MITE Tactical Teleprinter - military digital communications from 1958

We marvel at a MITE AN/TGC-14A(V) Teleprinter, a miracle of teletype miniaturization from 1958. Imagine, only 41 lbs!
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[@v12alpine]

Still blows my mind how someone or some group of people at some time without computer aid were able to design this thing to actually work. What a marvel of mechanical complexity.

[@deemstyle]

So I’m not the only one who thinks this way! I recently visited Battleship New Jersey and had the exact same thought while walking around the battleship- which is very likely one of the most complex machines I’ve ever been in. The fact that they did it all without computer- just a room full of engineers at drafting tables just blows my brain!!

[@larryl730]

I served in the air force from 1966-70 as a 363x0 (electro-mechanical relay system repairman) "teletype maintenance". Tech school was in Sheppard AFB in Texas and was 36 weeks/ 5 days-6 hours class/lab days. After basic electronics/test equipment, we trained on only two machines, Teletype M-28 and one Kleinschmidt model. The 363X0 skill code did cover other equipment such as FAX and the machine showed on this video but they were not included in the initial training course. We were told of the "mite-mite" but were told they were only used in the Air Force for the SAC 24/7/365 continuous airborne alternate nuclear authority mission on RC-135 aircraft. Glad I didn't have to try and repair this model, looks to be a real beast to work on. I suspect that they just treated it as a line replaceable item and sent defective units to depot or vendor for repair. Would like to know the unit price paid for this model, I'm sure it was a lot. Never met anyone that worked on it in my 4 years in.

[@skfalpink123]

They were actually used on ships right to the end of the 1990s, to receive weather fax updates via Inmarsat.

[@TomKappeln]

Right ... DRFT over and out.

[@KanalFrump]

Astonishing from a modern perspective to see the neat and accurate, super-detailed exploded-view mechanical drawings from so long ago. Equipped with Solidworks you can generate similar looking views in no time at all. But doing it by hand on a drafting table?

[@acmefixer1]

They're called Illustrated Parts Breakdowns. 👍

[@w2hx]

You're very lucky to get this one. Most MITEs were 400 Hz AC very few had 60 Hz power supplies!

[@kjamison5951]

That printing mechanism is insane and yet it totally works! Thank you for sharing this incredible piece of history!

[@pscage8388]

Its not insane, if it was it would not work!

[@ferrellsl]

I had to laugh when I saw this video. I was a Radio-Teletype Platoon Leader for the US Army in the late 1980's and we were still using this teletype even then. I think it was finally phased out around 1990.

[@knerduno5942]

It was the AN/UGC-74.

[@ferrellsl]

@@knerduno5942 No, my platoon was still using the AN/TGC-14A up until 1989 when I was transferred to another unit. They may have upgraded to the UGC-74 after I left though. But at that point the remaining RATT rigs in the Army's inventory were being completely phased out Army-wide. It was definitely the end of an era.

[@knerduno5942]

@@ferrellsl You must of been in a low priority unit. In 86-87 I went to Fort Gordon for Teletype repair, and the last unit to learn was the UGC-74. The AN/TGC-14A was nowhere to be found there. Then I was sent to West Germany to the 2d ACR. They had RATT rigs, but right after I arrived, they started getting rid of them, and I was out of a job, and send to Class IX to help with their worker shortage. I considered switching units in Wurzberg in 88. There was a signal battalion there with a motorpool full of RATT rigs. I passed when I found out they spent most of their time in the field. Seems low priority units always do stuff last. A unit I was sent to in 93 at Fort Still did not get M16A2 until that year or next. While the 2d ACR in West Germany got them in 87.

[@ferrellsl]

@@knerduno5942 After thinking about it and looking at some photos of the UGC-74, I think you're right. These teletypes look a lot alike and my memory from 30+ years ago can be faulty.

[@antronargaiv3283]

Regarding the auto-start feature: Obviously, the local keyboard won't be able to start the motor again, because its operation depends on the motor running. Try sending some characters from your test terminal. That should start the motor.

[@CuriousMarc]

You are absolutely right! But the break key did not work either (forgot to include footage). We got external characters to wake it up sometimes, and only after multiple attempts and losing the first few characters. We’ll sort it out eventually.

[@antronargaiv3283]

@@CuriousMarc You will always lose the first few characters bc the motor has to come up to speed which takes a few character times. Then, the machine has to get sync'd with the incoming characters. When you look at shortwave teletype messages, they almost always start with "NNNN" then a few CR/LFs. That triggers the motor control and gives the machine time to sync. Probably preceded by a few LTRS to make sure it's in the right mode. I worked on a motor start relay for a 33, and the only way we could get it to work was to send a RUBOUT (start bit and all ones) then wait a while for the motor to come up to speed, then send our message. The relay was tripped by the start bit of the RUBOUT and then the all ones at whatever speed would not print...

[@Brian3989]

@@antronargaiv3283As I recall from teleprinter days long ago, the NNNN coding was end of message, start was ZCZC.

[@patrikknoerr9777]

Now I can see where the design of the early "laptops" came from. Cool.

[@antronargaiv3283]

I remember, back in the early 70s, working on a portable ASCII terminal which used the same prismatic print mechanism. I can't quite remember the manufacturer, but it had an integrated acoustic coupler and the problem was that the metal type elements were glued onto the plastic(?) rotating prism and were falling off due to failure of the bond. I'm not sure we were able to find a glue robust enough to keep the type elements on the prism. The prism on the MITE looks like it's all metal, which is a much better design!

[@wolframgerber7118]

SELEKTIONSDRUCKWERK MIT typenrad war aber die clevere Variante. 😋

[@richardbourgeois6867]

I have collected several different versions of the Mite teleprinter. In addition to the Baudot models they had an ASCII version with more electronics and less mechanical components as well as a amazing hand held teleprinter for in dash mounting in vehicles. I emailed you pictures.

[@CuriousMarc]

Thanks got it. I didn't even know this existed!

[@EricLikness]

If 'X' required use of teletypes,... I might consider coming back. *maybe* 😸. The slo-mo of the printhead is amazing. Watching it slide and "correct" the position and settle into it's next character position is pretty cool.

[@Edisson.]

Amazing design, I've never had the chance to see this type of print head up close, but adjusting a round rotary print head is an experience. Nice day 🙂 Tom

[@abdulmoeedraja]

@9:14 If I ever get a ship i am going to name it "The Lazy Dog".

[@shawnhuk]

My favourite music! Always gets my head bopping, even at 5:40 in the morning!

[@Orbis92]

Thank you John for donating this, so Marc can show us this beautiful machine :)

[@amycollins8832]

The NASA Shuttle "Interim Teleprinter System" had 63 characters available and the same innards as other teleprinters of its kind. Electronics were inside that took the uplinks via an unused voice radio channel. Of the 63 A-Z uppercase, 0-9, 5 greek letters (alpha, beta, delta, gamma, phi and theta) and punctuation including underscore, overscore, up arrow, down arrow, mathematical symbols > < ~ and so forth. The system was in use until about 1993 or 1994.

[@emdxemdx]

I remember seeing a printer with that same mechanism about 43-44 years ago. I was totally impressed by the design with the print element BEHIND the paper and only the hammer in front of it. I think it had a different design but the same principle with two sets of solenoïds and pulleys driving the print element left and right and around.

[@knerduno5942]

The one on the space shuttle was an AN/UGC-74. It still had electro-mechanical parts. It had a drum printer. US Army got rid of those ~1987. They were supposed to replaced from part of a system using radios, secure telephones, and fax. They dumped all that and kept the radios.

[@code123ns]

That's one of the oldest "Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

[@hoofie2002]

I took part in a RTTY or radio teletype net last night on UHF. Modern computers are radios but still tty with all the modulation tones

[@XMarkxyz]

As usual astonishing video and content, a beautiful machine really And let John know that he looks like a lovely person whom anybody would like to talk with extensively about teletypes and vacum tubes

[@rainerkaskinen3056]

I still insist that Marc is at the Guru level of the knowledge of common electronics. If youre still not convinced, proove it😉

[@thesteelrodent1796]

now we eagerly await Marc's lesson on Tactical Teletyping :) It's not quite a Marc video when you can just plug it in and it works

[@RetroOnSpeedDial]

What a stunning piece of kit. Would love something like this.

[@acmefixer1]

You wouldn't love it after you found out what it can't do. It's s-l-o-w, and isn't compatible with ASCII communications that computers use. It is much better to get a machine that can do 8-bit ASCII.

[@RetroOnSpeedDial]

@@acmefixer1 it's more the fact that it's a teletype. Not expecting it to be a computer terminal

[@iNerdier]

Weight: ~18.6kg. How can a Frenchman not include it in kilo!

[@CuriousMarc]

It’s so light there is no equivalent in the metric system!

[@rsmrsm2000]

Unbelievable ! Please more videos.

[@PascalFleer]

And i thought that I'd lost my hearing due to the noise of teletype machines....🤣

[@TechGorilla1987]

Come again?

[@radarmusen]

Every one in the building know if you are posting on social media.😂

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

thats a beautiful teleprinter! tactical no less ha. amazing

[@CheezburgerBrown]

That is an amazing machine. The fact that it doesn't have to return to neutral to go to the next character is mind blowing.

[@michaelmiller641]

Wow! Thats fascinating. I love these old mechanical devices. That old earlier teletype machine is like a living creature to be loved and admired! Birthed, and The product of years of research and manufacture by hundreds of man( and woman) hours! Thankyou for that! Marc.

[@brandona1370]

It's good to see who you are, John!

[@ydonl]

Thanks, John!

[@nutsnproud6932]

Fascinating what they could do in 1958.

[@darrinpearce9780]

The sound of these TTY machines is still magical to me.

[@olddisneylandtickets]

That was splendid. That teletype sound always reminds me of the evening news.

[@rx80]

Thank you John for collecting all those nice things, and donating them 👍👍👍

[@jayglenn837]

I have my own Model 15 that I inherited from my grandpa, & someday I hope to use the videos on your channel to restore it.

[@adeeponion9152]

It liked running as it improved word image with the workout!

[@PixelSchnitzel]

Just incredible! I would love to see that print head in slow m . . . AND THERE IT IS! Thanks! 😀

[@Renville80]

I had one just like that at one point. I ended up scrapping it as it'd been dropped at some point, but I kept the keyboard around for a while afterwards. Wish I still had it so I could send it along for spares. Hindsight = 20/20

[@ptonpc]

It is a thing of beauty.

[@ricomputermuseum1107]

I looked at a MITE at the New England Wireless and Steam Museum this morning.

[@rrb6544]

Amazing machine… wow that mechanical print head in the back of paper sheet and the pulley work are insane 😮

[@mikenovack3955]

Loud enough to give away your position to an enemy a mile away!!

[@prillewitz]

Another interesting video Marc! I never knew the had those very small switches on the front in 1958 already. Always thought that they were from a much later period.

[@JPBennett]

That mechanism is nuts. Just unreal.

[@rasitsimsek9400]

'bracket' vs. 'parentheses' : A bracket are "[ ]" and parentheses are "( )". But some people are saying brackets and meaning the parentheses.

[@cdl0]

What about curly braces "{}"? Don't forget them! 🙂

[@cdl0]

Unlike modern devices, it is possible to see and understand how this teletype works, and is completely serviceable. Having the rotation axis of the print head parallel with the platten is an interesting solution. On the classic ASR33, the orientation of the axes are orthogonal.

[@jxh02]

Re MITE, could they have been hoping we would call it MIGHTY? It sure is! I love the idea of moving things as the bits come in.

[@barbarabarby5298]

If I remember well, the "red phone line" from the presidents of USA and USSR, in reality was a coded RTTY link with these machines and all the diplomatic traffic between ambassadors and homeland in all the world was with RTTY.

[@richardayres7958]

What a delight

[@davidbrown8365]

Brilliant machine and print head. Looking forward to future videos and tear downs

[@TeslaTales59]

What an incredible machine! And... Who know there was a TT in the Shuttle?

[@oak_meadow9533]

this machine has a fantastic beat to it!😅😅😅 it makes me want to drum along with it🤪🤪🤪

[@PlaywithJunk]

I have never seen a machine that types the characters from behind the paper....

[@richardlincoln886]

Randomness - just worked out what your intro/them tune reminds me of - Super Mario Sunshine N64 (or was it gamecube or wii?) - where you had to literally clean the town up with a water pump backpack thing. Perhaps not the same tune, but I seem to remember it had a similar cheery theme before each level :)

[@paulkocyla1343]

The number of parts in this thing probably exceeds the number of transistors on a chip that would be able to decode the signal. Freakin impressive build, and a joy to watch it working.

[@RetroJack]

My 9.8 billion transister RyZen 9 could decode the signal; does that count? 😋

[@paulkocyla1343]

@@RetroJack LOL, yeah sure it counts, and I guess within just nanoseconds ;)

[@RetroJack]

@@paulkocyla1343 🤣

[@InssiAjaton]

I was once "allowed" to try my skill in sending a short message on an old WW2 German Field Teletype. It depended on me hitting each character at a specific time slot. Well, I could not! I already before that knew I was no drummer... My mother had once stopped my attempt to play piano somewhere (most likely at my godparents' house), because my "rhythm" was no RHYTHM. It still is not.

[@TheDiveO]

That TTY in operation in the field gives "side channel attacks" a whole plethora of new meanings...

[@JoseFernandez-qt8hm]

I used a TI Silent 700 in the late 70s.....

[@AnthonyFrancisJones]

Excellent! Reminiscent in some ways to the old ICL type barrel printers but slower for obvious reasons! I also presume that groups of letters on the barrel/cylinder were designed so minimal rotation was needed. Did you need to change this for different languages that might have different incidences of each letter? Again, I guess speed, unlike the large mainframe line printers, was not really an issue here!

[@624Dudley]

Elegant mechanism! 👍

[@Derpy1969]

IT’S WHISPER QUIET!!!

[@benhetland576]

10:20 The tty equivalent to a screen saver.

[@brucenadams1]

Is that an 833? Our Gates AM transmitter had four. Two for RF and Two for AM modulation. The power transformer was the size of 4 Costco chickens. The modulation transformer was about the same size.

[@acmefixer1]

I like JACKDAWS LOVE MY BIG SPHINX OF QUARTZ instead of quick brown fox.

[@explorer914]

Am I first? Hm seems like I'm so early audio hasn't arrived yet. Now there is sound. 😊

[@Floyd..B]

I have audio.

[@CuriousMarc]

Yes indeed, you are first! By being so early, you have been automatically awarded hearing protection from loud teletypes noises, courtesy of lazy KZbin audio processing.

[@Rob2]

@@CuriousMarc You really should upload video's and release them only an hour or so later, or at some pre-scheduled time. Now we have this useless "no audio!" "only 360p!" discussion on every video.

[@Floyd..B]

@@CuriousMarc Nice one

[@CuriousMarc]

@@Rob2 Nah. My videos are released as soon as they are baked. You just need to let them cool down 5 minutes before tasting.

[@largepimping]

Somehow I'm still worried that there there's a Rifa cap about to blow up in that thing.

[@kurtmueller2089]

I am curious about the use of teletypes in WW2 by other nations, particularly Japan and China: Considering their vastly different alphabet, did they use them at all? Did they have modified versions that could deal with the Kanji? I once saw a Japanese "typewriter" from that era, a scary monstrosity where every single character had to be picked by hand on some sort of x-y-table.

[@oliversnow]

I regret that I gave but one like to give.

[@miles2378]

When did military Telitypes start using displays instead of relying on a printer as the only output?

[@Wizardess]

Um, 60 speed is 45.5 baud which is essentially a bit time. So bit not char when citing the 45.5. (It's messier than that with start and stop mushed in there. But, you get the idea, I am sure.) This is still extant in some amateur radio stations. BTW - if you get the fax machine contemporary with that period I bet I have a treat for you. (And I have not forgotten the 2100S BASIC interpreter source. I still have to scan the bloody thing.) {^_^}

[@CuriousMarc]

Oops. Technical Freudian slip. Indeed, 45.5 bits per second, nor char per second.

[@TomKappeln]

I ❤ W A R G A M E S !

[@jantonkens9820]

Is it me or is the box on the right a bit noisier then the left teletype?

[@aserta]

11:16 as observed, an adage as old as time. If it doesn't work, turn it off and on again. :))

[@0MoTheG]

IT IS SO LOUD, WHY? Is there a noisy motor that clocks the machine?

[@brianbranson2306]

kinda reminds me of FADAC

[@bigsarge2085]

✌️✌️

[@38911bytefree]

Nice, pretty intricate, but ... all mechanical !!!!

[@listerdave1240]

I think the auto correct needs some adjustment.

[@DangerousPictures]

Is it just me, or is there no audio?

[@Parakinese]

I have audio 😉

[@FuquarProductions]

No audio here watching from Tenerife, Canary Islands Spain.

[@DavidScheiber]

Video processing, was only in 360p for a while as well.

[@ansgaryeysymontt7155]

There is no you.

[@paulforester6996]

Turn the volume up!😁

[@malcolmgibson6288]

Looks like the doodly do doodly didn't.

[@CuriousMarc]

Whoops I forgot. Should be fixed into a doodly does it again.

[@timcat1004]

Watt did the fox say?

[@TheIVImann]

Is that an amplifier in Johns rack? looks funky :D (5:30)

[@robertjones3223]

Yes all posts to X should be made by Telletype 😂

[@MarcelHuguenin]

What a beautiful machine and as we know a thing of beauty is ...

[@estudiom142]

[@SkyOctopus1]

Not a video for headphone users :)

[@FuquarProductions]

Ah, finally the audio has returned.

[@scooterscs]

Look, it’s only 41 pounds. 💀

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

But there must have been some form of Cryptosystem to prevent the enemy from finding out what your guys are up to as no one wants to get shot at.

[@TechGorilla1987]

@6:08 - To be fair, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C had a pretty skinny neck too, but he was 'Americas soldier.' for many years. I keed, I keed!

[@abidibrahim]

No audio

[@68hoffman]

kool

[@TechGorilla1987]

Irrelevant, but I just got my hands on a late 50's/early 60's RCA tube reel to reel. Its the Type EDT-3 "Scholastic" and it comes from a company in Harrisburg, PA that happens to still be in business. They have been in business since 1929. Does anyone know anything at all about it or can anyone put it to use? In all my searching the internet so far - I have only found ONE relevant video of the machine.

[@SubTroppo]

The "Swiss" comment led me on a Goober search to find that it was made by a US company. ps Marc should wear steel toe-cap footwear in such situations.

[@DragonsAndDragons777]

I hear the audio!

[@mikemines2931]

If you think electronics are complicated look inside a mechanical teleprinter.

[@Floyd..B]

It's the first time I see no views on the video, lol.