Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Live and Direct From....Well, At Least I am in Pennsylvania

This is kind of a hybrid post/typecast.
I'm actually in East Pennsboro Township, but by Google Maps I am in Mechanicsburg (which I know is wrong.  I grew up in the area and Google Maps are wrong 99% of the time.  I would only trust Google maps if I were giving them to an enemy)  Or I am in Enola according to Yahoo! maps which are usually 90% correct.  Now the other map services are about on par with Google.  The address here is probably Enola since I can toss a stone on Wirtzville and Enola is just over the hill.  Earlier in my life this area was farms and East Pennsboro Twp.

So far this typewriter:
Crappy lighting and no tripod.  Sorry for being out of focus.


From the Carina 2.  Needs a bit of aligning.

Surprisingly clean.

Nice typer for a Nakajima.  Quiet, soft platen too.
I did not record and look up the serial number.  Presently the typewriter is back out in the car.

I've not gone typewriter hunting yet today as the snow is now freezing rain. Once it changes back to snow or to rain I may head out again.

I planned on using a Skyriter for my posts, but Mrs. is sleeping and the lobby is quite small and there are a few people out there so I resort to the digital realm.  I like snow and if it were only snow coming down from the clouds I would commandeer one of the tables in the closed pool area and type.

Back to the Carina 2.  I find this a nice typing little typewriter.  It is made by Nakajima from all I can find.  The platen is quite nice as it is soft and quiet. It reminds me of my recently used SM9 or my Skyriters.  The typewriter is fully featured with a tabulator, paper guide, pop-up paper prop, famous Japanese automatic, but I have yet to find anything but uselsess, automatic spacer, 1, 2, or 3 line spacing and variable, a nice touch and nicely built machine for being a later plastic machine. It seems to be more substantial than my Brother.  I will need to compare them when I get home.

This typewriter does not have the cheap tinny sound of the Olympia B12 that I used to have.  The B12 was also a nice typer, but neither the B12 or the Carina 2 come close to the touch or quality of any of the early typewriters in my collection.

Typecast from my Carina 2.  Post from my Dell XPS running elementaryOS

20 comments:

  1. Interesting to see that this doesn't have the B12's tinny sound! That was always one of my least favorite things about mine. The type seems to go out of alignment on these Nakajimas easily, but it's an easy thing to fix as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The non-tinniness surprised me too. This one is more like a Brother without the bending moment on the front of the housing when the keys are pressed.

      Delete
  2. Sounds like a nice road trip - please carry on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So far very enjoyable. Nice morning today. A bit of snow and then freezing rain. I wish there were more snow and no rain of any kind.

      Delete
  3. I like the mask, looks very 1970s futurist to me. I like Olympia's large, readable font; it is very easy on my eyes. How does it compare to a, say, Traveller DeLuxe from the same period?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Overall I like the Carina 2. I do need to make the adjustments and I think I will have a nice typer. As far as a Traveller Deluxe I cannot answer your question as I have never used one.

      Delete
  4. Thanks for satisfying my curiosity about the Carina.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Only a stone's throw away from me! Hope you have a good time in Pennsy. Terrible weather we're having, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ken,
      Sorry I mis-spelled your name in my previous post. The weather is always hit-and-miss on Thanksgiving especially when it is late in the month. I remember needing to leave early on Thanksgiving when the weather guessers said a slight chance of snow. We'd have light snow in the morning and by mid afternoon I was called to get the snow plow.

      Delete
  6. Snow? What is this.... snow... that you speak of.

    See, they aren't all that bad, these old Carina machines! Thanks for the post.

    As for the Traveller Deluxe, personally this machine is way-way-way superior.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hope the weather clears up enough for you to do all the typewriter hunting you planned.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I like this Carina 2 Bill, a very neat little machine. Do all your typewriters come in their original cases?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All but the office size machines.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the tips today Bill, I will have a look around for the reflectors.

      Delete
  9. I always imagine Florida (probably as wrong as I can be) as baking under a hot sun so you'll be loving the weather up north. Happy travels and I hope you get some more typewriters en-route.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I found it more comfortable in Albuquerque, New Mexico in July and August than anytime in summer in Florida. Winter sometimes is fine, but it still gets gold and blustery and sometimes even freezing particulate matter in the air that is neither rain nor snow, but it can be felt when it stings ones face. Last year we had three and a half weeks of below freezing weather. That was unusual. Generally the temperature seldom gets to freezing even though the air may feel quite cold due to the extreme humidity.

      Delete
  10. Hi,
    I have been lucky enough to be given free a Carina 2 typewriter but I am wondering how to clean it and to get rid of the horrible tobacco cigarette smell. I live in the UK so I am unfamiliar with the solution you used to clean yours. Am trying to unscrew the feet off to start with :)
    Many thanks for your time
    Kind regarfds
    Shirley

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Carina 2 is quite easy to take apart. I will get mine out so I can give some instructions without being confusing. I may post a reply or a blog post perhaps later tonight or later this week.

      Delete
  11. I am having trouble getting it apart and do not want to force it. I took off the 4 screws in the bottom. What next?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The case pries apart. I forget exactly how I did mine. Probably pushed on the housing to apply pressure to release the holding tabs. If I remember there are 4 tabs, 2 on each side near the corners, and in the middle of the front. I'll get mine out over the week end and have a look.

      Delete