A plugboard or control panel is an array of jacks or sockets into which patch cords can be inserted to complete an electrical circuit. Control panels are sometimes used to direct the operation of unit
IBM 402 accounting machine control panel wiring. This board was labeled "profit & loss summary."
Reverse side of the same 402 plugboard, showing the pins that make contact with the machine's internal wiring. The holes were called hubs.
An operator inserting a control panel into an IBM 407 Accounting Machine Another panel is on the floor nearby.
An 80-column punched card. Rows 0 to 9 are labeled. The 12 row, on top, has one punch in column 7. The 11 row, below it is not punched on this card. As cards passed through a read station, usually 9-edge (bottom edge) first, wire brushes, one for each column, would make contact through the holes.
The IBM 407 Accounting Machine, introduced in 1949, was one of a long line of IBM tabulating machines dating back to the days of Herman Hollerith. It had a card reader and printer; a summary punch cou
A 407 at U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal in 1961.
IBM 407 (left) with IBM 519 (on right).