Plus, we used paper tape with holes punched in it to run through readers. Sometimes, we used a little hand tool to punch holes manually. The tool was called a ‘chicken plucker.’
They were called transmitter distributors, formally. The holes were round, the paper tapes durable enough to reuse, and the holes numbered 5. 2^5 power equals 32 separate codes. Enough for the alphabet and shift uppercase to catch numbers, etc.
:: The tool was called a ‘chicken plucker ::
Dude...that’s nasty!!