Sunday 28 July 2013

Solving The SM3 Lower-Case 'b' Issue and Adding to Project 88.

This is what my Olympia SM3 was doing;


It was driving me nuts. Such a near-perfect typewriter, but with one irritating flaw. I wrote about it here;

Why Wont My Olympia SM3 Just Let It 'b'?

 


Ahh. Looking and running as it should. Nice!

Mailed off Keith Sharon's Project 88 letter this afternoon.
And, in keeping with the trend of showing photographic proof, here it is;


I used four different typewriters and one fountain pen. I had to keep it interesting somehow!

Cheers, all!

8 comments:

  1. Olympia did so much good with those dark, rich colours.

    It's interesting how it has a US keyboard, but with a £ sign. Do you know, perchance, where it was sold originally?

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  2. That's a great looking SM3. I love the color. Also, that envelope looks quite familiar. I do believe I saw one just like it this afternoon.

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  3. Made me think of music, Santa Ana Winds from Freddy Hubbard's 1981 album of the same name. Which I heard him play in St George's Hall, Bradford, UK, in.... 1981. Still got the after-show vinyl somewhere. Glad I hung onto it, the young man is into jazz too, now.

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  4. @ Nick, wouldn't know where it came from originally, since there was no paperwork or dealer/service agent decal on it. I can only assume that it was either Australian Delivery (since they used the pound here until I arrived) or it was a UK model that migrated to Australia along with its owner.

    @ Scott, yes it's a rich burgundy red, and I have another 22 of those envelopes somewhere around here. Bought them at a stationery store in Bangkok two years ago. I'm glad the envelope arrived safely.

    @ Rob, there's something very atmospheric about a mild breeze on a Summer's night. Can't say I'm familiar with Freddy Hubbard. But then, I think I was buying Ultravox's 'Vienna' album back then. Even got Midge Ure to sign the back of the record sleeve some years later. Now there's something that can't be done nowadays; "Excuse me, Mr Timberlake, can you sign my iPod?"

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  5. That is a nice color, second only to the green in my opinion. I love how they color-coordinated the almost-black keys.

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  6. What a nice looking typer!! Love the color and look of that machine. I've never had the pleasure of using an Olympia but I'm sure I will one day!

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  7. Sigh, the burgundy is such a beautiful colour!
    About the copies - why not ask the kids now? I've got mine lined up for my nephew already, it's almost embarrassing. :p

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    1. Whenever I ask them, I get a non-committal 'I don't know' from the both of them. I'll wait until they're older. That way, they can (hopefully) choose the machines that they like the most.
      Besides, at the moment, they each have a cheap Brother model each that they sometimes use for school projects when they want to give them an old fashioned look.
      And yes, that burgundy is a nice colour. AND it's like the model that Helen Mirren used in "Hitchcock".

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