IBM 370
Encyclopedia
The IBM 370 printer was used on the IBM 305
RAMAC computer system, introduced by IBM
on September 14, 1956. The 370 was connected to the 305 by a serial data line from the S track of the computer's drum memory
and printed 80-columns with a punched tape controlled carriage
. Line formatting was programmed by inserting wire jumpers into a plugboard
control panel.
The printer mechanism used an eight sided, seven position (56 character) print slug in a horizontal orientation. The X, O, and 2 bits of the character code rotate the slug and the 1, 4, and 8 bits selected the position. The platen hammer then struck the paper from behind, causing the selected character to print. Of the 56 characters on the print slug, only 48 were printable with the standard valid character set of the IBM 305 computer.
IBM 305
The IBM 305 RAMAC, publicly announced on September 13, 1956, was the first commercial computer that used a moving head hard disk drive for secondary storage. RAMAC stood for "Random Access Method of Accounting and Control". Its design was motivated by the need for real-time accounting in business...
RAMAC computer system, introduced by IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
on September 14, 1956. The 370 was connected to the 305 by a serial data line from the S track of the computer's drum memory
Drum memory
Drum memory is a magnetic data storage device and was an early form of computer memory widely used in the 1950s and into the 1960s, invented by Gustav Tauschek in 1932 in Austria....
and printed 80-columns with a punched tape controlled carriage
Carriage control tape
A carriage control tape was a loop of punched tape that was used to synchronize rapid vertical page movement in most IBM line printers from unit record days through the 1970s. The tape loop was as long as the length of a single page. A pin wheel moved the tape accurately using holes in the center...
. Line formatting was programmed by inserting wire jumpers into a plugboard
Plugboard
A plugboard, or control panel , is an array of jacks, or hubs, into which patch cords can be inserted to complete an electrical circuit. Control panels were used to direct the operation of some unit record equipment...
control panel.
The printer mechanism used an eight sided, seven position (56 character) print slug in a horizontal orientation. The X, O, and 2 bits of the character code rotate the slug and the 1, 4, and 8 bits selected the position. The platen hammer then struck the paper from behind, causing the selected character to print. Of the 56 characters on the print slug, only 48 were printable with the standard valid character set of the IBM 305 computer.