Yes, some pipe organs had enormous switching systems. They didn't do all that much; they just switched the keyboard to pipe rank connections. Physically, they were huge, like multiple upright pianos. Some needed compressed air for power; others were entirely electrical.
They had no direct function in producing sound. All this was separate from the actuators for the pipes.
Re:Basics of Pneumatic Logic
by emersonrsantos on Monday June 15, 2020 @10:21PM
(#23535360)
Exactly, what produced the sound was pipes (and is, in a non-electrical or electronic organ) using the same air that feed the pipes by the bellows.
It replaced mechanical track action, keyboard coupling, register switching and even had memory to ‘remember’ a register presets or register sets.
That’s really neat! Could you provide some resources on this topic for learning more?
Re:Basics of Pneumatic Logic
by emersonrsantos on Monday June 15, 2020 @11:07PM
(#23535563)
There’s not much open literature around it, but one of the inventors was an engineer called Charles Barker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barker_lever
This document has some designs and more details: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21204/21204-h/21204-h.htm , chapter III.
Here’s an example of such apparatus: https://www.woodofhuddersfield.com/uploads/1/1/2/3/11238427/...