Note
QST, Mar 1940, p.106.
QST, Oct 1940, p. 119.
QST, Oct 1946, p. 104.
QST, Dec 1946, p. 152. (also available in a deluxe walnut cabinet)
QST, Dec 1963, p. 162.
QST, Oct 1965, p. 160.
Initially made by Gardiner-Levering, after 1944 known as Gardiner and Company.
The Gardiner Type S was a significant piece of equipment from the 1940s, a machine designed to automatically send Morse code. The Type S allowed for the transmission of pre-perforated messages on paper tape. This made it an invaluable tool for applications where high-speed, accurate, and consistent code was essential, such as in military and commercial telegraphy. Note that the tape appears to be very similar, if not identical to, the Instructograph.
The machine worked by using a series of rotating wheels and contacts that "read" the perforations in the paper tape. As the tape moved through the machine, the holes would close an electrical circuit, generating the appropriate dots and dashes to be sent. It could be used with an oscillator for practice, or connected directly to a transmitter. This system not only sped up message transmission but also eliminated the potential for human error.
While often associated with training purposes, the Gardiner Type S was also a workhorse in communications centers where a high volume of traffic needed to be processed efficiently. Its role in the 1940s highlights a key period in the evolution of telecommunications, where automation began to supplement manual skill, paving the way for more modern methods of data transmission.
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The key advantage of these machines was not just speed, but also consistency and accuracy. They could maintain a perfectly even tempo at a high rate for long periods without the fatigue or potential for error that a human operator would experience. The machine could operate from 4 to 60 words per minute.
That the Type S was sold for 25 years speaks volumes about its quality, reliability, and usefulness.
The Deluxe model is not well described but appears to be an ungraded version of the Model S. The ad reads "The speed control is positive, will mainmast constant speed at operator's setting. A new and completely sealed retracting brush contact that is automatically protected accidental damage."
Deluxe size: 6" x 6 1/2" x 6 1/2"
Cost: $30.00
