[GreenKeys] Leigh Branded KSR33 Restoration

Sun May 22 17:05:05 EDT 2011

Hello all:

I'll try that tomorrow actually. I'd do the fix now, but the moronic
neighbours are out shooting fireworks (at 5 PM for some dimwitted
reason) and I'd prefer to avoid the massive safety hazard.

I'm still in need of some ink ribbon; and there's a good chance I'll
be getting my hands on a Teletype branded ASR-33 soon, so I'll need to
find pin-feed/tractor-feed/sprocket-feed/whateveryouwanttocallit-feed
paper for it (woo for non-friction feed?)... and more paper for my
friction-feed KSR (though, if worse comes to worse, I'm thinking I
might end up switching out the KSR printer and the ASR printer).

Dave: Nice KSR. Though, mine only has the cover with Leigh branding.
The faceplate at the front of the base on mine is the standard silver
with black lettering Teletype Corp. plate. I really wish I could find
a cover that would match... or a Leigh faceplate. Either one would be
welcome, so it's not the strange mismatched state it's in right now
(haha).

By the way, have you considered hooking up one (or all) of your ASCII
machines to a PC running a minicomputer simulator? That's my major
plan for my KSR-33, connect it to my PC and have it run as the
operator's console on one of DEC's minicomputers (XVM/RSX on the
PDP-15 provides a wonderful text dump for any ASCII Teletype; and UNIX
V6 on a simulated PDP-11/45 is good to let people try out as it is
familiar enough to many people).

Larry: That fix sounds quite simple. Would doing something similar
work for the bell though? (I haven't actually gotten a good chance to
look at the bell mechanism, so I don't know if it is electrically or
mechanically actuated.)

Cheers all,

Christian M. Gauger-Cosgrove

On 21 May 2011 17:45, Dave Hunter <dhunter at islandregister.com> wrote:
> Hi Christian:
>
> Gotta agree with Larry. This is a common problem brought
> about by storage.
>
> See my Leigh KSR-33 in operation on:
>
> http://www.qsl.net/vy2ac/rtty.html
>
> Dave
>
> On 21 May 2011 at 17:37, Larry Tighe wrote:
>
>> I've had the same problem with the CR on my 32 and 33's.  My
>> solution (heresy, I know).....give the CR clutch a massive
>> dose of WD-40, thence, press the CR while holding the RPT
>> (repeat) key down.
>>
>> It's a good idea to hold down the space bar to advance the
>> carriage to about midway or more so you know when the clutch
>> actually starts working.
>>
>> Give it some 5 second bursts of CR RPT.  Eventually the
>> clutch should yield and slowly, it will work and become
>> dependable.  It needs exercise and the RPT key is the way to
>> go.
>>
>> lar
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Christian Gauger-Cosgrove" <captainkirk359 at gmail.com>
>> To: <greenkeys at mailman.qth.net> Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2011
>> 5:32 PM Subject: [GreenKeys] Leigh Branded KSR33 Restoration
>>
>>
>> > Hello GreenKeyers,
>> >
>> > Unofficially it's the start of summer, and - more
>> > importantly - now that I'm back home from Brock University
>> > (I've actually been back about a month actually), I've had
>> > some time to work on my KSR-33.
>> >
>> > At last examination, the machine was in need of
>> > lubrication and cleaning, as well as replacement fuses.
>> >
>> > So, now that I've had some time, I've given the machine a
>> > good cleaning. It's not quite brand new, but so far it
>> > looks quite good. I've also had a chance to lubricate it
>> > and replace the fuses, so the beast powers on and runs (no
>> > fuses blew). Got a bit of tube and I "fixed" the print
>> > hammer; no chance of it mangling the typewheel any more.
>> >
>> > So, I've tested the functionality of the system as best I
>> > can so far. Here's a quick summary of what does and does
>> > not work:
>> >> Linefeed: Works
>> >> Space: Works
>> >> Carriage Return: Does Not Work
>> >> Alphanumeric Characters (and Punctuation): Works - As far
>> >> as I can tell (I need ink!). Bell: Does Not Work Form
>> >> Control (HTab, VTab, FFeed): Forgot to test. TX/RX
>> >> (Local): Works TX/RX (Remote): Can't Test WRU?: Works
>> >> when triggered (drum is fully intact no characters
>> >> entered), forgot to test Auto Answerback.
>> >
>> > So, all in all the machine appears to be working well
>> > enough.
>> >
>> >
>> > I can't quite determine the problem with the CR. The
>> > character code is transmitted correctly, so that is not
>> > the problem. Mechanically, it looks like it's trying to
>> > trigger the latch at the base of the spacing drum, but
>> > it's not triggering.
>> >
>> > And the problem with the bell I also cannot determine. Is
>> > the bell actuated electronically or mechanically? If
>> > mechanically, what could be causing the bell to not ring?
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Also, as a quick question, is there any one in Souther
>> > Ontario that knows how to repair a teletype?
>> >
>> > Cheers everyone.
>> >
>> > -- Christian M. Gauger-Cosgrove
>> > __________________________________________________________
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>
>
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