Olivetti/P203/Revive

Here we will describe the progress of the work to bring our Olivetti/P203 back to life.

2019-April-25: First message

Vi får formentlig i nærmeste fremtid en Olivetti Programma P203 til vores samling:

 From: Finn Verner Nielsen Thu Apr 25 23:22:32 2019
 To: Thorkil Naur
 Subject: Hvad tror du vi fandt til formiddag i en kælder blot 300 m fra Tapeten ?
 ...
 Ja - du tror det næppe - en super flot Olivetti P203.
 Den vejer 130 kg - så der skal flyttefolk på opgaven !

2019-May-09: Mailing with Sandro

We sent:

 Date: Thu, 9 May 2019 21:06:02 +0200
 From: Thorkil Naur
 To: Sandro Graciotti
 Subject: Olivetti Programma 203

 Dear Sandro,

 It has been a while, hope everything is well for you and your
 activities. Things are going well along here at the Danish Old Computer
 Society. Recently, I have visited Mr. Pedro Lima in Porto in Portugal
 and assisted in an attempt to repair the card unit of the P101 that he
 had acquired.

 I am writing because our computer society is in the process of perhaps
 acquiring an Olivetti Programma 203. See Olivetti/Programma_P203 

 I haven't seen it myself, but it is said to be in good condition and
 will arrive next week, if all goes as planned.

 We hope to work towards getting this beautiful machine in working order,
 if at all possible. So we would be very grateful if you would be willing
 and able to give us some access to descriptions of the machine,
 programming manual and other technical information. That would most
 certainly be very useful.

 Again, thank you very much for all the help you have provided over the
 years and for the pleasant time and communication we have had.
 Best wishes and regards for all of you.

 Thorkil

And got the response:

 From Sandro Graciotti Fri May 10 17:52:34 2019
 To: Thorkil Naur
 Subject: R: [Olivetti Programma 203]

 Hi Thorkil,nice to hear from you again.The 203 project is a very
 ambitious one. We do have a "working" P203 at the museum, the problem
 is that as soon as you let it idle for a few days, the typewriter will
 get lazy and wont work anymore.At any rate next time I go to the
 museum I will collect what we have on the subject and forward to you.
 Talk to you soon,
 Sandro.

2019-May-16: A first look

Pictures from that memorable event:

2019-May-23: Status

 From Finn Verner Nielsen Thu May 23 12:37:03 2019
 To: Peter Andersen
 Cc: Thorkil Naur
 Subject: P203

 Hej Peter

 Thorkil Naur og jeg fik set lidt mere på P203 i torsdags.

 Inde i den lille strimmelprinter (var det vist) fandt vi en dato i 1970 ....

 Thorkil fandt ud af, hvordan man får lukket op for de indre organer.
 Pladen under skrivemaskinen sad med 2 ud af 4 skruer og så kom den af.
 Herfra er der adgang til de skruer, der holder de øverste dækplader.

 Vi gik så ikke videre, og så heller ikke nærmere på elektronikken - jeg går
 ud fra, at du skifter kondensatorerne, når du får tid.
 DDHF skal nok betale for de nødvendige komponenter.

 Det var bare en lille status ...

 Hilsen Finn

2019-May-23: A second look

Last week we managed to remove the back panel, right side panel, and finally also the panel below the typewriter. A few pictures to document what goes on:

The last picture shows a possible way towards detaching the P101 printer cover.

2019-Oct-03: Cover off

Today, Peter and I got the cover off and got a first look inside the machinery. Peter took the power supply with him home, intending to replace the elektrolytter. We detached the (101-) printer, belts definitely need replacement.

Selected highlights, focusing on details: