Subject: Teletype: Problems again

From: Tore Sinding Bekkedal <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Jun 7 04:01:00 2003

I have recently bought colour tape for the 33.

The printer has a black substance that pushes the printhead towards the
paper. This has dissolved into an oily-like thing, and there is zero
pressure for the head against the paper. I will try to put a licorice
candy (Läkerol) in its place as a kludge, but it very likely won't last.
Do you know what causes it? Where to get a new one? Is that SUPPOSED to
happen?'

Confused Regards

-Tore

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From: "Erik S. Klein" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Jun 7 09:15:01 2003

Mine did exactly the same thing and I haven't fixed it yet, so I am
looking forward to hearing from the experts.

My amateur opinion is that it's probably supposed to be a fairly hard
piece of rubber from the pounding it takes.  I was going to find some
reinforced tubing or vulcanized rubber (like what tires are made of) if
that gives you some idea of the consistency I was shooting for.

Good luck!

   Erik Klein
   www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum
   The Vintage Computer Forum

-----Original Message-----
From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]]
On Behalf Of Tore Sinding Bekkedal
Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2003 1:56 AM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: Teletype: Problems again

Confused Regards

-Tore

---

From: Ethan Dicks <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Jun 7 09:55:01 2003

--- "Erik S. Klein" <[email-masked]> wrote:
> piece of rubber from the pounding it takes.

Firm but resilient.  Too hard and it will damage the type element.

> I was going to find some

I have never tried a substitute, but those sound promising.
 
> Do you know what causes it? Where to get a new one? Is that SUPPOSED to

While it's not what you want, it's common that the rubber hammer pad
turns to a candy-like goo.  I don't think you want to fabricate a
substitute out of something with sugar in it... it will get all over
everything and make it sticky.

I bought a couple replacement pads from Western Numerical Control a few
years ago (http://www.westnc.com/).  I can't find TTY repair parts on
their site now, but perhaps if you contact them, they will be able to help.

-ethan

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From: Vintage Computer Festival <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Jun 7 10:38:00 2003

> candy (Läkerol) in its place as a kludge, but it very likely won't last.

Fixing some hardware with a piece of candy has got to be the coolest thing
I have ever heard of ;)

-- 

Sellam Ismail                                        Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger                http://www.vintage.org

 * Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *

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From: Martin Marshall <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Jun 7 10:42:00 2003

> Do you know what causes it? Where to get a new one? Is that SUPPOSED to

I had the same problem.  For a temporary solution, see if you can find 
something like this:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F005%5F007%5F013%5F000&product%5Fid=64%2D2346

These are 1/2" dia. self-adhesive rubber feet, intended to be attached 
to the bottom of equipment to prevent scratching a desk.

Martin

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From: Bryan Blackburn <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Jun 7 10:44:01 2003

I have two Teletypes that had the same problem. What I did was remove 
all the gunk from the print head and the hammer with Goof-off and an old 
toothbrush, and then I took a regular new pencil and cut off the eraser 
with an Exacto knife. Then I took a drop of super glue, and stuck it in 
place on the hammer. After trimming a little, ta-da! Mine has been 
working just fine now for close to two years. I'm sure that this is not 
as nice as having the correct part, but who has the correct part? 
Probably a better solution would be to find some soft flexible rubber, 
but I didn't have any at the time, and the eraser works great so stopped 
looking!

-Bryan

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From: Ian Primus <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Jun 7 11:14:00 2003

> Fixing some hardware with a piece of candy has got to be the coolest 

Mmmm... Teletype.....

Ian Primus
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Tony Duell)
Date: Sat Jun 7 17:26:17 2003

> paper. This has dissolved into an oily-like thing, and there is zero

THis is a common problem. It should be a piece of fairly hard rubber.

> candy (L=E4kerol) in its place as a kludge, but it very likely won't last.

No, please don't, not unless you like cleaning the type cylinder and the 
rest of the carriage mecahnism.

> Do you know what causes it? Where to get a new one? Is that SUPPOSED to

Well, I can't believe it was _designed_ to decay like that, but they all 
do. My first gusss as to a suitable replacement would be a self-adhesive 
cabinet foot, available from electronics component shops. It's about the 
right hardness, and it will stick in place, at least well enough for testing.

-tony

---

From: [email-masked] (Tony Duell)
Date: Sat Jun 7 17:26:39 2003

> working just fine now for close to two years. I'm sure that this is not=20
> as nice as having the correct part, but who has the correct part?=20

Actually, I do have some of the original parts, in a box of Model 33 
spares (which also contains things like answerback drums, gears, a motor, 
etc). Alas, as you might have guessed, the spares are decaying too :-(. 
Fortunately the metal parts, etc that I have are still good.

-tony