[GreenKeys] Dayton, VOA, mylar tape

[Bill Strangfeld]

Dayton was a washout on Saturday this year, so I
went to the museum at the ex-Voice of America
transmitter site (the Bethany Relay Station) in
West Chester Ohio, where I'm one of the
volunteers.  A good number of Dayton visitors gave
up on waiting for the rain to end on Saturday and
came down to visit the VOA instead, since the VOA
had an open house on Saturday and Sunday.

Among other displays, we're running model 28
machines at the VOA to show people what operating
ttys are like.  We have it printing rtty art as a
demonstration. The paper tapes wear out after a
lot of runs, so it would be nice to find some
mylar tape for the demos.  The mylar tape listed
on the web all seems to be one inch and very
expensive.  Does anyone have a source for mylar
11/16 tape?  We don't need a lot -- just enough
for a Mickey Mouse tape and one of JFK, although
more would be welcome.

I didn't see much tty gear at Dayton this year on
Thursday, Friday, or Sunday. I had a 28 on the
tailgate to start conversations and a lot of
people saw it and stopped by to visit.  There were
many stories from guys who used to have machines
but threw them in the dump because nobody wanted
them. A few who said they still have machines but
aren't on the air because there's no activity were
very interested in the new 10.137 net.

The VOA Museum is just getting organized.  The
ex-VOA building and the surrounding 300 acres are
now owned by West Chester Township and are
operated as a public park. We're moving the Gray
History of Wireless Museum from downtown Cincinati
up to the VOA.  The Gray Museum is a 501(c)(3)
that has been around since 1972 but was difficult
to access at the old location.  We have a pretty
good collection starting with spark transmitters
and other very early radios.  The West Chester
Amateur Radio Association also is active at the
VOA.

There should be a lot of radios and tty machines
there by the next Dayton Hamvention. We have a lot
of model 14, 15, 19, and 28 machines and may even
have a lead on a model 12.  We also hope to
install an operating greenkeys rtty station at the
VOA.  The landmark VOA antennas are all gone but
there are some good high long-wire antennas up
there and it's a great place to operate from.

At this time, there are no regular visiting hours
but we can schedule visits by appointment if
anyone wants to stop by.  We'd also warmly welcome
donations of equipment and more volunteers, if
anyone in the area is interested and has time.

Regards,
Bill Strangfeld W8FIX
bstrang at iac.net