teletíró

Teletíró is a term of Czech origin that literally translates to "tele-typing" or "distance typing." It refers to a type of electromechanical teleprinter or teletypewriter machine that was used for sending and receiving text messages over telegraph lines. These devices were prevalent in the mid-20th century before the widespread adoption of computers and digital communication.

A teletíró typically consisted of a keyboard for inputting messages and a printer that would automatically type out received messages. The machine would convert typed characters into a series of electrical pulses, which were then transmitted over a wire to another teletíró machine at the receiving end. The receiving machine would decode these pulses and print the corresponding characters. Different coding systems, such as the Baudot code or later ASCII, were used to represent letters, numbers, and symbols.

Teletíró systems played a crucial role in various sectors, including news agencies, businesses, governments, and military communications. They enabled relatively fast and reliable transmission of textual information over long distances, facilitating inter-office communication and news dissemination. The sound of a teletíró machine, with its distinctive clicking and whirring, became a familiar sound in offices and newsrooms of the era. While largely replaced by modern digital technologies, the teletíró represents an important stage in the evolution of telecommunications and the broader history of information technology.