IBM 1442 is a combination

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

card reader and

card punch A computer punched card reader or just computer card reader is a computer input device used to read Computer program, computer programs in either source or executable form and Data (computing), data from punched cards. A computer card punch is a ...

. It reads and punches 80-column IBM-format

punched card A punched card (also punch card or punched-card) is a stiff paper-based medium used to store digital information via the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions. Developed over the 18th to 20th centuries, punched cards were widel ...

s and is used on the IBM 1440, the IBM 1130, the

IBM 1800 The IBM 1800 Data Acquisition and Control System (DACS) was a process control variant of the IBM 1130 with two extra instructions (CMP and DCM), extra I/O capabilities, 'selector channel like' cycle-stealing capability and three hardware index reg ...

and

System/360 The IBM System/360 (S/360) is a family of mainframe computer systems announced by IBM on April 7, 1964, and delivered between 1965 and 1978. System/360 was the first family of computers designed to cover both commercial and scientific applicati ...

and is an option on the

IBM System/3 The IBM System/3 was an IBM midrange computer introduced in 1969, and marketed until 1985. It was produced by IBM Rochester in Minnesota as a low-end business computer aimed at smaller organizations that still used IBM 1400 series computers or u ...

Overview

The 1442 can read up to 400 cards per minute. Cards are read and punched one column at a time and binary cards are permitted. Cards are read using photocells, illuminated by fiber optics, unlike the IBM 1402, which uses wire brushes to read cards. It is even possible to create (but not read, except in Binary Mode) " IBM Doilies," cards with every possible hole punched. Few other pieces of IBM equipment could do this without sustaining damage. There are two output stackers, located in the photo on the left lower side. One could program to select the output stacker for each card read, so it is possible to read cards and separate them into two groups. Cards are placed in the top hopper ("face down, nine-edge leading") and a plate is added on the top of the cards. They are read thru and come out to one of the left lower stackers. The 1442 does not print on the top of the cards; it just punches what characters the columns contains. An older unit record machine, the

IBM 557 The IBM 557 Alphabetic Interpreter allowed holes in punched cards to be interpreted and the punched card characters printed on any row or column, selected by a control panel. Introduced in 1954, the machine was a synchronous system where brushes ...

interpreter, can be used off-line for this function.

Models

Not all models have both read and punch features.

Reader/Punch models

* The 1442 Model 1 reads cards at 80 cards per minute (cpm) and punches at 50 to 270 cpm, depending on the number of columns punched. One stacker is standard and a second is optional. * The 1442 Model 2 reads cards at 400 cpm and punches from 91 to 360 cpm. Two stackers are standard. * The 1442 Model 6 attaches to an

or IBM 1130, reads 300 cpm and punches 80 columns per second. * The 1442 Model 7 attaches to an

or IBM 1130, reads 400 cpm and punches 180 columns per second. * The 1442 Model N1 attaches to the

IBM System/360 The IBM System/360 (S/360) is a family of mainframe computer systems announced by IBM on April 7, 1964, and delivered between 1965 and 1978. System/360 was the first family of computers designed to cover both commercial and scientific applicati ...

and

IBM System/370 The IBM System/370 (S/370) is a range of IBM mainframe computers announced as the successors to the IBM System/360, System/360 family on June 30, 1970. The series mostly maintains backward compatibility with the S/360, allowing an easy migrati ...

, reads 400 cards per minute and punches 160 columns per second.

Reader models

The following units were not designed to punch cards: * The 1442 Model 3 attaches to an

IBM 1410 The IBM 1410, a member of the IBM 1400 series, was a decimal computer with a variable word length that was announced by IBM on September 12, 1960 and marketed as a midrange business computer. It was withdrawn on March 30, 1970. Overview The 1 ...

or IBM 7010 computer system. It reads cards at 400 cpm. One stacker is standard on the Model 3. * The 1442 Model 4 attaches to an IBM 1440 computer system. It reads cards at 400 cpm. Two stackers are standard on the Model 4.

Punch only

* The 1442 Model 5 is a punch-only device that attaches to the IBM 2922 Programmable Terminal and to the

IBM System/360 Model 20 The IBM System/360 Model 20 is the smallest member of the IBM System/360 family announced in November 1964. The Model 20 supports only a subset of the System/360 instruction set, with binary numbers limited to 16 bits and no floating point arithm ...

. It has one stacker and can punch at a maximum rate of 160 columns per second, which is 91 to 355 cards per minute. * The 1442 Model N2 is a punch-only device that attaches to the

(except the model 20) and

. It punches at 160 columns per second.

2501/1442 combination

The 1442 has two weaknesses for those wanting more throughput: * Maximum input speed is 400 cards per minute * The 1442 needs attention for every column of data. By combining the higher speed IBM 2501 card reader and a punch-only IBM 1442,1442 ... and/or (emphasis added) IBM 2501 the 1442's limitations are overcome: * faster input * the 2501 is buffered and therefore will not overrun if the channel is too busy with other devices to give it attention whenever a column has been read.

References

External links

* http://ibm1130.org/hw/punchcard
Photo courtesy of Mike Ross of corestore.com

1442 card reader restoration at the Center for Technology & Innovation
{{IBM midrange computers 1442 1442 1442