On Dec 21, 2024, at 8:53 AM, Donald Whittemore via
cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
Rod Bartlett wrote:
As a field engineer for Honeywell, I always dreaded the holidays because so many people
would launch print jobs which used repeated overstrikes to create pictures. Those jobs
sometimes fired the maximum number of hammers at a time to speed up the picture creation
which would sometimes cause multiple hammer actuator fuses to blow. More than once I
had
to buy all the 2 amp fuses from multiple Radio Shacks to get the printer operational
again. Those overstrikes also caused the paper to become more saturated with ink which
resulted in more paper/ink residue getting deposited in the print chain, which required
heavier than normal cleanings during the next preventative maintenance window.
Another thing which caused more work for field engineers around the holidays were jobs
sent to the card punches to play Jingle Bells by punching fully laced cards in time to
the
music. It was entertaining unless they caused card jams too bad for the operators to be
able to clear by themselves. Fully laced punch cards are too flexible to pass through
the
punch path cleanly.
- Rod
You mean like this?
https://www.ibmjunkman.com/cards/?Holder=6309&Img=1
That's it. As far as I know, fully laced cards were only useful for producing a deep
percussive sound while punching the card. Trying to push cards rendered flexible by so
many holes at 300 cards per minute caused some spectacular card jams which occasionally
required partial disassembly to fully clear.