Hello Steve and welcome to the group!
To answer your question, no, you are not alone. There are plenty here that still use and enjoy the old heavy metal teletypes.
I got into it just over a year ago with a model 28 and a HAL ST-6000. Recently added model 14 vintage TD so I can send via punched tape now.
There are a few of us that regularly monitor 14.086 with the machines on autostart, and I engage in a RTTY qso almost on a daily basis.
Good luck on your restoration work and keep us posted. Hope to hear you on the air soon!
73's
Mike
KD7VRG
Tucson, AZ
-------- Original message --------
Date: 11/16/22 8:00 PM (GMT-07:00)
Subject: [GreenKeys] New to the List
Hello all - just got signed up to the list today.
I ran my old Teletype Model 19 (actually, not so old: I see 8/1960 date stamps on most of the machine's major sub-assemblies) and Hal ST-6000 on the air many years ago, and then packed everything away for a move to a new house. Over the years, I have forgotten a lot (most?) of what I learned about RTTY on HF.
So I have now become re-interested in mechanical RTTY and am digging everything out of the shop storage. The M19 itself is sorely in need of some TLC, and I have begun tearing it down for a complete overhaul/re-lube/re-adjust. It'll take a while, but the machine badly needs a complete re-do. At present, I am tearing down the M15 unit, as it is in the worst shape.
I'll have quite a few questions as I get "re-started" in RTTY, and I'll appreciate the help from the group. Meanwhile, I'll get caught up on the archived messages in the list.... good reading!
First question: am I alone in my interest in running a M19 on HF for mechanical RTTY? I hope I'll be able to do more than copy the W1AW Baudot transmissions on the old Teletype machine!
Thx -
Steve K4KM