[GreenKeys] UGC-136 ribbon replacement

[Eric Moore]

Hah, not looking to fix something that ain't broke, just curious if fancy
new cartridges will come out of this.

-Eric

On Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 7:51 PM Nick England <nick at navy-radio.com> wrote:

> Back the head adjustment lever off a notch? Or does that reduce print
> quality too much? Could just be the new ribbons are so heavily inked?
>
> The spring just adjusts pulling gear tension, but the LH feeding side just
> pulls ribbon from the cartridge with no tension mechanism. Might be just
> because it is the first time through the cartridge and tension is less. Or
> because we have different thickness of the new ribbons. The new ribbon is 8
> yds vs original spec of 16 yards, but SRC measured an original ribbon and
> found 12 yards.
>
> In other words, dang if I know.
>
> Nick England K4NYW
> Chapel Hill NC
> www.navy-radio.com
>
>
> On Sat, Jan 31, 2026 at 8:06 PM Eric Moore <mooreericnyc at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> That is super cool, my ribbon bleeds onto the paper when left idle, I am
>> curious if a manufactured ribbon would have the same issue.
>>
>> It seems like a tension problem, the second blade you sent helped, but
>> keeping it from making contact with the paper at all and still getting good
>> print quality is tricky.
>>
>> -Eric
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 7:02 PM Nick England via GreenKeys <
>> greenkeys at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Yes, this week I’ve been corresponding with a Navy contractor (SRC)
>>> tasked with coming up with a solution for the ones still in use aboard
>>> missile subs. He’s pretty delighted that we’ve already done all the work!
>>> I’ve given them the 3D files and the ribbon manufacturer contact and he’s
>>> already ordered some. I sent him one of our 3D printed versions to test.
>>>
>>> Not sure what we’ll get out of it other than a Bravo Zulu. Maybe a
>>> source for ribbons for the future. I’m going to ask for a photo of the
>>> UGC-136 in use aboard a sub, but probably they are a little funny about
>>> photos there….
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Nick England K4NYW
>>> Chapel Hill NC
>>> www.navy-radio.com
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, Jan 31, 2026 at 7:44 PM Daniel Jones <djones at k6yic.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Thanks again for more great info Nick,
>>>>
>>>> I remember you said the Navy had reached out to you looking for
>>>> ribbons?  Are they still utilizing these machines and did they ever request
>>>> any of these new designed ones?
>>>>
>>>> Daniel
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> www.K6YIC.com
>>>> DJones at K6YIC.com
>>>> HH#11973
>>>>
>>>> On Jan 31, 2026, at 16:12, Nick England via GreenKeys <
>>>> greenkeys at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> 
>>>>
>>>> I think this will work for replacing the ribbon in an original UGC-136
>>>> cartridge. Either a new ribbon or remove, re-ink and replace an old one.
>>>> https://www.navy-radio.com/tty/ugc136/ribbon-r-r.htm
>>>>
>>>> The 3D-printed cartridges don’t need this mod, because we changed the
>>>> design from the original.
>>>>
>>>> Nick England K4NYW
>>>> www.navy-radio.com
>>>>
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