[GreenKeys] 28 ASR in Clear Creek, MD

[George B. Hutchison]

GreenKeyers - - -

I have been watching and sensing the general mood of those who have 
commented on that machine, and some of the feelings about that machine, and 
some subtle inuendoes about its owner.

Lemme start with the machine.

>From the photographs it is obviously one of the former AUTODIN machines that 
Western Union had the contract on to service and maintain.

To the casual observer it looks like it needs its face washed, teeth 
brushed, and hair combed. To this I say "So What??"

Look at some of the work the various GreenKeys people have done on machines 
which happened their way.

Most notable is Jim Swanberg, better known as "Rice Guy". Jim took a machine 
that was literally a ball of rust and made the thing shine like a new nickel 
and run like a champ. Y'all had praise for that effort. I have junked better 
looking units than what Rice Guy started with, and many of us, myself 
included, were amazed at what he had accomplished.

Same thing goes for John Nagle and his model 14 Strip Printer. Looks pretty 
good to me. What's more, the fantastic plexiglas case, the wooden base, and 
the cabinet handle tape guide added far more character to the machine than 
it would have if he had simply found a base for it. And John, if you want a 
genuine keyboard base for it, lemme know. I have one or two in stock here at 
W7TTY, cover included.

Now as to the 28ASR in question.

There are several subtle pitfalls to sucessfully making that machine run.

The hole above the TDs is a discharge spout for the tape from the 
reperforator hidden under the dome.

That reperf is not one equipped with a selector. It is a multi-magnet 
reperforator which has a set of magnets such that there are SIX code bits 
associated with the output of the tape. The Teletype designation for it is 
"LARP".

Five code bits are the normal 5 bits we see on all tape. The SIXTH bit does 
not punch a hole in the tape, it cuts a notch in one edge.

Correspondingly, the inboard tape reader is an LX3, not an LXD. It is a 
parallel reader, but it is special in that it has a feeler pin specifically 
for sensing the notch in the edge of the tape.

I could never get an answer as to what these special features were for, but 
I suspect it might have had something to do with identifying and then 
subsequently discarding an erroneous character when the tape was read.

The reperf and the LX3 were driven independently by some magic box which I 
suspect had to do with the encryption system.

The machine also has an answerback arrangement on the keyboard.

The TD system is one that is unusual in that the only gears made for that 
particular dual head base were either 67 WPM or 100 WPM.

The LX3 has a double cam such that it reads tape at 200 WPM. The LARP also 
punches at 200 WPM.

Were one to put the standard 60, 67, 75 or 100 WPM gears on that machine you 
would have some burned out clutch drums and shoes in short order because 
standard gears would run both the LX3 and the LXD3 backwards, which is not a 
particularly good thing to have happen.

There is a workaround for the gearing situation that requires machining a 
special slightly longer upper shaft for the base, upon which one could mount 
a standard TD drive gear which would be in line with the drive gear in a 
standard LXD. The original gearing must be removed. The new upper shaft 
would then drive the inboard LXD which would then drive the lower shaft in 
the front part of the base and thus drive the outboard LXD. Standard gears 
would now work just peachy and drive both tape readers in the right 
direction and at the proper speed as determined by the gearset.

There are some electronics in the basement of the machine which can be 
discarded, as it all had to do with the parallel machines.

And now the point that really frosts me!

The tone of the exchanges between a few people here has not been what I 
would consider to be very friendly or accepting to the owner of the machine.

Before much mention of the price became a hot topic I posted a piece on this 
forum attempting to embrace the fact that he is a newcomer who has decided 
he wants to try and make the machine run. I thought that was fantastic. It 
was urged that as this fellow begins to explore the magic of the machine 
that we GreenKeyers lend our experience and knowledge.

The Price??? I think the man's wife put the ad out before he knew it.

About the only woman I have ever known who had a real inkling of the worth 
of a teletype machine was Maribel Buchanan, wife of Buck Buchanan, W6VPC, 
who in the late 50's and early 60's was the source of Model 26 machines made 
available by Pac Bell through NCARTS, the Northern California Amateur Radio 
Teletype Society.

The price??? My first paycheck, in the amount of $55.00, the going price at 
the time, went for my first machine!

$55.00 in 1958 was a lot of money for anyone, especially a high-school kid. 
But I was thrilled as hell to get it, and the romance has carried on for 
over fifty years.

Value, perceived or real, is most always in the eyes of the beholder. Value 
is also a quantity that a supplier can give to a machine. I gave away five 
machines just like the one we are discussing. They were made available to 
the ham community by some force in the government. Western Union wanted them 
for parts, but the word came down to give 'em to the hams.

The Museum of Communications in Seattle has long been thought to be a worthy 
edifice for rare stuff.

Their Siemens T100 telex machine, Lorenz model 15, Lorenz Tape Punch, 
Mini-28ASR, Model 31, their Model 29 Typing Unit and Keyboard, an extremely 
rare Teletype Corporation Braille Strip "Printer" and most recently their 
Harris RF-3352 Teletype Terminal were thought to have the best resting place 
in their facility, and so they got 'em.

The gear has value, but what I thought it might be worth, and what I could 
get for it are as different as night and day. Being in the museum makes 
everyone happy!

GreenKeyers, we've always been very gracious in welcoming a "newbie" into 
the group. I ask that we discontinue the bitching about the price asked - 
the machine is no longer available to anyone.

Instead, please welcome Mr. John Fiery into the group. He wants to make his 
grandfather's legacy shine and run as his grandpa did, and I know we can 
help him meet the challenge.

W7TTY