[vcf-midatlantic] Workshop after-action report (IBM 029)

[Matt Patoray]

Nice work Mike! Another 029 lives!

On Mon, Feb 29, 2016 at 7:23 PM, Mike Loewen via vcf-midatlantic <
vcf-midatlantic at lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:

>
>    For the 2/27 - 2/28 workshop, I did some more work on the museum's IBM
> model 29 keypunch.  When I first powered it up, it didn't do much of
> anything except run the motor.  It gradually "warmed up" and started
> punching, but was obviously in need of lubrication.  I cleaned and
> lubricated many maintenance points, which quieted down the machine and made
> its operation much smoother. I used Tech Rubber Roller Restorer to clean up
> the rubber feed rollers.
>
>    I replaced my home-made arc suppression board with a spare from the
> warehouse.  I also replaced the punch clutch pulley belt, which was ready
> to fall apart, and substituted a much better looking program drum.  I
> adjusted the two pressure rail microswitches in the card bed, and cleaned
> and lubed the keyboard to fix some sticking keys.
>
>    During the process, the machine developed another fault: each time a
> card would "register" at the punch station, it would automatically be
> "released" and sent to the read station.  After several hours of
> troubleshooting, I discovered a broken wire leading to the escapement
> magnet assembly.  It had been hanging on by a thread, causing erratic
> operation, and eventually completely broke away from the spade lug. I
> soldered it back on, and the machine was again punching.
>
>    The very last thing I checked was the function of the sensing pins in
> the read station, by trying to duplicate a card.  Not all card rows were
> consistently read, but improved with repetition.  Unfortunately, I ran out
> of time at that point.  I had lubed the sensing pins, but they need another
> round of cleaning/lubrication.
>
>    At this point, the keypunch is useable for demonstrations in the
> museum room.  The print mechanism still needs work, and doesn't print
> all of the characters correctly.  Cleaning and aligning the print
> unit will be a major project.
>
>    I multi-punched a VCF EAST 2016 card and left it on the punch.
>
>    Oh yeah: I also pushed an IBM printer for a 1/4 mile.  :-)
>
>
> Mike Loewen                             mloewen at cpumagic.scol.pa.us
> Old Technology                          http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/
>



-- 
Matt Patoray
Owner, MSP Productions
(330)718-3064 (mobile)
mspproductions at gmail.com
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