[GreenKeys] UGC-136 Ribbon status update

[Nick England]

The head adjuster lever is to account for multiple-copy paper thickness.
With single thickness paper I usually set mine 2 “clicks” back from all the
way in. Clicks are soft but you should be able to feel them.

As you discovered, don’t go too far in. That won’t help get darker print. I
imagine your paper is perfectly fine unless it is like tissue paper or
Kleenex.

Could be dried out ink. A very small spritz or dab of WD-40 inside the
cartridge may help soften it. Just pry up a rear corner a little bit for
access. Let sit overnight to allow the vapor to spread.

YMMV.
Nick England K4NYW
www.navy-radio.com


On Sun, Aug 10, 2025 at 9:17 AM JEFF CICCONE <kg2bz at comcast.net> wrote:

> folks I just received 4 NCR cartridges from Germany    I might be doing
> something wrong.  My 136 did not have a print cartridge.    It seems you
> have to adjust the print cartridge lever a notch or 2 to get the letters
> stamped on the paper.  Too much and the paper rips .  I bought the paper
> from POS, however I wonder if that paper is too thin.
>
> The purple letters were not very dark so I wonder if the ink has dried out
> from the “new” cartridges.
>
>
> Any additional advice will be appreciated. thanks
>
> Jeff N2IA
>
> On 08/09/2025 6:50 PM EDT Nick England <navy.radio at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> John brought over the revised version for testing today - it looks great!
> https://www.navy-radio.com/tty/ugc136/ribbon.htm#print
>
> He is going to do a little minor editing on the model and then we will get
> the test SLS print from Xometry and make sure it works OK before placing a
> quantity order. Be patient - we do need to test the SLS printed version to
> make sure there are no issues.
>
> Today we used an open end ribbon for the test. However, John made a little
> modification to the design so that we can install a continuous loop - no
> need to splice/fuse the ends after installation.
> Stay tuned - we still need to identify a ribbon source. I investigated a
> couple of cheap and available cartridges for other machines, but they have
> a half-twist in their loops which seems like a good idea because then you
> print on both sides (Mobius strip). But there is no room in the UGC-136
> cartridge to put that half-twist - how odd that they didn't do that.
>
> I made an offer to buy all 30 that the German eBay guy has left - but he
> still wanted too much. So they are still available if you just can't wait.
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/224506008457
>
> Nick England K4NYW
> www.navy-radio.com
>
>
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