OT:Mystery spare items

The numero symbol ? is pretty standard (maybe a little old-hat)

Hmm, I'm wondering if this is somehow related to old crypto gear?

Jon

That crosssed my mind because I went to a talk by Simon Scharma on the Enigma machine and I run science talks, where we had an owner and expert on these things, transcript of that talk here

Somewhere along the way there was mention about a lack of letter Q or something like that in the German alphabet and so the keyboard had no Q or J or whatever the letter was. Also , in passing ,a genuine German Enigma machine , the illumination bulbs are flattened rather than spherical , because depite the reputution of German design being so great , they cocked up and the lid would not close with the original intended bulbs, without breaking them.

A late reply, but I had to ask someone who had worked on repairing an Enigma machine about this. I am afraid your idea that the design was fault is not correct. The real explanation can be found here

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Jeff

"flattened lamps that are required for the Enigma." If they had allowed more space, to recess the bulb holder deeper, then no requirement for flattened bulbs. But discoloured windows rather than broken bulbs would have been the result of the design error, it seems. As E and T are single dits or dahs, there is presumably a Morse connection with this 24 character alphabet, but no further foreward as to why or what for.

Well, the article does hedge its bets a bit. This is the start of the first paragraph: "An Enigma machine has small - rather unusual - lamps on its lamp panel."

And this the start of the second: "Lamps like these were rather common before and during WWII"

So are they "rather unusual" or "rather common"?!

Can't help you with the E and T issue, but you might be right about the Morse connection. It might be worth looking through the "Popular cipher machines" at to see if any of the keyboards match.

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Jeff

I find the fluting business equally intriguing, perhaps a bit like military connectors MIL-DTL-38999 ? series . Bakelite , but perhaps similar reasoning, that only certain patterns of fluting will mate male and female and correct indexing. These key "caps" must have fitted into some sort of matrix of "coded" patterned recesses, rather than projecting upwards on levers like a typewriter/teleprinter.

I had a good virtual rummage there, and nothing like them, I might take some pics and email them. Sometime I might try decoding the circumferential fluting, and the individual numbering of each letter, don't even know how many "bits" at this stage. There are also some "blank" keycaps, same overall form but no disc and so no letter . These don't look as though they,ve burst off as it seems all in one moulding, but individual number markings, and same coded? flutings

d 0

ry

Z,

Cool. I wonder what they'd have done if the following german words appeare d: 'Qualle' (Eng. 'jellyfish'): /kvulluh/,

/kvullitate/ or Quelle (Eng. 'source, 'wellspring'): /kvelluh/... as in Ur quelle beer. Ever had any before?