1 Sep
2005
1 Sep
'05
6 p.m.
From: "Vintage Computer Festival" <vcf at
siconic.com>
On Thu, 1 Sep 2005, Dwight K. Elvey wrote:
You mean on all 30,000 of them? :)
Hi Sellam
Maybe one of those industrial steam irons used at the
commercial laundries. I was thinking that you were
dealing with them one at a time. For bulk, you might look
into how the banks iron bills. They have some method
that means they have some kind of machine to handle
the problem. These machine must be making it to scrap
dealers.
Dwight
Never had
a problem with this. Most of the problems I have are cards that
have not been stored appropriately and have bent or otherwise deformed
over time. It's a bitch having to bend them back flat (a process of
bending with my hands, over my knee, and in some cases when they just
won't cooperate, whacking them repeatedly over the edge of a table).
You should use a steam iron. 
1 Sep
1 Sep
7:38 p.m.
On Thu, 1 Sep 2005 15:00:55 -0700 (PDT)
"Dwight K. Elvey" <dwight.elvey at amd.com> wrote:
A photographic print drier (the rolling drum type) might also be
feasible.
Still would be a headache for 30,000 cards, presumably which need to
stay in proper order and are unnumbered.
From:
"Vintage Computer Festival" <vcf at siconic.com>
On Thu, 1 Sep 2005, Dwight K. Elvey wrote:
Hi Sellam
Maybe one of those industrial steam irons used at the
commercial laundries. I was thinking that you were
dealing with them one at a time. For bulk, you might look
into how the banks iron bills. They have some method
that means they have some kind of machine to handle
the problem. These machine must be making it to scrap
dealers.
Dwight
>Never had a problem with this. Most of the
problems I have are
cards that> >have not been stored appropriately and have
bent or
otherwise deformed> >over time. It's a bitch having to bend them
back flat (a process of> >bending with my hands, over my knee, and in
some cases when they just> >won't cooperate, whacking them repeatedly
over the edge of a table).>
You should use a steam iron.
You mean on all 30,000 of them? :)
9:01 p.m.
...
Hi Sellam
Maybe one of those industrial steam irons used at the
commercial laundries. I was thinking that you were dealing
with them one at a time. For bulk, you might look into how
the banks iron bills. They have some method that means they
have some kind of machine to handle the problem. These
machine must be making it to scrap dealers.
Now that brings back a flash from the past. I can't remember if the context
was bank checks or punched cards, (probably the latter), but way back in the
past I remember seeing a machine that would slowly feed such a document
between a pair of rollers. The rollers had a pattern in them not unlike a
cutter that would be used to produce a crosshatched knurling pattern on a
tool handle, but the pattern was not as deep. They used substantial pressure
and would straighten the subject document right smartly. Fingers too, no
doubt.
Gil
You should use a steam iron.
You mean on all 30,000 of them? :)
Dwight
2 Sep
2 Sep
3:56 a.m.
On Thu, 1 Sep 2005, Dwight K. Elvey wrote:
Maybe one of those industrial steam irons used at
the
commercial laundries. I was thinking that you were
dealing with them one at a time. For bulk, you might look
into how the banks iron bills. They have some method
that means they have some kind of machine to handle
the problem. These machine must be making it to scrap
dealers.
It's not that big a problem. It's only if they are severely deformed (say
more than a 10 degree arc). I just grab a stack and whack them back into
shape, then start the reader running while I reform another stack and keep
feeding the reader. It doesn't happen with every deck, and I've gotten
good at finessing the reader to get through most of the cards without a
problem :)
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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9:51 a.m.
>>>> "Vintage" == Vintage
Computer Festival <vcf at siconic.com> writes:
Vintage> On Thu, 1 Sep 2005, Dwight K. Elvey wrote:
> Maybe one of those industrial steam irons used at
the commercial
> laundries. I was thinking that you were dealing with them one at a
> time. For bulk, you might look into how the banks iron bills. They
> have some method that means they have some kind of machine to
> handle the problem. These machine must be making it to scrap
> dealers.
Vintage> It's not that big a problem. It's only if they are severely
Vintage> deformed (say more than a 10 degree arc). I just grab a
Vintage> stack and whack them back into shape, then start the reader
Vintage> running while I reform another stack and keep feeding the
Vintage> reader. It doesn't happen with every deck, and I've gotten
Vintage> good at finessing the reader to get through most of the
Vintage> cards without a problem :)
That's a good point.
IBM card readers tend to be more demanding, since they (at least the
ones I know) push the card into the reader by its far edge. This is
done with a chunk of metal that has a step on it whose height matches
the card thickness.
Most other card readers (for example the DEC/Documation ones) use a
vacuum pick. The card is grabbed near its leading edge with a
rubber-coated devices that has holes in it leading to a vacuum pump.
So long as the leading edge isn't badly mangled, or you hand it two
cards stapled together, this scheme is very forgiving of bent cards.
paul
6:56 p.m.
About 35 years ago, my father did a bunch of social science research
consulting for CBS. For one of their studies, they sent people
port-a-punch cards, and had people just put a stamp on them to mail them!
I don't know what madhine they used (and my father has been dead
too long to ask him), but the IBM CEs were able to open the gate
wide enough to take cards with stamps on them, that had gone
through the mail!
I was very surprised. I had suggested using oversized cards,
and cutting off the end with the stamp.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com
9:24 p.m.
IBM card readers tend to be more demanding, since they
(at least the
ones I know) push the card into the reader by its far edge. This is
done with a chunk of metal that has a step on it whose height matches
the card thickness.
IBM's card readers varied greatly in quality - the 2501 would suck up
anything, and the 2560 MFCM was known as the "Mother Fucking Card
Mangler".
William Donzelli
aw288 at osfn.org
6931
days inactive
6933
days old
6 comments
7 participants
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