Electric Typewriter Roundup

#typewriter #electrictypewriter #writingtools

In Episode 438 Joe compares five electric moving-carriage style typewriters in terms of feature set, usability and sound level. Which type would be best for your writing projects?

00:04 Introduction
01:27 Smith-Corona 5TE
05:14 SCM Coronet Automatic 12
08:53 SCM Electra 120
13:36 SCM Singer Electric
15:51 SCM V-Belts and replacements
20:34 SCM Summary
21:30 Olivetti Praxis 48
23:55 Royal Saturn & Olympia Reporter
31:49 Sound Level Rankings
35:07 Conclusion

[raines]

Great video. My Aunt gifted me her 1959 Smith Corona electric script type. It’s sea foam green as well. It’s beautiful!

[WaskiSquirrel]

Great to see this! I own a Silent Super which I bought some time in the 90s. But it's a deep, dark secret that when I was in elementary school in the 1980s, I bought an electric like the one shown here from the neighbor. It had a script typeface, and I wrote pages and pages with it. One of my regrets is disposing of that in my youth. Now that I'm a typewriter person, I would love to have it, and they are now so much more expensive!

[douglasjackson]

Fantastic video Joe! I really, really enjoyed this video having a few electrics and one on the way. Thanks for taking the time to make this wonderful video 👍

[_landro_]

Thank you. Very informative.
P.S.: I like the TV comments, nice feature in your new vids.

[ahscott]

You see my opinion is that if I’m gonna go past a manual, I might as well go full electronic with a daisy wheel. Once that mechanical link is lost, might as well go for the features.

[WilliamFeryll]

What a wonderful journey through these electric machines! Thank you for educating us all on these classics . I wondered what type of video content might be interesting featuring my Praxis 48? I would love to show it off - thank you again from California ❤

[mattcwatkins]

Electra 120! That's the typewriter in Almost Famous...in gray. It looks like I've gotten closer to Joe's collection. I have three of the 50's Electrics, one Coronet, and one Electra.

[dadtype]

Hi Joe,
I knew we're due for one, and I'm about half way in here, Loving it, didn't want to forget, but as you know I write a lot and as long as 4 to 5 hours, my SCM Electra 110, is a bit loud BUT, as the hours go, it does get a lot quieter. My 110 had the belts on original, but inside taped were a set of two new ones, so just one new set, but I'm still using the ones that were on it when I bought it, that infamous kink isn't that bad on mine and I would like to think that's because it had been kept on a low copy set, so that center pulley wasn't pulling on the main belt just as taught for the eternity until I got it.

I also found an old article on design from Smith Corona, and it read on how the Galaxie came along and that has it's name based on it's body, that body style is called a Galaxie. Interesting I thought.

Also to anyone buying a Praxis 48, make sure it has it's metal spools. I didn't know this, but when I went to look at one of the two Praxis 48s I have, one has its set of spools the other didn't, so I went to try a universal ribbon (lol I still have non-eyelet ribbons, glad my 110 has a reverse switch lol no it won't switch on its own, and I have the ability to put an eyelet in but it clunky) well to my surprise, the Praxis 48 will not take a universal. At least mine won't.

And some news I recently picked up another machine...An Olympia Reporter X-L12, in excellent condition tested and certified. It's coming cleaned, I don't know what that will be like to not get a filthy machine I spend cleaning for 7 hours like I did with my Silver Seiko Royal Mercury, and yes thank you Joe I love it.

When you get a chance I sent you some things I our DM, don't want to overload that and addressed the Olympia manual and letter.

Always a thumbs up 👍 my friend thank you.

[markrosenzweig]

One thing you didn’t mention on the SCM 6 electrics is their changeable type feature, which some people might find handy, especially since a variety of characters still are relatively easy to acquire. My Royal Ultronic electric has “select-a-type” but I’ve seen any such elements. I also have a couple of Praxis 48s; they sometimes are listed as broken on eBay, etc., because they power on but won’t type — this may be because the machine has a feature that the keyboard locks up if two keys are pressed at the same time; hitting the backspace key unlocks the keyboard. BTW, I also still have the Hermes Ten that I used daily for work in the 1970s both in the U.K. and U.S. (with a suitable motor swap).

[vyzant]

Greetings from Greece, Joe! Amazing video as always! I recently inherited a beautiful olivetti studio 45 and came across a video of yours concerning your own olivetti studio 45 from your collection. Sadly, mine is not in working condition since it appears to be missing some parts connecting the mainspring with the underside of the carriage. So, I decided to ask for your help since from my research so far you seem like the most approachable and well informed when it comes to typewritters. Is there any chance that you could revisit your own olivetti studio 45 and present the spring and typing mechanism? It would be of tremendous help to me since I would be able to compare your functioning machine with mine.
Hope I hear from you soon!!!😅😅

[sdcdrecords]

Hi Joe. Thank you for helpful and informative videos. Can you please let me know what Typing rating in your Sound Level Quietness Ranking, would Olympia SM3 typewriter have? In comparison to electrics. I know it's a manual typewriter.

[tylermacek]

Hi Joe, you mentioned your 5 series Smith Corona doesn’t have a repeating spacebar. But I just checked mine from 1957 and it does have one. The spacebar is 2 stage, maybe mine is newer so they added it?