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- Pete E.
- Typewriter Talk Elite
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- From: Idaho - USA
- Registered: 23-6-2020
- Posts: 2,420
Re: Alpina SK24 carriage won't hold on return and slides fully to the left
Hi Mike,
I hope your adjustments help sort out the problem.
My space bar has 2-3 light cracks. I took some clear super-glue to it from the underside trying to get some glue on the plastic around the metal reinforcing bar. It has been stable for almost 3 years now.
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- Pete E.
- Typewriter Talk Elite
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- From: Idaho - USA
- Registered: 23-6-2020
- Posts: 2,420
Re: Alpina SK24 carriage won't hold on return and slides fully to the left
From the TWDB, there was even an Alpina model DT-33 for a short while.
It is a decimal Tabulating machine...but instead of dedicated Tab key-tops along the top row of the key-board, the space bar is marked/engraved with decimal Tab stop nomenclature and the row of key-tops just above the space-bar is used to access the decimal Tab stops.
Normally pressing that row of key-tops will give you a letter or character, but if those key-tops are pushed horizontally (which I assume means to push the key-top towards the back) the decimal Tab stops are set.
Sure would be neat to look inside one of these DT-33 to see how that decimal Tab'ing was accomplished "under the hood".
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- mikeytap
- Speed Champion
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- From: Georgia, USA
- Registered: 25-12-2021
- Posts: 325
Re: Alpina SK24 carriage won't hold on return and slides fully to the left
Pete E. wrote:
From the TWDB, there was even an Alpina model DT-33 for a short while.
It is a decimal Tabulating machine...but instead of dedicated Tab key-tops along the top row of the key-board, the space bar is marked/engraved with decimal Tab stop nomenclature and the row of key-tops just above the space-bar is used to access the decimal Tab stops.
Normally pressing that row of key-tops will give you a letter or character, but if those key-tops are pushed horizontally (which I assume means to push the key-top towards the back) the decimal Tab stops are set.
Sure would be neat to look inside one of these DT-33 to see how that decimal Tab'ing was accomplished "under the hood".
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How strange. Would indeed be interesting to see the linkage involved.
- Be kind
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Thread Starter- Pete E.
- Typewriter Talk Elite
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- From: Idaho - USA
- Registered: 23-6-2020
- Posts: 2,420
Re: Alpina SK24 carriage won't hold on return and slides fully to the left
Lots of good history about the folks behind Alpina (and their re-badged AMC and Avona) machines :
- robmck
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- From: Seattle, WA
- Registered: 31-1-2022
- Posts: 374
Re: Alpina SK24 carriage won't hold on return and slides fully to the left
Nice find, Pete! I wonder if, to an experienced data typist, whether that bottom tabulator worked better than the usual above-the-keyboard variety. I agree with mikeytap that it would be fascinating to see how the mechanism worked. (Seems that the keys of that row would have independent pivots).
Thanks, too, Pete, for the link to the Alpina post. I'd always wondered if the cars and the typewriters were related somehow.
- Pete E.
- Typewriter Talk Elite
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- From: Idaho - USA
- Registered: 23-6-2020
- Posts: 2,420
Re: Alpina SK24 carriage won't hold on return and slides fully to the left
My original owner bought my AMC new in 1960 when he was a senior in high school and on his way to college and eventually into the seminary.
He had this AMC throughout his life and never switched to computers for his writings as a pastor.
He passed away and his daughter sold me the machine after 8 years of just keeping it in her home as a tribute to her father.
I was always surprised that an Alpina/AMC would have been his choice of machines when he was a 17-18 year old. Maybe his Swiss/German heritage came into play.
He had even placed several name-tags (athletic tape with inked name) along the underside of the machine, removable carriage, and body cowlings.
Here is a photo scan of the original owner, Mr. Bill Hallau from his senior class photo.
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- robmck
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- From: Seattle, WA
- Registered: 31-1-2022
- Posts: 374
Re: Alpina SK24 carriage won't hold on return and slides fully to the left
Great story. I'm glad you collect the stories as well as the machines...
- Pete E.
- Typewriter Talk Elite
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- From: Idaho - USA
- Registered: 23-6-2020
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Re: Alpina SK24 carriage won't hold on return and slides fully to the left
It was an interesting purchase. Many emails and some phone calls.
I think she just wanted to make sure our home was "worthy" and that I was just not someone looking to flip it.
I helped her with packing tips as she had never mailed out a typewriter, before.
I gave her a standing offer that anytime in the future if any of the grand-kids in the family wanted the machine, I would be happy to return it to her.
I even typed some notes to her (on her Dad's machine) as my email and phone numbers changed from time to time...so we are still in touch.
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