This lot included:

• Vintage mainframe computer punch cards (IBM 80-column card format) - 10pcs
• Vintage computer punched paper tape with old program code - 30.48cm / 14 inches / 1 feet
• Vintage magnetic tape (IBM 9 track format) - 3.96 meters / 156 inches / 13 feet

Many years ago these punch cards, paper tape and magnetic tape were used how information carriers instead of diskette, CD/DVD and Flash drives in Soviet mainframes (series: BESM, MIR, Ural, Kiev, Dnieper, Minsk-32, ES-1030/1035/1040/1050/1036/1045/1046/1055/1060/1061/1065/1068/… and others series ES-10XX). These punch cards, paper tape and magnetic tape were created in period 1970's-1980's in USSR.

Punch cards

Speed of the Soviet punch cards reading depended on the specific implementation of the reader and ranged from 20-50 punch cards/min in the first computers and up to 2000 in newer machines such as the ES-series computers (late 70s). This performance was achieved by using several readers (readers) punch cards in parallel. Information recording ("hole punching") was performed at the rate of 10-250 punch cards per minute. Soviet punch cards made similar as IBM format and have 80 characters as standard. According to the IBM standard, each card must have size 7⅜ × 3¾ inches (187.325 × 82.55 mm), card thickness 0.007 inches (0.178 mm). Total one punch card can save only 24 machine word. One machine word had a size of 36 bits (in period time when were used the punch cards). Similar punch cards were used for first mainframes in USA (IBM series: 704/709/711/709/7094, American machines UNIVAC) and also for others computing systems. With help these punch cards first programmers wrote first programs using programming languages: Cobol, Algol, Fortran, Assembler and others.

Paper tape

A punched tape is a medium of information made of paper. Information on punched tape was recorded by punching holes (perforations). Several holes across the tape formed lines where was written the code of one character. Each horizontal row of holes on the punched tape corresponds to one letter, sign or space between them. In the middle of the tape can see "transport track" with small holes. They is used to move the tape using a gear wheel. Due to the simplicity of input/output devices, punched tape is widespread in computer technology. Later computer punched tapes were 7 or 8 rows wide and used ASCII encoding for recording. They were used in minicomputers for input / output of information and for control of CNC machines until the mid-1980s and after were displaced by magnetic media. The main advantage-punched tape was a cheap media. Relatively simple and cheap was the equipment with which it recorded and read information.

Magnetic tape

Vintage magnetic tape reel 9-track (IBM 9 track format) ORWO GDR, width ½ inch has 9 tracks and allowe to write exactly one byte in each position of the tape (8 information bits plus 1 control), and the 9-track tape was invented and started its work together with IBM System/360. In the USSR, magnetic tapes were used with recording densities of 32, 63, and 243 bits/mm (800, 1600, and 6250 bits/inch). The tape was wound on a plastic spool (bobbin). Bobbins were made in two formats: standard coils with a diameter of 267 mm (10.5 inches) containing 730 meters of tape, reduced coils with a diameter of 178 mm (7 inches) containing 183 meters of tape.

Similar goods for purchase

• You can purchase punch cards separately, please click buy punch cards
• You can purchase punched paper tape separately, please click buy punched paper tape
• You can purchase magnetic tape reel, please click buy magnetic tape