until I remember I don't have to do that. All-in-all
> it was a fun experience and great to actually put the new toy into use.
>
> I need to check if you can enable Unshift-on-Space (UOS). If you take a
> hit while receiving you may get stuck in FIGS (and I need to experiment to
> see whether CR LF unshifts the printer).
> That's a reminder for people to please send CR CR LF LTRS at the end of
> every line.
>
> The manual says that NULL characters are non-printing, but on my 136 (and
> others) it prints a backslash. This could be a pain with stations that are
> sending NULLS as diddles (idle characters), but there was no issue today
> with a station that was sending FIGS as diddles.
>
> When you turn off the UGC-136 power all messages are lost. So I created a
> paper tape with a bunch of common messages (each with VZCZC start and NNNN
> end) - RY TEST, CQ, NET INFO, etc. Before the net I ran that tape on my
> 28ASR and into the UGC-136 so I then had those messages stored for ready
> transmission. The UGC-136 manual alludes to a bulk storage option (floppy
> disk?) but so far we have no info on that.
>
> Yeah, I know I could do all this easier using a computer, but it is quite
> satisfying to learn about and get a new old piece of machinery going.......
> Super thanks to John Hargett for stepping up to make this UGC-136BX group
> project happen.
>
> Have Fun and keep those cards and letters coming in for the HINTS page
> https://www.navy-radio.com/tty/ugc136.htm#hints
> Nick England K4NYW
> www.navy-radio.com
>
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