10 Mar
1999
10 Mar
'99
10:54 a.m.
Frank McConnell wrote:
Arfon Gryffydd <arfonrg(a)texas.net> wrote:
> How about the specifications for paper-tape (i.e. hole spacing, paper
> width, etc.)?
Hole spacing is 0.1". 8-level tape is 1"
wide, with 3 holes, then a
smaller-diameter sprocket hole, then 5 holes. There also exist 7- and
5-level tapes which are simply narrower (3+1+4, 3+1+2), and maybe also
a six-level tape but I don't know what used it.
I think that 6-level tape was popular in the publishing industry for
controlling Linotypes. They extended one of the 5-bit codes by adding an
extra bit for upper/lower case. Of course that's different from the
figure/letter shift mechanism that was already in the code (which some
people call upper/lower case). HAVING BOOKS IN ALL CAPS WOULDN'T SELL VERY
WELL I THINK.
I've seen a Teletype with a 6-bit character set but I haven't looked at the
type bars to see what specific characters the thing prints. (It doesn't
work -- some bars need to be realigned or remade -- so I couldn't just try
it out.)
-- Derek