BINA-VIEW: The Rarest And Most Complicated Digital Display Of All Time!

[@deadfreightwest5956]

What Techmoan is to obscure recording mediums, Fran is to obscure displays!

[@IndianaDipper194]

Truer words were never spoken

[@SimonCoates]

Yep, two great guys 👍🏻

[@ehsnils]

Imagine the amusement it would give if there was a movie made where the bina-view was part of the props. Someone would have to manufacture some new ones.

[@Chillmax]

@@ehsnils Married in an alternative reality & one day Fran will develop a machine to tunnel into it ;-)

[@williamhogg650]

There the best

[@bigclivedotcom]

What an amazing display. There must be a very specific assembly sequence. I wonder if the choice of lamp was something to do with a filament transformer or if it was for a more controllable light beam from a smaller filament.

[@FranLab]

It would seem logical that the ubiquitous filament transformer would be intended for the lamps.

[@AngDavies]

@@FranLab ive heard 6.3v is common because it's a multiple of a lead acid cell, and a holdover from when things were powered by lead acid batteries? Same for 12 and 24v, so maybe this was meant to be run off batteries originally?

[@christianelzey9703]

@@AngDavies Maybe? 6.3v was a very common lamp voltage back in the day, precisely because it was the typical filament voltage used in tube equipment, so there would be a 6.3v rail available. Why 6.3? I have no idea, maybe it has something to do about transformer winding ratios making it a convenient value.

[@AiOinc1]

6.3 volts was a very very common filament voltage in the 1950s and 1960s, many tubes used the same voltage for their heaters.

[@jonathancook4022]

I would like to hear you ramble on about this display BigClive, particually because of its simplicity on an electronic basis and high complexity on an electromechnical level!

[@EEVblog]

These types of videos are the best! We need more from the Franseum.

[@justin.campbell]

Agreed!

[@cheater00]

Hey Fran and Dave, I don't get it, how do we make sure only the one plate we want stays up, and not the other ones?

[@justin.campbell]

@@cheater00 the metal bars fall onto notches. each plate has different cutouts. For example, if you have one bar and the first plate has a notch to the left and the second has a notch to the right, when the bar goes left, the first plate sinks as the bar falls into the notch, and the second plate rides on top. first plate sinks second plate stays up as the bar fits in notch as the bar is not in the right spot. |__^___________| |______^________| \ \ \ \ The bars run along the bottom of all the plates. when changing, the plates lift, the bars move and then the plates fall, one of which falls down as the bar lines up with the notch. Hope this helps!

[@cheater00]

@@justin.campbell thanks. i understand how one plate falls down. but how do all but one fall down? for any setting if bars, all plates would have to fall down except for one that stays up. I don't see how that could work?

[@justin.campbell]

@@cheater00 the cards must have some certain pattern. Fran might be able to help, lets just hope that she sees this!

[@zybch]

"Obviously I'm not going to try and repair it" - 4 days later - BINA-VIEW II: |The Repair...

[@markpenrice6253]

> Thinks you're joking > Laughs > Scrolls back up and sees what's at the top of the sidebar... Oh, Fran, you could have waited a week :D

[@ericlotze7724]

I'm going to semi-hijack this to say a 3d print series of this mechanism should be next...

[@ericlotze7724]

Would need somthing fancy (cnc mill? or would full on edm be needed) for the plates, but everything else should be 3d printable, or something off the sheld (solenoids, wires, nuts, bolts, metal rods etc)

[@ericlotze7724]

Also like with the curta replica, scaleing up always works

[@ronnetgrazer362]

I'm working with overhead projector sheets right now for another project. Getting nice results with a color laser printer. The toner layer is quite fragile and the plastic gets scratched easily as well, so you'd need some kind of frame to keep those moving parts from rubbing against each other. For this I'm using normal lasercut 300g/m2 cardstock right now, and that's probably not going to fly for 10,000 firings or more. A filament printed frame seems too bulky. But frames are all similar (pre-perforated break-away notches?) which might make mass production out of sheet metal feasable. Collimation can be improved by doubling up on transparent film (at the expense of light transmission, that's 72 layers for alphanumeric), just keep the mirrored printed sides pointing outwards.

[@fepatton]

Another one of those mechanical marvels that makes my son say, "People were GENIUSES back in the day!" What a device. I'm really glad you cracked it open, and that model was a huge help.

[@Radiogirl1931]

Thats how I felt on my first radio restore. I restored a 1930 Philco 70 and its amazing how they made that thing work

[@VM-lt9wl]

I always think of how truly complicated a CRT is vs an LCD, going back further this is even more true.

[@jhazmain]

Great job Fran! The top bit does not appear to be working as you suspected. There appear to be 40 unique plates total. The settings 0 to 25 map to the letters (plates) A through Z. Settings 32, 34, 46, and 47 appear to be special characters, maybe colon, decimal, etc. Settings 51 through 60 are the numbers 0 to 9. When you select a setting of 0 (all bits low), you're getting the A and a special character (setting 32). Same for C, O, and P. A setting of 19 is the T and the number 0 (setting 32 + 19 = 51). Value 20 is U and 1, etc. The letter Z does not appear to be working for an unknown reason. The video seems to show the rail for the top bit (32) is misaligned, it seems to be positioned lower than it should be. It does teeter-toter, so the solenoid is working, but it's allowing both plates to fall in either position. It might be a simple fix to get it working (says the person who doesn't have to attempt it!). Can't explain why the letter Z is not working. Cheers!

[@marsguyphil]

I saw the warrantee notice on that thing and remembered the line from Space Cowboys: "Is there anyone still alive who can fix this thing?" The answer to which is, of course, Fran.

[@MarianKeller]

The company seems to be still around.

[@marsguyphil]

@@MarianKeller I wonder if any of them remember this thing. Or what they'd suggest as a replacement part for it.

[@CWoodyButler]

@@MarianKeller or someone owns the IP. it'd be fun to ping them about this thing. ieeinc.com/

[@dhpbear2]

I guess it's less unnerving than "Anyone here know how to fly a plane?" ;)

[@chadcastagana9181]

If it is tube driven, the GLASSLINGER or RadioTVPhonoNut might be able to repair this gadget

[@Beardwhip]

I'm glad that someone who would actually appreciate the treasures found within the UP labs got to raid it!

[@featheredskeptic1301]

The lamp could be 6.3v because the thing was intended to work with tube equipment. So the tubes can drive the 24v solenoids directly due to the lower current and higher resistance, and the lamp is simply treated as a regular vacuum tube heater. It would simply be easier to do it that way.

[@thephilpott2194]

A 6v lamp would have a more robust filament than a 24v one, for the same wattage. Perhaps building it like a bloody tank they wanted to make the lamp shock resistant!

[@coppice2778]

6.3V is a give away for it being a valve/tube era device. When this was new anything other than a 6.3V lamp would have been a puzzle and an annoyance to potential users.

[@LordGryllwotth]

@@thephilpott2194 my microscope uses a 7 or 8v bulb at around 30w I think. Does that have anything to do with more robust design?

[@featheredskeptic1301]

Or they could have killed two birds with one stone, who knows? Both save the trouble of an additional power supply line for some bulbs, and have robust lighting.

[@davidhunt240]

The lamp is 6.3V I've got the same unit on my bench with the decimal point option. The continuous load of the lamps was best suited to the filament voltage of the valve/tube technology of the 1950s and 1960s. It is a very bright display, much brighter than Nixie tubes and can do A-Z, 0-9, +/- etc it's just slow and noisy. Mine's completely in bits on the bench, it's a clever design, but it's just so intricate and fiddly, it'll probably need another three weeks of lockdown to get it back together 😆

[@Luchoedge]

Me out loud in my room: I wanna se the insides! Fran: "I know that people are gonna be screaming at the screen if we don't take the opportunity to take this bina-view apart" Me: :0

[@gregorythomas333]

@27:14 It looks like the plates 3 & 4 (front right going to left) are touching at the top...and the second to last plate on the far left is touching the last one in the middle. You may be able to bend them slightly away from each other to correct the sticking issue. This is an extremely cool display! Thank you for showing it to us :)

[@JoelCreates]

Love the solenoid sound!

[@fracturedgames5422]

Noice

[@jordangraupmann1586]

oh god, as a physics major, hearing the word solenoid gives me flashbacks

[@rhodexa]

is just so -`'clicky`’,-

[@electricteapot7812]

Люблю запах канифоли по утрам

[@AnonyDave]

Theres always someone going "this Rube Goldberg guy keeps things too simple"

[@dhpbear2]

"Why simplicate when you can complify?" :)

[@MC_AU]

Can you imagine an airport arrival/departure board running with these !

[@alinsoar]

It will cost too much the electricity.

[@jeromeglick]

@@alinsoar Ah, in the '60s electricity was cheap. A few kilowatts to power a display? No problem!

[@dammonbutler6951]

That bit selection mechanism has such a family resemblance to the old electromechanical teletype machines and how the character to be printed was selected. Quite fascinating!. Thank you for sharing!

[@CarloRoosen]

I would love to see how that works. Would appreciate a link!

[@dwarf365]

@@CarloRoosen CuriousMarc of the computer history museum just did a full series on restoring a model 19 teletype. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lX_Yp6qkmdyMibs

[@Oldbmwr100rs]

@@CarloRoosen "Curious marc" has a series on restoring a teletype and shows how they work, the transmit system, all mechanical, is pretty cool.

[@josugambee3701]

Even more amazing and obscure is the card translator. They were installed in large telephone exchanges and worked exactly like this display, with the area code input on the code bars and routing information encoded on about 1100 metal cards. They were huge, and you wouldn't want to be in the room with the card translators on a busy calling day without ear protection.

[@davidhunt240]

There's a Teleprinter code compatible version of this unit, I'm wondering if the panel I've got has those for the measurement description like 12 units side by side saying "REACTOR TEMP" with number units next to those and a symbol unit next to that.

[@tmfu]

Wow haven't seen one of those in decades. Had a couple lying around in a computer room back in the 80's. It wasn't for the equipment I worked on so I didn't pay too much attention. Nice find Fran! I still have a 4k memory stack from the days I worked on CDC 6600 Boxes.

[@ibanezleftyclub]

“Obviously I’m not going to attempt to repair this”....famous last words as those few non working characters nag at you over time....

[@tactileslut]

Yeah, why should it be obvious to me that Fran wouldn't explore this ancient tech, or at least find historical examples of its use?

[@TechnoTinker]

That's code speak for "Of course I'm going to try to fix it, but I'm not going to jinx it by putting it in the same video as where I told you how rare it is."

[@tactileslut]

@@TechnoTinker Gotcha. :)

[@TechnoTinker]

@@tactileslut ...and today we have Part II.

[@davidfont2596]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnPMkqyFnJmHqtE

[@NortelGeek]

"It is fully electromechanical." *EARS PERK*

[@xw591]

Same! This was incredible.

[@myersNOTmeyers]

There's something about the aesthetics of the font, the warmth of the light, and the black box that really resonates well with me and makes me want to see what a full display would look like. But, boy, I can't image the programming needed to coordinate a full display of these on demand, not to mention the display's rarity. Really makes you wonder what they meant these to be for...

[@myersNOTmeyers]

@@Damien.D That makes sense, thanks! I forgot this would have been the age where flap displays were more common

[@flatfingertuning727]

@@Damien.D The basic design concept would seem like it could have allowed a display to be mechanically multiplexed so that e.g. a 20-character line would only require 6 solenoids, a motor, a couple of cam switches, and 8 control inputs: the solenoids would select a shape, and the motor would advance to latch it into each character. One cam switch would keep the motor on during each cycle once the motor was activated by a brief pulse. The other would power the motor unless it was at start position (so leaving that line powered when the unit was supposed to be idle would ensure that it would be reset for the next line of text).

[@dhpbear2]

I remember VIVIDLY, the 'flap displays' at the TWA Terminal at JFK back in 1964!

[@FAB1150]

@@dhpbear2 our local movie theater still has a giant one in use, I guess they keep it for the nostalgia factor and I love it. It will always be in my memory

[@Starfireaw11]

It'd actually be pretty simple to write to, as it's only 6 data bits and 2 control bits. You could also reuse the data bits sequentially by controlling the characters in a serial manner, although that would result in the display "rolling" through each character, although that may not have been a problem for relatively slow refreshes. That said, at 50ms, an advantage of this would have been fairly quick refreshes - other than a chain printer, I struggle to think of any output that was alphanumeric and relatively fast from the era.

[@RaquelFoster]

7:10 I don't have a lot of deal-breakers, but if my bits are only getting pulsed in sync for 50 ms, that's going to be the last time I actuate THAT solenoid.

[@isaiahcraig1704]

I would byte your bits according to your pulse-width modulated desires.

[@SwitchAndLever]

One little comment on the material of the box. It may be zinc, but it's not anodized. Zinc is very rarely anodized, and when it is it forms a green color, not black. It's likely been painted, could be epoxy paint for durability or another coating. Or it may be another material altogether of course. Regardless, very cool doodad! 🙂

[@scootergem]

looks like black crinkle paint

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

"5/20/69" if only they'd shipped this out a month earlier 😞

[@Batman-nc7ro]

ok

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

@@Batman-nc7ro _surely_ the World's Greatest Detective can't be stumped by that joke?

[@anon89461]

so sad

[@hypnotised-clover]

Wow, okay, redditor.

[@PmBoyle]

** 20/5/69

[@bobholt5081]

I love strange, retro tech. This was a great post, Fran. Man, so much twitchy hardware to do something that today is pretty simple.

[@Armc31416]

Incredible that the 6-to-64 decoder combinations are engraved in the bottom side of plates themselves. These people were really creative!

[@Dingomush]

Mesmerizing! It’s absolutely amazing how ingenious people can be when they put their mind to a task. Thank you for sharing.

[@nm999999991]

These units were used in railway, airport and of all places on the East Coast... Wall Street during the early 1960s. They were stacked together to allow a full "board" message updates. I never saw one, but my electronics instructor did mention them. Thank you.

[@dentakuweb]

This is the kind of content that even non-subscribers will find interesting. Hopefully the Hackaday types start spreading this video around.

[@joegelencser2571]

Fran you are awesome keep doing the great work! 😊

[@vk6xre]

Very interesting, you could see some of these spelling "DEFCON 3", in my imagination.

[@tolentarpay5464]

Maybe in "Dr. Strangelove"? Someone check the credits...

[@statinskill]

I could see this spelling "DEUTSCHLAND SIEG HEIL" at the 1936 olympics.

[@ericlotze7724]

@Psykonaut there was supposedly a detection error due to component failure once, somewhere in europe i think? LUCKILY the CO or somthing overrid it.

[@tabriff3832]

Just love that machine! My fave bit of the video? The plate demo. The #1 plate is placed over the standard grid and it disappears. Move the #1 plate by one grid square and it appears. That’s the point when I was hooked. I needed to see that. The best thing about this display is knowing how it works. The concept is beautiful and pure. I can see how it works, but my mind wants to create a formula to prove what I am seeing. I think we need to bring this display back.

[@neur303]

26:19 The lever of the 32 bit looks like it is dislocated to the back in reference to the other ones. It is also the only one that moves without engaging the big solenoid :)

[@markboulton954]

I noticed that! The tooth wasn't engaging.

[@rudge3speed]

My dad worked on a project called FIDS (Flight Information Display Systems). The idea was to put flight arrivals and departures at each terminal of the yet to be built Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. I remember seeing the Bina-View devices and documentation at there lab, so they must have considered these for that job. In the end, they ganged a bunch of ABDick CRT charachter generator drivers in order to create a character matrix on a single crt. We had some Bina-View modules in the garage years later, I guess he brought them home.

[@ericshannon261]

I think this would be right up CuriousMarc's alley. You should see if he wants to repair it.

[@jimhood1202]

Goodness knows how this ended up in my feed bit I'm glad it did. Facinating object from the hay day of electromechanical devices.

[@EEVblog]

WOW!

[@playaspec]

Dave, got a bit of screwdriver envy?

[@millomweb]

@@aaronbrandenburg2441 Probably a bank of them on a display somewhere where they need to change the message or displayed code. I think diesel-era locos had 4-digit numbers that could be changed - that's one option.

[@jackmcgramm2259]

say that backwards

[@fouquetteaboutit]

These old gadgets are so amazing, the creativity that engineers used to have to use to fit all those moving parts into the case never stops amazing me.

[@echothehusky]

I found the remains of a similar display buried in the ground when I was about 11/12, it had only number plates 0-9 There was not much left of it as it had must have been in the ground It was with the remains of some old circuit boards and a degaussing coil so I assume the lot came from an old valve colour TV. I still have some of the number plates in a box somewhere.

[@wdavem]

I want to make one of these from scratch, might take me a decade to get to it but I'm actually serious. Thank you for showing it!!!!!

[@davestech6357]

It reminds me of the Goodyear blimp I had as a kid. It had a motor that turned a sheet that you would color in what you wanted it to say in boxes and it would line up with holes when it turned to display as it was back lit.

[@TimmehJay]

I had that too. My dad and I put it together and I loved that thing.

[@moclepocle]

The first and last time saw that type of display was 45 years ago, in a elevator where my dad used to work, snd always wondered how that particular display worked. Now I know. Thanks. Well done job.

[@rogerrabt]

Really interesting. Seems like the order of the plates doesn't matter. Just the pattern of the selection notches in the bottom of the plate matters.

[@abigguitar]

The order of the plates only matters from a bit programming perspective. You have to know which specific bits set which specific character. If the manufacturer produced a programming guide explaining which bits set which characters, then the manufacturer would always load the plates in that specific order to follow along with the programming guide. Otherwise, if the plates are randomly inserted, the consumer would be forced to cycle through each display's bit settings to determine which characters are mapped to which bits. You would have to test each display separately. It might also mean that you could have numbers intermixed with letters in a jumbled mess. It makes more sense for the manufacturer to load the plates in a specific order. It also makes sense to standardize on a specific plate order so were you to buy a number of these displays for a specific information display purpose, programming each of them using a standardized setup would be much simpler.

[@rogerrabt]

The cut pattern on the bottom of the plate is all that matters. 001010 is going to select the same plate no matter its location in the stack.

[@HenryLoenwind]

The order does matter. You don't want to put in the plates in binary order to avoid overloading the high-bit selector rods on one end. Instead you want to mix them so the load on the selectors is distributed equally over its length. On the other hand, in this application there aren't really forces being applied to the plates and rods, so it probably doesn't make a difference.

[@abigguitar]

@@HenryLoenwind The weight distribution might matter depending on how the unit is oriented after installation. If it were to be oriented vertically, the force needed to move plates might get out of alignment easier than were it were oriented horizontally. That factor might be increased if the plates are loaded in certain order. Gravity does play a factor even in small systems like this... especially over time as wear and tear sets in. Even this unit will have an MTBF.

[@lesbsocal9107]

The company is still in business, still making esoteric displays, still up in the San Fernando Valley.

[@zsigmondkara]

Do they have a website? I couldn't find anything. Edit: never mind, found them

[@lesbsocal9107]

@@zsigmondkara I actually emailed them and asked if they still have spare parts for the bina view. Got no ansr. Either it's "who's this crackpot?" Or theyr'e on a coronavirus break.

[@chadcastagana9181]

In North Hollywood or Woodland Hills

[@lesbsocal9107]

@@chadcastagana9181 Van Nuys

[@diggydude5229]

Their current products are nowhere near as esoteric as the Bina-View.

[@TommyHelgevold]

Yes Fran! This is pure gold, this is the stuff we really miss, you find the weirdest stuff on the planet from a time of both evolving science and endless fascination.

[@zabnat]

How to destroy screw heads: "It is a cross head so any of my cross head screw drivers will work." Torx edition: "It fits in and catches when I rotate it, it must the right size." "Oh, it was actually an Allen screw." "Why does this "torx" screw head have 12 sides when my screwdriver only has six? I'm sure it doesn't matter much."

[@boxedfender4810]

I'm crazy ocd bout proper drivers AND drivers that are made of quality material

[@thecloneguyz]

Most naive use a number 2 Phillips instead of a number 3 and stripped the screw head out

[@NEEDbacon]

Given how delicate and intricate this thing seems. It's weird that some regular 200 pound Gorilla armed with ignorance and whatever was handy went at that hard. I can only imagine it was a "Lex Luther reveals the Flash's identity while in his body" type reaction.

[@andrewedis9907]

You've voided the warranty 😉🤣

[@Roxor128]

Probably a moot point if the manufacturer has since gone bust.

[@colinjohnston8519]

@@Roxor128 lol stfu.

[@flyingtrap4169]

@@colinjohnston8519 No U

[@ETXAlienRobot201]

after the way companies like apple abused that, good chance it no longer applies...lol even then, i doubt she would care or has the documentation they'd also most likely require

[@mhansl]

Home Depot takes everything back.

[@EirkenElite]

This reminds me one of my favorite Prof told us to always remember before starting a new project "just because you can it doesn't mean you should"

[@sbalogh53]

Imagine a 24x80 character public display made up of these things, 1920 of them.

[@RickBoat]

At a 2020 equivalent price of $1000 each... a $1.9 million dollar display.

[@josugambee3701]

That I would love to see! It would probably be pretty loud. Also, because 60's, there would be an even more elaborate electromechanical device driving it.

[@suadcokljat1045]

Imagine the sound it makes!

[@flatfingertuning727]

With mechanical multiplexing, it probably wouldn't be too bad. The expensive part would be all the plates.

[@markpenrice6253]

Updated one at a time, at 50ms frequency...

[@ElektronikLabor]

When I think I know a lot of vintage electronics, I just watch one of Frans videos and that brings me down again

[@ExStaticBass]

Having had some experience with somewhat larger interference displays and seen the plates in this device, I noticed some were touching. Whether they have burs on the cutout or simply became bent too close together to move freely, that is most likely the issue. Simply separating them should solve the issue it's having. You could use a thin metal spudger or two to carefully bend them back into tolerance. So if you ever want to try it this would be a good place to start.

[@aomanchutube]

This is incredible! Imagine that desperate enginuity that lead to this design.

[@mos6507]

I think I already see what's wrong with it. One of the plates near the front, at the top, two plates look like they are converging and are stuck together. I think you could fix that to make sure each plate is connected to only one spring pair at the top.

[@Lectrikfro]

27:22 During the closeup at the end it looks like the the rear 2 plates (or possibly the rear plate and the back grating) look like they are touching too

[@davidhunt240]

I've got one apart now and it had six plates stuck together and quite a bit of corrosion. It looks quite susceptible to this kind of failure if it isn't regularly serviced, much like the mechanical elements of a Teleprinter/Teletype

[@watsisbuttndo829]

Not allowed to open it without authorisation, sorry.

[@tkteun]

@@Lectrikfro 26:38 You can also (not) see the spring in this position

[@Lectrikfro]

@@tkteun i wasnt saying they were wrong about the springs, just that those plates looked like they were rubbing. In the repair video it looks like the 2 problems were linked related

[@daphneblake7889]

Such cool engineering has been used in devices now obsolete...most people glad to see the new tech come and the old tech go, and they never get to see the amazing inner workings of things or get to appreciate what all went into a thing. This is why I really like a video like this.

[@thegearknob7161]

Fran: "Binary 10, okay." Screen: K

[@fraterfraxinus6293]

The pure nerdiness of this is so refreshing!

[@kurtaltenburg1017]

If I had to take a guess "0" is the same character as "O" and is why things seem a little off in the higher symbols.Old typewriter did something similar.

[@joyange1]

It would make sense to do that. After all. On old typewriters, They never had a "1" key, because you use the lowercase letter "l" for a one.

[@totaltotalmonkey]

Nice one!

[@HenryLoenwind]

@@joyange1 Or the uppercase I (in this case).

[@AssistantCoreAQI]

@@joyange1 joyangel.

[@mwgondim]

I'm really glad I've just found this channel. I guess I've got something to binge watch on this quarantine week.

[@lordmuntague]

Now that is really impressive. This is precisely what we love on this channel. Along with the art. And the music. And the wisdom. ;o)

[@tjatkinson88]

I remember arriving in the Frankfurt Airport in 1985. I was fascinated at the very large board for flights that were flip style. When it cycled and changed the whole board recycled. It was awesome.

[@Smelter57]

Now this is why I'm a petreon. Great subject matter, good to see Fran back on track with the tech stuff! How many character plates are there? Could you use an Arduino to drive the lines to use as a single (or scrolling) character(s) display?

[@olavl8827]

Driving this thing from an Arduino should be extremely simple, seeing that Fran is doing it with just DIP switches. Of course the digital output pins on Arduino are only 5V but you could use some kind of transistor or relay on each output to switch the 24V the display needs. Scrolling is out of the question though unless you had a whole row of these BINA-VIEWs. You could drive about 8 or so of them with a single Arduino Uno if you put for a example a 74HC595 shift register IC before each one. The write and latch signals to the displays could be shared and would take up only two pins on the microcontroller. Then you could send a message over serial from your computer to the Arduino and it would display on these antique displays. This would of course be totally epic but useless - but mostly epic.

[@picrijogil]

It looks like there are 35 ...so A-Z and 1-9, and O for 0 ?

[@RickBoat]

@@picrijogil there are apparently 38 in this model. IEE said in sales lit that the could fit more for custom apps, including up to 4 color plates.

[@Toastmaster_5000]

Pretty clever design. I never would've thought you could control a 32-character mechanical display using only 6 solenoids

[@USWaterRockets]

This reminds me of the sets of the old Star Trek original series, where they needed loads of blinking lights on the display panels, so they just had holes for the light to shine out of and someone behind the set would slide cards with random hole patterns across the back of the display with a light behind to illuminate the exposed holes. Did anyone else out there notice this?

[@heatshield]

is that how some of that was done? Thats really cool. Reminds me of when I once heard that the sliding doors had people behind them opening and closing them. Not sure if its true, but it makes sense.

[@USWaterRockets]

Yes, you heard correctly about the doors. In spite of knowing all these details, those shows are still some of the most entertaining.

[@josugambee3701]

It looked to me like that's what they were doing, but I didn't think anyone else sitting next to me in the living room cared enough to hear me try and explain it...

[@heatshield]

@@josugambee3701 You just described my life.

[@gmirwin]

@@heatshield There are behind the scenes videos of TNG that show the pull cord that opens the doors on set. There are probably some here on KZbin.

[@over00lordunknown12]

There's just something about the glow of these older displays that is so alluring. (Nixie Tubes, NIMO Tube, and now the Bina-View)

[@joinedupjon]

Wasn't checked the year man landed on the moon... But it has been now. Really lovely display, must have been very costly

[@crashk6]

Fascinating display. Delightful mechanical complexity. Imagine a world where destination in Victorian passenger train terminals are clattered out on displays made of BINA-VEW run by high level general AI coordinating the arrival and departures of of steam driven rail and electric & maglev trains.. My kind of world! Thanks Fran!

[@danbarlow558]

That was great! I think one of the best things about being around and playing with vintage electrics, is the smell of dust and materials heating up after not being turned on for so long. I used to own a very old oscilloscope from the 60's. It weighed a ton, had tubes, and would heat up my studio apartment after being on a while.

[@TheJunky228]

I can't believe youtube waited to recommend me your channel until now, but I'm glad it finally did!

[@metaleggman18]

I think the coolest way to "fix" it would be to have a kind of open-sourcing plans for a clone; it's stuff like that I'd love to work on, hobby-wise, to get to a point where I could accomplish such things (obviously just through trial and error and what's known from your work so far and outward measurements; no way in hell it'd be worth taking it apart!). Or to badger IET to see if they have any design documents in the basement :P Thanks for helping to preserve all this stuff Fran, your work is so awesome and important. :)

[@eekee6034]

It doesn't look too hard to figure out, if you know binary numbers. The masks must have a pattern of notches underneath, and only when the teeter-totters make just the right pattern does the mask drop all the way. The tough bit would be punching out all the holes, but if you got metal sheet with holes to start with, not too bad. (It would be nice if the mask edges were solid, but probably not necessary.) Oh hum! I don't know about getting really thin metal so the wotsit solenoid can lift all the masks.

[@tomf3150]

Finally youtube recommanded an amazing channel.

[@LilDroidBlue]

How is this the first time a video of yours has been recommended to me? I watch tons of Techmoan, LGR, VWWestlife, PushingUpRoses, etc... All of the channels about older tech, games, all of the good stuff ya' know? Definitely going to be tapping subscribe and going through your other videos. I'm in Michigan so we are basically fully shut down, these videos are keeping me sane haha!

[@joemom1012]

me too first time and i do every thing she dose

[@heedmywarning2792]

So THAT is what it is called. I am an old submarine sonarman. One of the systems, introduced in the 70's, used devices based on the principles of the BINA-VIEW. The system was the BQQ-5. In order to operate the system we had this super complex 'keypad'. It was really a matrix of several BINA-VIEWs, something like 5 across and 6 down. Also, each section was close to the size of two Bic Lighters (much smaller than what you have). The operator would press a see through membrane that covered each B.V. When you started at the top, the lower B.V. switch/displays would re-arrange to form a new list of options for the mode you selected. Essentially, it was a table of contents. We had to memorize dozens of flow charts in order to properly operate the system quickly.

[@ReallifeBambiDeerattheFarm1]

I'm guessing the reason it didn't sell is because it looks very expensive and it most likely it didn't work right. Still a very neat little device.

[@GnuReligion]

Someone who is familiar with repairing BINA-VIEWs may be rarer than the BINA-VIEW. The outro music ... mesmerizing.

[@isoguy.]

That was a gripping, amazing review of an incredible, ingenious piece of retro equipment. Would really like to see more vids like this or building th star trek sounds box. Thank you for sharing. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@vinciroth]

There's nothing better than that good old mechanical sound. Music to my ears. Old tech is great

[@youreperfectstudio4789]

Yay KZbin finally recommended me a video from you that isnt the "most dangerous display tube" one!

[@johnboleyjr.1698]

I had to work with these a couple of times in the Navy, while in school. The whole concept was absolutely fascinating to me.

[@mutestingray]

John Boley Jr. what would these be used for?

[@ianmelzer]

I swear I've seen this in an old movie.

[@gmma2382]

i checked on the net and you are right there is almost nothing about it wow great video

[@milolouis]

Subscribed for the theme song, bloody brilliant!!! In the lab!

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

You bring the most interesting videos on these kinds of subjects! I'm enjoying wandering your old videos!

[@trevorhaddox6884]

If you can't fix it yourself, send it CuriousMarc, he's good with EM selector systems.

[@Cadcare]

Excellent Fran. Don't stop. Thank you.

[@pomonabill220]

AAAAAAAAAAAA A BENNY HILL PERSON!!!!! I LOVED his show!

[@bradallen6333]

That is so cool! Thank you so much for producing this video!

[@OGSontar]

Such ingenuity. What a shame that our current education system teaches magical thinking over rational, logical thinking. Glad I found this channel.

[@skipfred]

..what is magical thinking?

[@OGSontar]

@@skipfred The simplest answer is 4 words: God in science class. If you want more information, feel free to look it up on Google.

[@neodonkey]

Imagine what a large display of these updating would sound like. The clacking would be awesome. Great find Fran!

[@Nonexistanthuman]

I like the intro/ending music :)

[@tomschmidt381]

Interesting display. Being a geezer thought I was familiar with all types of old displays, but I had never heard of this one. Folks used to modern electronics don't realize how difficult it was making digital displays in the olden days.

[@cezarcatalin1406]

The thumbnail is worth memeing 👍

[@kendraakin5215]

A delightful half hour, thank you. And, being old enough to have worked on the thing, 6.3 volts makes perfect sense. I had lots of 6 volt bulbs, some 12 volt bulbs and almost nothing that would require 24 volt. With surplus equipment in 1960 the only stuff that used 24 volts was intended for use in military aircraft.

[@MisterRorschach90]

Imagine had they continued using this tech and we used it today to watch KZbin at 4k.

[@v8trauma]

Put your caps lock on, I cant hear you over the sound of my display. That reminds me, I need to get more coal for my phone.

[@harrilumme1875]

As far as I could tell, there are 40 or 41 distinct character plates. That is enough for alphanumeric characters plus some symbols. It could be easy enough to clean the alignment rails and get everything to work again. Go for it, Fran!

[@christianelzey9703]

For some reason the way the character plates engage or disengage reminds me of the type sorting mechanism on a Linotype machine

[@if66was99]

@Christian Elzey Or that English weaving loom from England from the 1850's? 1860's? Can't remember the originator's name but basically a Numerically Controlled Loom! From WAY back when! More like punch cards or tape drive machines but still, very similar. Fascinating little black box! Thank you Fran!!! edit: Spelled your name wrong...

[@railgap]

I thought this was going to be some kind of multi-bulb projector system which we've seen before - this thing is BONKERS! I love it!

[@davida1hiwaaynet]

Wow, Fran, you were fortunate to find this one! Thanks for sharing it with us. I had no idea such a thing existed! I'm happy you took the risk to open it up and show how the mechanism works. That is ingenious how the two groups of select solenoids work together and the plates have two groups of notches so that 6 inputs can select so many characters. When you show the front view with the cover off, it looks like there are wear grooves in the front plate, where it rides on the selector fins. I wonder if, deeper in the stack, there is some additional wear which has occurred and caused the problems you're seeing. Now, I have this feeling that I have seen this before. Somewhere..... in my world travels for work...

[@SheplerStudios]

This stuff is straight out of a’60s sci-fi film! Love it. Thanks, Fran.

[@dotmatrixmoe]

Who else got this in thier recommend, because of Techmoan.

[@Veraux]

Fran, you are just the coolest. I admire you.

[@Ewoorg]

Now make it spell automatically "franlab" or similar

[@gigteevee6118]

This is exactly why Fran is so essential....