From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: jfoust@threedee.com (John Foust) Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 10:13:46 -0500 Subject: [TUHS] Teletype In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20140915154725.2FFA01B1716@www.oztivo.net> At 01:04 PM 8/15/2014, Brian Zick wrote: >Would it still be possible today for someone like me to go out, and find an old teletype terminal (an old ASR or DECwriter or something), set up a phone line and modem and get a roll of paper, and then actually use it to connect to other computers? Yes, lots of people do it. There is a "Greenkeys" mailing list http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys populated by mostly ham radio RTTY types, but it's also a great archive of posts about hook-ups and repairs. Yes, there are current-loop adapters and RS-232 to USB adapters that can be used to connect to contemporary machines. There are also streaming audio web sites that send RTTY-style signals if you'd like to emulate your old radio over the Internet but still use your RTTY audio decoding hardware. There's also a fellow http://aetherltd.com/ who connects even older teletype hardware to cell-phone texting. The Teletype Model 33 was very popular among early computer users because it was relatively low-priced compared to heavier-duty teletypes. The old RTTY folks tend to look down their nose at it because it wasn't as robust as other models. They routinely huff and puff at recent auction prices for the Model 33, though, as old computer collectors routinely pay $1,000 for them, while it's tough to give away the better-built (and heavier!) teletypes. Last summer I picked up a Western Union-branded Teletype Model 28 KSR (circa mid-1950s) in near-pristine condition for $50. Almost twenty years ago I found a Model 33 in a university dumpster. - John