Where have all the Selectrics gone?

Just happen to have a copy of "The Selectric Interface" in front of me; $5 &S in case anyone wants it. Note that it's _not_ about converting a normal Selectric to an I/O device, but about interfacing a 2740, 2980 & Dura models, which are already I/O devices (albeit with 24, 48, or 115V actuators) to an ASCII parallel port. Kilobaud had a pair of articles (Dec/79 & Jan/80), but that too was about converting an I/O unit (specifically, from a BCD (6 bit) code machine to Correspondence code). There were some other codes in use as well in other models; I had a couple and never could find a correct ball for them. And yes, there were certainly many Rube Goldberg approaches to interfacing a Selectric; I even recall seeing one of the solenoids-over-the-keyboard ones in action way back when... That was probably my post you referred to earlier about the Redactron mag card system; unfortunately the typewriter is long gone, and the mag card drives are spoken for. Redactron used a Selectric mechanism with a TTL level interface already built in, useful in case someone ever runs across one. While we're on the topic, a while back I sent a Selectric service manual to someone who sometimes lurks on this list and he'd promised to make it available on the Web (hint, hint... ;-) mike -----------Original message: Message: 30 Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 16:14:50 -0800 From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> Subject: RE: Where have all the Selectrics gone? To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Message-ID: <200603211614500612.2FE3FE84 at 10.0.0.252> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Kilobaud is a great guess! I opened up the June 1983 Issue of Microcomputing and, on, page 138, there's an ad for a book called "The Selectric Interface":. Quoting: -------------------------------------------- Daisy wheel quality without daisy wheel expense. You need the quality print that a daisy wheel printer provides but the thought of buying one makes your wallet wilt. The Selectric(tm) Interface, a step-by-step guide to interfacing an IBM Selectric I/O writer to your microcomputer.will give you that quality for a fraction of the price. George Young, co-author of Microcomputing magazine's "Kilobaud Klassroom" series, offers a low-cost alternative to buying a daisy-wheel printer. <snip> ISBN 0-88006-051-4 $12.97 from Wayne Green, Inc. ------------------------------------------- So we know that I/O Selectrics were still plentiful enough in 1983 to warrant publishing a book on interfacing them. Cheers, Chuck