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30-5-2017 07:41:03  #11


Re: Purchasing a typewriter (Corona No.3 Folding) - things to look for?

Thanks, thetypewriterman! You've been a wonderful help!

 

30-5-2017 13:16:29  #12


Re: Purchasing a typewriter (Corona No.3 Folding) - things to look for?

No problem.  Helping each other is what this forum is all about

 

10-6-2017 13:14:51  #13


Re: Purchasing a typewriter (Corona No.3 Folding) - things to look for?

Hi! I am new here and I have only just discovered that I am a typewriter addict. I have already posted this query in Repairs and Maintenance,  but despite it having been seen by over 300 people, nobody has replied. I'm posting here because there seems to be a lot going on involving Olympia portables. Please excuse me if it is really the wrong place.
I recently bought an Olympia Senior with a French AZERTY keyboard. The machine seems to be a no-frills version of the Traveller. It's full name is AEG Olympia Dactymetal Senior, at least , that is all the words printed on the top. I believe there is also a Dactymétal junior in existence somewhere.
It has a serial number which I can't read but have managed to photograph and the chassis has the letters "UNIS IBM" stamped on it. The casing is in generally good condition, but oddly,the dark plastic that emphasises the outline of the machine is extremely worn on the part that is actually level with the keyboard. It is
as if the machine had been kept under a rock and dragged out every morning rather than removing the heavy weight on top and picking it up. The platen is perfectly reasonable and all the keys work smoothly. There is just one problerm - the typwriter won't SHIFT. Both Shift keys work perfectly well, as does the caps lock, but nothing whatever happens when you press them. I have tried propping the carriage up as high as it will go and then typing a few letters, but it only gives me about half of an upper-case character. The trouble is  I have no idea what to look for. How does a portable German typewriter made under licence in Yugoslavia in the 1970s shift its carriage? Something is clearly missing can anyone please help me to find out what?
Thank you very much

 

 

10-6-2017 16:03:29  #14


Re: Purchasing a typewriter (Corona No.3 Folding) - things to look for?

When you press either shift key, they are connected by a bar which runs across the front of the typewriter's mechanism, just behind the keyboard.  An extension of the bar, on the left, raises the carriage.  Perhaps that is the part of the mechanism that is jammed.  Do you think you could take some photos of this area and post them for everyone to see ?  I have never come across a 'Dactymetal', but it certainly sounds as if you have an Olympia Traveller there, under a different name.  After the first few years of production, all Olympia Travellers were made in Yugoslavia.  Olympia didn't own the factory.  The company name was UNIS-TBM and that is what you can see cast into the machine's frame.  You might be able to read the serial number with an LED torch (flashlight).  The cold white light shed by LEDs is very good for picking out indistinct serial numbers.  It might also be worth taking the bottom casing off the machine (four screws in the rubber feet) to see if there is a coin or something preventing the carriage from lifting.

 

11-6-2017 11:03:02  #15


Re: Purchasing a typewriter (Corona No.3 Folding) - things to look for?

Thank you very much indeed, Mr. Typewriter man. I have already had the back off and as well as a visual inspection gave it a really good shake to dislodge any coins, paper clips or other paraphenalia that might have got wedged - but nothing. The horizontal bar seems to work normally, as do the keys but as far as I can make out; they are not connected. I have now taken  off the side panel and will get back to you, hopefully with photos, when I have investigated a bit further.
I was indeed able to read the serial number - 15-754340 - with a LED torch, except the figures are pushed rather far under a piece of transversal metal so I can't be absolutely certain that the 5's are 5's and not 3's. There is also an imprint on the (surprisingly good condition) plastic cover that looks as if it might say JBS.
The whole machine seems efficient, workmanlike and robust. My guess is that it is a stripped-down no-frills version of a mass-market product that was probably intended to fill large orders from government departments or something of the kind - unusual for a portable. As to the name "dactylographie" is French for typing and a "dactylo" is a typist.

 

11-6-2017 12:24:47  #16


Re: Purchasing a typewriter (Corona No.3 Folding) - things to look for?

Here is a link to some pictures, plus a little video to give some ideal of the extent of travel of the horizontal bar. I still can't see anything missing.
https://goo.gl/photos/N7jZ8xzAtektrFCA9

 

11-6-2017 14:05:58  #17


Re: Purchasing a typewriter (Corona No.3 Folding) - things to look for?

Post #17, contains the link that works...
 

 

11-6-2017 18:27:51  #18


Re: Purchasing a typewriter (Corona No.3 Folding) - things to look for?

Hello Brownfox, welcome to the forum.

I thought I might be able to take a look at my SM9 to see what might be going on with your machine but, they are not the same machine under the hood by any means.
However, looking at your video link, I wonder if the carriage shift linkage on your machine has somehow become disconnected from the carriage?
As you say, the key levers move just fine but it looks like they are bottoming out on the in side of the bottom cover.
From the pictures and video I can't really see how they would connect to the carriage but on my SM9 they are fastened on with small  'e' clips and a small screw on either side of the carriage. I can also see on my SM9 that if I were disassembling /assembling the shift linkage, there seems to be a slot on the side of the machine (but covered by the body panel ) to allow access to the screw.   
I also wonder, if you could get a finger under the left hand shift key and see how far you could GENTLEY lift it up?
It just seems from your video clip that the key is hanging down a long ways into the machine. On my SM9 the shift key sits at rest evenly with the ' Z ' key that is to the right of it.
It may be a trick of the camera angle but, it's something to look at when you are trying to diagnose a problem.
I can't guess how this all may have come apart but, it could have become stuck at some point and someone pressed the keys harder and harder until it was broken.
Keep us advised to your progress.

HABD!!
 

 

12-6-2017 11:37:50  #19


Re: Purchasing a typewriter (Corona No.3 Folding) - things to look for?

Dear Mr, Mrs or Ms Rattle Tap
Thank you very much for taking such n interest in my case. I have removed the left-hand side cover and there is, indeed what appears to be a large inspection hole, but behind it there is little to inspect. Just the shift key levers which seem to be OK. In the video you can see where the shift lever bottoms out (It never actually touches the floor of the base. You will also appreciate that neither shift key can be lifted up. Incidentally, the level of both shifts and the caps lock is well below that of the surrounding letter keys.

 

12-6-2017 11:44:25  #20


Re: Purchasing a typewriter (Corona No.3 Folding) - things to look for?

I'm a bit stuck as to what to try next...

 

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