[GreenKeys] OT: New coffee-table book on punched cards

[Dave Wade]

Folks,
Well I own two. An IBM model 11 which uses a 100V DC supply and a solenoid
to work the punch. You can see a video of it here:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogplYeEYzu8

I also own an ICT punch like this one:-

http://www.vintage-icl-computers.com/icl45aa

which is jammed. I used one when I went to work in 1976 I was surprised to
find we had such a punch in the programmers department.
We generally used it for correcting JCL or the odd program card but once you
were used to one of these you could punch almost as fast as you could on a
QWERTY keyboard...
.. in fact some could punch faster and were useless on a normal keyboard.
When we switched to terminals, I had to extend the password time out. 
One of the programmers who could punch a card quickly couldn't use a QWERTY
keyboard...

Dave
G4UGM


> -----Original Message-----
> From: greenkeys-bounces at mailman.qth.net <greenkeys-
> bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf Of Ken Wiebe
> Sent: 12 February 2020 17:41
> To: Thomas Tillson via GreenKeys <greenkeys at mailman.qth.net>
> Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] OT: New coffee-table book on punched cards
> 
> Long-lost device?
> 
> When I was in high school (as some others have related) - I had the
> opportunity to program the school district IBM 360 by submitting punched-
> card Fortran programs ("jobs").  I punched the cards myself on a portable
> hand-operated punch.
> 
> Over the years I have monitored ebay and the web looking for the portable
> punch but come up empty.
> 
> The punch was about the length and width of a modern full-sized keyboard,
> maybe a little bigger.  You stuck the card to be punched into a guide at
one
> end.  In the center of the punch stood the control mechanism about 8-10
in.
> high, which had a dial to select the character to be punched, and a large
lever
> to be depressed when ready to punch a column.  As the card passed under
> the control mechanism, holes were punched into the card according to the
> dial setting.  The card would advance to the next column automatically as
part
> of the punch process.
> 
> I can't remember if the punch also printed characters at the top of the
card -
> I'm thinking it did but not certain.
> 
> It was quite a chore to punch even a small program.  But fun, and
rewarding if
> the program ran!  (it would take a week or so to find out, hehe)
> 
> Anyone ever run across one of these punches?
> 
> -Ken
> Tacoma, WA
> 
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