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25-12-2014 05:53:07  #1


Olympia Monica Carriage blocked

Hi and happy holidays everybody,

I have an Olympia Monica, light-greyish metal body resembling SM4, no tab, SN 1846838, ivory keys, turquoise shift. Overall, the machine is very clean, hardly any dust, no other dirt or oil issues visible. Even the typebar heads look as if they had been typed with only a few times, there's only very little ink on them.

Problem: The carriage is blocked. The lever on the top-left of the keyboard does not move, just bend down a bit. The lock itself seems to be blocked in the carriage. The mechanism itself does two more actions, one at the type bars, and one somewhere at the rear center below the carriage. All of them seem to be connected, as they slightly move along when I manipulate the lever a bit. That's all I can spot from looking through the spaces around the carriage. 

Could it be that the element that fits into the two slots on the carriage seems not to be able to go back any further because it is wedged against a diagonal support which seems to be part of the basic architecture of the machine. Which could mean that something is fundamentally wrong with the position of the carriage?

Or should I further look into the machine? It will be a bit tricky to take the body off, as the line shift lever is across the ribbon cover ... that's why I thought I'd ask here first, in case anybody had another explanation.

I have several other SMs - 2, 7, 9 - but none of them has a resembling lock mechanism.

I would be ever so grateful for any suggestions how to proceed. As for photos, I could only do the bottom ...

BTW, what is a "Monica", is it just another name for an SM, or aren there major differences?

Thank you, best
Claudia

 

25-12-2014 11:36:33  #2


Re: Olympia Monica Carriage blocked

The Monica was a budget model with fewer features, and your 1961 model was based on the SM5.

The carriage lock mechanism is fairly straightforward:
1. You lift the lever on the left side of the keyboard to engage the lock, lower it to release it (left photo).
2. The lever moves a two-prong clamp on the left side of the machine forward and back (middle photo - in locked position).
3. The clamp fits into the two openings of the front carriage rail (right photo).



If the lever can't be moved down to the unlocked postion, then some component in the system is likely bent or is binding. Maybe the carriage was knocked hard, or perhaps someone attempted to force it not knowing that there was a lock in place? Is the carriage currently in the centered position?

The only other function of the carriage lock is to prevent the typebars from moving while the machine is being transported. A spring mechanism is also connected to the carriage lock lever, but it's only there to prevent the lever from moving on its own.

You should be able to open the ribbon cover and clear the line space lever even with the carriage in its locked position. With it open you can follow the linkage for the lever and see if anything is bent or something is blocking it from moving. However, my guess is that the two-prong clamp is seized or jammed into the carriage rail. It's a little difficult to get at, but I would try to work it loose while gently moving the carriage left and right to find a position that will ease the tension on it.


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

25-12-2014 15:31:19  #3


Re: Olympia Monica Carriage blocked

Thank you, that's very helpful.

Thanks for the images, I think I can see the faulty spot: the carriage lock mechanism, which in your center image is just next to the grey diagonal rod, in my machine is right above that rod and thus jamming up everything. The carriage itself is practically not movin, very slightly - fractions of a mm - to the top, not right or left. Will open the machine, though, fully, and I guess I should try to disconnect the linkage leading to the lock and get it out somehow.

Seems the "someone pushed the carriage while the lock was engaged" suggestion applies. Wondering what other damage that might have done ...

What a shame on an otherwise very good and clean machine. It might have experienced this accident at a very early age, that would explain the overall condition ... sigh.

Oh, and, by the way, I got it for free, only had to pay for the underground return ticket within Berlin.

     Thread Starter
 

25-12-2014 18:50:00  #4


Re: Olympia Monica Carriage blocked

Thank you again! I managed to unblock the carriage lock and there seems to be no additional damage done by that to the mechanism. It types properly.

Only that, while reassembling the casing, and turning the stripped machine over and over again, something must have gone wrong with the space bar to advancement linkage. The space bar sits a bit too much towards the front of the machine now, and only works properly - including the typing advancement and return of the carriage - when firmly pushed horizonally towards the back of the machine. I hope I can figure that out with the help of my other SMs, which are not around at the moment, but tomorrow. It may be that something has come off its regular position at the far end.

BTW I think I start understanding the budget part beyond "lesser features" in the Monica.

Happy holidays!

     Thread Starter
 

26-12-2014 10:39:33  #5


Re: Olympia Monica Carriage blocked

Good news about the carriage, and I hope you figure out the spacebar issue, which I'm sure will turn out to be something simple. A Monica for the cost of an U-Bahn ticket is a great deal, and it's certainly worth saving the machine and spending some time returning it to full functionality. Frohe Weihnachten!


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

26-12-2014 11:30:47  #6


Re: Olympia Monica Carriage blocked

Well, after looking into it long enough, the Monica decided to work. Whatever ... It might have been related to the bent carriage lock, which was probably not far enough away from the carriage.

Thanks again, and if ever I could be of some help, above all with German machines, over here in Berlin ... let me know.

     Thread Starter
 

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