Hi Team,

First time contributor, long time reader.

I am a different Serge to the one in this thread.

Been active in computing in AUS  since the early 70s. Used Teletype KSR/ASR 33 from about 1973 to 1981. Many other CRTS, terminals as well.

These are my recollections. They may be flawed.

KSR 33 did NOT have a paper tape reader/punch. The Paper Tape punch and reader were on the ASR33 model exclusively. These devices were mechanical, ran at 110 Baud serial, typically in a 20 ma current loop for signalling. Used ASCII. I do not know of any way to change the interface speed, only ever saw 110. I have seen in magazines of the time, built in modems, but none seem to have made it to Australia. The paper was typically a friction fed via a platen. The interlock to stop multiple keys was done mechanically. Fairly noisy. Wiki is not bad, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletype_Model_33 

ASR/KSR 33 was a standard for all terminals in that era that used serial ASCII.

The paper tape reader was used to bootstrap the OS to most minicomputers of the era. There was a limit as to how much paper tape could be fed by the internal feed mechanism and would often fail with a CRC check for larger punched tape rolls. The reader and punch could be controlled by a key sequence sent from the computer. Tape also ran at 110 Baud.

Used a cross section of mini computers, most DEC devices, right through to PDP10 timesharing. DECWriters were very versatile and reliable across a broad range of devices, more CRTS, and computers than I can remember.

Not sure if it helps.

On Wed, 30 Jul 2025 at 13:29, Jonathan Gray <jsg@jsg.id.au> wrote:
On Wed, Jul 30, 2025 at 02:16:13AM +1000, sjenkin@canb.auug.org.au wrote:
> Explaining John’s comment.
>
> I requested some reports from UNSW Archives in 2021.
> This one, by Keith Titmus in 2000, was a short history of Prof Murray Allen,
> who'd hired John Lions and Ken Robinson in 1972.
>
>       08_224_01 MW Allen_Keith-Titmus_2000
>
> There were some Decwriters at UNSW, but mainly ’Serge’ Terminals in 1978.
> Designed and built by the local staff (Serge P).

Before that, there was the INTERGRAPHIC, used with an IBM 360/50.
Malcolm Macaulay
A low cost computer graphic terminal
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1476589.1476688

"INTERGRAPHIC system built at the UNSW between 1964 and 1966 by
G. A. Rose under M. W. Allen. The design team included P. D. Jones,
T. Pearcey, R. B. Stanton and M. Macaulay"
https://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/595.html

Pearcey of CSIR Mk1/CSIRAC fame.

An oral history of Murray Allen goes into Unix and Intergraphic.

Murray Allen interviewed by David Demant in the History of ICT in
Australia oral history project
https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/178430368