[GreenKeys] Re: ASR-33 Woes

[Don Robert House]

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Don

>Hi folks:
>
>This is from Bob Armstrong, on the classic computer list, who is having a
>slew of problems with his M33.  I told him to check out:
>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3412782892
>but the pain was still too fresh, and he was not amused.
>
>Bob is the fellow who designed the single-board pdp-8 system, and he sure
>would be pleased to get his 33 chugging away with it.
>
>Does anyone have words of wisdom for tweaking his machine?
>
>thanks,
>
>gil
>
>
>At 07:12 PM 4/20/03 -0700, you wrote:
>>
>>   I've spent the entire weekend trying to get a SBC PDP-8 working with a
>>real ASR-33 and, in that time, I spent about 30 minutes on the SBC and
>>the rest repairing the ASR!
>>
>>   First, the keyboard would randomly flip bits in the characters I typed
>>and I spent several hours cleaning and adjusting the keyboard contact
>>wires.  Then the little rubber pad on the print head hammer fell apart
>>and I had to make a new one out of an old piece of bicycle tire.  After
>>that the distributor rotor fell off three times while reading paper tapes
>>(I think it was the continuous rotation from reading tapes that undid it).
>>
>>   Plus I didn't quite understand all the fine points of adjusting the
>>distributor when I replaced it (turns out that there's a little tiny
>>bump in one of the copper traces at the top of the contact board; you're
>>supposed to arrange the rotor so that it points at this bump in the locked
>>position), which wasted a few more hours.  Then the line feed clutch started
>>skipping lines, but that's still too painful to talk about...
>>
>>   Now it'll run for about an hour before the motor overheats and siezes.
>>I assume the whole thing needs to be disassembled, cleaned, and relubricated!
>>
>>   Sorry about all the complaining, but I just wanted to whine about old
>>electromechanical technology for a while :-)  On a serious note, though,
>>I have gotten to the point where I'd be willing to pay to have it
>  >professionally refurbished.  Is it possible that such a service still
>  >exists in real life, or is it only in my dreams???
>  >
>  >Thanks,
>  >Bob
>>
>>
>
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