[GreenKeys] Model 15 restoration challenges

[Nick]

Hey guys !

I am in the process to restore a Model 15. Really thought it will be a piece of cake like the Model 14 tape printer/perforator I restored a few months back.

Here is the entire story and my challenges I could use some advise to solve them.

Inherited the machine from my TTY-mentor Steve, N4TTY about a month ago, came home with it and started the clean-up job. After a few days of intense degumming (is that an English word?), the base, keyboard and printing unit just looked extremely yummy. Checked all moving parts and lubed all areas I think I had to apply some oil in a very light way. Have to find the bulletin about oiling/greasing a M15 on the internet. I know, I know – should be done first, right? But like a little child, I couldn’t wait to put the puppy back together. Steve found the proper motor in his shack and my adrenaline level went through the roof.

I decided not to fire up the unit without hand-cranking the machine and testing every function over and over for almost an entire day. The outcome was extremely satisfying and I learned quite a bit about all the interacting parts.

Reality kicked in extremely quickly after I hocked up the M15 to a  60mA current-loop and receiving 24/7 TTY-news.

Here is the result:

1. Without streaming the news, the machine started printing. Yes, I am not joking. Dot’s only, over and over and over with a space after each dot. This particular character is the very first on the left. Come to find out that this character is perfectly lined up and engaged in the neutral position. After further investigation, I found that the curved and U-shaped type bar number 4 was replaced at one point. 1, 2, 3 and 5 are in blank steel color, number 4 is black.

2. With streaming the new, the unit is printing garbage only. Line Feed and Carriage Return are only sporadic – at least there should be LF after CR, right? Also, a space after each printed character again. To see that I get a perfect feed from the loop, I hooked up my 28KSR – everything perfect.

3. Couldn’t figure out what was going on and wired the M15 up like an electric typewriter (keyboard, selector magnets and 9V battery in series) – just temporary. Started typing and receiving the same garbage. CR and LF impossible and again, a space after each printed character.

So, here you have it, a total mess. I would appreciate any input. Thank you so, so much.

Nick  -  N0NCQ

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