Tag: hospice

Mo’ Money…(Boxes)

What the listing stated:

2x Tomy Robot money boxes.

One yellow with pound coin on hand and one orange with a dollar on his hand.

I don’t think either are working and the yellow one is missing the battery cover so selling as spares or repairs.

EBay

Two more heading home
Dirty boys – Missing battery cover

Those of you who follow this site will realise I purchased one of these a while back and did the repair here: Tomy – Mr.Money bank

I paid a total of £10:20GBP for the one in that repair post, and he is currently earning his keep at work collecting money for our local hospice charity – LOROS.

These two I have managed to get for a total of £19:26, so in theory these two are in the similarly price range as the other two. These were produced in 1987 to encourage children to save, with the element on a little bit of fun. These money boxes, when in a good, working condition do command a fair price. Just look at the screen grab of the latest prices being charged on the sale sites.

Latest prices

Both apparently, are not working and they do look quite disgustingly dirty, I’ve no idea what the actual faults are but I’d bet they centre around the switch area as that is a common issue. Add to that one of the battery covers is missing, and the price will rise by about another £5:86GBP as I get a new cover 3D printed, that will mean a total outlay of £25:14GBP or to be specific £12:57GBP per unit.

I more than likely will keep one of them and move the other one on. Let’s wait and see what arrives for us to begin the assessment.

Assessment:

Well, have a look at these two scruffy urchins that turned up today. Both in an absolutely filthy state, need a really good clean. It really surprises me that anyone can send such a filthy item through the post. Does it really take too long to just dust an item down with some furniture polish? Thankfully the wife wasn’t here when they arrived or else she wouldn’t have let them through the door 😂

That said they are as described. Everything is in place apart from the battery cover that I have already ordered as a new 3D print.

Two scruffy urchins
First thing to do is to clean them. They are filthy
One missing battery cover, a 3D replacement has been ordered
Setting a good example. My perfectly clean, and working example at the front

Apart from the above all seems fine. I have put a battery in each and turned them on, nothing happens. On the yellow example there is a little contamination on the battery contacts and when I move the battery I do get some motion but it sounds as if there is a sticking or broken gear inside. The orange example is totally dead but the contacts are clean. This could be the classic switch issue. So the order of the day is to get these both cleaned before dismantling just to keep any mess to a minimum, open them up, clean inside and check the gearings and then lubricate with some silicone grease. I’m hoping these will not be too labour intensive as I have been inside one of these before, and I’m more than aware of the issues of small parts falling out.

Repair:

First a clean with some polish.

A quick clean and they come up lovely

Cleaning done, they’ve come up lovely, I’ll give them a final clean at the end after we’ve attended to the internal issues. So let’s get on.

I’ve chosen the orange chap first, however my suspicions about the faulty switch are wrong. The switch tests fine and I then go a bit deeper into its soul 😂

Off with his head and down into the cogs and sprockets

I get down to the motor and the cogs and sprockets and realise the motion has ceased. A little silicon grease over all the moving parts and a little bit of teasing and the unit springs into life. I let it run for a few minutes and then reassemble, cleaning everything along the way. This unit is now working.

The second unit, the yellow one, was working sort of. So as I have done above, this one was also stripped down, cleaned along the way and also had all cogs and sprockets greased accordingly. It also is now working fine.

I have already purchased a 3D printed battery cover to replace the missing one, and this is now installed, so we now have two complete units. For what I’ve paid for 3D printed pieces over the last year, it would probably be worth investing in my very own 3D printer.

The new replacement, 3D printed battery cover

Result:

Well I now have three absolutely perfect working examples of this fun piece of 1980s technology. One is in use earning money for the local hospice.

The Orange one is going to be used by a work colleague to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

Earning his keep

He is selling candles and I’m going to brand this one with a BHF logo to add some fun to his fundraising.

The three amigos

I have put together this little video regarding feeding time for these three . Enjoy!

Feeding time

The third unit will probably be sold on unless I can find someone else who can put it to good use.

Thanks for visiting, as you know it is always very much, appreciated.

Systema/Krypton – Horizon computerised travel chess set

What the listing stated:

The item has previously been owned before and unfortunately the batteries were left inside to corrode. When tested the computer part does not work.The pieces are a complete set for playing without the computer. Please see photos.

EBay

Systema Horizon
Computerised
Battery corrosion

The unit looks clean cosmetically, and all the pieces are present. The computer side is not working probably as a result of the corrosion that is present in the battery compartment.

So I’ve paid a grand total of £11:49GBP for this unit which is probably slightly above its value. However it was from the St.Helena Hospice in Colchester, so I do not have an issue with this. In fact if I can get it working it will be donated straight back to a hospice I support here in Leicester – LOROS hospice. So all around, everyone benefits. I don’t play chess so it will not be used by me, I believe this unit was originally released circa 1996, so it is roughly 29 years old.

A really simple video, regarding how this unit works

Not much in the form of instructions online, however I have managed to get hold of some pictures of a quick start guide that should suffice for the moment. I’ll try and get full instructions from somewhere. In the meantime, the video above shows how easy it is to setup and use.

Let’s wait for its arrival to make an assessment.

Assessment:

The item has arrived and cosmetically it’s not too bad. There is some writing ink on the lid, and some staining on the base. but nothing that a good clean wouldn’t see to.

Outside good
Inside bad

Open the battery compartment and all contacts are in serious need of a good clean or replacement. Battery corrosion is bad. All playing pieces are included and that’s always a bonus. I do believe that the issue here is purely to do with the acid corrosion, as when tested with a multimeter there is no continuity through the contacts. If the corrosion hasn’t gone too deep this should not be too much of a problematic repair.

Repair:

Now inside of the unit we can see the extent of the corrosion and thankfully it hasn’t reached the circuit board as the battery compartment sits just to the side of it.

Circuit board has no visible issues
You can see the contamination on the rear of the battery compartment

I’ve disconnected the wires from the battery compartment so i can it take it away and concentrate on removing the contacts and cleaning them, or completely replacing them.

Removal of the contaminated battery contacts

The contacts are in such a poor state and so far beyond recovery that I have decided to replace them all. I need two single and three double AAA size contacts. Luckily I do have plenty of these in my current stock.

Prior to fitting the new contacts I will give the entire battery compartment a good clean with some IPA to remove the residual contamination. I will then dry the unit and just use some furniture polish to buff it all up and make sure it’s as clean as the day it left the factory. Once this is done the new battery contacts can be put in place. I can then re-solder the two internal battery wires back into place.

New contacts installed
Batteries fit ok
Contacts checked to see power is a available

New AAA battery contacts in place I just put in the batteries, to confirm continuity with the multimeter. A good 6.4v indicates this part of the repair is good and that the contacts are all working.

Next I’ve decided to replace the two wires from the battery compartment to the circuit board, as the wires, especially the negative one appears very brittle, probably a combination of age and the battery acid contamination.

Two new power wires

I’ve tidied the wire run up by using some Kapton tape to secure it to the shell so there is no chance of a wire pinch.

Before closing the shell up, I use some hot glue to put the speaker back into place.

A bit of hot glue to secure

Now we can get the last four screws in place to secure everything together.

Then switch on…does it work? You betcha, it does everything that it’s meant to, and even though I don’t really know how to play, I do manage to challenge the computer for a good ten minutes. It’s been a great test run and even though I’m not that clued up it is working how it should and is now back in a perfect working order. I’ve created this little video below.

It’s working

Now just a little spit and polish and we can bring this repair to a close.

Result:

It’s polished up well apart from a bit of age staining on the rear, this makes no difference as it’s only the hidden part of the case and every game related part of the unit looks fantastic and it works just fine.

Good working unit, looking superb

Really pleased with this especially as it’s going straight to our local hospice for them to sell on. It was brought from a hospice, and is going back to another, what better way to generate funds for them. I can’t play chess so this unit is wasted on me. Might as well pass it on to someone who’d appreciate it whilst giving some much needed financial support to a most worthy cause.

Another one saved from landfill. Win win all around.

Thanks for passing by and reading this post. It’s always very much appreciated.

Tomy – Mr.Money bank

What the listing stated:

Not working 

May be an easy fix

EBay

Now I don’t half buy some junk to fix, but this one struck a chord with me. Looking into its history I believe it’s a toy made to encourage children to save money from around 1987. So he’s currently around 38 yrs old.

Dirty, as per usual and a bit beaten up. Sounds just like me 😂
Crazy prices

As you can see in the photo above, you could originally buy a set of these, incorporating Dollar, Pound or Euro stickers for the serving hand, the one i have made an offer on is the dollar one.

What appeals to me about this item is that I’ve been looking for a way at work to raise some money for the local LOROS hospice, and this might be a fun way to do it if I can get it working. I plan to brand it with the local hospice details and just thought it would be a fun way to use it. This is a fun object where you put a coin on its hand, its mouth opens, the eyes go up and the coin goes in the mouth. There is a munching motion and then the tongue licks its lips. Or at least it should do. This one I have ordered is having none of that and this is the challenge ahead. These units are notorious for having issues with the power switch, a simple fix if that is the case, but this is me…nothings ever that simple.

And as usual it’s dirty, has marks on it and needs a good clean.

As with everything retro (New antiques 🤦‍♂️) items are attracting some crazy prices, though I do think the general public are not as stupid as the sellers seem to believe they are, as all the above listings have yet to attract any bids. Now the one I have bid on is broken, and yes it has its battery cover. My current bid is £6.70GBP and I must now wait to see if it is a winning bid. With postage (Rip off as usual) the price will be £10.20GBP in total, so compared to the prices in the listings above it is an absolute bargain.

Good news – I have won the auction at this price. Nice.

Assessment:

Well, he’s arrived and just like Frankenstein he’s very dead. He needs an electrical kick start and that’s what we need to do. He’s obtained a lot of scuffs and marks but I think these will buff out. Cosmetically everything is there, even the battery cover and that pleases me immensely. With batteries in place there is not even the tiniest sign of life even if the on /off switch is operated many times. We need to get inside and take a look. Hopefully it’s not too big an issue.

He’s a little dirty, beaten up and scarred

And I’m just so happy he has a battery cover. Exceptionally rare and unexpected.

Repair:

I’ve headed straight for the switch as this is where there is usually trouble and straight away there was a problem. There was no continuity at the switch when operated, so this was removed, opened, cleaned and the brass contacts ground and cleaned. The switch was then reassembled and tested and was all ok.

No continuity, so dismantled, cleaned thoroughly and reassembled

But this was not the problem. Damn it, I now have to take it apart and there is a lot of mechanical items within.

Gradually dismantling

Once dismantled I’ve had a good rummage around and have checked voltages around the electrical circuits until I found no voltage at the motor. The culprit was a small 3inch length of wire that had been crushed. This was replaced and the continuity was now restored to how it should be but still there was no life. I was confident that the electrical issues were no more so it must be a mechanical issue. There is a part of this unit that involves a tongue 👅 that pokes out. This was our issue. The cog and lever system had somehow been knocked out of sync, and once put back into its correct position the unit has now sprung into life. See the little video of this stage below:

We have life

Happy with this I’m now going to review all the pictures that thankfully I’ve taken, and ensure it’s reassembled and cleaned as I go along. The marks and dirt have buffed out nicely and the unit is now extremely clean and looking as good as the day it was purchased. And it works:

Working perfectly

Result:

Here it is now in all its highly polished and clean glory

Looking Beautiful and handsome in its 38th year.

Thoroughly enjoyed this little project, I love the electro mechanical items from this period, they really get you thinking.

The local charity

This unit is now going to have a LOROS hospice logo placed on it to cover the Tomy one as discussed at the beginning of this post. We can then start to gather all that loose change in my work place to pass onto them. They need every penny we can raise. Every penny helps, especially in the current financial climate.

Thanks for passing by, as always it is very much appreciated.

Samsung SQ3000 electronic typewriter – assessment & repair

This is the follow up to a recently obtained electronic typewriter that was purchased in January 2025, the initial post can be found here: Samsung SQ3000 electronic typewriter.

Samsung SQ3000 electronic typewriter

The following post will deal with the assessment on its arrival and what I am going to try to do, to get it back working again, as close as possible to its original state.

I’ve downloaded an instruction I manual, I’ve had to download one for a Smith Corona Wordsmith 200, it is in theory the exact same unit, just under a different manufacturers branding.

Assessment

It’s arrived and apart from a little age yellowing it looks ok. There is a PAT testing sticker that says it was last electrically tested back in 1998 and is due a retest in 1999. This corresponds with my date estimate of mid 90s.

Yellowing
Pat test date

I will retest and renew the safety checks when I’m finished working on it. I have noticed that the paper bail/release rail is broken on the left hand side so I will have to add that to the repairs, this shouldn’t be a major concern.

Paper bail snapped
Broken piece recovered

Before I took the roller out to get to the paper bail I did start the machine up. Everything went as expected and when I tried to type I was getting some weird reactions to the keys I was pushing. All kinds of characters were appearing.

Before

I checked the daisy wheel and there was a click. It wasn’t sitting right. I reset the machine using the two reset buttons and the machine then went through its reset programme, pretty much the same effect as turning it off and on again. (Not much changes in the way of tech there then)

After

Well that’s worked fine, I have tried every combination on the keyboard including the erase function and this is now fully working. It really was quite simple. My next job is to try and fix this paper bail.

Paper bail removed for fixing

There is quite a bit of dust and dirt inside that needs removing. And whilst I’m at it I will lightly re grease the areas that need it. Let’s be honest it’s not been done in the last 30yrs so now is as good a time as any. Inside will get a light hoovering and a bit of a tart up, I’m not going to go mad. I will clean the outside and all knobs and buttons and try to get rid of some of the yellowing, but to be honest as long as it’s clean I’m not too worried about age marks.

Roller dirt
Grease needs replacing
Roller platten dirt

The keyboard has lost a few of its letters. I will remove what is left of some of them and use some keyboard decals to replace the missing ones. This will be one of the last jobs I do.

Characters missing
Keyboard

Well that’s the assessment done and apart from a few small issues and requiring some basic maintenance I don’t think we have an immense amount of work to carry out. We know it now works. Let’s hope I don’t cause any further carnage whilst working on it.

Let’s get to work.

Repair

Right it’s straight onto the paper bail to try and fix the snapped end. Firstly I’m just going to use some superglue to get it in place. When this is dry I’m going to create two “Doublers”, place one either side of the damaged part and glue these in place to create a stronger repair and to add some stability to this area.

I’ve got some black semi rigid plastic. I’ve created a small template from a tracing that I did of the good right hand side of the bail.

Plastic
Template

I now have two doublers cut from the plastic that I will use as explained above.

Two doublers

It doesn’t matter that they are not perfectly shaped, however they both fit perfectly well into the profile of the bail arm, and this portion of the arm is hidden in the typewriter housing anyway, so the part will not be visible, but it will now be strong.

Superglued
Doublers in place and clamped

The Doublers have been put in place using a quick set epoxy resin, I will leave this to dry for a good few hours before I tidy it up, with a light clean, and then I will try to get it back in place.

Bail arm repaired, installed and working.

Now that’s done i’ve gone inside and there were a nice couple of spider webs around the transformer that are now history. I’ve secured the cable in the rear of the unit that never had any tension restraint, so that there will be no issues, should anyone now give a good yank on the cable lead. This is a safety addition I have made that was never on the original unit.

Cable restraint screwed to base to prevent strain on internal wires in and around the transformer bay.

I have also tightened all screws and checked the wiring and this all seems ok. Plug and fuse have been checked and all is looking good. I’ll carry out a PAT test once I’ve finished the clean up.

Roller cleaned and degreased
Platten switch cleaned

I’ve cleaned the main roller with alcohol, and removed all the old grease and dirt from the platten adjuster switch and the roller advance knob. I have removed the platten plate as well as the six mini rollers that are here. I’ve cleaned them all and re assembled/installed them.

Platten plate
Platten roller
Rollers installed and platten complete

I have cleaned the daisy wheel as well as in and around the printing head unit.

Clean inside
Degreased

Inside the unit I have given a good hoover as well as a light clean and again removed more old grease. I have given the exterior plastic a preliminary polish, this has removed some of the yellowing and made it look “cleaner” I am not going to worry too much about the yellowing as it isn’t that bad, and I don’t really want to venture into carrying out a “Retrobrite” on this unit. It would take too long and there would be no benefit for this project.

I’ve now added very small amounts of a watch lubricant to those areas that i have previously cleaned and removed the old grease from.

Light lubricant
Main transport lightly lubricated

The unit has been reassembled and I’m pleased to say it is still working fine. It’s running smoothly and all aspects of the unit seem to be working just fine. To be honest it seems to be printing clearer to me.

Daisy wheel and print quality is perfect

I don’t know how long the print cartridge has been installed but I suspect it may have been a few years back. It’s almost finished, and I do have a replacement on order. I’m sure a fresh cartridge will make the print stand out even more.

Next I’m going to have a go at replacing some, or even all of the keyboard letters. It all depends how it looks when I start replacing them. I’m going to gently rub off the lettering that is left and clean the keys using a 95% pure Isopropyl alcohol solution (IPA).

All damaged and missing key decals removed in preparation for replacement new decals. Others may have to be removed dependant on how the new ones look when in place.

These are the replacement key decals I will be attempting to use.

Qwerty keyboard decals

I’ve replaced the damaged key decals. The ones I’ve used are a lot brighter than the original ones and really accentuate the yellowing. I’m not troubled by this as it keeps its “Old” look. I would have to scrape and wipe for hours to remove all the other keys and to be honest it would look just like someone had gone abroad to have a bright white set of dodgy veneers installed, it would look quite out of place, and in your face. Just like a Cheshire Cat smile.

New veneers anyone?

It serves a purpose and just allows the unit to be usable again.

The final product:

Looking damned fine if I say so myself

Fortunately a lot of the equipment and parts I have used, I was already in possession of, so there are no additional costs for this project. Below you can view the total costings for this project as they currently stand:

  • Purchase inc postage £13.14
  • Cable restraint £0.25
  • Keyboard decals £1.25
  • Total cost of project £14.64

Again I have managed to save a fantastic 90s retro item from landfill for very little cost, and that is a fantastic result. It has years of use left in it, as long as the consumables remain available, and of that I am confident that they will be available, for at least the next few years. The unit is clean, I’ve just carried out an electrical PAT test and it is electrically sound.

Believe it or not I’m going to go back in time and will write some traditional typewritten letters to friends and family. I’m looking forward to doing that and it will certainly surprise them, it will be totally unexpected.

When all that is done, i will donate this unit to our local LOROS Hospice shop so they can sell it on and raise much needed funds. They deserve it. Edit: This was done in March 2025 at their shop in Hamilton Leicester. I hope it gets them a good price.

Watch the brief video for the final words on this restoration. All 13 seconds of it.

And that’s it folks..

Thanks for passing by.

A day of necessary chores

Anyone who’s picked up on these posts of mine of recent days will know that we lost a very important member of our family on Friday just gone. Our dog Alfie went to sleep after suffering a number of ailments over the past years, culminating in a steep decline in his quality of life in the last couple of months.

It’s a tough and harrowing decision to make, bringing an end to a life that has brought nothing but intense joy and happiness to yours for the last 11yrs and 3 months.

But we had to do it, he couldn’t suffer anymore.

The hole that opened up in our family that day was immense. We stopped eating, our diet has been tears and cuddles and just constantly comforting each other. Along with this now is a list of chores that have to be done, like it or not his stuff has to be sorted, what do we keep? What do we donate? What do we dispose of?

Me, I want to keep it all but I have to be realistic, we don’t want to delete him from our memories as that will never happen, we don’t want to remove his presence from our home as it was his as well as ours. However there are unfortunate animals out there that would greatly benefit from Alf’s legacy and that’s what today is about.

Firstly we return to the vets, we have cards and gifts for the staff there who have all been super towards our little lad, we’re not looking forward to this but it has to be done, we have to settle his account as we left there Friday broken and gibbering wrecks.

Secondly we head to the Local dogs trust homing centre where we can donate Towels, Bedding and an elderly dog stroller

Thirdly we will go to the local hospice shop where we can donate other items, that again will help this wonderful charity.

It’s going to be hard, the house is going to be a little emptier today. But his legacy will be that he is helping others both canine and human, and isn’t that a wonderful thing.

I’m sure I will write a lot more about him on here and I’m not apologetic for that at all. My wife and I are still very raw about his passing and we will breakdown at a moments notice, however we are supporting each other, and doing what we can to ease the pain, and not forget him. Walks and talks are now our priority, it helps.

It’s amazing how, you can fall so madly in love with an animal, another species. Life really is wonderful and heartbreaking in equal measures.

Peace to you all