Six-Bit Transcode, orSix-Bit Transmission Code, was, for a few years, one of the threecharacter sets used byIBM forBinary Synchronous Communications. Transmission using 6-bit Transcode had higher throughput than transmission using 8-bit EBCDIC or ASCII, provided that the data to be transmitted used a limited set of 48 characters.
TheIBM 2780 data transmission terminal was announced with Transcode support in 1967. Its successor, theIBM 3780data communication terminal, announced in 1972, dropped Transcode support and added a "space compression" option.
Transcode is asix-bit character code. It relates to IBM'spunched card code but, likeEBCDIC, it is notBCD. Its 64 values consist of the 26 uppercase letters, 10 numbers, 11 symbols,space, and 16control characters. Its 48 printable characters areABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789 .'-/@#$%&*⌑
; it cannot represent,:;!?"()[]<>+^=_\`{}|~
. Characters are transmitted withodd parity. The 2780 cannot use the 16 control characters as data characters in Transcode mode.[1]
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
0x | SOH | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | STX | . | ⌑ | BEL | SUB | ETB |
1x | & | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | SP | $ | * | IUS/ ITB | EOT | DLE |
2x | - | / | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ESC | ' | % | ENQ | ETX | HT |
3x | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | SYN | # | @ | NAK | EM | DEL |
Character | Punched card code | 6-bit transcode | Hex |
---|---|---|---|
SOH | 12-9-1 | P | 00 |
A | 12-1 | 5 | 01 |
B | 12-2 | 4 | 02 |
C | 12-3 | 4 5 P | 03 |
D | 12-4 | 3 | 04 |
E | 12-5 | 3 5 P | 05 |
F | 12-6 | 3 4 P | 06 |
G | 12-7 | 3 4 5 | 07 |
H | 12-8 | 2 | 08 |
I | 12-9 | 2 5 P | 09 |
STX | 12-9-2 | 2 4 P | 0A |
. | 12-8-3 | 2 4 5 | 0B |
⌑ | 12-8-4 | 2 3 P | 0C |
BEL | 0-9-8-7 | 2 3 5 | 0D |
Sub | 9-8-7 | 2 3 4 | 0E |
ETB | 0-9-6 | 2 3 4 5 P | 0F |
& | 12 | 1 | 10 |
J | 11-1 | 1 5 P | 11 |
K | 11-2 | 1 4 P | 12 |
L | 11-3 | 1 4 5 | 13 |
M | 11-4 | 1 3 P | 14 |
N | 11-5 | 1 3 5 | 15 |
O | 11-6 | 1 3 4 | 16 |
P | 11-7 | 1 3 4 5 P | 17 |
Q | 11-8 | 1 2 P | 18 |
R | 11-9 | 1 2 5 | 19 |
Space | no punch | 1 2 4 | 1A |
$ | 11-8-3 | 1 2 4 5 P | 1B |
* | 11-8-4 | 1 2 3 | 1C |
US | 11-9-8-7 | 1 2 3 5 P | 1D |
EOT | 9-7 | 1 2 3 4 P | 1E |
DLE | 12-11-9-8-1 | 1 2 3 4 5 | 1F |
- | 11 | 0 | 20 |
/ | 0-1 | 0 5 P | 21 |
S | 0-2 | 0 4 P | 22 |
T | 0-3 | 0 4 5 | 23 |
U | 0-4 | 0 3 P | 24 |
V | 0-5 | 0 3 5 | 25 |
W | 0-6 | 0 3 4 | 26 |
X | 0-7 | 0 3 4 5 P | 27 |
Y | 0-8 | 0 2 P | 28 |
Z | 0-9 | 0 2 5 | 29 |
ESC | 0-9-7 | 0 2 4 | 2A |
' | 0-8-3 | 0 2 4 5 P | 2B |
% | 0-8-4 | 0 2 3 | 2C |
ENQ | 0-9-8-5 | 0 2 3 5 P | 2D |
ETX | 12-9-3 | 0 2 3 4 P | 2E |
HT | 12-9-5 | 0 2 3 4 5 | 2F |
0 | 0 | 0 1 P | 30 |
1 | 1 | 0 1 5 | 31 |
2 | 2 | 0 1 4 | 32 |
3 | 3 | 0 1 4 5 P | 33 |
4 | 4 | 0 1 3 | 34 |
5 | 5 | 0 1 3 5 P | 35 |
6 | 6 | 0 1 3 4 P | 36 |
7 | 7 | 0 1 3 4 5 | 37 |
8 | 8 | 0 1 2 | 38 |
9 | 9 | 0 1 2 5 P | 39 |
SYN | 9-2 | 0 1 2 4 P | 3A |
# | 8-3 | 0 1 2 4 5 | 3B |
@ | 8-4 | 0 1 2 3 P | 3C |
NAK | 9-8-5 | 0 1 2 3 5 | 3D |
EM | 11-9-8-1 | 0 1 2 3 4 | 3E |
DEL | 12-9-7 | 0 1 2 3 4 5 P | 3F |