Control Panel Wiring
The operation of most unit record equipment (except for sorters) was directed by a control panel. The panels had a rectangular array of hubs organized into groups. Wires with metal ferrules at each end were placed in the hubs to make connections. The output from some card column positions might connected to a tabulating machine's counter, for example. A shop would typically have separate control panels for each task a machine was used for.
Note: Control panel wiring is sometimes referred to as Programming. That use, in the context of data processing, to suggest a link with computer programming, is an anachronism; the projection of a modern idea on the past.
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