[GreenKeys] 33-ASR Paper Tape Punch Faults

[Rick Bensene]

About a month ago, I wrote:

> Sent: Sunday, September 06, 2015 8:01 PM
> To: aaa-greenkeys
> Subject: [GreenKeys] 33-ASR Paper Tape Punch Faults
> 
> The 2^2 and 2^5 bits on the paper tape punch on my 33-ASR don't punch.
> When I punch a RUBOUT, these bits don't punch.  The behavior is
consistent
> when punching any character.
> 
> Any ideas as to what to check for?  The unit properly sends and
receives  data
> via 20ma Current Loop, and printer properly echoes characters from
> keyboard in local mode, so I suspect the issue is in the punch itself.
> 

The problem has been fixed.  It took me a while to get to checking it
out as I've had some health problems that have kept me away from hobbies
for a while, but I'm in the mend, and had some time to tinker with the
33ASR today.

Many thanks to the numerous folks who responded to my post, suggesting
what to look for.  As it turned out, Wayne nailed the problem on the
head right away.  Two of the levers toward the back of the punch had
dropped out of place, and, as it turned out, the whole area needed some
cleanup (it was kind of gunked up with old lube and paper tape chads).
I popped the two levers back in place carefully, then cleaned things up,
and re-lubed things with a light oil.   The punch now works perfectly.

While at it, I also looked at the linefeed mechanism, as I'd also posted
something a while back indicating that occasionally I'd get an extra
linefeed operation after the first character on a line was typed, e.g.,
<linefeed> <character> <extra linefeed>.   I also noted that there was
some gloppy old lube in the linefeed mech, and I ended up cleaning it up
and re-lubing with some medium-viscosity oil, and it seems to have
completely eliminated the occasional extra linefeeds.

At this point, the only remaining issue with the machine is that very
occasionally, the first character on the line will be overprinted by the
second character.  I suspect that this has something to do with the
dashpot adjustment, but need to dig into the manuals to figure out the
proper adjustment for it.  The dashpot assembly itself looks to be in
good shape, so I suspect it's more a question of adjustment.  This
happens very infrequently, so even if I can't get to the bottom of it,
I'm not terribly worried about it.

This list is an amazing resource -- so many wonderful folks willing to
share extensive knowledge.  

-Rick