keypunch repair completed, shed construction continues as the base and flooring are installed

NEW KEYPUNCH INTERFACE DEVELOPMENT

The new feed wheel is noticeably larger in diameter than the worn item it is replacing - this would definitely have caused the symptoms I experienced. I installed the wheel in the keypunch and it now operates exactly as it should - cleanly registering cards to the read station, cleanly ejecting and clearing cards up to the stacker.

Here is a very short video of the cards registering and then releasing properly. Video of correct registration and release

I hooked up a terminal and repeated a few tests now that I can check for some more automatic behavior that depended on autofeed, proper registration and release of cards. Card reading was flawless, as was punching. The one function that isn't working reliably is verification mode, where the interface reads the card it previously punched while it is punching the next card, comparing what it had punched into the card to what is sensed at the read station.

I will do some more testing later this week and see if I can tighten up the operation of verification mode. I have moved on to finishing documentation and providing sample programs to exploit the interface box.

DATACENTER SHED CONSTRUCTION

I was down to only two pilings that had to have their height adjusted, with the framework sitting flat and level. After tweaking the pilings, it was time to haul the plywood sheets around and screw them down onto the framework. By mid afternoon I had the sheets in place and was finishing up screws to hold them down to the frame. With more than 100 screws to ensure it was tightly together, it did take some time to complete.

Starting to install plywood sheets atop the framework

I prepared the key parts to assemble the plastic floorboards that sit atop the platform I just built. By the early evening I was assembling the floor panels on the base. That was when I discovered that these plastic parts didn't just pop together like the instructions promised. The floor plates were bent a bit and that made it very hard to engage all the tabs necessary to link the floor plates together.

I managed to wrestle four of the five plates together, with the help of my son-in-law, but the final plate just wouldn't fit into place. I finally had to walk away, returning to this tomorrow to try to finish the flooring and begin erecting walls. The walls have tabs on the bottom which are supposed to just snap into slots in the perimeter of the floor plates. I attempted to put up the first corner section but was unable to get any of the tabs to engage.