Note
QST, Feb 1936, p. 112.
QST, Sep 1936, p. 71.
QST, Oct 1940, p. 119.
Lafayette catalog number 87 (New York), p. 59.
Lafayette catalog number 84 (1944, copyright 1943), p. 89.
Concord catalog 4-46 (1946), p. 102.
Gardiner-Levering originally called this device the "Robot Radio Key," but within a few months had changed it to the less imaginative "Automatic Sender," and by mid 1940, to "Type J." The unit had two functions. It could be used to create Morse code messages on punched paper tape, and it could also be used to play back messages from punched tape.
The operation of the playback function is pretty straightforward. Tape is fed through a mechanism on the front of the machine where the holes in the tape are "read" by a contact that closes a circuit. The circuit could be connected to an oscillator, or to a transmitter for actual broadcast. The tape could be an endless loop, or one long piece of any length. The machine can send over a range of 6 to 70 words per minute, though early ads said 2 to 70 WPM.
The operation of the punching mechanism is not clear from advertising copy. There are two keys on the right side of the machine together with and a roll of paper tape which feeds tape into the punching mechanism. It is probable that one key functions as a regular straight key, but the function of the other key is unclear. On his website, W1TP says "...one key moves the tape forward and the other punches the holes."
Within a few months of its release in February 1936, the device had been improved. "New improved perforating device, easier to use; spacing of characters always uniform."
