From: "woodelf" <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> There is an available ASR option that I occasionally see on eBay. (It's basically a reader/punch that bolts onto the left side.) Vince

Depends on what you mean by 'standard' Minus-points include : It uses an odd ribbon that is probably unobtanium now It also uses a suprising amount of custom silicon (there are 2 custom 4 pin ICs on the mainboard, and more custom ICs on the keyboard) It doesn't have the mechanical interest of, say, an ASR33 or ASR35 Plus-points include : The printhead was designed to be field-repairable (unlike most dot-matrix printheads) so if you want to see just how it works you can dismantle it non-desttructively It has a real bell (and not a beep or a buzzing relay) It can, at least in some versions, handle a current loop interface Personally, i have a couple. I'm pleased I obtained them and do consider them to be an itneresting oddity. But I don't use one as a practical terminal now. -tony

The ribbon cartridge is fitted on the right-hand side plate of the printer chassis, it's held down by a magnet on the chassis that attracts a plate on the cartrdige. There's a loop of ribbon that runs from the cartidge round rollers on the chassis and on the carriage (and of course the ribbron runs across the front of the printhead itself). Some of those rollers have 1-way clutches in them -- when the carriaye is moving left-right (printing direction), the ribbon is held fixed relative to the chassis by the roollers on the chassis being locked by their clutches, but the ones of hte carriage freewheeling. But when the carriage moves right-left, the ribbon is held fixed relative ot the carriage, this time the rollers on the chassis freewheel and the ones o nthe carriage are locked, so the ribbon gets wound on a bit. That is the only ribbon feed mechanism in the machine. -tony