[GreenKeys] AN/FGC-38 Torn-Tape Relay Equipment

[Pete Lancashire]

Any idea how much tape a center like the one Nick posted went though in a
day ?

On Fri, Aug 25, 2017 at 5:46 PM, Jim Haynes <jhhaynes at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Thanks for posting that.
>
> There are two basic architectures for torn-tape switching.  One is
> represented by the AN/TGC-1 which has the reperforators and the
> transmitters in the same cabinet.  The other has the reperforators
> in one set of cabinets and the transmitters in another, as in the
> FGC-38.
>
> An advantage of torn tape switching in general is that the routing
> information is all done by humans, so it is easy to adapt to a situation
> where routing is changing frequently or requires a lot of intelligence
> to figure out.  The disadvantage is the need for operators to handle
> all that tape manually.
>
> The AN/TGC-1 architecture is advantageous in situations where switching
> centers must be established or moved or expanded or cut down quickly.
> It has the disadvantage that the routing operators get in one another's
> way, and that it is extra footwork to involve a routing desk in the
> process.  So the FGC-38 structure is advantageous for more fixed
> installations and larger installations.
>
> It is very common in this kind of switching to have one outgoing line
> fed by two tape transmitters, arranged so that only one at a time can
> be sending while the other waits for the one in use to reach the end
> of tape.  This allows keeping the circuit busy without the operators
> having to wait for a reader to finish.  Typically there is a holder to
> allow a whole bunch of tapes to be queued on a sending position.  I've
> heard of situations where there were wires like clothes lines strung
> across the switching room, and tapes awaiting sending humg on them with
> clothes pins; but later more to-the-purpose hardware was developed.
>
> Postal Telegraph Co. had a system in which there was a hidden reperforator
> and tape transmitter associated with each outgoing line.  The idea was
> to clear the switching floor transmitters quickly and let messages queue
> up in the hidden reperforator.  This might have been undesirable in a
> military situation where a high precedence message might pre-empt a
> lower precedence message already in transmission.
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> GreenKeys mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net
>
> 2002-to-present greenkeys archive: http://mailman.qth.net/piperma
> il/greenkeys/
> 1998-to-2001 greenkeys archive: http://mailman.qth.net/archive
> /greenkeys/greenkeys.html
> Randy Guttery's 2001-to-2009 GreenKeys Search Tool:
> http://comcents.com/tty/greenkeyssearch.html
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/greenkeys/attachments/20170825/71e2192d/attachment-0001.html>