14 Oct
2015
14 Oct
'15
11:48 a.m.
How heavy are these things? They look like solid steel in pictures.
That's one of the things that presents a big problem for me up here in
Canada... shipping from the US has gotten outrageously expensive.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of tony duell
Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2015 5:40 AM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: RE: Fair price and ways to find a teletype
[ASR33]
This is a very delicate mechanical device. In spite
of the fabulous
shipping crate, the bolts installed to secure the printer, the
shipping guys let us down. The thing had very rough handling, sheared
off the shipping bolts, the printer was totally shook up and Wayne and I
are
working on it to bring it back.
A general point. The 'Typing Unit' -- that is the main chassis with the
motor, carriage, platen, punch, in fact everything apart from the keyboard,
tape reader and electronic unit is not normally bolted down. It rests on
rubber mounts. If you are shipping an Model 33, you must either put in a
shipping screw, or preferably remove the typing unit (it's just some
electrical connections and the H-plate link to the keyboard trip linkage)
and pack it separately.
Otherwise you will have damage.
If it;s a real Teletype as opposed to, say a Data Dynamics 390 (which is
Teletype mechanicals in a Data Dynamics case) then note that the plastic
cover is likely to have gone very brittle with age. Take care.
You need to understand, and be prepared for handling a
mechanical
marvel, that there are virtually no replacement parts. You will have
to be pretty good with your hands, have tools and a shop. This is a
totally mechanical device, and the innovation in it, how it works is so
clever you
will not get it without some help.
All I can say is YMMV (and mine certainly did). I rebuilt my first Model 33
when I was still at what you would call high school. Back then there was no
WWW, no places to get manuals, no lists like this one. And I didn't have the
paper manuals. I took the whole thing apart down to the last nut and bolt.
And got it running. You need a good hand tool kit, but not that much more
unless you need to make parts.
Perhaps because I had a mis-spent childhood but I had no problems figuring
out how it all works. It's not that complicated, it follows very logical
principles.
Lots of patience, and when things go wrong (they will)
you will need
the perseverance to stick with it.
That I will agree with. My first one, working without manuals, took about 6
weeks of tinkering in the evenings after school and at weekends to get
going. And it certainly didn't work first time (it almost did, I had
misunderstood the print suppression linkage).
-tony
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