IBM 1442

IBM 1442

IBM 1442 was a combination IBM card reader and card punch. It read and punched 80-column IBM-format punched cards and was used on the IBM 1440, the IBM 1130, the IBM 1800 and System/360 and was an option on the IBM System/3. The 1442 could read up to 400 cards per minute. Cards were read and punched one column at a time and binary cards were permitted. Cards were read using photocells, illuminated by fiber optics, unlike the IBM 1402, which still used wire brushes to read cards. It was even possible to create (but not read) "IBM Doilies," cards with every possible hole punched. Few other pieces of IBM equipment could do this without sustaining damage.

There were two output hoppers, or stackers, located in the photo on the left lower side. One could program to select the output hopper for each card read, so it was possible to read cards and separate them into two groups. Cards were placed in the top hopper ("face down, nine-edge leading") and a plate was added on the top of the cards. They were read thru and came out to one of the left lower hoppers.

The 1442 did not print on the top of the cards; it just punched what characters the columns contained. An older unit record machine, the IBM 557 interpreter, could be used off-line for this function.

Models

• The 1442 Model 1 read cards at 80 cards per minute (cpm) and punched at 50 to 270 cpm, depending on the number of columns punched. One stacker was standard and a second was optional.
• The 1442 Model 2 read cards at 400 cpm and punched from 91 to 360 cpm. Two stackers were standard.
• The 1442 Model 3 attached to an IBM 1440 or IBM 7010 computer system. It read cards at 400 cpm. The punch speed was not specified. One stacker was standard on the Model 3.
• The 1442 Model 4 read cards at 400 cpm, but had no punch feature.
• The 1442 Model 5 was a punch-only device that attached to an IBM 2922 Programmable Terminal. It had one stacker and could punch at a maximum rate of 91 cpm.^[1]
• The 1442 Model 6 attached to an IBM System/3 or IBM 1130, read 300 cpm and punched 80 columns per second.^[2]
• The 1442 Model 7 attached to an IBM System/3 or IBM 1130, read 400 cpm and punched 180 columns per second.

External links

• http://ibm1130.org/hw/punchcard
• Photo courtesy of Mike Ross of corestore.com
• IBM 1442 Card Read-Punch Models 1 and 2 IBM 1442 Card Reader Models 3 and 4
• 1442 card reader restoration at the Center for Technology & Innovation

References