2 ms·

The description of the "missing motor" sounds more like the motor-transmission assembly. Since the identification plate on the motor looks standard, if they fi

• Animats 10y ago
  That's a special motor and drive train for the cyphering unit. Here's one with the motor.[1] The cypher unit has two selectors - the two curved mechanisms on the top front. Those are mechanical UARTs, serial to parallel converters, and they're the same design used in Teletype machines from 1924 to 1959. Those need power from a driveshaft. The same motor drives both, which is why there's a special motor with a shaft out each end and two right-angle reduction drive gearsets. That's not a standard teleprinter part. The wheel with the black and white bars is a centrifugal governor. The speed is adjustable, and you use a special tuning fork with a shutter to calibrate the speed. This is a standard Teletype motor feature for when you can't rely on AC power line frequency. It's still not clear if this find included the crypto unit, or just the teleprinter. If they actually found a crypto unit, this is a big deal. Those were very rare. [1] http://cryptomuseum.com/crypto/lorenz/sz40/img/301491/000/full.jpg http://cryptomuseum.com/crypto/lorenz/sz40/img/301491/000/fu...