【Fujitsu】 R-202/R-208/R-212 Photoelectric Tape Reader

Before the computer became practical, 6-channel paper tape was used for telegrams, but 60-channel and 72-channel tape readers were developed later by Fuji Tsushinki Manufacturing Corporation (currently Fujitsu) to efficiently read data. However, these devices were mechanical and could not keep up with improvements in computer speed, so new systems were studied. As a result, Fujitsu developed a photoelectric tape reader which greatly improved read speed by using photoelectric tubes and photodiodes in the reading part. The R-202 Photoelectric Tape Reader was completed around 1959 as the first model of this type. An improved model, the R-208, and a faster version of the R-208 called the R-212 were developed later.

These models had the following features:
(1) They could read all colors of tape without adjustment (R-208, R-212).
(2) They enabled read checking by reading twice using two read heads aligned in parallel with a 1-pitch gap (R-208, R-212).
(3) Read speed could be selected between two levels.
(4) Reading could be done 1 digit at a time (FACOM 231/230-30).
(5) Installation conditions were greatly relaxed (i.e. the unit could be connected directly to commercial power, and required no special air-conditioning) (R-212).

The interface for connecting between these tape readers and the computer main unit varied depending on the computer model, so special-purpose tape readers were developed for the FACOM 222/241 and FACOM 231. However, with the FACOM 230-30 (announced in April 1964) and subsequent models, the interface was standardized, and the FACOM 749A and FACOM 749B/749E (employing that standard interface) were used with many computers.

For reasons of cost and convenience, 8-channel paper tape was used for a long time for minicomputers and other small-scale systems.