Definition
An electrowriter is a legacy electronic device that transmits handwritten text or drawings over a communication line, reproducing the writer's strokes on a remote receiving unit. In historical aviation use, electrowriters allowed flight service stations and weather offices to send handwritten weather information, NOTAMs, and other operational notes between facilities.
Plain English
An old machine that let one person write something by hand and have it appear, in their own handwriting, on a similar machine somewhere else. Aviation offices once used these to share weather notes and flight information.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym, abbreviation, and NOTAM contraction lists, especially when decoding older or equipment-related aviation text.
Derivation
Combines 'electro-' (electric) with 'writer.' The name describes what it does: write at a distance using an electric signal. Knowing this helps because the term sounds modern but refers to a pre-fax-machine technology.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots today will not use an electrowriter, but the abbreviation still appears in older FAA acronym lists and historical references. Recognising it prevents confusion when reading legacy material.
Analogy
Think of it like an early electronic way to send handwriting: someone writes at one end, and the writing can be reproduced at the other end.
Example Sentence 1
Before modern data links, flight service stations used an electrowriter (ELWRT) to send handwritten weather updates between facilities.
Example Sentence 2
The briefer used the ELWRT to send the handwritten weather update directly to the flight service station.