[GreenKeys] Model 15 Electrical and Conceptual Help

[hwhall@aol.com]

>What do I need to buy/build to be able to connect a computer to it?
>From your reading, you're probably aware by now that computers don't use the same digital codes for characters that are used in computers. It's possible to interface them but it requires some translation software or a dedicated converter box of some kind. The serial communications loops used in computers are also incompatible with the loops used to run the teletypes (different voltages & current levels).The barrier strip along the right side of the Model 15 is probably the best way to connect the machine to AC power and to a magnet current loop supply. The Model 15 manuals will show how all those little screw contacts are wired internally to the machine. From that you can determine what to wire up to the strip. WayneWB4OGM
On Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at 04:40:27 PM MDT, Thomas McCourt <imanirishmanfam at gmail.com> wrote:




Hello greenkeys, my name is Thomas, and I am a chemical engineering junior who has been interested in mechanical calculators and teletypes for a number of years. I was just able to acquire a model 15 off facebook marketplace about a month ago. From my experience with messing around with typewriters and my Friden calculators I feel pretty confident that I can figure out working with the mechanical side of the model 15, but I'm entirely out of my depth on the electrical side of things. How electrical stuff works on a fundamental level has been entirely non intuitive for me and is the reason I didn't go for ECE, and I simply don't know what I don't know. I don't want to fry components of this thing, so I'm here. 
I've done some research and I've watched all of the Curious Marc videos where he restores a 19 and a 15, and I've downloaded and started to read the manuals he archived. I also tried looking through the archives of greenkeys, but I didn't see any way of sorting it by topic. I still tried looking through 1.5 years of the subjects, but I didn't see anything which applied to my situation.
My 15 came wired up with a 4 prong plug where 3 of the prongs are parallel and the other is perpendicular to the others. It also came with a stand which had 2 2 prong wall outlets, the 4 prong, some large 2 prong I've never seen, and ports for the send and receive. The stand itself had a male 2 prong plug. The last time this was used seems to be in 1958 in a hospital based on the paperwork that was under the stand. 
With all of that said, I'll ask my questions. Can the 15 be wired such that it can be plugged into a standard US outlet without the stand using a normal plug? From looking at a wiring diagram which looks like it matches I think it says that it can take 110V AC from the 4 prong plug, or 120V DC from a different plug. Next, how do I set up a current loop so it can just print to itself? What do I need to buy/build to be able to connect a computer to it? With the photo I hopefully attached correctly, what are the intended purposes of the ports under the stand? What are things I should be especially careful of when working on this, in any sense?
Sorry for all of the questions and text, but I wasn't able to figure this stuff out from my research thus far,Thomas M

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