The telephone had presented an insurmountable obstacle for communication between deaf people since it was invented. Unable to use this vital instrument, Deaf people had to communicate through mail, rely on a third party to pass along the information, or drive over to talk to the receiving party.

For that reason, social clubs for Deaf people were prevalent; people could meet face-to-face to deliver messages and discuss matters that would otherwise be handled over the phone.

The year of 1964 was the turning point when Deaf orthodontist Dr. James C. Marsters of Pasadena, California shipped a teletype machine to Deaf scientist Robert Weitbrecht in Redwood City, California and requested a way to attach it to the telephone system so that phone communication could take place.

That teletype machine, model S2ASR, was one of the machines discarded by telegraph companies in favor of new telegraphic code technology. Mr Weitbrecht modified an acoustic coupler, which gave birth to ‘Baudot’; a code still used TTY machines.