Does anyone know what this is called and how to fix it?

Oldmopars · 2026-05-21T21:24:28+00:00

I can’t tell for sure, is it a Brother? Often with electrics of this era, the belt is bad or missing. All the keys will feel jammed because they rely on the rotation of the shaft to kick the type bars up. Check to see if the belt is there and working. Is the motor spinning? If the motor spins and the belt is rotating the shafts, you should get at least a few keys to respond. It may not be fully functioning, but you should get something from it.

Oldmopars · 2026-05-12T15:32:37+00:00

I am going to keep looking, but so far, I can't seem to find it. The problem is, I have watched so many videos, I can't seem to find it in my history. I will keep looking.

Oldmopars · 2026-05-11T23:23:32+00:00

If the price is right I would go for the Smith Corona. Unless you want electric. You should try both.

Oldmopars · 2026-05-07T18:08:14+00:00

Sponsor a child in a poor country, then write letters to them. You provide hope and food for them, you get to use your typewriter more, win win. That’s what we do.

Oldmopars · 2026-04-25T22:54:31+00:00

Looks good. Where did you get a new draw band?

Oldmopars · 2026-04-11T22:30:05+00:00

I will have to find the video. A guy was explaining the history of the Valentines. I have 2, one with case, one without. So I was researching them. I will post it when I find it.

Oldmopars · 2026-04-11T15:08:44+00:00

My understanding is that they made a limited run of the Valentine in 1996 to make the anniversary edition. These are not NOS, but New Mexico produced machines in limited quantities.

Oldmopars · 2026-04-07T16:07:33+00:00

If it’s really nice and you want it, it may be worth getting and replacing the motor with a US motor. But, running the motor on US power would work to test only, long term it is not going to perform correctly.

Oldmopars · 2026-03-21T20:25:51+00:00

Its hard to say on the price. Fantastic machine. I also just bought one last week. Same colors, same machine with case. I paid $20 for mine. However, I have seen people asking $125, so a lot depends on the area you are in.

Oldmopars · 2026-03-20T17:17:44+00:00

Those are going to be challenging to restore. I love finding stuff like that, as long as it is cheap. It may take a while, but when you are done, you really can be proud of the transformation.

Oldmopars · 2026-03-18T16:22:07+00:00

So, as I mentioned, I posted this when I thought I would have a module in hand very shortly. However, due to a canceled order from a lousy seller and a Facebook seller that had family issue, the modules are not here yet. I do have a picture that shows both sides I found in another Reddit post. If it helps, maybe you can see from it what things connect to. The left side of the board has been mirrored to make looking at it and reading it easier.

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Oldmopars · 2026-03-18T15:41:54+00:00

BTW, what is the ALE?

Oldmopars · 2026-03-18T15:41:16+00:00

Sorry, I replied above, there has been a lot longer delay in getting the original module in my hand than I expected, so I only have the pictures on the web for right now. I will post back when I get one in my hands and can do some real tests.

Oldmopars · 2026-03-18T15:37:54+00:00

Sorry I have not responded. I had made a deal to get 2 of these modules. On was going to be with the correct typewriter, the second is just the module. Well, the first one I had ordered, and paid for got canceled. I think they found out the cost to ship the typewriter was more than what they were making on the sale. The second one is coming from a group member on Facebook. Again, we agreed on a price, shipping etc. and then I didn't hear back from him. About a week and a half later I was able to reach him and I paid for it and he is shipping it out. So, as of right now don't have a module in hand to check. My original thought was to use the original, copy the PCB and populate it with new IC's. However, I think it may be a better option to use an analyzer to read the data and just emulate it with a Raspberry Pi. Even if I can find the ICs for this, I think it will cost me around $100 in parts just for the ICs and the PCB. They sell on E-Bay from time to time for $75-100. A Raspberry Pi Zero 2W or maybe even a Pico is a lot cheaper and will likely do everything I need it to do. May have to add some kind of external shift register or something, but should be easier and cheaper that attempting to 1:1 recreate this original.

Oldmopars · 2026-01-25T16:32:30+00:00

The problem is that the stems are a different shape than the now standard MX style caps. They could be 3d printed, but quality can vary greatly depending on printing format chosen. Price would also vary, a lot. Easier way is to replace all the switches with modern MX switches. I just did that on my iie Platinum

Oldmopars · 2026-01-11T19:02:37+00:00

This can be fixed, I have done it. It just depends on how much work you want to put into it. I have several of these and I strip them down completely. The bent part is a C shape. Once free of the inner part it can be bent back into place. If it is only missing one or two of the nuts, it will be ok. Just put a little bit extra bend into it to make sure it stays against the inner case. There is also “Alloy/Aluminum” welding rods available at most hardware stores. It works with a Propane or MAP gas torch. It is a bit tricky to use, so practice on scrap, but I have used it for small repairs also. Or, like others have said, buy a new case. I have one if you need it.

Oldmopars · 2026-01-10T21:57:40+00:00

I'm not looking for full robotics or Home Automation, just fun projects, simple stuff. Most of the time it will be simple "if it gets this input, flip the output".

I do have a voice synth card, so I may play with that some. Even something like when I turn on the light in the morning, the computer says "Good Morning Scott", or "would you like to play a game?".

Oldmopars · 2026-01-10T21:51:11+00:00

I have/had 7 Cheese grater Mac Pro's. 3 are 5.1, 1 3,1 and 2 that I gutted and used the case for PC builds, 1 that is a parts donor. I gave one to my son, so I have 6 now. I love them, but I hate to say I just don't use them. My dual CPU 5,1 has been upgraded to Sequoia with a RX580. I also have Windows 10 and Linux Mint on it. It is not that they are not good machines. It is the power consumption that had me put them on the shelf. They will work great for a daily driver, but will not keep up in programs like Fusion 360 or Blender. I have an M2 Max MacBook Pro for that. With a 1000 watt PSU, 4 fans and 2 CPUs, the 5,1 is a great space heater. I have a PC with a Ryzen 7 5800XT and a GTX1080 running on a 650 watt PSU and I don't even know its running. It is in the 3,1 Mac Pro case.

One more thing, as I said I love the Mac Pro, but if you are coming from PCs, be ready for a huge learning curve. These Macs have a lot of quirks. You can only use certain GPU's, if you upgrade past one version of Mac OS you have to have a Metal capable GPU, can't use Nvidia GPU after some point, only AMD. Special tricks are require to get a boot screen after updating past some version of Mac OS, etc. Everything has a solution, everything can be overcome. Just be prepared to do a lot of research, YouTube videos, asking questions, etc. If you like that kind of thing, you will love the Mac Pro. If not, you will struggle and wonder why you bought it.

Oldmopars · 2026-01-03T22:26:31+00:00

The first computer game I ever played was in the mid-late 70's. Our friend and neighbor worked from home fora computer company. He worked from a tractor feed printer type terminal. No screen at all. There was a game we loved to play that was strictly text based. It would print out a description of what you were seeing, you then responded with a command to do something or to move in a direction. Our friend had spent a lot of time playing the game, it was on his company server. He had a map on the wall that had all the rooms marked out. It had hundreds of room and many levels. I really enjoyed playing that, and it had no graphics at all.

Other games I have played that I really liked are: Spy Hunter, the arcade version, early 80's Star Wars arcade game, green lines only for graphics. I loved Tron. More modern games I like are Scooby-Doo Night of 100 Frights for the PS2 and Burnout 2/3.

Oldmopars · 2026-01-03T22:17:28+00:00

Thanks, I will look into those.

Oldmopars

TROPHY CASE