[GreenKeys] Re: Fw: Teletypewriters, part 2

[Don Robert House]

Thanks Ben!
Don



>An interesting aspect of the military use of teletype communications 
>were paper tape relay centers.   Most of them were manual, commonly 
>called "torn tape" switching centers.  The messages came in through 
>printing reperforators which both punched the message in holes and 
>printed it on the tape, between the feed holes where there was 
>enough room for a small type face.  Other reperforators used 
>"chadless" punch dies which left the chad still attached to the 
>tape.  This allowed the use of a larger type face for a printing 
>reperforator, as it could print over the same area as the code holes.
>
>I was involved in 1968 with a large order for a torn tape switching 
>center for Offut AFB in Omaha, the headquarters of our Strategic Air 
>Command.  The equipment was located in a nearly bomb proof bunker 
>several stories below ground level.  Short of a direct hit by a 
>nuke, this bunker could survive anything.  The personnel had enough 
>food and water to survive for two weeks if needed.
>
>So the big question:  why in 1968 when we had computers available, 
>did they install a new manual torn tape switching center?   The 
>answer is that in war, with a bunch of circuits knocked out and 
>other switching centers similarly in trouble, a human operator 
>reading the routing information on a piece of printed tape could 
>more quickly and accurately determine how to get the message on to 
>its destination than the computers of those days.  There are times 
>when you can't beat the good old human brain.
>
>FYI, that equipment was not painted Air Force Blue.  The official AF 
>blue color was deemed to dark and depressing for use far 
>underground, and the generals felt it could be dispiriting over a 
>long time.  So it was painted a robins egg blue, to be more 
>cheerful.  To the best of my knowledge, this was the only time that 
>shipments to the US military got out the door in any color than the 
>official and usual AF blue, Army olive drab, or Navy gray.