1964 IBM 029 Keypunch Card Punching Demonstration

I keypunched in my first job back in the early 80’s. Large mainframe computers used this as data or input to other programs.

Kudos

I remember learning this in high school. Never used it in the real world...😄😄

OK, maybe I've just gone down a rabbit hole but does this sound crazy - I'm currently working on a Uni assignment and part of it is the short story I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. Im trying to work out and give meaning to the name Nimdok (a character in the story for those who haven't read it). I am really starting to believe the name was chosen because it is a onomatopoeia for card punch computers operating. The tapping of the key which, admittedly is difficult to hear in this video but is clear in others, sounds like a 'nim' sound. Then you have the 'dok' sound of the card punch paper being punch/fed along. Given that in the story the antagonist is a super computer and it chose the name Nimdok because of how it sounded - and that in the original versions on the story there are punch card patterns on the page. I'm starting to think I might be into something. Ooooor am I just going a bit doolally?

I've got an 029, 129, and a Sperry keypunch. Cool to see them in actionhere.

Yay! I remember writing my first FORTRAN IV code on one, in the 1970s. :) Beautiful!
Try to get hold of (and space for) the insane IBM 082 card sorter! :)

Remember buying this. I decided to crack my old one to play games.

We transitioned from card punches, to a punch to magnetic tape system, and finally PC software that created card images to diskette. Diskette card images later surrounded with JCL to RJE to a remote mainframe creating a tape for program input. This ended by 2000.

Had them in college back in 1978 but they were replaced a few years later. Fun times. Glad we can use backspace today.

sa turk warmi

This was linked at the end of the 029 repair video, spoils the mystery of the unmarked card at the end somewhat! Impressive to see it in action but maybe keep errant fingers away now.

I use those punch cards machines on a IBM Sigma Six. The system was set in Woburn Mass doing account and payroll . Great machines!! This was in 1977 - 1979.

I learned IBM unit record machines in my senior year of high school (1968). It helped me get a college coop job at Eaton Corporation. They had mainframe computers but still needed an "offline operator" to work with the punched cards. I had forgotten about those program drum cards. That keypunch was better at "interpreting" (printing the characters above the punched columns) than the old interpreter machine.

i totally remember want ads changing from "key punch operators" to "key-disk operators". working on key-disk systems definitely felt futuristic. quieter too but the work was basically the same.

OMG I was trained on an older model punchcard machine back in 1975 high school. What memories!

But what did people used to do with these puched cards with data? Like what output devices were present at that time? Printers? What other tasks were done with these punched cards?

Today i am retiring from IT as we called it. I wrote production code one one of those. I still am in awe of the rate of change, even tho i lived it. It was simply impossible to be bored.

Thanks for bringing back memories. I miss the computers of that era! It was a lot of fun to play operator. (Too much fun to call it work)

My Mother used to work at a place called Lebus Data Center when I was a kid! I vividly remember going to work with her and watching her work and hearing this machine!!! Memories

Ah, yes. Spent many hours pounding away at one of these beasts. And carrying around decks of punch cards to get fed into the card reader to load a program.

"You can do the hole test" - that's what was said, not "whole test", which would be more common today.

Make it print hello world, is that possible Lo)

I was a keypunch operator back in the 60's. I did it for 7 years.

I joined IBM in 1978, and the 029 and 059 were the first machines I trained on at the IBM UK training facility in Olympia way Wembley. Closely followed by Sys 32 then sys34, then sys38 at same facility. Great times👍

In 1972, while at my first job, I learned keypunch or card punch there, and it seemed like a big deal when it was my typewriting skill that made learning keypunch easily. The reason is that the card punch machine was related to data processing, the data of the punched Hollerith square holes were punched and read by the card reader connected to the system computer. I worked on the IBM 026 card punch. Then I went on a second job in 1973 where I was exposed to the IBM 029. Then I worked on the Entrex Data Scope that was a key-to-disk terminal. Eventually, it replaced the punch card. Finally, when the microcomputer had 104 keys on its keyboard which I like to call the "console," keypunch keyboarding was replaced. "I'll never go back to Georgia!" I am satisfied to use the microcomputer (PC) today, and it works well for me. Thank you for your demonstration and show, CuriousMarc. 🙂

I went to keypunch school in 1972 and learned on the 029.

i am a retired IBM CE and got trained on the 029 in Basic School in 1977. Amazed as to how many were still in use even through the 1980's. What is a real hoot is that the IR packet is still with the machine. That is the small blue folder on top of the blue binder.

I wrote tons of FORTRAN code using these machines as an engineering student in the late 1960s. At first, we had to take the deck to the processing center, and they would execute the run and return the printout. We had to wait a couple of hours sometimes. Then after a year or so, there were remote terminals around campus and we could punch and run the programs there. I got amazingly good as I went along. I could keypunch the cards without a mistake and then my program would run the first time. That was pretty cool. Most of my programs were concerned with lab data and engineering calculations which were hellishly complex with even a calculator, which were scarce. The IBM mainframe was the way to go, and it was tons more fun.

The year - 1984, the place - Air Force. The following year replaced by first desktop computer w/o windows.

That amazing when I’m seeing this,
It looks like sci-fi in lap,
-cycoly

My Mom worked nights at First National City Bank's back office in 1966-67. She operated a key punch machine. Checks came into the back office for processing. The key punch operators fed that info to the machines that produced the punch cards.

That looks fun to use. Like a giant typewriter. 😃

I started using IBM 026 / IBM 029 in 1962. This video brings back many memories. One is one job required me to read the cards by sight. Probably the reason I needed eye glasses by the time I turned 22. Didn't realize how nosy the machine was.

Computers these days burn our eyes. Computers back in the day broke our ears.

I used to work on the 026 and the 029 readers with IBM in the 70's. Went to work with them in 73'

Great. I heard about this when I was in first year of college in 1993 where I was studying basic concept of PC! Thanks for sharing. I revisit the same subject now to understand how computer works.

If I remember the IBM 129 was next which had an 80 byte memory and you could actually backspace and correct mistakes. Then when you were ready you hit Release and it punched out the chads. Circa 1976.

Amazing, I never saw one working.

Beautiful machine! It purs like a cat! Beautiful sound too! Like a petroleum engine. I much like this video.
Let me ask you a question: my teacher at school asked me to use a drill and in the base of a deck of cards make 5 holes.
And using a code to cut the holes till reaching the border of each card using a criteria which I can't remember.
Using 5 pins and chosing one hole according to some matrix you would extract the specific card that you wish.
I plan to ride the exercise again, but this time I will link it to a computer operation.
Can you post a video?
It is an extraordinarily didactical exercise to learn young people learn basic computer.
Thanks so much!
You've got my like!

Planning a trip in time! The big trouble is that communications are delayed.

Fun fact: auto-dup was only used for unit record equipment. With the advent of the 1401 & 360. Auto-dup was a waste of valuable space on the card

I remember this from college they said it was still in use in the 90's 🤣

I was born in the 70s so never really got to use one of these. They are fascinating machines. Thanks for sharing.

Is this machine still being used in production? lol

Punch them cards

//JOB
//FOR
LIST SOURCE CODE
...
😁

I want to make my computer make this noise how do I do that

🤗

o my god! howdid you got this machine?

watching in 2024 .