2 Mar
2017
2 Mar
'17
5:36 a.m.
On 2017-03-02 12:36 AM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote:
On 03/01/2017 07:21 PM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote:
Its a lot easier on an OP selectric than it is on an I/O, on an I/O
there is a lot more stuff in the way. After you change a few dozen it
gets pretty routine. One of the banking terminals I serviced would jam
mid-cycle if the type ball hit the line finder on the document feed, and
since thy had a stronger motor than the OP selectric it would at least
tear teeth off the belt if it didn't break it. In some banks the
terminals where set into the counter so the bank's customers would come
by to offer their sage advise while you had one torn apart for something
like a motor belt.
Paul.
Well, we still had a Selectric (1050) on our
360/65 at Washington
University up until the end. I'm pretty sure it was the most
unreliable part of the machine. It seems about every two weeks it
would break the timing belt, which meant the clutch had to be
rebuilt. IBM had two 1050's there, and would swap them every time
one broke. They really did run the 1050 hard on that system, it was
printing a line about every 10 seconds for about 14 hours straight
every week day.
That's one area where CRTs are sooo much better. The S/360 machines
just pounded the hell out of the SYSLOG device. I guess the Selectrics
were better than the Model B-based console typewriters, which always
seemed as if they were going to fly apart.
As a typewriter, the Selectric is pretty good. I still have a
correcting Selectri III with a broken drive belt (I have a new belt
waiting to be installed), but I haven't gotten up the courage to repair
it myself yet--it's not a simple job.
--Chuck