IBM System/3 turns 40 !

[Chuck Guzis]

On 30 Jul 2009 at 18:56, Brent Hilpert wrote:

> Chuck Guzis wrote:
> > 
> > On 31 Jul 2009 at 0:47, Philip Leonard WVØT wrote:
> > 
> > > It was BCD, sort of.  The six "rows" were labeled "B", "A", "8",
> > > "4", "2", "1".
> > 
> > Bob Bradlee indicates that there were two "hidden" rows of bits. 
> > But yeah, BA8421 is what I remember.  Kind of like the bit naming on
> > 7 track tape or a 1401.
> 
> This page has a description and a card image:
> 
>   http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/cards/history.html
> 
> ..rather tortured layout for 8 bit bytes.

Ah, I understand now.  128 colum cards, of which only 96 were used 
until the demand for 8 bit codes was needed.  It might be interesting 
to see a lace card in small format.

ISTR that there were conversion kits for standard-sized card file 
furniture so that two rows of the mini cards could be held in a 
drawer.

--Chuck
 

--Chuck