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Printing Pocket Cipher Calculator
- wanted item
The PPC-19 was the very first cipher machine produced by
Klaus-Peter Timmann in the late 1970s, shortly after he had established
his own company
Tele Security Timmann (TST) in Pöcking (Germany).
It had a built-in thermal printer and was suitable for the
encryption numbers only.
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The device was based on one of the earliest portable calculators
with built-in thermal printer from Hewlett Packard (HP): the HP-19C, shown
in the image on the right [2]. It was introduced by HP in 1975
and was modified by Timmann for use as an encryption/decryption device.
It could however still be used as a scientific calcuator.
The PPC-19 used a cipher algorithm of mixed congruential type
in order to provide good stochastic distribution and security [1].
it had a key-length of 108 which was entered as a 10-digit number
before use.
As the device was only suitable for the encryption and decryption
of numbers, the operator had to use a converion table to convert
the text to numbers first.
When typing, the numbers were instantly encrypted and presented
on the red 7-segment display. In addition, the output could be printed.
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The HP-19C belonged to the first generation of HP calculators with
Continuous Memory, which means that the stored program was not lost
when the device was switched off.
The PPC-19 was available in 1980 at a price of US$ 890 [1],
whilst the price of the bare HP-19C was US$ 345 at the time [2].
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This page currently acts as a placeholder for information about the
PPC-19 pocket cipher machine. If you have any additonal information,
such as a manual, a brochure, or -better- an original PPC-19 device,
please contact us. Your help will be much appreciated.
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- Louis Kruh, Cipher Equipment TST 1221
Cryptologia, Volume 4, Issue 4, October 1980. p. 225.
- David G. Hicks, Images of HP-19C cacuator
MoHPC, Museum of HP Calculators, Copyright 1995-2013. Retrieved July 2013.
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© Copyright 2009-2013, Paul Reuvers & Marc Simons. Last changed: Sunday, 11 August 2013 - 17:11 CET
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![Three quarter view of the HP-19C that was used as the base for the PPC-19. Copyright David Hicks [2].](img/hp19c.jpg "Three quarter view of the HP-19C that was used as the base for the PPC-19. Copyright David Hicks [2].")