Teletype Machine From An Electric Typewriter

This project, by an unknown hacker, patches into an electric typewriter and uses it as a Teletype. An AVR ATmega168 microcontroller patches into the key matrix of the typewriter which allows it to artificially type. Now, data can be sent over a serial connection to the AVR for output on the typewriter.

We’re not quite sure what this is going to be used for.  We’ve seen hacks like this for Twitter reading in the past but he makes no mention of that type of use. Personally, we’d like to have this just to “print” out the occasional letter. Typewriters are so rarely used these days it would be a bit peculiar to get a letter that has the dimpled impressions associated with slamming a die into a piece of paper.

34 thoughts on “Teletype Machine From An Electric Typewriter

  1. Curse my slowness. I was inspired by that twitter-hacked typewriter long ago to embark on my own electric typewriter hacking project, with this exact result as the goal. I’m 3/4 done, but I guess the internet is saturated by now :\

  2. Actually, though technically you probably do slam a dye into the paper, it’s a DIE that does the slamming of the dye. I think that is probably the word you meant to use.

    Professional writers (even blogging is pro IMO) should know how to do so.

    Anyway, the project is neat too. Too bad the frequent problems with writing detract from the experience on HAD

  3. @neweller
    Yeah! That would rock! Not sure how you’d simulate the mirror and the mirror image typewriter keys tapping away though.
    Lets just not go and follow out those job instructions-track down Anna Torv and top her!?

  4. ===============
    Actually, though technically you probably do slam a dye into the paper, it’s a DIE that does the slamming of the dye. I think that is probably the word you meant to use.

    Professional writers (even blogging is pro IMO) should know how to do so.

    Anyway, the project is neat too. Too bad the frequent problems with writing detract from the experience on HAD

    Posted at 4:07 pm on Feb 11th, 2010 by andar_b
    ===============

    haha, i was just about to post something very similar.
    looks like i’m not the only asshole. ;]

  5. @Mike
    More than you know. ;]

    I think this would be awesome for printing a résumé. What kind of candidate for employment types up their résumé on a typewriter?
    The one you’re about to hire, I bet.

  6. @Agent-That’s the goal of my project!
    @Geekman-Good idea, I was going to use a direct wired connection, but wireless would be nicer for interface with other devices.

    It will still live on my website even if the rest of the internet is saturated.

  7. This was a common hobbiest project back in the mid ’70s to ’80s. What we wanted was a ASR or KSR-35 teletype.
    The selectric has a set of rails that are pressed by keys with slots creating each selectric code. The typewrite is purely mechanical and solenoids were used to pull the rails, creating each code. Worked like a charm. Could still be used as a typewriter. Converting ascii to selectric though, that took more electronics. It was fun. About the time mine was finished the MX-80 dot matrix was down in price and I snatched one up.
    This is a VERY old hack.

  8. @entropia he’s unknown to most of us old timers and other high level hardware hackers. Dont see him hosting any R4 shows or having talks at blackhat.

    He aint’ uber 1337 Yo!, to be world renown yet.

  9. This could be useful for adding spell check to an electric typewriter. If you did more work to read in the keys thru the microcontroller, process them on a PC ( do basic spell check) then hack another mechanism/button to actually make the words hit the page, once the writer agrees with any spelling corrections done. That would be cool, a perfectly typed page each time.

  10. Back in antiquity (late ’70s) there was an interface device that converted an electric typewriter to a computer printer. It mounted over the keyboard and had one solenoid for each key.

    Next step is a robot arm that picks up a pencil and does hunt-and-peck with the eraser end on an old manual Olivetti, using text-to-speech on the computer and and the reverse on the robot arm end so that you don’t have to string any cables.

    Now that’s a hack.

  11. article: I don’t know what I’m going to use it for, but it’s more useful now than it was just languishing in a closet. chances are it will wind up at work and print out build breakages and pours from the kegerator (via RFID)

    googfan: if you’re going to do this from scratch I recommend using a Mega or something with more pins. the normal ‘duino has one pin free after everything is wired up, making it a pretty big hassle to debug.

    misha: unfortunately this model already has a 70,000 word dictionary built in. but it’s English, so it beeped after every word of the Lorem Ipsum test.

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