[GreenKeys] DEC BRPE Punch Machines (2)

[Jim Haynes]

On Wed, 31 Aug 2011, Chris Elmquist wrote:

> Does "BRPE" stand for anything?
>
Well, sorta...

First of all, the standard (low) speed stuff all had letter codes.
Most people know that for Model 28/35 stuff the prefix was L, so you
had LP for the printer, LK for the keyboard, LMU for the motor unit,
LB for the base, LXD for one kind of transmitter-distributor, LAXD,
LBXD, LCXD... for others, LAC for the cabinet, LAAC for the ASR set
cabinet.  LPR is a reperforator and LRPE might be a non-typing
reperforator, and there was LARP the multi-magnet parallel-input
reperforator, LAK the keyboard for the ASR set, and it goes on and on.

For Model 14 the prefix letter is F (probably for "Fourteen") and there
are FP, FB, FK, FPR, FRXD, etc.

For Model 15 the prefix letter is B (probably for "Bell") so there are
BP and BB and BK and some other things.

The old "iron horse" keyboard perforator is GPE, and the G comes from
"Green Code" which was equipment manufactured for Western Union before
the numbered models.  There was a "Blue Code" for Postal Telegraph Co.
about the same time.

The numbered models are a Bell System thing.  If you see a Model 28 with
a nameplate like 28A keyboard you know it is a Bell System unit; a 
non-Bell would have LK and a number on the nameplate.

Now the high-speed line of equipment got its own set of codes independent
of the low-speed line.

BRPE is a high speed reperforator, non-typing of course.  I guess there
was an ARPE that was not produced and then a CRPE and then one that was
produced was the tuned-reed punch DRPE.

Likewise there must have been an AX high speed reader, and then there
was a BX that I remember was used in production, and later a CX, and
still later a DX.

Fairly late in the game were the V prefixes.  VSL and a number was a
specific combination of things making an operable set.  So there might
be a one-to-one correspondence between a VSL something Model 28 printer
set an an AN/UGC- something that the military called it.  This was
to make it easy to order a specific combination of things put together
at the factory, rather than ordering a Model 28 set consisting of LAC-
something, LK-something, LP-something, LMU-something, and a particular
keyboard and typebox arrangement and a particular stunt box arrangement
and so on.  And there were VCLs which were not complete sets but were
specific combinations of things packaged together.