HP reluctantly supported a card reader through Series 70. I believe it was a
version of the 2893A. It was definitely available with HP-IB interface and
required a dedicated GIC and an auto tap switcher for power. I remember
working on these a few times and one of my current customers still has
theirs
in the computer room. (Hi Charlie B) One of the wearing parts was called
a "picker sector". Try saying that 10 times fast.
The HP 7260A was the optical mark reader you mentioned. I remember it
being a serial device used through MPE-V and being picky about what it
would read.
Wasted brain cells storing this data for sure.
Bob J. -- Ideal Computer Services
www.icsgroup.net
Jeff Kell wrote:
>HP definitely had a card reader... both a traditional one, and some
>years later, and "optical mark-sense" reader that could read a card with
>the "holes" marked by ink rather than physically punched.
>
>When I started at UTC (decades ago)... computer classes had to punch
>their programs on IBM keypunch machines. Our IBM was too small/slow, so
>we would periodically reboot into our "communications mode" which hooked
>up our IBM card reader, punch, and printer with a larger IBM at
>Knoxville. We collected the student card decks, submitted them to UTK,
>and waited on the printouts to return. Then we booted back into local
>production. This happened a few times a day (turnaround was pretty
>miserable).
>
>We got an HP2000/Access system in Fall 1975. It not only supported card
>reader and printer, but also supported the remote job entry
>communications with the IBM at UTK. So we had a card reader upstairs in
>the student keypunch lab, as well as a printer, and there was no more
>waiting for submission. They could just feed their jobs directly to the
>reader, their printouts came back to the printer, and it was available
>constantly. Big step forward.
>
>Later we got an HP3000, and had a copy of MRJE/3000. Now students could
>enter their programs online via Editor/QEdit/Quad/whatever they prefer,
>submit their jobs via MRJE, and view their output in SPOOK before
>actually printing it out. Even better still.
>
>As for the "mark-sense" reader... we had this grand plan to do grades on
>"mark-sense" cards. The idea was to "print" class cards (one card per
>student, sorted by instructor by class), and let them pencil-in mark the
>corresponding grade for the student. It was great in theory, but the
>"mark-sense" reader had much less than stellar performance and
>reliability (it sucked!), and having the "printed" cards burst on their
>perforations to yield the "card" left some rough edges which the reader
>really, really hated. And it was slow as Christmas. Heck, it was
>slower than Leap Year. That lasted one semester, I think, and we went
>to OpScan forms instead (much better). Much of this was a holdover from
>our old IBM grade processing days (which was on punched grade cards that
>were also fed to a unit-record device that read the marked grade and
>"punched" the result onto the card). Some habits are hard to break :)
>
>The same card reader we had on the HP2000/Access also worked on the
>HP3000/Series II... we kept it for legacy purposes even after going to
>"online" entry of the "card decks". I do not recall the readers being
>supported beyond the Series II / Series III however, and I don't recall
>the I/O interface either (other than it pre-dated HP-IB).
>
>Jeff
>
>On 5/21/2014 2:00 PM, Simpkins, Terry wrote:
>
>
>>If I recall correctly, when I was with HP's Disc Memory Division (DMD) in Boise back in the early '80s, we actually had a card reader connected to one of our 3Ks.
>>I brought several boxes of cards with me from grad school, and we read them into EBCDIC files.
>>Don't ask why I was carrying boxes of punch cards around the country.
>>
>>Terry W. Simpkins
>>office: +1 757-766-4278
>>[log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gilles Schipper
>>Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2014 12:54 PM
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] Tape to Punched Cards
>>
>>Gilles Schipper
>>Sent via mobile
>>416-702-7900
>>
>>
>>
>>>On May 21, 2014, at 12:44 PM, "Johnson, Tracy" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>>This looks like something Wirt would have used
>>>
>>>
>>>ASCII to EBCDIC anyone?
>>>
>>>
>>>http://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/4500931
>>>
>>>
>>>Was there a CSL for that?
>>>
>>>
>>No need.
>>
>>FCOPY has always had that capability.
>>
>>
>>>Tracy Johnson
>>>Business Analyst
>>>Measurement Specialties, Inc.
>>>Office (757) 766-4318
>>>Cell (757) 755-6470
>>>[log in to unmask]
>>>
>>>
>
>* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
>* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *
>
>
>
>
>
* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *
|
