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Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2009Tape-machine
Hello: "Tape-machine," is this a telegraph used in horse racing? ---- [In a public school in the UK, in the twenties] Two or three boys were as usual standing in front of the noticeboard on the first floor, their eyes fixed on the half-sheets of paper attached by drawing-pings to the green baize, gazing at the scrawled lists and regulations as if intent on a tape-machine liable at any moment to announce the winner. Anthony Powell, A Dance to the Music of Time, p. 9 ---- -- Thanks. Marius Hancu >Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > >Anthony Powell, A Dance to the Music of Time, p. 9 I would think it refers what would be seen in a betting shop. The "as if" indicates that what they are doing is *similar* to what would be seen somewhere else.  SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida > >"Tape-machine," is this a telegraph used in horse racing? > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > I would think it refers what would be seen in a betting shop. That was my thinking too. However, is that a telegraph? -- Thanks. Marius Hancu >> >"Tape-machine," is this a telegraph used in horse racing? >> [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > >That was my thinking too. However, is that a telegraph? It sounds to be a "ticker tape machine": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticker_tape_machine That article describes the use of the machines for displaying stock market prices. It is a type of telegraph machine, but in the case of stock market prices and horse racing results the same information would be broadcast to many machines. This is distinct from the use of the telegraph to send a message from a sender to a single recipient. SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) On Jul 13, 6:25 am, "Peter Duncanson (BrE)" <m...@peterduncanson.net> wrote: > >> >Two or three boys were as usual standing in front of the noticeboard > >> >on the first floor, their eyes fixed on the half-sheets of paper [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > to many machines. This is distinct from the use of the telegraph to send > a message from a sender to a single recipient. This must be it. -- Thanks. Marius Hancu > > >"Tape-machine," is this a telegraph used in horse racing? > > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > That was my thinking too. However, is that a telegraph? A sort of automatic telegraph device, usually called a "stock ticker" or "ticker tape machine" in my (AmE) experience. More likely to be found at a stockbroker's than at a betting shop here, as we didn't have any legal betting shops for most of the 20th century outside of Las Vegas and some other parts of the state of Nevada. (And even now they are restricted in number, only in some states, and run as a state monopoly.) SignatureRoland Hutchinson He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba," ... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy. --Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ ) >> > >"Tape-machine," is this a telegraph used in horse racing? >> > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > even now they are restricted in number, only in some states, and run as > a state monopoly.) I worked at a radio station in Boston in the 1970s WBCN and we had a tele-type that would alert us to breaking news. One of my functions was to pay attention to it when it sent messages and alert the news people when something interesting came in. > >> > >"Tape-machine," is this a telegraph used in horse racing? > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > - Show quoted text - I've operated Teletype and TWX machines; they do (did?) not print incoming on a tape, but on "sheets" of paper (supplied on a roll for tearing off after reception was complete). The generic word for Teletype (a trademark) is "teletypewriter." A "tape machine" has a roll of narrow tape that the machine prints on. Cece wrote, in <0b6e999b-82b1-45c0-a307-7ac7acffd7ae@v2g2000vbb.googlegroups.com> on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:38:31 -0700 (PDT): > > >> > >"Tape-machine," is this a telegraph used in horse racing? > > [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > A "tape machine" has a roll of narrow tape that the machine prints on. There were versions that did print on (gummed) tape, in the UK and Ireland anyway. The usual way a telegram as delivered was made up was by tearing the tape at appropriate points and sticking them on a blank form. SignatureNick Spalding BrE/IrE Nick Spalding wrote, in <tmqm55tg3mfk1ri3pd0naloimmlpanj9cn@4ax.com> on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:15:46 +0100: > Cece wrote, in > <0b6e999b-82b1-45c0-a307-7ac7acffd7ae@v2g2000vbb.googlegroups.com> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > by tearing the tape at appropriate points and sticking them on a blank > form. Example in <http://tinypic.com/r/35c54ip/3> SignatureNick Spalding BrE/IrE > Nick Spalding wrote, in <tmqm55tg3mfk1ri3pd0naloimmlpanj9cn@4ax.com> > on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:15:46 +0100: [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Example in <http://tinypic.com/r/35c54ip/3> Everything there but the stops! Telegrams and ticker tapes were used, as well, to report the victors in elections, cross country races and boxing matches, and were pretty important in spreading the news to newspapers in far-flung, isolated areas. I never did hear when the clicking telegraph made the transition to punched and then printed messages. > >> > >"Tape-machine," is this a telegraph used in horse racing? > >> > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > One of my functions was to pay attention to it when it sent messages and > alert the news people when something interesting came in. I presume that that teletype printed the wire stories on a continuous roll of paper about the same width as ordinary typing paper. (Hence your job description as "ripping wires" -- tearing off the appropriate portion of the roll when broadcast-worthy stories came in.) The stock ticker is a different beast, that prints on a ribbon of paper, something like (or is it in fact identical to?) the sort or ribbon of paper that many years ago would be torn off and pasted line by line onto a (paper) telegram at the receiving end and conveyed to the addressee by messanger. SignatureRoland Hutchinson He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba," ... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy. --Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ ) > The stock ticker is a different beast, that prints on a ribbon of paper, > something like (or is it in fact identical to?) the sort or ribbon of > paper that many years ago would be torn off and pasted line by line onto > a (paper) telegram at the receiving end and conveyed to the addressee by > messanger. According to Tom Standage's _The Victorian Internet_, the early stock tickers had a two-line output. The top row identified the stocks, printed by a wheel that had letters, and the bottom row gave the corresponding prices, printed by a wheel that had numbers (including, I believe, fractions). SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |Whatever it is that the government 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |does, sensible Americans would prefer Palo Alto, CA 94304 |that the government do it to somebody |else. kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com | P.J. O'Rourke (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ >> The stock ticker is a different beast, that prints on a ribbon of paper, >> something like (or is it in fact identical to?) the sort or ribbon of [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >corresponding prices, printed by a wheel that had numbers (including, >I believe, fractions). As most people know, whereas many of today's large brokers have access to information that is close to being real time, as seen on the floors of the world's stock exchanges, on a high volume day -- the crash of 1929 being an extreme case -- tickers got well behind in their quotes of prices on the floors of the world's stock exchanges. SignatureRegards, Chuck Riggs, who speaks AmE, lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Thanks. > Marius Hancu A tele-type machine. A small ribbon of tape comes out with the message typed on it. |
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