'Ye-Olde' COMPTOMETER machines!! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: GlennSprigg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2021, 09:56:06 am
content: Recent Genealogical Research has uncovered that shortly before I was born, my Mother used to be a professionalComptometristin the late 1940's, early 1950's. Such nostalgic machines are hard to come by these days, and quite expensive!! (Downloaded full instructions though!!).BASICALLY, they only did Addition in their simplest use, but via 'smoke & mirrors', (something like a Decimal equiv of "two's-Compliment" and certainother skullduggery, & sleight-of-hand with skilled fingers), then you could performSubtraction,Multiplication&Divisiontoo!!...(Below, is just 1 YouTube example of performing such complicated maths, but there are other printed works for even more complex functions).Interestingly, there are NO '0'-s as such on the main keys! And each vertical column is 10x the same button to it's right, so entering say '500', onlyrequires pressing the '5' 3rd from the right, once. Experts could enter numbers/data quicker than today using a basic calculator too! The reason beingthat entering a number like '2354' etc can be made by pressing all 4 at once!!, instead of 1 at a time. Quite complex mechanics!!

author: GlennSprigg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2021, 12:13:57 pm
content: Just spoke to my brother Interstate, and he tried to tell me that 'Stenographers' (in Court etc), used an '8' button (??) machinewhere 2 buttons/letters had to be pressed at once, to create the ACTUAL desired 'letter', which printed out in some sort of 'binary' code???W.T.F. ?? I thought they were mechanically producing 'Short-Hand', like the funny 'squiggles' when they write that way??

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2021, 11:15:26 pm
content: My wife's late aunt was a comptometer operator for GM before she retired. They were fast disappearing in the 70s, if not earlier.

author: AlbertL
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2021, 02:05:09 am
content: My Dad was a Stenotype ("machine shorthand") reporter for many years. I never learned it myself, but the machine printed regular upper-case characters in 22 columns across the paper strip, with each column dedicated to a specific character (e.g. column 1 was S, column 2 was T) and the reporter pressed multiple keys simultaneously to print multiple characters on a line. His career was entirely with the original machines which printed on paper, now obsolete and replaced by computer-based equipment. At the end of the day, he's give his notes to a "notereader" who typed them up as a plain-text transcript. There were enough variations in shorthand style among reporters that the notereaders worked with the same reporters as much as possible.

author: GlennSprigg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2021, 11:38:20 am
content: Quote from: AlbertL on August 24, 2021, 02:05:09 amThanks for that,Albert!. I know this is not the same, but you reminded me of when I was an Electrician in about 1975/1978 ? for the"Advertiser" Newspaper in Adelaide Australia. All the 'Type-Setting' was done on 'Linotype' machines. It had a Type-Writer style keyboard,and as they typed each column line, it would actuallyMOLD a Leadstackable strip from molten Lead, to drop down into a collection tray!!...In These strips, the writing was back to front, because when the whole 'Page' block was made up, it was pressed with a hundred ton pressinto an 1/8th or 3/16th (?) thick sheet of 'Elephant-Hide'. (Actually a VERY hard type of cardboard like material). Here are some molded lines...The final 'cardboard' page sheet was bent into a half-circle, and placed in another machine that molded another approx 3/8th or 1/2 inch thickmolding, becoming half a cylinder. (Actually from a mix of Lead, Tin & Antimony, for strength and low temperature expansion/shrinkage).Twoof these, were then placed together in the actual printing machine, to makeeach circular drum!!Interestingly... The black ink then was kerosene based, and so NEVER really dries, by the time the paper is on your kitchen table! They sayit is technically as wet then, as it was at the moment of printing!! (So watch out for those 'Fish-n-Chips' and other foods!! )Also interestingly... I remember an old guy there, who started there when he was only 15-yo or something, and actually worked for 50 yearsthere, which is impossible these days. And he NEVER had ONE day off !!! He was a GREASER, and his job was going over the literally thousandsof grease-nipples on the huge line of printing machines that took up space from the basement to the 1st floor for each machine in line!Even after he 'retired', he was back there at 5 or 6 am every day, as he literally had nothing else to do in his life!!We take so much for granted these days, where everything is digital & computerized....

author: AlbertL
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2021, 01:26:58 am
content: This educational film from 1959 shows the steps in the newspaper production process. The organization and teamwork that were developed to accomplish all the tasks needed to get a newspaper out on time, every single day - and without computers - are really impressive.

author: GlennSprigg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2021, 12:57:51 pm
content: Quote from: AlbertL on September 21, 2021, 01:26:58 amthanks for that! It brought back memories!! They missed the "Stop-Press" bit, where a section of the paper was/is left vacant for anylast minute important news!! Then they literally stop the machines, and a small new plate is added... It was VERY dirty to work on/nearthe printing machines! Every elect Conduit/Ducting was FULL of black sticky ink, and made it very hard to wash afterwards!!! Argh!!

author: AlbertL
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2021, 08:56:00 pm
content: Here are a couple of good Linotype films. This one gives a very detailed explanation of the components and their functions:and this one is a documentary showing the last day of hot-type composing at the New York Times (in 1978):