Here’s a photo showing the 6-TD dual-bank setup.
However the second bank may have just been used for a
pre-punched message number tape. Every outgoing message had to
have a header with channel ID and sequential message number.
The military AN/TGC-1 relay unit had three TDs,
one for the header/number tape and the other two for messages in
ping-pong fashion.
Later Navy message transmitters used an electromechanical (or
electronic) header/number unit plus ping-pong TDs. These were
arranged in groups of three. Here’s one I have restored with
videos showing operation.
As you can tell I am fascinated by
torn tape relay operation.
More info/photos at
On
Mon, 23 Sep 2024, Nick England wrote:
> Used in a tape relay center to transmit outgoing
messages with each TD
> connected to a line to a different destination.
>
It was also fairly common to have two TD heads feeding the
same outgoing
trunk, arranged so that only one at a time could transmit.
This allowed
the sending operators to have at least two outgoing messages
in queue
for transmission without any need to attend to the machines
once the
tapes were loaded on.
---
"Ya can argue all ya wanna, but it's dif'rent than
it was."
"No it ain't! No it ain't! But ya gotta know the
territory."
Meredith Willson, The Music Man
