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ct92404 · 14th Sep 2018, 5:17 am

Hi all,

I hope I'm posting this in the right category. I just bought a telegraph tape puncher or "perforator" and I thought maybe someone here could help me find out a little more about it. I love antique machines, and I was actually looking for a teletype to play around with, but I found this online and it caught my attention.

So far from what little I have been able to find out, it was made by the Morkrum-Kleinschmidt Company, probably from about 1925-1929. As I understand it, you would type on the keyboard and it would turn each character into a 5-digit code that it punches onto tape. You could then feed the tape into a transmitter that would send the message over telegraph lines. So I guess it was an early form of a Teletype. I'm new to all this and I'm still figuring it out.

The machine is in really rough condition and I'm in the process of cleaning it. But it does seem to work. When I press the keys, the coils energize and it punches hole patterns in the tape. But someone messed with it at some point before. They made a new power supply and re-wired it. There is an extra set of contacts that aren't connected to anything and I'm just curious what they were supposed to do.

Does anyone know anything about this machine? I'm attaching a picture of it. I found a little bit of information on this website:

http://www.baudot.net/teletype.htm

And I see a machine that looks very similar to mine on this page (although I think mine might be a little earlier):

http://www.baudot.net/teletype/GPE.htm

I really wish I could find a schematic, but I haven't had any luck at all with that.

Thanks for any help!

- Chris

14th Sep 2018, 5:17 am	#1
ct92404 Pentode Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: San Bernardino, California, USA. Posts: 101	Telegraph tape puncher Hi all, I hope I'm posting this in the right category. I just bought a telegraph tape puncher or "perforator" and I thought maybe someone here could help me find out a little more about it. I love antique machines, and I was actually looking for a teletype to play around with, but I found this online and it caught my attention. So far from what little I have been able to find out, it was made by the Morkrum-Kleinschmidt Company, probably from about 1925-1929. As I understand it, you would type on the keyboard and it would turn each character into a 5-digit code that it punches onto tape. You could then feed the tape into a transmitter that would send the message over telegraph lines. So I guess it was an early form of a Teletype. I'm new to all this and I'm still figuring it out. The machine is in really rough condition and I'm in the process of cleaning it. But it does seem to work. When I press the keys, the coils energize and it punches hole patterns in the tape. But someone messed with it at some point before. They made a new power supply and re-wired it. There is an extra set of contacts that aren't connected to anything and I'm just curious what they were supposed to do. Does anyone know anything about this machine? I'm attaching a picture of it. I found a little bit of information on this website: http://www.baudot.net/teletype.htm And I see a machine that looks very similar to mine on this page (although I think mine might be a little earlier): http://www.baudot.net/teletype/GPE.htm I really wish I could find a schematic, but I haven't had any luck at all with that. Thanks for any help! - Chris Attached Thumbnails