[MRCA] UGC-129

[Ray Fantini]

The new TTY set up. In the continuing drive to move forward into the past determined that running Military 850 Hz shift RTTY with using a laptop and MITTY software was not going to cut it.
Couple three weeks ago picked up a couple UGC-129 mechanical teleprinters. Ok, so they may be a somewhat modern dot matrix printer with an imbedded micro they still are a teleprinter and being from the nineteen eighties are a lot better match with the Harris 350 then the rack mounted workstation that I have been using.
Did have issues with frozen motors and clogged print heads and the like but think I have all the bugs worked out of unit 1 and will be looking forward to being on line Saturday Morning for the net on 7080
The UGC-129 is an interesting teleprinter that I somehow think was a light weight version of the UGC-74, the UGC-129 weighs 50 Lbs. where the UGC-74 weighs 100 Lbs. Both use a buffer storage system for receiver and transmit and have the ability to operate in ASCII or Boudot codes. The thing I like about the 129 over the 74 is that the 129 uses no roller or platen and best of all the 129 uses just regular generic typewriter ribbons that are easy to get, cheap and unlike the stupid cartridge ribbons for the 74 are not bad directly out of the box.
My 129 sets came from a AN/TGC-28 Communication Central Shelter that had a NSN 5815-00-435 3591ZR designation that I am going to assume was a Navy system? Have also read that the UCG-129 was widely used by the Air Force and that at one point several were installed on Air Force One. Do not think the Army or USMC ever used them but stayed with the UGC-74 being you can still find the UGC-74 listed in the USMC Communications Electronics Equipment catalog (TM-2000-OD/2) from 2005 making the old heavy UGC-74 one of the longer lived teleprinters ever in service.
I am attaching a picture of the new TTY operating position in the shack showing the radios it will work with, the Tempested Dovetron and the UGC in its slide out shelf.
I have a couple of these systems along with a bunch of the tape drives that went with them and the Operations and Maintenance Instructions Manual for the UGC-129 but it includes everything except for the schematic.
If anyone has any other data or information please let me know.

Ray F/KA3EKH
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