That's good to know. I've seen people complaining it's impossible to find. I don't actually have any punches or readers myself but I've seen things like printers that use a small loop of mylar tape for programming vertical tabs.
Is it rare enough that I should cache the other two reels ? I've got more clutter than I need if it's not. The shop is in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, UK. On Wed, Jan 14, 2026 at 6:26 PM David Wade via cctalk <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On 14/01/2026 18:17, Adrian Godwin via cctalk wrote: > > I bought a reel of paper tape at an office supply shop today. > > > > It was in their 'bargains' room and is marked > > > > NCR > > SYSTEMEDIA > > 01-6388181 > > Telex 888634 > > > > PTI > > Made in England > > > > It cost me £0.50. I think they had two more reels. it's age is indicated > by > > having a London phone number that was made obsolete 30 years ago. > > > > However, what surprises me is that it's 17.5 mm (0.69", 11/16") wide. > This > > seems too narrow for 7-hole tape and too wide for the tape used for > > telegrams. Is it for 5-hole tape ? > Yes 5-hole tape used for Telex and RTTY. Also the Manchester Mk1 > apparently from equipment Alan Turing "liberated" from Bletchley park. > Later Ferranti computers also used this media... > I have a few reels of both this and 1" tape (non-oiled) should any one > need any... > > Dave > G4UGM >
