Thanks for this review, Javi -- I did not know anything about this typewriter. Any chance you can post typing examples at the different touch settings?

That's a great review, Javi!

I hear you about the margin setting. From time to time I resolve to return as soon as possible after the ding to avoid thinking about exactly how much more I can squeeze onto the line after the bell rings, but I may soon catch myself doing this anyway. The flip side of a short warning is that it gives you no choice!

You motivate me to make another pass at getting a similar looking Remington Silent working. Not everybody likes the touch on these machines though you obviously enjoy it.

Uwe wrote:

Thanks for the review! 

Continental made fantastic machines, and although I own a few, I've never seen a Silenta in my area yet; I don't know whether that indicates that few have survived, or relatively few were exported to Canada. I suspect the later.

If you enjoy the machine as much as you described, I wouldn't feel too guilty about its cost, which I don't see as being a con for that particular model, it was just a con for your particular example of the model (someone else might pick up a perfectly functional Silenta for less than 50€).

What you describe as a "silent control" is more than likely actually an impression control; it doesn't really make sense to have a variable noise feature on a typewriter, but it certainly makes sense to be able to adjust the impact of the type action to compensate for the use of multiple pages that have carbon sheets between them. Of course a side effect of changing the impression strength would be the sound the action makes, so although adjusting the lever does change the sound the machine makes that isn't its purpose. 

Interesting! I didn´t consider that, but sounds very reasonable.I thought that function was elsewhere:



That knob at the center of the image allows you to regulate the space between the platen and... the half pipe shaped metal piece which presses against the platen to hold the paper. Sorry, I don´t even know the name of that bit in Spanish!

Thing is that by turning it left or right you leave more space so that you can use carbons and get multiple copies. The centered position (as seen in the photo) leaves more space because the knob is flattened at that point. I thought that was the way to use carbons in this typewriter, but it makes perfect sense to use that along with the "silent control". I should try to do that.

Uwe wrote:

I like that you identified individual components in your photos. The lever on the right end of the carriage is just called a paper release (no need for quick in there). A pet peeve of mine is when line space levers are called return levers; a lot of people do that, and I have seen it described as such in maybe one or two owner's manuals, but I believe its a bit of a misnomer. You can return a carriage in more than one way, and although the lever is a multitasking component, its primary purpose is to advance the platen to the next line, which is why its described as a line space lever in the majority of manuals. I know that some here will argue that, but I've always strived to name parts using the manufacturers' terminology and wish that it was something more often done in enthusiast circles.
 

Again, that´s right. I´ve always called it "return lever" without thinking too much about wether it´s an adequate name or not, but as you explain, it definitely is a misnomer. For example, a pinch line spacer (in a Corona 3, for example) doesn´t return the carriage in any way. Even more, with quite a few typewriters I prefer to use the lever, advance to the next line and then return the carriage by gently pushing it. Sometimes I do it by no special reason, but some others my intention is not to put too much stress on the machine.

Proper naming is an important issue, I agree. As with everything, practice is the best teacher so I´ll probably be misnaming more things in the upcoming reviews
 

Uwe wrote:

Javi wrote:

That knob at the center of the image allows you to regulate the space between the platen and... the half pipe shaped metal piece which presses against the platen to hold the paper... by turning it left or right you leave more space so that you can use carbons and get multiple copies. 

Yes, this would be a separate adjustment to something like an impression control. For example, the Olympia SG1 has a somewhat similar adjustment on its machine: its three-position alignment scale that can be positioned close to the platen for one or two copies, further away from the platen for multiple copy sets (or card stock), and completely away from the platen to facilitate the carriage's removal.

Javi wrote:

Proper naming is an important issue, I agree.  

Even if it's for no other reason than we all know which part is being referenced when someone discusses a typewriter. This really becomes an issue in the repair sub-forum here where it's very common for arbitrary names to be given to various components. In such scenarios the onus should be on the person who is providing the repair advice to correctly name those parts if there will be any hope of the enthusiast community adopting a common glossary. There will always be exceptions to some names because of regional differences (some parts have a different name from one country to the next), but on the whole we should be able to find a common ground to work from.

If this is the case, then one or a few of us need to look into as many repair manuals as we can, glean from these the "proper" terminology, alphabetize what we find, and compile a glossary of terms to be neatly inserted with a main heading all its own.  Additionally, there are parts in some typewriters that aren't found in others, and this detail will need to be set beside the words--if this is not a part commonly found in all typewriters, it should be noted the typewriter or typewriters that use this part or group of parts.
 

Now, it would be good to know the controls and outer parts of typewriters in general.  But there are internal parts that have certain names.  For instance, cup gear.  This describes the driven gear on a Smith-Corona electric power return.  Sometimes these get chewed up because they're plastic, and need replacing--which I've done quite a few.  The thing is that until I did my first one, when I went to a typewriter shop for the part, I didn't know what to call it.  They called the gear "cup gear."  And then I knew.  I may have to look up several repair manuals to see what to call what part.  But the trouble I am afraid I am going to encounter is that different books are going to call the same parts under different names.  I could be wrong, but it could be a problem.  Additionally, again, this is an international forum, so there are going to be parts that will be call one thing in the United States, another in Canada, another in Great Britain, and still another in Spain and Australia.  Or have the ones who wrote the repair manuals anticipated this problem?