On Sat, 24 May 2003, Mike Ross wrote:
> IBM made a bunch of printer terminals based around the Selectric
> typewriter - 1052, 2740, 2970 etc. Look in any old copy of BYTE, and
> you'll also find several vendors were selling 3rd party terminals based
> around IBM Selectrics, often converted for ASCII/RS-232c operation, as
> teletype alternatives.
>
> Where have they all gone? (I appreciate, from what I've heard, that many
> folks who used them in anger would reply 'I don't know, I don't care,
> good riddance!') Early DECwriters are not uncommon. Teletypes are
> (almost) ten a penny, ASR33s show up frequently enough on ebay, I have
> several.
Well, I have one sitting in storage. I'm not sure of the model though.
> But the only Selectric based unit I've *seen* in over ten years of
> collecting is a 2970 Reservation Termainal (see
> http://www.corestore.org/2970-1.jpg ) which I was offered a year or so
> ago. It needs a fair bit of TLC, and it's a print-only device; it can
> receive data from a host and print it, but not send anything back from
> the keyboard.
Mine also needs some work. I believe it is some kind of modified terminal,
and was used as a printer on a TRS80 Model 1. I also have the custom
interface box that connects the two.
> I'd love to get a bidirectional equivalent to use as an 'authentic'
> terminal for a 360 emulator I work with... any clues? Can anyone
> recommend a Selectric repair shop? No way I want to try to fettle
> something THIS mechanically-intimidating myself!
The original owner of my Selectric also gave me a service manual for the
Selectric line, but I don't think it exactly covers the unit I have. Most
likely, it covers most of the mech, but not the exact same configuration.
The part number of the manual is S241-5615-3 and lists these models on the
cover:
IBM "Selectric" Typewriter (7XX)
IBM "Selectric" II Typewriter (8XX)
IBM Correcting "Selectric" II Typewriter (8XX)
IBM 96 "Selectric" Typewriter (9XX)
-Toth
Received on Sat May 24 2003 - 18:42:00 BST
