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Home » Alpina » N 24 » 1961 #255118
1961 Alpina N 24 Serial # 255118 1961 Alpina N 24 typewriter, Serial # 255118 Hein Reinders's 1961 Alpina N 24 typewriter. 2023-06-05 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Hein Reinders: 1961 Alpina N 24 Serial # 255118 An Alpina with a metal housing.
It came in for repair: the backspace button did not work.
Never having worked on a Alpina before, the cause of the problem was hard to find.
The carriage moved backwards when pushing the backspace-key, but it was not held in its backward position.
The backward stroke was long enough for a catch to come in and hold it back.
Looking closely at the escapement, it showed a small catch that should perform this function.
And it was performing okay as long as I would prevent the main spindle of the escapement from turning backward with my finger, or by tightening its pivot screws.
Then I noticed a small hole where something could have been missing.
Only then I thought about a comparison of this N24 to my own Alpina SK24. It had this quirky part as : the gravity pawl and its bearing.
This pawl prevents the escapament wheel to turn backwards when releasing the backspace key.
The missing parts were home-made and now it works fine.

Notice how the German keyboard has been fiitted with a few Dutch types for ij and f ( for florin) and appropriate stickers to the keys

1961 Alpina N 24 #255118

Status: Sightings
Hunter: Hein Reinders (heinemaat)
Created: 06-04-2023 at 12:35PM
Last Edit: 06-05-2023 at 01:06AM


Description:

An Alpina with a metal housing.
It came in for repair: the backspace button did not work.
Never having worked on a Alpina before, the cause of the problem was hard to find.
The carriage moved backwards when pushing the backspace-key, but it was not held in its backward position.
The backward stroke was long enough for a catch to come in and hold it back.
Looking closely at the escapement, it showed a small catch that should perform this function.
And it was performing okay as long as I would prevent the main spindle of the escapement from turning backward with my finger, or by tightening its pivot screws.
Then I noticed a small hole where something could have been missing.
Only then I thought about a comparison of this N24 to my own Alpina SK24. It had this quirky part as : the gravity pawl and its bearing.
This pawl prevents the escapament wheel to turn backwards when releasing the backspace key.
The missing parts were home-made and now it works fine.

Notice how the German keyboard has been fiitted with a few Dutch types for ij and f ( for florin) and appropriate stickers to the keys

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:

Home made (below) pawl that prevents the escapament from turning backwards upon backspace operation
Home made (below) pawl that prevents the escapament from turning backwards upon backspace operation

Hunter: Hein Reinders (heinemaat)

Hein Reinders's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 737

As a retired product development engineer, I am fascinated by the design of electro-mechanical products in which parts move, make noise and, preferably, radiate a little heat. Most preferred are products that are operated by keys, like typewriters, accordeons and pianos.
My genetics and statistics on lifetime expectancy suggest that it is time for me to let you know about the fantastic design, product engineering and manuacturing skills of the generation before mine. I salute mr. Munk for the opportunity that he has created for me to show it to the world. Okay, a bit bombastic.
Comments? Email me at hreinder1950@gmail.com



RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Alpina N 24 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Alpina Serial Number page and the Alpina N 24 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.