The amazing IBM Selectric II typewriter - an electro-mechanical marvel!
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- This 1979 IBM Selectric II (non-correcting) wasn't working at all when I got it. Some investigation revealed that the plug hadn't been wired properly! I spent several nights cleaning it out, flushing and lubricating some of its moving parts, and was overjoyed when it kicked into life and began to type. Here is a demonstration of the typewriter in action. I hope to make another video showing how I brought it back to life.
I have yearned for a Selectric for a long time. Last year, I bought three of them, but only one showed any signs of life. Now, all three have working motors, but two of the machines need more work to get them working. The one in the video is a bit dirty, and the outer case has seen better days, but it works a treat!
I and my secretary had these wonderful, serviceable machines. I wasn't bad, but she could type 110 words per of camera ready copy with NO mistakes for the brochures we printed for the University conferences. She was a treasure. So sad when she retired. Then I got a college student (45 words per) who thought clean copy meant making horrid corrections, i.e., a letter sunk into a glob of whie-out! Useless for printing. 😂 Haven't thought of that in years.
I just recently brought a correcting Selectric II back from the dead, and it's quickly become my favorite machine. I cannot believe that they managed to make such a refined user experience without any electronics except a motor.
They are such a wonderful machine, and the user experience is second to none in my view.
Looking fantastic typing on the green Selectric II. I also have a green 1981 Correcting Selectric III. Expect a letter coming to you!
Daniel
I enjoyed this much more than I expected to, - having seen your video of that Text Ball in action in slow motion has helped I am Sure !! Great work Anthony, a great achievement Sir
I put myself through college in the late 60s-early 70s as a medical transcriptionist, typing 130+ WPM on both the Selectric II and III. My IBM repairman said my problem was that I typed so fast that the ball did not get time to realign before I had typed 3-4 more keys causing it to jam. I had to slow down a bit to eliminate that problem. I still love the Selectric III. Would love to secure another one in good shape.
Your 'repairman' was being creative with his diagnosis. You cannot out-type a Selectric which can do 180 wpm (15.5 characters per second), but there have certainly been skilled typists that have come very close. They have a feature called 'stroke storage' to latch the next character while completing the current one. The design means the element returns fully to 'home' position between every cycle, it cannot function any other way. Unlike typebar machines where you can have literally 3-5 typebars all in motion at the same time. Avoiding type-clash requires a very precise typing cadence. Sounds to me like the machine had an issue he couldn't resolve so he invented a story that you could live with. Slowing down may have seemed like it worked but it was fixing the symptom, not the cause.
I have an old Smith Corona that somebody gave to me long ago. It uses cartridges with correction, I still have some new cartridges for it, and it worked fine the last time I used it. But it has literally collected dust (heavy dust) for close to 30 years now. Maybe I should clean it up and see if it still works.
Lol!
This is the machine on which I learned to type.
I had forgotten about the "whhhhr" sound.
Awesome, nostalgia, reminds me of late dad's from 70s
Beautiful electro-mechanical music for us oldsters. Exhilarating to hear one again.
Congratulations on your repair of this green Selectric II ! Quite an achievement, Anthony! Great job!
Thanks Susan! I am delighted because I didn't have great expectations when picking it up. Its previous owner said it was "dead". But the hub and pulley had been replaced at some point, and I think that aided its state of preservation. My first working Selectric - and now I have two!
Might be me but listening to the typing it’s so therapeutic you will need some hand therapy after a few pages Anthony
Would have been good, if it did not have that base motor noise.
The sound of Selectric typewriters is so soothing. Brings back good memories.
What wonderful euphony. I could listen to you type on this all day!