I love my 301A s. It will be well worth the hassle when you get it going. I am sure you will eventually. My first 301A came from a thrift store for $10. They were holding it for me and told me that hadn't tested it. It was on my wishlist and I figured whatever it was, it could be fixed. It did not have a good life before coming here. It was in a cabinet. It was absolutely filthy. The tensioner was in pieces, but luckly all the pieces were there. My best guess is they changed the needle and it wouldn't sew (because they put the needle in wrong........and yes you can put the needle in wrong, because they did it). So then they took apart the tensioner. Then they couldn't put it back together (even though they had the manual). So then it was sentenced to live out the remainder of it's time in prison (aka the damp basement) where the cabinet became all moldy. Evidenlty someone got tired of walking around it, or someone passed away and it went to the thrift store where I got it. I use it almost every day and it is loved......so much so that I got another one just like it (but clean) from an antique mall. The moldy cabinet got ditched though. My machine also came with lots of goodies. Good luck!!!!