[GreenKeys] Refurbishing a KSR-33

[Don Robert House]

Chris,

The old plastic is brittle and breaks very easily.  The parts are hard  
to find.
Treat them carefully.  Formula 409 is a good cleaner and will not hurt  
any
of the parts.  A folded dish cloth works pretty well. Q-Tips do not  
last very
long and your fingers get tired.

If something breaks or cracks you can usually repair the plastic with a
cyanoacrylate cement or with an epoxy especially made for plastic.
J B Kwikplastik is such a product.

I wrote you that I had changed out the O with the arrow.  I DID NOT.
I WANT TO change it out if you would like to trade keytops.  If you use
my method you will not have a problem.

Put a little kerosine in a small spray bottle and spray where you think
the typing unit needs to be cleaned.  Then clean off the kerosine with  
an
artists paintbrush or your Q-tips.  Be careful not to snag any springs.

Then you can blow out the typing unit with a vacuum cleaner stuck in
the output hole rather than the normal input hole.  Or a air compressor
set with the PSI lower than 50.  Hi pressure can actually knock parts
out of the machine.

Use an eraser to clean the face of the distributor plate.  Keep all  
liquids
out of the selector magnet armature.  That is cleaned with strips of  
bond
paper.

I will try to get the 33 training manual scanned as soon as I can.

Best,
Don
K9TTY



On 1 Feb 2011, at 8:25 PM, Christian Gauger-Cosgrove wrote:

Firstly, thanks to everyone who has responded for all the helpful
information.

I have no plans to muck about with the keyboard of my KSR-33, it's  
fine the
way it is right now. (Little cleaning with a q-tip and some rubbing  
alcohol
won't
hurt it, will it?)

I've managed to get the carriage returned; with help provided in that
department
by Mr. Dave Hunter. Though I've yet to get the system up and running  
to see
if
the carriage now travels freely.

I'm also handily getting a set of manuals on CD from Mr. Jim Haynes  
which I
am
very thankful for, as well as a scan of the Model 33 training manual  
from
Mr. Don
Robert House.

The issues with the motor burning out the fuse have been clarified by  
many,
especially
helpful has been Wayne. I'll have to take a look-see when I can get  
some new
fuses.


Now, for a few questions. Firstly, would it be possible/advisable to  
replace
all the fuses
and fuse holders on the teletype with equivalently rated circuit  
breakers?
And further,
could the start capacitor for the motor be replaced with a modern
equivalent?

I ask about replacing the fuses with circuit breakers because honestly I
find breakers to
be far more convenient then looking for fuses; plus they don't run out  
if
you have an issue
that you're trying to solve that results in the breaker popping all the
time. The start cap
question is asked because it may or may not be part of the whole problem
with the motor
fuses.

As my second question, I'd like to know what everyone suggests regarding
cleaning and
lubricating the machine. As a joke someone suggested "Why not just  
dunk it
in a bath of
xylene, toluene, or both for a while?" Now, I know that will  
absolutely and
completely remove
all the grease in the teletype... however, I also know that that will  
also
completely destroy all
the plastic and rubber parts of the teletype too -- which is probably  
not a
good thing. (Though
that would probably work wonders on a 28 or 35; which are almost  
completely
metal, aren't they?)

I've heard good things of people using Marvel Mystery Oil on  
typewriters (I
saw it used on an IBM
Selectric and it's apparently exceptionally good), has one here used  
it on
their teleprinter to any
good advantage?

Also, as a third question, does any one know where one can get Molex
connectors that fit the
connectors within the teletype? And also, how do the punch and reader
interface with the teletype
in an ASR-33? I'm asking because I've had the idea of creating a "sort  
of"
ASR-33 out of the KSR-33
by using a spare PC, which probably won't be feasible, as I'm thinking  
the
reader/punch connected
to the KSR-33 mechanisms via mechanical means and not electrically.


Now, sorry again for a very long and rambling e-mail. I'm very  
thankful for
all help and suggestions. I
should be able to do some work on them KSR-33 when I get some spare
time/fuses. Also, if any one
wants to, you can call me Chris.


Cheers everyone!

C. M. Gauger-Cosgrove
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