What's wrong with this electronic typewriter and does anybody fix them?
- Thread starter atikovi
- Start date
You do what you gotta do....and if a typewriter is your thing have at it!
But you said...how else are you supposed to fill out forms and duplicates?
In the past I dunno....two decades maybe...have you seen a typewriter at a dealership, town hall, registry of motor vehicles, school, office building, etc? The answer is likely no because they largely don't exist anymore.
Everything can be done electronically these days on a computer and printed. I'd be willing to bet 99.999% of documents are done this way. Perhaps consider investing on a computer program that does this for you? In the long run it will probably be much cheaper and will have far less headaches.
But you said...how else are you supposed to fill out forms and duplicates?
In the past I dunno....two decades maybe...have you seen a typewriter at a dealership, town hall, registry of motor vehicles, school, office building, etc? The answer is likely no because they largely don't exist anymore.
Everything can be done electronically these days on a computer and printed. I'd be willing to bet 99.999% of documents are done this way. Perhaps consider investing on a computer program that does this for you? In the long run it will probably be much cheaper and will have far less headaches.
back in the day they used to fuse the transformer internally. The resistance on the primary is defiantly to high. If your careful you can peel the paper back and maybe find a fuse.
Transformer replaced and typewriter working again.
When my BIL bought a car the dealer had a daisy wheel printer on his computer. It was pre-programmed with the spacing for the state title form (and its carbon copies) and spit it out effortlessly. Maybe the first $400 doc fee paid for the setup and the rest was gravy!
Personally if I absolutely have to fix it, I would buy a used one off eBay with a different kind of problems and start swapping parts. Sometimes the problem is electronics sometimes it is not. Part swapping would likely be the lower risk best return on investment (time) way to go.
Remember the IBMs with a ball with the letters on the ball?
Pretty certain those were called IBM Selectric typewriters. We used one in our office when I started back in 1979. Those were considered to be the top of the line enterprise machines prior to the word processors.
A millennium ago, in 1981, you paid for a yearly maintenance contract on your electric typewriter and your copier. I remember my typewriter guy telling me he would not be in business much longer because of the changing technology. Soon they would have replaceable components. Then they became cheap enough you didn't care. It was in 1986 when I bought my first copier that replaced the guts each time you replaced the toner cartridge.
You could also always find a cobler to fix your shoes back then.
You could also always find a cobler to fix your shoes back then.
Years ago, I went to an amateur radio auction and got a used Silver Reed electric portable for $1.00. It only needed a new ribbon. You may be able to find a used replacement for a cheap price.
I had two of those. The ball with the letters was replaceable, so one could have different fonts, letters and symbols on the same machine with a quick switch of that ball.
Last edited:
The Selectrics were kings of the typewriter world. A big, solid hunk of all-metal precision machinery, with the ball and stationary platen that made others look passé.
In its heydays, the letters "IBM" used to stand for something, like HP also did, but the companies that carry those names now bear very little resemblance to those of the past.
I did at least one college application (including the essay written in one draft) on a correctable Selectric II. My father was allowed to bring one in from where he worked, and we generally got third party ribbons and lifting correction tape.
The IBM name is no longer on any PC or printer. They still make mainframe computers, but it’s a niche market now. The company itself is mostly a service provider now. They do make some equipment.
They were great typewriters, and a pleasure to use on school assignments.
The "good" parts of those old school companies still exist in some form, like Bell Labs and (Xerox) PARC, as well as IBM's research division.
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
I remember when I had "Typing Class" back in the late 60's in high school. There were around 40 typewriters in the class. Only 4 were IBM Selectric's. You had to be one of the 4 best in the class, based on words per minute, and fewest errors to get to use one.
The rest of us spent half the time pulling jammed keys apart.
The rest of us spent half the time pulling jammed keys apart.
I guess I went to a "rich school" as we all had them, but it was 1991 or so.
We had scratchy newsprint to practice on, the cheapest paper they were capable of finding. We wound up writing letters to Desert Sheild/ Storm troops using those very typewriters.
My teacher kept yelling "Don't look at your fingers". That's what I took away from that class! Learnt to touch-type, though.
The keyboard feedback was great on those-- the buttons were their own switches, not a stupid membrane like most computer boards these days. And of course they made a noise for every button press.
