Yep, this is still my favorite portable! Every time one comes in for refurbishment I appreciate the simplicity of design. These are not the most exacting machines making a kind of messy typing sensation, yet feather light and fun to use.It has manual ribbon reverse in the classic Corona “S” pattern by tightening the top ribbon spool nut on the ribbon you want to feed. Loosen the nut on the opposite side and that one will spin free feeding to the other.
This example came in as a recent purchase for a gift (how thoughtful!). The Corona needed sprucing up before the lucky guy received such a great find. Upon inspection we found the platen was disconnected from the core, the single roller was hard and flat, and the line space ratchet was bent. Overall a well used machine. Since the birthday was coming up fast, we recommended re-gluing the platen to the core. If the birthday boy really uses this nice technological wonder, then bring it back for a nice new platen. The bent ratchet was a bit of a concern as bending parts sometimes just flat out breaks them. In this case we got lucky and it straightened just about right. General cleaning, oiling and adjusting a few sticking keys and this light weight is ready to rock and roll.
Oh, and this little wonder has been around the world. Check out these two photos.
