ITelex_Overview

What is i-telex?

TELEX history

In the past, telex connections were transmitted in separate networks, some of which were hand-switched and some of which were self-dialling. In Germany, in addition to the networks operated by the Bundespost, there were other separate networks in many areas of public service, such as the German armed forces, railways and police.

By the end of the 1990s, TELEX was outdated and almost irrelevant, with only a few banks, airlines and public authorities still using the indestructible but much too slow teleprinter. In 2007, the public TELEX network in Germany was finally switched off. The old teletypewriters could no longer communicate with each other as the necessary network infrastructure was no longer available.

i-telex

This gap was filled by i-Telex. It emulates a telex network via the Internet, allowing teletypewriters to communicate with each other in self-dialling mode. i-Telex works in exactly the same way as the public TELEX network did back then. Of course, the machines must be connected to the i-Telex network via special hardware and software.

Note

You can find detailed information on i-Telex at https://www.i-telex.net.

piTelex

In addition to the "original" i-Telex package described there, piTelex is a flexible and less expensive alternative. Thanks to the modular structure of the piTelex software and the wide range of options for realising the inexpensive hardware, piTelex is suitable for anyone who enjoys tinkering with electronics and is not afraid of installing and configuring software.

Tip

Consider registering at https://www.telexforum.de; you will find there lots of information around i-telex and piTelexl, and also many helpful people ...

What is needed to set up an i-telex station with the help of piTelex?

Hardware

Minimum hardware requirements: a computer or SBC running piTelex under Windows, linux, MacOS, Android (even a mobile phone running Android and a python IDE is suitable).

piTelex can even be run as a software-only telex solution with device screen as the user interface, without any teleprinter hardware. But normally, a teleprinter equipment (usually including a CCU) should be connected and its functionality tested. See "Built Examples" for tested variants.

Software

Regarding software, running piTelex as an i-telex station requires some configuration entries in the configuration file (telex.json): the device i-Telex must be configured correctly and enabled. Besides that, some global entries in telex.json are relevant for full functionality.

There are settings that affect the ability to send a message as well as to receive messages from other i-Telex stations.