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Vintage Telephony and Telecomms Vintage Telephones, Telephony and Telecomms Equipment |
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23rd Dec 2017, 9:24 pm | #1 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: St.Ippolyts, Hitchin, Hertfordshire QRA IO91UW
Posts: 3,518
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Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
Other than Alf and I, are there any Teleprinter afficionados here?
I only ask because I have a teleprinter connected via the internet, and am looking to generate more UK traffic. I am using a system that can be found here https://www.i-telex.net/ Yes, I know the website is in German, but please have a look - if there are others that are interested it will make for many more happy teleprinters in the UK. Cheers Sean
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Engineers make things work and have spare bits when finished |
24th Dec 2017, 9:43 am | #2 |
Nonode
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Hull, East Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 2,087
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Re: Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
On the BBC's Saturday sport programme 'Grandstand' they used to display the results as they came in. This was nothing more than a camera aimed at some kind of teleprinter taking plain tractor feed paper.
What I remember was the rather unusual printer head that seemed to jump up from the carriage. I don't remember whether there was a ribbon involved or if it spat ink at the paper. I do remember it was my first exposure to any sort of electronic communication. |
24th Dec 2017, 11:17 am | #3 |
Banned
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Middlewich, Cheshire, UK. & Winter in the Philippines.
Posts: 3,897
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Re: Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
It was a flying golf ball printer head.
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24th Dec 2017, 11:25 am | #4 |
Hexode
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 458
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Re: Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
I was into teleprinters as a kid, buying, repairing and selling them and listening (or rather printing off) to TASS and such for amusement. Sadly that stopped when I started work and interests changed to those involving the ritualistic burning of insane amounts of fossil fuels and weekends repairing the bent metal that usually resulted. I’ve recently begun to look out for a Creed 7E but come up short so far, either because the prices are crazy or I simply cannot find one that does not involve a 400 mile round trip. I finally have at least some spare time and so I’ll get there eventually, and join in on I-telex and hopefully get the thing on air too.
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24th Dec 2017, 1:23 pm | #5 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Biggin Hill, London, UK.
Posts: 5,215
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Re: Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
I have a few teleprinters :
2 off Teletype Model 33 ASR (if ASCII machines count), one in the Data Dynamics case Creed 7E (Must get that going again, I've not used it for years and it needs an overhaul before I power it up again) Creed 444 (Waiting for me to fit a new reader drive belt, which I have sitting next to the machine) Friden Flexowriter (does that count as a teleprinter)? Alas I have little interest in connecting them in any way to the internet. |
26th Dec 2017, 12:11 pm | #6 |
Diode
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Chislehurst, London, UK.
Posts: 2
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Re: Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
I have just joined and would like to chat or hear from other like minded collectors.
I have two Creed 7E teleprinters, a Creed 444, Creed perforator and a 6C reader all of which I hope to get running in the long term and hopfully connected to I-Telex on the internet. |
26th Dec 2017, 3:02 pm | #7 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 14,007
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Re: Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
I used to have a Creed 7B in my teens/early-twenties, used with a homebrew RTTY terminal-unit [four 6BW6 to give constant-current drive to the 80V selector-magnet] - it was used in conjunction with my AR88 for amateur RTTY and utility-traffic reception.
When I left home said 7B went (inside blue polythene fertilizer-sacks for dustproofing) into my mother's attic only to come back down when we had to sell the house following her sad decease. Having no use for it, it found its way to forum member "tis your junk" a year or so back, who I believe intended to refurbish it for exhibition purposes. Alas in the decades and multiple QTH-moves since I last used it, the tool/adjustment set [spring balance, tension gauges, feeler-gauges, strange C-spanners, oilcan etc all set out in a mahogany box with green baize lining] along with the associated tools for adjusting the traditional "Carpenter" balanced relays, had gone astray. |
26th Dec 2017, 4:24 pm | #8 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: St.Ippolyts, Hitchin, Hertfordshire QRA IO91UW
Posts: 3,518
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Re: Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
My current fleet consists of four machines.
TeKaDe FS200 this is electronic, and was built for the Bundeswehr, dates from the late 1980s (functional) BT Cheetah - this is a recent purchase, again electronic, and dates from the early 80s (Needs repairs) Creed 444 - A true Teleprinter - electromechanical, and heavy, complicated, and cumbersome to use - currently on the bench undergoing a major service - hopefully the next machine to be online. BT Merlin 3200 plus (also known as a STC3000) No documentation, no keyboard, no use at present! I can interface the FS 200 directly to my EKD300 receiver, and use it to decode the DWD Wetter Service on 147Khz, or as it is installed at the moment, communicate via I-Telex with other users around the world.
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Engineers make things work and have spare bits when finished |
11th Feb 2018, 12:24 am | #9 |
Triode
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Glasgow, UK.
Posts: 32
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Re: Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
Evening Sean
How about an encouraging "get us started" precis of what's involved in setting up iTelex Anson |
11th Feb 2018, 12:28 pm | #10 |
Rest in Peace
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: West London, UK.
Posts: 665
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Re: Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
Hi All,
Some photos here would be nice to see. Regards - Mike |
11th Feb 2018, 6:35 pm | #11 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: St.Ippolyts, Hitchin, Hertfordshire QRA IO91UW
Posts: 3,518
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Re: Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
Ok, away on business at present, and I-telex box currently in bits, adding some new cards and a better enclosure - pictures to follow when I return
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Engineers make things work and have spare bits when finished |
11th Feb 2018, 11:05 pm | #12 |
Octode
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Saltburn-East, Cleveland, UK.
Posts: 1,786
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Re: Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
Hi, I don't know much about teleprinters but if there are a few of you with them had considered getting them connected together via C*Net?
Regards Andrew |
11th Feb 2018, 11:15 pm | #13 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Oxford, UK.
Posts: 4,992
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Re: Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
Inevitably there is a mailing list about teletypes and period radio and such here
http://www.rtty.com/greenkeys.htm |
14th Feb 2018, 1:50 pm | #14 |
Pentode
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 121
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Re: Any Teleprinter afficionados here?
Back in my youth I was employed by ICL at their factory in WInsford. The older mainframes all used teleytypes. The system 4 ones had a huge one - not sure of the make or model. The 1900 range used the KSR33 variety. I used to use the paper tape punch/reader on these ones for programmable test equipment - happy memories. I'm glad some folk keep these items looked after still.
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