You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?



08-1-2021 02:22:58  #41


Re: Which one: Olympia SF or Hermes Rocket?

Hello Doug,

Welcome to the forum.

The first thing that comes to mind is the shift alignment. This can be adjusted with two sets of headless screws/nuts at the carriage sides. See the picture below, the screws/nuts are in the middle.

Lau

 

13-1-2021 02:49:28  #42


Re: Which one: Olympia SF or Hermes Rocket?

Thank you, Lau. Shift alignment was the first thing to come to my mind too, but the alignment between caps and lower case is spot on perfect on this machine, and the type slugs are hitting right in the middle of the platen so that all characters are printing from top to bottom...unless the shift is locked!

There is considerable free play before the shift key lever touches the contact point on the bottom of the carriage, however, so I'm thinking that may be the source of the problem. I suppose the shift key lever could be formed upward essentially to be touching the carriage contact point at rest, but it's a pretty hefty thickness of metal to bend so it makes me a little nervous to consider. Also, this machine is nearly untouched and it's hard to image that mechanism having gotten out of whack from mistreatment.

 

13-1-2021 05:47:38  #43


Re: Which one: Olympia SF or Hermes Rocket?

Hi Doug,

There is another thing you can try.

DougFreeman wrote:

I have loosened an adjustable plate that allows for up/down adjustment in the stopping point of the shift lock mechanism, but it doesn't move enough to get correct caps lock adjustment. Any thoughts/advice? Thank you.

The adjustable plate you mention, slides up and down at the back of a slotted plate, also known as the 'comb'. This plate can be adjusted too. Maybe this is just enough to solve your problem. Note: raising or lowering the comb affects the touch, I have written an article about this topic on my site, see: https://www.laurenzvangaalen.nl/olympia-traveller/#heavy-touch-key-action

Lau


 

 

13-1-2021 14:32:54  #44


Re: Which one: Olympia SF or Hermes Rocket?

Ooh, that might be just the ticket. I've also noticed that the touch on this one is heavy as lead. Perhaps this could help both issues. And I will check out your link. Many thanks for the tip!

 

14-1-2021 01:55:21  #45


Re: Which one: Olympia SF or Hermes Rocket?

Hi Lau,

Looked at your website, adjusted the touch control lever and comb height accordingly. It improved my situation somewhat, but CAPS LOCK characters are still way above the lower case/caps baseline...because the shift height is dropping when shift lock is engaged. Attaching some pics and a little video telling the story. I hate to think about bending the shift lock arm 3-4mm so that it meets the carriage lift contact point without freeplay, but I'm not seeing any other solution. Other thoughts? Thanks!

Cheers,
Doug







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtXpqoqmL4g&feature=youtu.be


 

 

14-1-2021 01:57:05  #46


Re: Which one: Olympia SF or Hermes Rocket?

PS - oops, second picture shows the comb height adjustment screws on the RIGHT side (not the left).

 

14-1-2021 04:04:57  #47


Re: Which one: Olympia SF or Hermes Rocket?

Hi Doug,

Thanks for posting the images and movie, they help a lot solving this kind of puzzles.

For what it is worth: I checked one of my machines, it has only about 1 mm space/freeplay between the carriage lif contact point and the shift key lever. However, the only function of the shift lock is to lock the shift key. If the shift works as expected (your post shows it does) the freeplay does not seems to play a role.

DougFreeman wrote:

I hate to think about bending the shift lock arm 3-4mm so that it meets the carriage lift contact point without freeplay, but I'm not seeing any other solution.

I am thinking in the same direction. But, maybe it is already bended, the wrong way! Let's find out if the shift lock arm is how it is supposed to be. Can you upload images that taken from the side?

Lau

 

16-1-2021 20:23:36  #48


Re: Which one: Olympia SF or Hermes Rocket?

Hi Lau,

Thanks again for your help! I think we're headed in the right direction. I'm uploading some "before" images that show the shift key inside of the comb, and one of the shift lock mechanism on the outer side. The shift key arm and lift tab are twisted and bent downward a little. I experimented with forming the shift key on the inside -- both bending and twisting a little -- and in the "after" pics you can see that it probably lessened the gap by 1-1.5mm. And you can see the difference it made in typing, while holding the caps key vs. using shift key. Big progress! The metal was easier to bend than I imagined. However I'm at the limit of how much I can bend the shift key using the non-typewriter repair tools I've got; otherwise I risk chewing up the metal and I refuse to do a hack job. So I think I'm a little bit stuck for the moment, unless I were to remove the key altogether, which seems like a daunting and overly complex maneuver. Really need key forming tools! Always open to further thoughts. Thanks again.

Best,
Doug

 

18-1-2021 14:32:58  #49


Re: Which one: Olympia SF or Hermes Rocket?

Hi Doug,

I don't quite understand. If using the shift key results in perfect vertical alignment, and using the caps lock results in wrong vertical alignment, then there must be something wrong with the lock mechanism. I can not imagine the size of the gap is the direct cause of the problem, because there should be no gap at all when the shift or de caps lock is used.

The only theory I can think of, but not sure about, is this one. The gap is indeed too large, and someone compensated for that by adjusting the vertical alignment (with the screws on the carriage, see my first reply). Because the gap is so large, the 'adjustment' is so extreme, that the shift-lock adjustment that also needs to be made (the locking point) can't keep up.

For reference I checked another of my machines, this one had no gap.

I hope this helps,
Lau

 

20-1-2021 00:01:19  #50


Re: Which one: Olympia SF or Hermes Rocket?

I think you're right, Lau, the problem lies with the shift lock. The hook on the shift lock mechanism is positioned a little far forward, and it slips backward a tiny bit before it engages with the up/down plate that holds it. I think that will continue to happen regardless of adjustments elsewhere on the machine. But I can't think what to do to move that hook mechanism backward. Possibly the up/down plate could be bent forward, but I'm concerned about messing with it, and how to get at it in the first place. Attaching a closeup picture of it, and a couple videos showing the action.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yO9qrvve-4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPUe3xAvrSk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItxeytykgxQ




 

 

Board footera

 

Powered by Boardhost. Create a Free Forum