New subject: Selectric photo

11 May 2000

The IBM MagCard and MagCard II used the selectric in an interesting way. The
MagCard II was a large (and HEAVY) box connected to a Selectric II with a
very thick cable. The user would type a document on the typewriter. Then,
they would insert a small magnetic card into the large box, and press a
button on the typewriter. The document would then be saved on the card. To
recall a document, the user would insert the card, and press a key on the
typewriter. The typewriter would then type the document out on paper. There
are lots of connectors inside the "large box" labeled things like OPTION and
PERIPHERAL. Using a MagCard or MagCard II would probably be the easiest way
to interface a Selectric to a computer. I have a book that has a picture of
a unit very much like my MagCard II, except that it uses Magnetic Tapes
instead of Cards. It's really fun to watch the MagCard II type out documents
...
 from the cards. It's a lot faster than I thought a
Selectric could be. 

-----Original Message-----
From: technoid(a)cheta.net &lt;technoid(a)cheta.net&gt;
To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org &lt;classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org&gt;
Date: Thursday, May 11, 2000 8:09 PM
Subject: Re: KIM Manual / Selectric

...
 Back in the olden days of microcomputers a printer of
any type cost a
bundle.  One solution hobbyists use was interfacing old teletype equipment
to your Kim, Atari, Apple, Aim, etc.  This gave you a printer but not all
the special characters a 'real' printer could produce.  They were not good
for correspondence.... They also ate a lot of current and were obnoxiously
loud.

I.B.M. Selectric typewriters were dirt common in offices and still cost a
bundle at $300.00 to $600.00 used.  Still, a selectric had changeable
typefaces (by changing the ball) and great quality.  They were not very
fast but Were very rugged and reliable. Even a new Selectric was a bargain
compared to a Diablo or other daisy-wheel printers.

The thing is that the Selectric is not a computer printer.  Its a
typewriter.  There were a number of home-grown computer interfaces for
them to make a printer but I think the most interesting one was a board
with a bank of solenoids mounted on it which faced the keyboard of the
typewriter.  When a solenoid was actuated it struck the key below it on
the typewriter's keyboard....  This was a simple interface which just
bolted on top of the existing keyboard without any mods to I.B.M.'s gear
which would void your warranty.

The Selectric option was beyond my financial means at the time.  I ended
up settling for a Western Electric teletype for a couple of years until I
got a Brother EP22 thermal typewriter with an RS232 jack on it.  Quality
was good if not excellent, it was GOBS quieter than the teletype which
made my folks happy, and could print on regular paper if you used a
thermal transfer ribbon instead of thermal paper. Neither the WE teletype
nor the EP22 would allow me to print my Hitchhiker's Guide or Zork
sessions as these games were 'boot' games with thier own dos.  Since the
Atari 8-bit did not have a resident Serial printer handler, I could not
print from an Infocom game.  The EP22 was excellent for code printouts and
most other things.

--
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Jeffrey S. Worley
Complete Computer Services
30 Greenwood Rd.
Asheville, NC 28803
828-274-5781 0900-1800 weekdays
Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk?
Technoid(a)Cheta.net
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