[Help needed] Interesting typewriter models

marijan

10 Apr 2017, 15:25

After much talk and ebay listing spamming on DT Telegram channel (https://t.me/deskthority), we decided it would be very useful to pool all the little bits of knowledge from everyone's heads into a single thread, later to be transferred to a wiki page.

The idea is to have a single resource listing all the interesting Typewriter models with switches and keycaps interesting to DT members. Wiki page on Triumph Adler typewriters is a great example (wiki/Triumph-Adler) but we would like to extend it to include other models as well.

Many of these typewriters have nice looking and unique keycaps, but if you are shopping online, it's hard to pull a keycap and check for switch compatibility. For this reason, feel free to also post models that you know NOT to have useful keycaps as this kind of knowledge is also quite valuable.

This is what we have so far (in addition to the already mentioned TA wiki page):

Canon AP x50 series (AP 150, AP 450, etc.)
Alps keycaps and SKCM switches (cream).
Note that the Capslock key must have a centered, rectangular led. Off-center circular leds indicate a non-Alps board (e.g. Canon AP1000).

Sharp PA-1000
Should (often?) have SKCL green.
Last edited by marijan on 11 Apr 2017, 19:27, edited 1 time in total.

marijan

10 Apr 2017, 20:42

AEG Olympia ES 72
MX white (or clear) switches.

Btw. guys, do chime on on this. I bet most of you pulled few keys off at least one typewriter. Did you find anything interesting? Were you disappointed? Share the knowledge.

ball00n

11 Apr 2017, 12:57

Apparently AEG Olympia Carrera SI (S i ?) has cherry mx white or clears too.

atrere

12 Apr 2017, 06:59

The Canon S-series tends to have Alps switches: Though in my experience, they are usually Alps integrated dome on most keys and SKCL LED Green on the lock switches. As usual, watch the position of the locklight on the lock switches.

citrojohn

12 Apr 2017, 14:32

Canon Typestars (Canon's thermal-printing portable typewriters, separate from the Alps-switched line) have had at least two different switches. My Typestar 220 has spring-over-membrane; but older models like the 5 and 10 had a curious switch with a square mount, which took ML-like caps.

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2ter

12 Apr 2017, 17:59

Typestar 5 should be foam and foil.

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Orpheo

12 Apr 2017, 18:15

Brother ax 12 for its topre compatible keycaps and triple shot.

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Scottex

20 Apr 2017, 23:39

ball00n wrote: Apparently AEG Olympia Carrera SI (S i ?) has cherry mx white or clears too.
I found one of these.
MX clear stem color, but linear and black-like weight :o

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Daniel Beardsmore

20 Apr 2017, 23:44

The question is, when was it made? The claim is that a clear linear switch is the original MX "Black" before they added pigment, but so far there's no hard evidence of this.

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Scottex

21 Apr 2017, 00:09

Nothing in the pcb that could suggest a date (I think).
https://imgur.com/a/GxN3S

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Daniel Beardsmore

21 Apr 2017, 01:00

Both those ICs should be dateable, but I'm not turning up anything on how to read them. The Philips chip suggests 1989, but that code might not be a date.

ball00n

22 Apr 2017, 22:31

Slider over rubber dome over membrane (presumably) on a Panasonic Thermalwriter 12.

http://imgur.com/a/XZXR4

ball00n

27 Apr 2017, 13:00

I got one of AEG Olympia Carrera Si too. The case was made in 1990, few parts in 1989.

Sankart

27 Apr 2017, 15:45

I had a Canon AP 360 with Alps tactile Creams and Green linear modifiers. A friend asked for pics of a AP350 and it had tall Alps.

Sankart

26 May 2017, 18:50

Just got a German AP150 and it came with 3 Green Alps (the 1u keys with LEDs), rest Alps SKEW integrated dome switches. Bummer...
On another note, I just don't get why these were used in Typewriters so frequently (Sharp 1050 had the same with different slider color). They feel horribly mushy. The ones with oval blue sliders I once had in an old Laptop were much, much better, as in "I'd acutally use those".

Sankart

31 May 2017, 15:16

So I just got another Canon Typewriter, an AP 830.
It features undampened cream and green Alps. It also comes with a 6U spacebar, which is really nice I think.
I don't understand at all how the model numbers of Canon work. Did they just use whatever they had lying around?

codemonkeymike

31 May 2017, 16:03

I have an "Olympia ES 101 Standard" with "Marquardt Butterfly" not sure if that is of interest to anyone but hey there ya go.

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snufflecat

28 May 2018, 12:34

So what about unearthing this thread again? :)
What are your guesses? Could this thing be compatible with any modern switches at all?
_2015505566.jpg
_2015505566.jpg (654.36 KiB) Viewed 6769 times

Findecanor

28 May 2018, 13:17

snufflecat wrote: What are your guesses?
I am guessing that it is Stackpole switch grid.
I once passed on buying a typewriter with switch grid that looked much like that one, and I of course regretted it afterwards.

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snufflecat

29 May 2018, 13:02

Findecanor wrote:
snufflecat wrote: What are your guesses?
I am guessing that it is Stackpole switch grid.
I once passed on buying a typewriter with switch grid that looked much like that one, and I of course regretted it afterwards.
That's what I hate about buying things online, really, but part of the fun too I guess.. :p

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snufflecat

29 May 2018, 16:58

Update: Got the seller to send me pics of the switch and caps, doesn't look promising:
IMG_2870.JPG
IMG_2870.JPG (3.38 MiB) Viewed 6699 times

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