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Does anyone have a paper tape punch?

I remember that the AIM club guys did build a CRT controller but I never had one. Or do you mean you could hang a RS-232 terminal on the serial port? Did you have to modify the monitor firmware?
No, that's the part that's so often not appreciated. Most people just think of them as a rather limited 1 line x 20 character computer, but it has provision for connecting a current-loop TTY or RS-232 terminal and transparently using that as the console (there's a switch to select the AIM keyboard or the remote). So you basically have a computer with BASIC (or whatever) in ROM, 40K RAM max, using a full-screen terminal for I/O just like many other systems of the day (but only 2 cassettes for storage unless you bought or built a disk system or used the RS-232 with the local keyboard).

I'm thinking of putting one on the Internet (for remote access, not sale) the next time I dig them out; I'll let you know if/when.
 
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Tape punch project

Tape punch project

We're trying to perforate a pattern onto Fineline auto masking tape so that we can duplicate the dots that you see on the windows of most cars (it's called a frit). We make boat windshields and some of our customers want the auto "look" on the edges of their paintlines. The tape would permit us to mask out the edges and paint the pattern.
It occurrs to me that an old tape punch printer might do the job very well since we have been unsuccessful with a laser or die cut because the dots don't fall out (the adhesive tape is very thin and is on a carrier).
Looking at a parts manual on a Facit 4070, it seems like it would be fairly easy to move the punchers so that the dots are staggered rather than aligned. It may be more of a problem to obtain three different diameters on the punches, though. We need only three lines of dots that get progressively smaller. Tape width is not a problem. If the puncher can be programmed to run, say 3 feet of tape at a time it may be possible to obviate a computer.
The big snag is the sprocket line and I wonder if any punchers had a capstan system rather than a sprocket.
Anybody up to taking a look at this project?
Much appreciated.
Carlos
www.acrylico.com
 
There's an auction for a punch now on eBay (rather pricey!) but what got me was that it is military surplus, and therefore can't be sold outside the U.S. :) I just have these visions of some North Koreans attempting to destroy our nation with punched paper tape. Paper tape could sure ruin your day, however.
 
ebay

ebay

Yea, I saw that one, hard to see how to hook it up. Is it me or does it appear to have a cooling system? There are also a couple of Facit's - one doesn't power up tho.
 
I was wondering if anyone had the ability to punch new tapes if given a binary file. If so, would you be willing to punch a program to tape for me, and for how much?

I've got an OP-80a paper tape reader and thought it might be neat to have a few tapes to run through it.

I'm not sure how I missed this thread, but I've got a high speed (1200 baud) CNC punch that I use.

Drop me a PM or email and I'm sure we can figure something out.
 
Most paper tape punches need fairly clean tape (some require oiled tape). I wonder if the adhesive in your tape will make a mess of the punches in short order. You could punch plain tape and apply an adhesive after punching, I suppose.

(This is in response to AcrylCo's query, above)
 
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Punch Project

Punch Project

I uploaded the pattern. As you can see it does have it's challenges.
I agree on the adhesive perhaps making a mess of things but it does have a carrier under it so it's not like there is a sticky surface.
Any ideas?
Much appreciated!
 

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One note on the usual paper tape punch--it is expecting the tape to be 2 thousandths of an inch thick. Your tape with adhesive backing and protective strip may be too thick to use here, as it may not fit through the punch head, it may be too thick for the punches to cut through reliably--and if they do punch through they will dull down quite a bit faster than normal due to the dust having the gummy adhesive mixed in. I maintained tape punches for over 20 years. All of them have the feed hole, as it is part of the standard and is critical for timing when the mechanical readers feed the tape over the sensing pins to determine the pattern of marks and spaces.

Your best bet may be to design your own mechanical punch that you hand crank and use a set of cams to control the punch pattern. That way, you can use the three different sizes for your punch pins, eliminate the feed hole (maybe by shifting it to a tear-off area on one side of the tape if it really has to be there for stability). Cam pushes lever horizontally to left, spring pulls it right. Left position places it under punch pin and a bail can be driven upward to force the pins to pierce the paper, with gravity/springs to pull them back down. Mechanically simple and no computer required. Lobes on the cam determine the periodicity of your punch pattern for each pin. Note the feed hole can also be controlled by the same mechanism to keep everything in sync as the tape is pulled forward.
 
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