Hello all (posted separately to uk.d-i-y and to alt.folklore.computers).

Back in September I asked in these two groups if anyone could enlighten me as to the identity and the purpose of a ?mystery object?. It is part of our Newcastle University Historical Computing Collection (https://nuhc.ncl.ac.uk/NEWUC:2025.0002). I said (on 29 Sept.! - sorry) I?d come back with the conclusions.

To remind you, this is the object:

https://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/File:Mystery_Object_0.jpg https://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/File:Mystery_Object_2.jpg https://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/File:Mystery_Object_3.jpg https://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/File:Mystery_Object_4.jpg

The long and short of it is that it is a ?patchboard?, probably from the 60s, or earlier. (This fact alone was a valuable revelation to our present committee!)

A decisive extract from the early discussion was this (from IndyJessJohn in DIY):

The first computer room I worked in had ancillary equipment for dealing with punched cards [including] an IBM Collator. ? The whole thing was controlled by patch boards. By connecting one hole to another by a jump lead and using a collections of such connections it was possible to programme the machine to subdivide and/or merge depending on the outcome to be achieved.
The key similarity was that the control boards had a handle like the one in
the picture and that allowed the control board to be lowered into a slot;
then a lever moved the slot and board into contact with fixed connectors in
the machine.
[?]
The unit pictured is a lot smaller than the ones I wired up ?.

Further advice from the DIY group led me to alt.folklore.computing, where more discussion took place, Scott Lurndal's response neatly summarised 2 or 3 of
the suggestions made in the group:

This appears to be a pre-programmed plug that plugs into a matching plug-board (rather than wiring with individual jumper wires; the user could simply plug
in this entire board). Perhaps a crypto-key, but also could be a sort
pattern for a card sorter.

which in turn led me to Glenn Henry?s Collection of patch boards and the
like: https://www.glennsmuseum.com/items/ibm_card/

I emailed Glenn, and he replied (these days it?s always a pleasant surprise to get a reply from a ?mature? website!). Basically, he said that although he has very many patchboards, he?s never seen one like this, and his examples are all much bigger..

CONCLUSION: We would have liked to identify more closely the machine with
which the patchboard might have been used, but discussions dried up, and so
...

(1) This patchboard obviously didn?t use jumpleads: it has been soldered.

(2) Therefore it was made in-house for a fixed purpose, which probably would never change (see above).

(3) It may possibly have been made for use with [a peripheral for] our first computer - a Ferranti Pegasus (1957-1963), or its successor an EE KDF9 (1963-1974). (Our subsequent mainframes were IBM S/360-67, IBM S/370-168 and
an Amdahl 5860 - none likely to have used this object.)

(4) Or it may have nothing to do with anything in the University?s Computing Laboratory, and was simply given to our "founding father? as something for his collection: we will never know, because time has marched on, and there is no-one now alive who will have known this object ?in person?.

Thanks all, and best wishes!
Another John

--- PyGate Linux v1.5
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Another John <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote in news:AA6QQ.96188$kzA2.46038@usenetxs.com:

Hello all (posted separately to uk.d-i-y and to
alt.folklore.computers).

Back in September I asked in these two groups if anyone could enlighten
me as to the identity and the purpose of a ?mystery object?. It is
part of our Newcastle University Historical Computing Collection (https://nuhc.ncl.ac.uk/NEWUC:2025.0002). I said (on 29 Sept.! -
sorry) I?d come back with the conclusions.

To remind you, this is the object:

https://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/File:Mystery_Object_0.jpg https://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/File:Mystery_Object_2.jpg https://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/File:Mystery_Object_3.jpg https://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/File:Mystery_Object_4.jpg

The long and short of it is that it is a ?patchboard?, probably
from the 60s, or earlier. (This fact alone was a valuable revelation
to our present committee!)

A decisive extract from the early discussion was this (from
IndyJessJohn in DIY):

The first computer room I worked in had ancillary equipment for dealing
with punched cards [including] an IBM Collator. ? The whole thing was controlled by patch boards. By connecting one hole to another by a jump
lead and using a collections of such connections it was possible to
programme the machine to subdivide and/or merge depending on the
outcome to be achieved. The key similarity was that the control boards
had a handle like the one in the picture and that allowed the control
board to be lowered into a slot; then a lever moved the slot and board
into contact with fixed connectors in the machine.
[?]
The unit pictured is a lot smaller than the ones I wired up ?.

Further advice from the DIY group led me to alt.folklore.computing,
where more discussion took place, Scott Lurndal's response neatly
summarised 2 or 3 of the suggestions made in the group:

This appears to be a pre-programmed plug that plugs into a matching plug-board (rather than wiring with individual jumper wires; the user
could simply plug in this entire board). Perhaps a crypto-key, but
also could be a sort pattern for a card sorter.

which in turn led me to Glenn Henry?s Collection of patch boards and
the
like: https://www.glennsmuseum.com/items/ibm_card/

I emailed Glenn, and he replied (these days it?s always a pleasant
surprise to get a reply from a ?mature? website!). Basically, he
said that although he has very many patchboards, he?s never seen one
like this, and his examples are all much bigger..

CONCLUSION: We would have liked to identify more closely the machine
with which the patchboard might have been used, but discussions dried
up, and so ...

(1) This patchboard obviously didn?t use jumpleads: it has been
soldered.

(2) Therefore it was made in-house for a fixed purpose, which probably
would never change (see above).

(3) It may possibly have been made for use with [a peripheral for] our
first computer - a Ferranti Pegasus (1957-1963), or its successor an EE
KDF9 (1963-1974). (Our subsequent mainframes were IBM S/360-67, IBM
S/370-168 and an Amdahl 5860 - none likely to have used this object.)

(4) Or it may have nothing to do with anything in the University?s
Computing Laboratory, and was simply given to our "founding father?
as something for his collection: we will never know, because time has
marched on, and there is no-one now alive who will have known this
object ?in person?.

Thanks all, and best wishes!
Another John

It may not have been used in any kind of computer. Long ago (ca. 1982) I encountered a patchboard used for controlling aerial survey related
equipment. I can't remember any more than that. There were digital
computers involved, but the board was not part of them. I mention this as an example. I think patchboards were involved in more than just computing devices.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:06:40 -0000 (UTC), Alfred Falk wrote:

I think patchboards were involved in more than just computing devices.

Analog synths ...

Also I think telephone lines within a building all came to a patchboard somewhere. And this idea was carried over to network wiring.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 11/9/25 4:26 PM, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:

Also I think telephone lines within a building all came to a patchboard somewhere.

Switchboards, with operators.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Sun, 9 Nov 2025 17:00:48 -0800, Al Kossow wrote:

On 11/9/25 4:26 PM, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:

Also I think telephone lines within a building all came to a
patchboard somewhere.

Switchboards, with operators.

I was thinking more of a closet somewhere, where connections would be
updated when people moved offices or renovations were done etc.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 2025-11-10, Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

On Sun, 9 Nov 2025 17:00:48 -0800, Al Kossow wrote:

On 11/9/25 4:26 PM, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:

Also I think telephone lines within a building all came to a
patchboard somewhere.

Switchboards, with operators.

I was thinking more of a closet somewhere, where connections would be updated when people moved offices or renovations were done etc.

It was common for incoming telephone lines to a business to be terminated
in a "wiring closet", featuring a plywood board, onto which was screwed
two (or more) "punchdown blocks", originally "Type 66", later supplanted
by "Type 110". (English-language) WikiPedia has an article titled "66
block" describing them.

The incoming lines from the telephone company would be delivered on
one clock, while the wires from all the telephone jacks (and later
the ethernet jacks) in the office would be connected to the other(s).
The ports on a PBX would be connected to a third. Often the PBX box
would be mounted on the same plywood panel. Connections between these
elements could then be made by punching down a short (generally 10-18
inches) length of a 22 AWG pair of wires from the CO line to the PBX's
"Trunk" side, and from the office jack block to the PBX's "Station"
side. These wire pairs would be blue/blue-white or orange/orange-white.

When the system was reconfigured or if a person moved offices, this
would be reflected in moving the relevant patch wires between the blocks.

As the IT person in my small business, I have fond memories of setting
this up, when our 3-person company moved into our offices in 2003,
and then maintaining it (until the telephone side of it fell by the
wayside after we switched to VoIP). We still use the network wiring part
of it.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Lars Poulsen <lars@cleo.beagle-ears.com> writes:

On 2025-11-10, Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

On Sun, 9 Nov 2025 17:00:48 -0800, Al Kossow wrote:

On 11/9/25 4:26 PM, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:

Also I think telephone lines within a building all came to a
patchboard somewhere.

Switchboards, with operators.

I was thinking more of a closet somewhere, where connections would be
updated when people moved offices or renovations were done etc.

It was common for incoming telephone lines to a business to be terminated
in a "wiring closet", featuring a plywood board, onto which was screwed
two (or more) "punchdown blocks", originally "Type 66", later supplanted
by "Type 110". (English-language) WikiPedia has an article titled "66
block" describing them.

The incoming lines from the telephone company would be delivered on
one clock, while the wires from all the telephone jacks (and later
the ethernet jacks) in the office would be connected to the other(s).
The ports on a PBX would be connected to a third. Often the PBX box
would be mounted on the same plywood panel. Connections between these >elements could then be made by punching down a short (generally 10-18
inches) length of a 22 AWG pair of wires from the CO line to the PBX's >"Trunk" side, and from the office jack block to the PBX's "Station"
side. These wire pairs would be blue/blue-white or orange/orange-white.

Originally, they were red and green for the primary line
and yellow and black for the secondary line (or for illuminated
dial voltage via a small transformer).


--- PyGate Linux v1.5
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 10 Nov 2025 at 02:45:18 GMT, "Lawrence D?Oliveiro" <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

On Sun, 9 Nov 2025 17:00:48 -0800, Al Kossow wrote:

On 11/9/25 4:26 PM, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:

Also I think telephone lines within a building all came to a
patchboard somewhere.

Switchboards, with operators.

I was thinking more of a closet somewhere, where connections would be
updated when people moved offices or renovations were done etc.

OP here:
All this talk of telephones made me think of our oldest (and well beloved) technician at the Computing Laboratory: he started as the in-house Engineer
for the Ferranti Pegasus [and all peripherals of course], around 1957 and retired in the 1980s.

The thing is: he created quite few in-house peripherals himself; and at his home (he lived alone) he had no end of interesting gizmos and contraptions (_and_ he was a radio ham, _and_ he played the organ, etc etc.). But he also made his own "phone exchange" to connect up phones all through his house. (All of this is hearsay - I never visited him at home)

This patchboard bears his hallmarks, now I come to think of it, but I don't think there's anyone left alive who would know if it is indeed "one of Rod's creations".

That's my last 2p (as we say here in the UK). Again - thanks a lot folks,

John

--- PyGate Linux v1.5
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)