[GreenKeys] Model 14 Typing Reperforator questions

[Derek Cohn/WB0TUA]

Hi Everyone,

I just got a Model 14 Typing Reperforator and have a few questions.  Seems to run ok so far on my fox box.

1) The perforations in the tape don't go all they way through and don't create a pile of chad.  I believe I have heard of "chadless" reperforators and perhaps that's what this is.   Is that correct that the reperforator should leave the chad "hinged" onto the tape or should it punch all the way through with the chad ending up in some collection box?

2) Printing is almost non-existant.  I replaced the ribbon with a known good ribbon but there is hardly any printing on the tape.  Ribbon advances normally and reverses when gets to the end.  If I had to guess, I think the ribbon has so much tension on it that when the typebars hit it, they don't have enough force to smack the ribbon against the paper.  It did print for a few letters prior to my changing the ribbon but only the faintest of images now.  My thinking is that I have the ribbon strung incorrectly or there is some mechanism for adjusting the tension.

Here are a couple of photos:

Here's the stringing of the ribbon:

http://www.mindspring.com/~vibroplex/reperfb.jpg

Here's a close up of where the typebars hit the ribbon...

http://www.mindspring.com/~vibroplex/reperfa.jpg

Thanks for any help you guys can give me!

Derek Cohn
Morse Telegraph Club - Alton Chapter
Office UD, Sine DJ
Amateur Radio Station - WBØTUA
1969 Brunswick M274A5 Mechanical Mule