Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread

[Zenith]

Spend much time sitting at a keypunch writing up test cases for MECL 10K array boards that were going into an interface tester for the under development 3081. The punched cards were inputted to an IBM 1130 computer. Results printed out on a 1403 chain printer. As I recall the 1130 had a massive 1MEG removable hard drive.

Aaagh! Don't do that. I was trying so hard to forget stacks of bloody Hollerith cards, or rather bloody stacks of bloody Hollerith cards held together with a bloody elastic band. The elastic band was possessed of a malevolent intelligence. If you went to the extra trouble of numbering the cards for easy ordering, the band would never break, but it was so much extra work. If it broke it would be at the least convenient time. Either just in time to miss a run, or most of the cards would end up in a muddy puddle, which seemed put there for the precise purpose of spoiling them.

[tggzzz]

Spend much time sitting at a keypunch writing up test cases for MECL 10K array boards that were going into an interface tester for the under development 3081. The punched cards were inputted to an IBM 1130 computer. Results printed out on a 1403 chain printer. As I recall the 1130 had a massive 1MEG removable hard drive.

Aaagh! Don't do that. I was trying so hard to forget stacks of bloody Hollerith cards, or rather bloody stacks of bloody Hollerith cards held together with a bloody elastic band. The elastic band was possessed of a malevolent intelligence. If you went to the extra trouble of numbering the cards for easy ordering, the band would never break, but it was so much extra work. If it broke it would be at the least convenient time. Either just in time to miss a run, or most of the cards would end up in a muddy puddle, which seemed put there for the precise purpose of spoiling them.

I never used cards, only 5 and 8 channel paper tape.

I thought the standard trick with punched cards was to mark a big X on the stack's top edge, which would simplify restoring their order.

[MED6753]

Spend much time sitting at a keypunch writing up test cases for MECL 10K array boards that were going into an interface tester for the under development 3081. The punched cards were inputted to an IBM 1130 computer. Results printed out on a 1403 chain printer. As I recall the 1130 had a massive 1MEG removable hard drive.

Aaagh! Don't do that. I was trying so hard to forget stacks of bloody Hollerith cards, or rather bloody stacks of bloody Hollerith cards held together with a bloody elastic band. The elastic band was possessed of a malevolent intelligence. If you went to the extra trouble of numbering the cards for easy ordering, the band would never break, but it was so much extra work. If it broke it would be at the least convenient time. Either just in time to miss a run, or most of the cards would end up in a muddy puddle, which seemed put there for the precise purpose of spoiling them.

I never used cards, only 5 and 8 channel paper tape.

I thought the standard trick with punched cards was to mark a big X on the stack's top edge, which would simplify restoring their order.

Used paper tape too on another project that used an IBM System/7 as a driver for the tools.. Loading code on that machine was via standard cassette.

Damn I'm freaking old.


.

[tautech]

Just as an interest, what sorta card feed rate /s was achievable ?
How might that convert to a data baud rate ?