1 - Pete E.
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- From: Idaho - USA
- Registered: 23-6-2020
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Swissa Junior - Questions...
Hope some owner of a Swissa Junior might be able to help with questions and offer opinions.
I am starting to look at possibly adding one to our home.
1. What is the function of the key-top off at the upper-right side of the key-board (which I have circled in red). Is this a de-tangler key ? Or some other use ?
2. Metal lever on the right side of the key-board I believe is the ribbon color selector lever (which I have circled in blue). Is the indicator to the right of the type-slug guide and ribbon vibrator (and above the segment) connected to the lever so you know if you have selected black/stencil/white ? I surmise this, as I do not see any color-dot indication next to the metal lever at the right of the key-board.
3. For those that own a Swissa Junior...would you mind sharing your opinions about the machine and typing on it ? One criticism I read about the Swissa Junior is that they tend to be "harsh" in typing feel.
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- Uwe
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Re: Swissa Junior - Questions...
1. Blue circle - yes, pressing it clears any jammed typebars
2. Red circles - no, the ribbon colour selector is the lever mounted on the segment - the lever next to the keyboard is not a feature I have on my machines, so I'm not sure. Possibly a margin setting lever or a ribbon reverse?
3. I own three examples of the Oliver-flavored version of this machine and I would never describe any of them as being 'harsh'. But then again, I'm not even sure what harsh means when describing a type action or its feel. To my knowledge the type action of Swissa and the triumvirate variants of this portable is typically highly regarded. And although it's been a while since I used one, I don't have any memorable beefs with any of my Olivers.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Laurenz van Gaalen
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Re: Swissa Junior - Questions...
- Uwe
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Re: Swissa Junior - Questions...
Well there you go. Had I taken a closer look at the photo of the Swissa I would have noticed that the segment ribbon selector - or indicator in this case - lacks the lever to move it, something that all of my Oliver versions have. It never crossed my mind that Swissa would have overcomplicated things, and I can see why Oliver opted instead for a simpler setup. It also leads me to wonder if later iterations of the Swissa omitted this keyboard ribbon control.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Pete E.
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- From: Idaho - USA
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Re: Swissa Junior - Questions...
HI Laurenze,
I think you are correct. Here is an English translation of info. I found on the Internet :
" A metal lever can also be seen to the right above the right shift key, which was not yet present on the Swissa piccola. It is a lever for selecting the ribbon setting. The "old" ribbon setting at the top right of the segment, as was common up to the Swissa piccola, still exists, this innovation is simply an extension of the ribbon switch, integrated into the keyboard and thus easier and faster to access. For experienced users of a typewriter, this added value is questionable. "
At this link :
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Thread Starter- Pete E.
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- From: Idaho - USA
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Re: Swissa Junior - Questions...
Hi Uwe,
Thank you for your inputs and experiences with this type of machine. This helps.
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Thread Starter- Pete E.
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- From: Idaho - USA
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Re: Swissa Junior - Questions...
It looks like on its way from being a Swissa Junior to becoming a Swissa Junior 4, the adjustment lever near the top of the segment was done away with and it was only the position "indicator" with the adjustment made, only, at the lever on the right side of the key-bboard that did not have position-inidcators.
.
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Thread Starter- Uwe
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- From: Toronto, Canada
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Re: Swissa Junior - Questions...
Pete E. wrote:
... "For experienced users of a typewriter, this added value is questionable."
Looks like I'm not alone in my opinion that it was a silly feature. I'd go one step further and say its value is questionable for any user, experienced or not.
I am surprised though that this addition was considered a design evolution because it's the type of feature that you would expect a manufacturer to eliminate to save on materials and production costs. Regardless, nice machines, and in particular because they don't seem to be very common in North America. Europeans on the other hand might consider them much the same way as I would a Smith-Corona from the same time period.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- thetypewriterman
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- Registered: 29-5-2013
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Re: Swissa Junior - Questions...
No, the Swissa is very rare in the UK (plenty of the Oliver version however). I have only seen one Swissa in 46 years of fixing typewriters. 46 years ? I don't feel that old ! 
- Pete E.
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Re: Swissa Junior - Questions...
Keeping an eye out for a Swissa Junior for sale for over a year or so; there seem to be several that have popped up for sale out of the Netherlands. QWERTY machines with a few specialized Dutch key-tops.
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