IBM 024 Punch and IBM 056 Verifier

[NeXT]

Yes, I know I still have the 029 sitting off to the side waiting to get finished but I'm both patiently waiting for a table to graft it into and these both came along at $50 each and they were incredibly local. I got the trailer rented and drove to the coast and back in about 8 hours. Really I would not of minded a 029 and a 059, but ISTR it wasn't long ago I was begging for a card punch at all, so I can't complain.

Somewhat clean. Mostly complete. The verifier had its logbook hidden in the base. The 024 has the keyboard for a 026. Both are missing their rear doors. It came with a bag of cards, the programming drums, some printsets and what I can only call keepsakes. Some flowcharting templates, a selectric ball, pins for AIX and OS/2 warp, some old work order chits and card gauges. It seems the previous owner was alumni with IBM or MAI Systems. If I had clicked in on that I had questions about MAI. Oh well.
They both need to be substantially cleaned. It's not as bad as the 029 but it's the same lack of lubrication and dried out grease. It's also substantially older so there are both wax paper capacitors to replace and both have enormous stacks of selenium rectifiers. I have no idea how to tackle that problem. In the TV restoration crowd the sensible thing is to delete the selenium and replace them with silicon diodes, but modern diodes have no voltage drop comapred to selenium, so you have to fiddle with resistors to dial in the B+.

Put it on the dim bulb with the motor disconnected. Got tubes glowing and the reset bar in the keyboard engaged, but then popped a 2A fuse even though we were running at 80v, so there's a dead short somewhere. Probably those caps.




Jesus almighty christ, when my parents find out I got these they're going to kill me.

 

[falter]

Ahhh. I wondered where those went. I msged the seller to see if I could pick one up but he never responded. Glad they stayed up here though.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Tubes are thyratrons? (e.g. 2050)

 

[acorn_1401]

Love this line

Jesus almighty christ, when my parents find out I got these they're going to kill me.

is that 3 ibm Punch items you have?


Also who in the world is offloading these at $50 each?

 

[acorn_1401]

Also is this after cleaning? they look in great condition.

 

[NeXT]

Ahhh. I wondered where those went. I msged the seller to see if I could pick one up but he never responded. Glad they stayed up here though.

He mentioned a few people were expressing interest but two before me flaked out. I'm assuming you emailed sometime after last thursday afternoon? I paid in advance and showed up a week later. Took about 20 minutes to get them loaded and strapped in. Seemed like a nice old man.
The problem is the verifier on its own is useless. It has no ability to punch even though it looks like a keypunch and even has the hammer solenoid. It merely verifies that data entered on the keyboard is identical to what is on the card, otherwise it notches the column and rejects it. You get them as a lot you quickly realize sure the punch is useful but you will have a hard time finding a home for the verifier.

I really should not of gotten these. I am now at a point where I cannot add any more items to my collection without moving out of my parents basement. I have a plan B available already should these become too out of hand but I gotta call the limit somewhere. Falter can agree that the cost to buy and rent in the PNW has gotten exponentially expensive.

Also who in the world is offloading these at $50 each?

PO as he stated had been storing them for the last 20 years. He was downsizing and was getting ready to stop renting the storage unit and didn't want to just junk them. From what I gathered from the other bits it came with they were either from the previous line of work or systems bodged together from decommissioned units that even at that time would of been incredibly dated. Looking at the card decks it came with they last saw use in 1982. The logbook doesn't list the years, but it has seen its share of maintenance.

Tubes are thyratrons?

I don't entirely believe so. I need to double check the schematics.
Edited: oh, there are no schematics on bitsavers. Looks like I'll have to get my scanner back at some point and get these diagrams digitized.

Also is this after cleaning? they look in great condition.

I received them mostly wrapped in plastic so they were full of greasy chips and dust bunnies but otherwise they were received as seen. Like the 029 the card paths need to be polished and the feed rollers have divots in them.
They look like they just need a cleaning and they'll be good but they will both require an overhaul. At least unlike the 029 I'm hopefully not going to spend years feeding the punch a mix of acetone and ATF in an attempt to free it up.

 

[Chuck(G)]

The tube you have in your hand certainly looks (by what's visible) like a 2050A. They were used in a lot of electromechanical applications.k Love the big selenium rectifier! There's a YT vid of someone testing a 2050 from a Seeburg jukebox.
At least you won't have to worry about the printing mechanism. "Blind typing" is a skill that's probably been lost over the years.

There are charts for the 026 here, which ought to be very close to the 024.

 

[acorn_1401]

The problem is the verifier on its own is useless. It has no ability to punch even though it looks like a keypunch and even has the hammer solenoid. It merely verifies that data entered on the keyboard is identical to what is on the card, otherwise it notches the column and rejects it. You get them as a lot you quickly realize sure the punch is useful but you will have a hard time finding a home for the verifier.

I would say yes, largely useless but lovely as a collection piece. Would be intereted to see if anyone could tell me why IBM made a whole machine that different than to check when they could have just had a "no-punch check" switch and it does the role of the verifier.

I received them mostly wrapped in plastic so they were full of greasy chips and dust bunnies but otherwise they were received as seen. Like the 029 the card paths need to be polished and the feed rollers have divots in them.
They look like they just need a cleaning and they'll be good but they will both require an overhaul. At least unlike the 029 I'm hopefully not going to spend years feeding the punch a mix of acetone and ATF in an attempt to free it up.

This going to be a new video? and if so can you also film a recation video with your parents when you tell them?

 

[powerlot]

It's also substantially older so there are both wax paper capacitors to replace and both have enormous stacks of selenium rectifiers. I have no idea how to tackle that problem. In the TV restoration crowd the sensible thing is to delete the selenium and replace them with silicon diodes, but modern diodes have no voltage drop comapred to selenium, so you have to fiddle with resistors to dial in the B+.

Very cool haul... I could only dream of having such large things to play around.

From my experience with tube equipment, the selenium rectifier should be salvageable if not too far gone. I recommend you deal with the capacitors first and then check the selenium stacks for physical damage (discoloration, bubbles etc.). The most likely cause for them to die (apart from natural degradation) is when they're overloaded due to leaky caps, gassy tubes and other shorts. Especially after they sat around for decades without being used.

If it looks alright fire it up at reduced voltage (+ dim bulb) and check the output voltage and tempearture. If it's within reason leave it on for a while and then go up slowly. If it gets hot the internal resistance might have gone up too much and you'll need to change the offending plates or replace the entire thing. Don't let it escape the magic smoke, it's pretty nasty...

Good luck!

 

[Chuck(G)]

Ah, the odor of dying selenium rectifiers--sort of a cross between rotting garlic and rotten eggs. Unless abused, those are pretty rugged. The large one may be copper-oxide however, given the size.

 

[NeXT]

This going to be a new video? and if so can you also film a reavtion video with your parents when you tell them?

It's already in editing. Unfortunately my larger shared workspace is not heated and as the summer ends it will need to be properly stored for the winter. I was working on the 029 up to the point my hands were freezing while trying to clean all the contacts. Now that the System/32 is back together and ready for IPL it's looking like next spring the space will be clear and ready for me to spend several months getting the punches and verifier finally running.
No my parents do not need to know about this right now. I'm sure you know already what their reaction will be. There's already a pile of items I had to take out of the local makerspace because they are downsizing to a new building. There's phones, pachinko, slots and arcade stuff everywhere and nowhere to put it.

 

[acorn_1401]

Well turn on the System/32 and you have some heating.

if you want to move on the 129 I will take it off your hands for $100 and covered your latest purchase haha.

 

[falter]

He mentioned a few people were expressing interest but two before me flaked out. I'm assuming you emailed sometime after last thursday afternoon? I paid in advance and showed up a week later. Took about 20 minutes to get them loaded and strapped in. Seemed like a nice old man.
The problem is the verifier on its own is useless. It has no ability to punch even though it looks like a keypunch and even has the hammer solenoid. It merely verifies that data entered on the keyboard is identical to what is on the card, otherwise it notches the column and rejects it. You get them as a lot you quickly realize sure the punch is useful but you will have a hard time finding a home for the verifier.

I really should not of gotten these. I am now at a point where I cannot add any more items to my collection without moving out of my parents basement. I have a plan B available already should these become too out of hand but I gotta call the limit somewhere. Falter can agree that the cost to buy and rent in the PNW has gotten exponentially expensive.


PO as he stated had been storing them for the last 20 years. He was downsizing and was getting ready to stop renting the storage unit and didn't want to just junk them. From what I gathered from the other bits it came with they were either from the previous line of work or systems bodged together from decommissioned units that even at that time would of been incredibly dated. Looking at the card decks it came with they last saw use in 1982. The logbook doesn't list the years, but it has seen its share of maintenance.


I don't entirely believe so. I need to double check the schematics.
Edited: oh, there are no schematics on bitsavers. Looks like I'll have to get my scanner back at some point and get these diagrams digitized.


I received them mostly wrapped in plastic so they were full of greasy chips and dust bunnies but otherwise they were received as seen. Like the 029 the card paths need to be polished and the feed rollers have divots in them.
They look like they just need a cleaning and they'll be good but they will both require an overhaul. At least unlike the 029 I'm hopefully not going to spend years feeding the punch a mix of acetone and ATF in an attempt to free it up.

I think it was right after the ad appeared. I watch Facebook Marketplace pretty regularly. I did ask if he was willing to split them up as I simply didn't have room for two, but he didn't answer the msg at all. I didn't see a phone number or anything.. just msged him through FB.

In a way I'm kind of glad it didn't work out as it would have meant clearing space somewhere. I have a rule that nothing vintage is allowed in the main part of the house. I also haven't owned a truck for many years so getting into renting something etc might have been much. I'm sure there are more tucked away somewhere.. hopefully the next time the seller will actually answer his msgs.

Have fun with these! Very cool to look at.