Teletypewriter

Already at CB radio times in the years 1983-1986 I came across the basic telex technique. At that time my radio friend Pit (sk) with the Commodore C64 and I with the VIC-20 wrote each other messages “over the Chiemsee” on 11m with a distance of about 12km. We used the RTTY converters from the electronics store, which were available as a kit; I still have mine today. Channel 33 was ours! Pit helped me with the adjustment, because I didn’t have an oscilloscope at that time and couldn’t have operated it. It started with 170Hz and also with 850Hz shift and 50 Baud. And on the real shortwave you could record TASS, Tanjug, Xinhua and IRNA; the receiver was a Philips D 2999; that was 35 years ago.

Teletypewriter T.typ.37h, year of construction: 1956

Two decades later, the CB radio had long disappeared from my mind, I came to amateur radio. Besides SSB I was interested in RTTY among the digital modes. So I also participated in the worldwide RTTY contests, using a radio with two receivers (at that time the YAESU FT-2000) and a corresponding sound interface.

In 2018 my OV-friend Rudi (SWL) gave me two Siemens & Halske teleprinters “T typ 37h”; including original instructions from 1956, a power source 60V, 40mA, the tables with side levers and restored wooden cases. Rudi’s father-in-law even repaired a glass pane of a case before “handing it over”.

In Corona times I found time to prepare a place in the garage, which makes it possible for me to do tests and small tinkering with the teleprinters. One of them is equipped with a switch-off timer, the other one with a punched tape puncher and reader and it also has a bell.

Teletypewriter T.typ.37h, year of construction: 1956

My first goal is to connect both devices via a dedicated line to be able to send texts from one teleprinter to the other.

After that, one could “somehow” use the FSK signals of the radio technology to control the teleprinters; but now everything in sequence…

At the current time (May 2020) there is already a little bit going on, but I am already being helped here in the forum.