The Curta.org Bulletin Board

[RAPA]

Hello, Rafa from Barcelona (Spain) and this is my first post on this forum.

I would like to ask you some questions regarding my Curta Type I 07233

As I understand it, the first machines had the brand and reference stamped directly on the motherboard and in later series, said data was placed on an additional plate.

My machine has nothing, at first I thought it could be the result of a repair, although it didn't make sense for the motherboard to deteriorate so much that I had to change it. But it is that recently I found here in Spain another Curta for sale just like mine, therefore with a similar serial number (the seller did not dare to open it to verify the number) that did not have anything on the base either.

Could it be that Curta sent a batch of machines to Spain without marking the base?

And taking into account my serial number 07233. What image do you think would correspond to it, the circular or the oval?

Perhaps one of you has one with a number higher than mine with the circular serigraphy?

[murff]

for comparison - here are two Curta Type I 72XX:






Could you post pictures of your Curta?

07233 could be a fantasy number (the leading zero was no longer used at that time), so possibly a Curta made from leftover stock after 1970.
This is also indicated by the missing number inside.

[RAPA]

My mistake, it does not have any zero in front of it and it is engraved as in your image, on a black background.

Can you tell me how to upload images?

[RAPA]

https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/168684945839054AF5D078A5A4094C6CA67D1AFD3B.html
https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/168684959192F0AB4DF4B42872382D8FBE98AD2857.html
https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/1686849621CB3C9D319E1F3EB9EB7D82DCD19F732C.html

The last photo corresponds to the machine for sale equal to mine.

[RAPA]

I frontal photo of the two machines that do not have the base marked.

https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/1686900920464A94CD9C418E1E85A75ED490558515.html

https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/1686901308512328CDF1024CA7EE2830232F37ECBB.html

What base does the 7292 have?

[murff]

Both Curtas seem to be authentic, also the inner serial number of the 7233. It seems to be rather a rare coincidence that base plates without Contina lettering AND without serial number exist (base plates without serial number are known). This has nothing to do with the delivery to Spain - there is no "Spanish Edition".

Are these Curtas available for purchase?


(and, no picture of the 7292 baseplate - these Curtas are not in my collection).

[RAPA]

Well, the two coincidentally are in Spain.

No, they are not for sale.

Do you think the base is the original unmarked one or a later replacement one, of the kind that was later attached to the engraved plate?

Is it known who owns 7292?

[murff]

There were two types of base plates, one-piece and two-piece.







I can't really tell from the pictures which type it is. The base plate of the two-piece version has a third hole.
So there are several possibilities...

See also More about the Base plate Curta Type 1...

The pictures (7217, 7292) are from a non-public database, the owner is not known.

[RAPA]

Yes, I had already seen the link you gave me.

Well, it's curious that the one in 7292 took a photo of the interior and not the exterior. Maybe there was nothing on the base either.

Is it known what function the third hole had?

If I give you more photos or measurements of the base, could you come to any conclusion?

[murff]

I don't know what the function of the third hole is - maybe for positioning or to remove the label if needed....

It's worth a try, send me larger pictures of the base plate

[Kmcqueen]

My first thought about the third hole is that it might be used to hold the part for anodizing. something about the "soft" outline looks similar to other parts I've sent out and came back like this. Only a guess......If someone has one of these I would be curious if there is any other bare aluminum elsewhere on the back of the plate that would have held the part during the process.

[murff]

The fact that the older discs has no traces of anodization also speaks against this. Why drill another hole when you can do it without?





Strangely enough, the third hole has a finer hatching in the corresponding diameter:



And why does the third hole have to be exactly on the 38mm diameter circle?


But some mysteries will always remain...

[RAPA]

More detailed photos of the disk of my machine

https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/1687070174B62EDB1D51CB943180F2CB1DE9A72604.htmlBase1

https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/1687070144E8E4FD8E873B60B4635B0417A2659427.html

https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/16870701116C3923FE41623FCC8C5A117B406BB9F6.html

https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/168707007406CED30B9B02BC5FADC96A56D3324466.html[url][/url]

[murff]

The base plate you show is a turned part - not a punched part, as in the production model of the Curta.





The turned base plates were only used on the prototypes (but there can certainly be exceptions).







So, your base plate is identified so far - unfortunately we will not know the story behind it...
It remains open whether the plate comes from Contina or was manufactured locally as a spare part!

[RAPA]

I come with news, I just received the second Curta with the disc without recording.
Observations
Serial number 8862, looks very well preserved.
The base mechanism is different from the 7233.
Its container can version is the second, the 7233 is the third.
The disc looks the same as the one on the 7233
Questions
Do we know the weight of a prototype disc?
Is the interior serial number a black ink negative or is it engraved?

https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/168735855674A639F2583A9E59781672D56786B1BD.html

https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/1687358725A728EB8755B075894C813F91F31684D4.html

https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/168735880239367FD308BCA89B96684B936BE5FADE.html

https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/16873588287DC084B2B8D478B4F90FB5A284677EFD.html

[/url]https://www.filesharesite.com/files/202306/16873588736F041C24663C96B5E0526034E9B88C8A.html