anyone recognize this?

[Don Shepherd]

Does anyone recognize this device? What does it do?

   

[Dave Frederickson]

(12-06-2017 08:02 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Does anyone recognize this device? What does it do?

Is this like that Name That Widget column in EDN? My favorite was the BNC-to-Fire Hydrant Adapter.

[Paul Berger (Canada)]

(12-06-2017 08:02 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Does anyone recognize this device? What does it do?

Well the item on the right is a card gauge for 96 column punch card used to check that the card punch is punching the holes in the right place. The 96 column card used a 6 bit character code punched in 3 rows of 32 columns. For binary data such as program cards, the first six bits of a byte where punched in the one of the top two rows and the remaining two bit for each row was punched in the bottom row.

The item on the left appears to be a manual punch for something like paper tape, is there a part number or other identifying marks on it? On the right side of it there appears to be an exit chute and wear on it might suggest it fit into something else.

Paul.

[Don Shepherd]

(12-06-2017 08:52 PM)Paul Berger (Canada) Wrote:  

(12-06-2017 08:02 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Does anyone recognize this device? What does it do?

Well the item on the right is a card gauge for 96 column punch card used to check that the card punch is punching the holes in the right place. The 96 column card used a 6 bit character code punched in 3 rows of 32 columns. For binary data such as program cards, the first six bits of a byte where punched in the one of the top two rows and the remaining two bit for each row was punched in the bottom row.

The item on the left appears to be a manual punch for something like paper tape, is there a part number or other identifying marks on it? On the right side of it there appears to be an exit chute and wear on it might suggest it fit into something else.

Paul.

Thanks Paul. Yeah, I recognized the 96-column card gauge on the right (I've got one). The pic is from an Ebay auction and the seller seems to think the item on the left is for punching a 96-column card, but I don't think so from the picture. I agree with you, I think the item on the left fits into another machine that inputs paper tape, and the big gray button is probably to release the item from the other machine. The seller did not post pictures of the four other sides, that might help identify it.

[SlideRule]

(12-06-2017 09:08 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  I think the item on the left fits into another machine that inputs paper tape, and the big gray button is probably to release the item from the other machine.

Good call; the vertical wording on the right edge of the upper label seems to read "TAPE CODE AND AUTO BACK SPACE".

BEST!
SlideRule

[Paul Berger (Canada)]

I saw the pictures in the auction. From the bottom you can see there are two toothed wheels that I am guessing would feed the media through the device which would be wrong for paper tape since the position of the data holes relative to the sprocket holes is important and there would only be one just off center. The fact that it is in a carrying case would suggest it may be a tool of some kind, I suppose one other possibility would be for punching program tapes for clock systems. Some of the clock systems used a paper tape, driven by the clock mechanism, to trigger events such ad the ringing of bells to signal the end of classes in a school.

[BobVA]

Maybe a manual tape punch? But there'd have to be some kind of control we can't see to set the punched value, or maybe just select an individual row element to punch. Then I'd speculate the big grey button is does the punching.

It vaguely reminds me of a gadget we used to make vertical control tapes for the line printer in our little college data center. That tape set the form length and you could optionally punch in vertical tab stops, if memory serves.

But our punch was a lot simpler, just a plate with an alignment grid and a sliding punch, I think.

[Don Shepherd]

Paul, I suspect you may be right about that clock tape or portable tool.

Here is a real punched paper tape portable puncher:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hand-Held-Paper...SwkjNZrCfs

Bob, here is the punch you remember. It is used for carriage control paper tapes on IBM printers:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-IBM-Pri...SwO7haCQ-f

Don

[BobVA]

(12-06-2017 11:38 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Bob, here is the punch you remember. It is used for carriage control paper tapes on IBM printers:

Don

OK, the second I saw that I heard a blast of Bachman-Turner Overdrive in my head and could see it sitting *right there* on the window sill by the punched card reader :-)

Must not bid...must not bid....

I haven't seen one of those since we decommissioned our little IBM remote batch station (HASP, anyone?) in favor of an HP mini with CRT terminals in about 1977. I hope it's sitting somewhere in the Math department still faithfully holding down papers. Thanks for the blast for the past!

[Don Shepherd]

(12-07-2017 02:20 AM)BobVA Wrote:  

(12-06-2017 11:38 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Bob, here is the punch you remember. It is used for carriage control paper tapes on IBM printers:

Don

OK, the second I saw that I heard a blast of Bachman-Turner Overdrive in my head and could see it sitting *right there* on the window sill by the punched card reader :-)

Must not bid...must not bid....

I haven't seen one of those since we decommissioned our little IBM remote batch station (HASP, anyone?) in favor of an HP mini with CRT terminals in about 1977. I hope it's sitting somewhere in the Math department still faithfully holding down papers. Thanks for the blast for the past!

b-b-b-b-baby you ain't seen n-n-n-n-nothing yet!

thank God for Youtube videos.

[Dave Frederickson]

So besides BTO I liked ELO, ELP (for the TLA bands), and a little Foghat.

[Bill (Smithville NJ)]

(12-13-2017 03:21 AM)Dave Frederickson Wrote:  So besides BTO I liked ELO, ELP (for the TLA bands), and a little Foghat.

Great - Good to see other BTO fans. Wonder if either of you are aware of the Randy Bachman's program "Vinyl Tap" on CBC. Great program and I listen to it each week. Following is link:

Vinyl Tap

Bill
Smithville, NJ