[GreenKeys] First Teletype Machine! Here!

[H. Kurth Bemis]

Big hello to the list!

I'm excited to say that I received the Model 15 that I purchased off
ePay a few weeks back.

First let me say, not expecting something as heavy as this is.  Now I
know why the term "heavy metal" is used to describe these beasts.

On my first attempt the unit did not power on, as the power supply was
damaged during shipping.  We re-soldered the broken points and
reconnected it to the m15, powered the unit on, and behold! it came to
life!

So here is where I'm at right now with this machine.

The entire thing is covered in grease and oil and dirt.  Lots of hair in
there too.  I've seen other pictures where the chassis of these units
was clean and looked to be free of oil and debris.  So I ask; Should I
be cleaning this unit and re-oiling components as recommended by the
manuals (Thank you for the CD Jim H!) as I work through this unit?  I
read about all sorts of recommended cleaning methods cleaning methods,
for teletypes and other equipment, but am not sure which one will yield
the best results.  Is there a what is everyone's favorite degreaser?
How oil-free, or not oil-free do I want the chassis and the inside of
this thing in general?

First obvious problem is when the teletype is powered on, the typebar
carriage begins advancing right, as it should when it's typing, but
since there's no signal, there's no letters to be output.  But the
carriage keeps moving along anyway.  Which brings us to our second
problem....

When the typebar carriage arrives at right margin, it dings the bell and
then instead of a CR, will just keep pushing to the right.  No carriage
return.  What would be causing this?  Where would I look to begin
diagnosing this issue?  Is it related to the extra spring I mention
below?

And finally, while attempting to diagnose why the motor was not
starting, we (myself and a labmate) removed the typebar assembly.  After
we replaced the typebar assembly, a spring fell out of the assembly.
Try as we might, we cannot find where this spring might go or fit.  I've
attached pictures of the spring sized next to a US penny (my current
savings).  With the manner this was shipped in, this spring could be
from anywhere in the unit, although everything seems to be working fine
without it to the extent that there's no CR and keeps advancing despite
having no input.....

When I get a moment this week I will organize pictures and publish them
on my website for everyone to see.

ttyl
~k