There is a fairly impressive installation of these at Heathrow airport in Terminal 5 outside the BA lounges. Struggling to find a decent video on YouTube, but this one’s not terrible https://youtu.be/G03WA30yFMI?si=hx5aLlrj_BH21yr2
I remember seeing those at the airport when I was a kid it was fascinating, one of the screens was close to the ground and I got over the chairs just curious how do they flip, now we have the boring soulless LEDs.
They've been slowly replacing the flip-disc displays on the buses where I live with LEDs and LCD panels which has been such a shame. There is a beautiful mechanical satisfaction to a panel of flip-discs inverting and I genuinely find them easier to read.
Yes, even the ones that have an LED behind each disk which are on in the dark. This display [1] is the same but in the dark [2] you see the LEDs instead.
The LED / LCD displays are probably lighter (less heavy), and someone figured they can save 0.001 gallons of diesel a year fleet wide if they replace displays.
You've confabulated a reason why they replaced them, linked it to initiative then complained about them doing it all in two sentences. A gold medal in mental gymnastics is warranted here!
This is insanely cool, the noise they make is also really satisfying!
What was the cost/time breakdown of the entire project because the flipdisc prices are hidden behind quotes and it seems like it would take quite a lot of time to complete the whole display!
The whole mechanism looks very 3d printable... I wonder if one could design one with PCB coils and a large 3d print only? If so, cost could probably come down to cents per pixel...
You'd probably also need a single 'C' shaped piece of steel for the magnetic flux path, but you might be able to find a supplier for the right shape already used for something else you can buy in large quantities very cheaply (eg. Steel staples).
There’s a very large one of these at “Climate Pledge Arena” in Seattle. Perhaps 8 feet tall and 16 feet wide. Pretty cool, but stuck pixels are even more annoying when it makes you want to reach out and poke them.
I use quotes because it will always be the Colosseum to me, where I saw the Butthole Surfers, Dead Moon and Nirvana. Don’t get me started on the Kingdome.
I bought a flip dot display on eBay and now I am stuck with the old thing and my lack of knowledge to make it work. Here's a great resource about technical details (only German though) https://radow.org/flip-dot.php
EDIT: "They have high readability, a long lifespan, and achieves anywhere between 25-60fps" - I think you can't achieve 60fps with a flip dot display.
Depends how much power and noise you're willing for it to make!!
Remember that texas instruments DLP technology which is in use in pretty much every office/home cinema projector is effectively micro flip-dots micromachined in silicon, and that can operate at ~10,000 FPS.
I have a question about those wire ferrules they said they were using:
I occasionally connect wires to terminals, but - I've never used ferrules: I just self-twist the thin strands, push the thing in, and use the lever or tightening screw depending on the terminal's mechanism.
Why would I use a ferrule? Or perhaps, under what circumstances is that advised?
The wire will crush over time and the connection will become looser. That will increase the resistance of the connection and in high current applications will cause heating. If you're really unlucky it will cause a fire.
There is a fairly impressive installation of these at Heathrow airport in Terminal 5 outside the BA lounges. Struggling to find a decent video on YouTube, but this one’s not terrible https://youtu.be/G03WA30yFMI?si=hx5aLlrj_BH21yr2
I remember seeing those at the airport when I was a kid it was fascinating, one of the screens was close to the ground and I got over the chairs just curious how do they flip, now we have the boring soulless LEDs.
I did the same for my office and bought used LAWO flipdot panels for this. Screenshot of the thing here: https://github.com/aivju/flipdotz
They've been slowly replacing the flip-disc displays on the buses where I live with LEDs and LCD panels which has been such a shame. There is a beautiful mechanical satisfaction to a panel of flip-discs inverting and I genuinely find them easier to read.
They seemed less reliable than LEDs. When they were common here they would always have tens of dots stuck in the wrong position.
Yes, even the ones that have an LED behind each disk which are on in the dark. This display [1] is the same but in the dark [2] you see the LEDs instead.
[2] https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/...
[1] https://cdn.unitycms.io/images/2padXosoqh99o13dcrN3co.jpg
The LED / LCD displays are probably lighter (less heavy), and someone figured they can save 0.001 gallons of diesel a year fleet wide if they replace displays.
Net Zero Fatigue is real.
Much more likely, I think, the mechanical displays had some maintenance cost which cheap LED displays will not.
You've confabulated a reason why they replaced them, linked it to initiative then complained about them doing it all in two sentences. A gold medal in mental gymnastics is warranted here!
This is insanely cool, the noise they make is also really satisfying!
What was the cost/time breakdown of the entire project because the flipdisc prices are hidden behind quotes and it seems like it would take quite a lot of time to complete the whole display!
The prices I’ve seen mentioned are around USD$3-5 per “pixel”.
Similar to all the ePaper projects that show up here, they’re expensive but cool gimmicks.
Whole dollars per pixel is insane!
The whole mechanism looks very 3d printable... I wonder if one could design one with PCB coils and a large 3d print only? If so, cost could probably come down to cents per pixel...
You'd probably also need a single 'C' shaped piece of steel for the magnetic flux path, but you might be able to find a supplier for the right shape already used for something else you can buy in large quantities very cheaply (eg. Steel staples).
There’s a very large one of these at “Climate Pledge Arena” in Seattle. Perhaps 8 feet tall and 16 feet wide. Pretty cool, but stuck pixels are even more annoying when it makes you want to reach out and poke them.
I use quotes because it will always be the Colosseum to me, where I saw the Butthole Surfers, Dead Moon and Nirvana. Don’t get me started on the Kingdome.
That display needs some Conway’s Game of Life action pronto.
they have a gif at the bottom of the article which looks like game of life
https://github.com/simpsoka/office-flipdisc/blob/main/scenes...
Dunno where your link is going, but yeah I see the gif at the bottom of the article now.
Still, I wanna see and hear it on the display.
I bought a flip dot display on eBay and now I am stuck with the old thing and my lack of knowledge to make it work. Here's a great resource about technical details (only German though) https://radow.org/flip-dot.php
EDIT: "They have high readability, a long lifespan, and achieves anywhere between 25-60fps" - I think you can't achieve 60fps with a flip dot display.
Depends how much power and noise you're willing for it to make!!
Remember that texas instruments DLP technology which is in use in pretty much every office/home cinema projector is effectively micro flip-dots micromachined in silicon, and that can operate at ~10,000 FPS.
Technology is so cool and you're using it to build a mirror. Would have loved to see generative or other weird graphics.
I'd like to see someone play DOOM (or any game, really) using that flip disc screen!
I was thinking of Bad Apple!![1], but maybe that's too niche.
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtutLA63Cp8
You made me wonder just how often Touhou is even mentioned on HN, so I did a quick search and... less than 15 results! (not counting dupes).
Niche indeed...
Not niche enough :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NXSMdUH_Cg
Tetris seems like a good fit -- given the frame to frame changes are minimal adjacent pixels, the responsiveness should be acceptable
Is the last photo on that page, describing the cabling, a screenshot of another photo displayed using flipdiscs? that is a whole lot of discs!!
I think it's just a simulation of what it could look like if it were flipdiscs.
I have a question about those wire ferrules they said they were using:
I occasionally connect wires to terminals, but - I've never used ferrules: I just self-twist the thin strands, push the thing in, and use the lever or tightening screw depending on the terminal's mechanism.
Why would I use a ferrule? Or perhaps, under what circumstances is that advised?
PS - Link to the ferrules they mentioned: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R6QQ7MW/
The wire will crush over time and the connection will become looser. That will increase the resistance of the connection and in high current applications will cause heating. If you're really unlucky it will cause a fire.
Ferrules often have insulating shells around the base which are good strain relief.
Ferrules also evenly distribute the clamping force and prevent crushing of the strands.
Ferrules solve the problem of having to align the threads every time you re-post them in a terminal block.