Inaugural “Green Keys Night” Set for January 1

“Green Keys Night” — an event aimed at promoting the restoration and use of vintage mechanical teleprinters — will take place on January 1, 2019 (UTC), concurrent with Straight Key Night (SKN). As with SKN, GKN is an operating event and not a contest. “Green keys” refers to the color of the keys on Teletype Corporation machines. Participants are encouraged to get on the air and enjoy making casual contacts on RTTY. Call “CQ GKN.”

“The use of mechanical teleprinters is preferred, or simply get on the air with the oldest equipment you can scrape together,” said Jeff Stai, WK6I. “Real heavy-metal teletypes to be sure, but if that isn’t available, analog hardware modems, VT100 terminals, pre-Windows computers, etc. And vacuum tubes. And maybe fire up that boatanchor rig that never gets enough air time.”

Sponsors request no pre-recorded messages or “brag tapes,” just “a real conversation by hand typing it keyboard to keyboard. Even those who do not own or have access to any old RTTY gear are invited to get on the air too, doing RTTY “the old-fashioned way,” keyboard to keyboard.

Stai asks participants to let him know if they were active in the event and to share a favorite or most interesting QSO (worked or heard), a log, and equipment operated (including photos).

The SARTG New Year RTTY Contest runs from 0800 to 1100 UTC on January 1. Stai suggested operating in that event as well.

The Greenkeys online group is an email list devoted to the discussion of older RTTY gear, including mechanical teleprinters, terminal units, paper tape, gears, cams, oil, and anything else related to TTY/RTTY.

Source:ARRL