Still work on these express controllers from time to time (I'm a lift mechanic down in Oz). They were a great example of relay logic control. Thanks for sharing!
Their floor selector design is ingenious and their relay design is very compact. Out of all the controllers I've seen, these Express one's always look really well designed.
Ah, you're a Lego man. I'm a Meccano man and I'm making an elevator in Meccano. I'm hoping to learn how to control it with relay logic, so your videos are very helpful. Thanks!
Just going through your back catalogue, your videos were awesome and interesting from the start! I don't understand but love watching old fully analogue lift logic systems doing their thing! The switching device that rotates as the lift ascends or descends puts me in mind of an old electromechanical telephone exchange!
Hi, thanks for the comment. In fact it takes me ages to answer people's comments like this one, because I find myself clicking on the video that you've commented on and re-watching my own videos haha!! Thanks for the compliment :) Yes, indeed it does look like the devices in telephone exchanges, but I believe that Express Lifts had something to do with British Telecom, as they used very similar relays to telephone exchange relays. Can't remember what the connection was, but maybe someone can remind me.
It is also interesting that when the door open button is pressed, the door close relay Turm on after the timer has expired. Apparently, the door open button directly separates the door motor from the relay.
Up and down crash stopper.good ole Express Lift.The worst fault on those GPO type selectors,was the brass cog wheel becoming worn.Takes me back a few years.Those pushes we called for some reason,bird bath pushes,lol good vid thanks.Yes I’m an ex lift engineer.12 years on maintenance and call outs with Express.Appy Dayz.Now retired after 45 years,
Always interesting to hear from ex-lift engineers. I nearly took a career in lift engineering, but decided to go down the security route in the end - now a tech engineer for access control systems. Also love hearing all the terminology - never heard the term bird bath pushes before! Love looking at the old mechanical stuff, the new stuff doesn't really interest me. Thanks for the message.
Hey thanks for your comment ;) Most of these 'trips' are unplanned and opportunist so I don't have time to plan to take tripods, etc. Best to 'get in' - film - then 'get out' asap - prob why I'm shaking so much lol! Also, I never know what I'm going to film until I get in and look. Adobe Premiere doesn't have image stabilisation (unbelievable really - does everything else). In vid #2 @6:15, I had to move the images around constantly to keep text in right place to try and stabilise manually!
Not sure if it still exists, not been back since I filmed it. 90% chance it's been modernised by now, as this was some years ago now (sorry for the copy/paste reply!)
Relay-controlled lifts in Europe are very different here! In America, they use ratchets and more, and in Europe, it uses some kind of other thing instead of ratchets, idk how to say it.
Nice compact motor room there, interesting motor set up. The motor room entrance is quite interesting too, I think the door needs more warning signs though... haha
Does anyone have any information on the relays that Express used? I have a set of schematics for a cabinet and it appears that the actual windings are on 4 pins. I have obtained an X5475 relay which is mostly intact and there are two windings, one connects to pin "A", the other goes to pin "D" and they are both connected to "B" as the common. Pin "C" is not connected. It appears that different versions have different connections for the windings and the Schematics don't indicate how they are wired internally. I'm also unsure whether the relays need both windings energized or whether either would activate them. I was also lucky enough to find a wrecked floor selector which looks to have been stripped for parts. There were enough parts scattered around the room to be able to re-assemble it (mostly). It's surprising how much bigger these parts are in real life. It's really sad to see these old 40+ year old controllers being ripped out.
6:10 I'm bit unsure about the reliability of those old alarm batteries, would be terrible if they were flat when someone is stuck in lift trying to press the alarm.
I suppose years ago that would be a big issue - you'd have to hammer on the doors to get someone's attention. But with mobile phones (assuming the lift is not in the basement and it has a signal) you could ring someone.
They call it "crash leveling" as the motor's momentum is stopped by the brake. If the brake is too loose then the lift will over run the floor every time, and vice-versa.
ruclips.net/video/hAKQCfUlcmk/видео.html The video for the music? Sorry, I'm not a member of Dash Berlin, so I've got no idea if there is a video or not. I used the music in my video.
Step selector? For what it is used? Russian old relay lift controllers do the same, but is much simplier. Just 2 relays per floor plus door open-close timer and protection - 6 relays. In fact - an register for commands and cabin position comparator to determine up/down direction.
0:00 ...i've seen somewhere that poster....and that lift....don't tell me that this is 'GH' . I just recorded there like 2 weeks ago , but I wanted to give a video like 4-5 months later , becuase I have so many video that I want to share before that one uploading ;)
+Redah Sader On this lift, yes, one speed. It's a one speed lift with "crash levelling". When the motor looses power the brake is adjusted to stop the lift level with the floor. Other old lifts work normally with 2 speeds. When you have a DC Generator, then you can switch many speeds to the motor, but these are usually for high rise.
mrmattandmrchay oh thank you man , your videos are amazing!!! I have finished an electrical elevator design with relays but i have some Problems with Multi-speed dc motor but I saw many elevators with one speed so it's okay :D
Yep certainly can, but I think that is the floor selector turning round that is making most of the noise. You've probably see it already, but Part 2 shows you all this... ruclips.net/video/W5Wcj9EJ5Ao/видео.html
i like to see more of your videos of the relays and mechanics. im sick of new technology where computers control everything. machines with moving parts isn't just machines its art!
This control is 30 years old and Express was bought by United technologies read OTIS a few years ago . This old type of telephone floor selector was never very good.
Well spotted! No it doesn't! I was looking for one also, but my lift engineer friend said that not all lifts have a governor - this one included as it's a one speed slow lift. When this was installed it perhaps was not a requirement. Now - I guess you have to fit them(?) So - excessive speed does not trigger a safety device, as there is little risk of an over-speed. Cable failure - YES! If the cables were to break then there is something. Ok, let me explain. The lift car DOES have a safety brake. There is a separate safety cable - This is connected DIRECTLY to the counter weight (the cable does not enter the motor room) instead it just goes up to the top of the shaft then two wheel diverts the cable over the top of the shaft then back down to the counter weight. How does it work - SIMPLE! If the main cables were to fail, then the safety cable would remain which then pulls up the brakes on the lift car. Really simple. If you send me a private message with your email address then I'll send you a photo of the top of the shaft (from this building) and you can see what I mean (don't put your email here in the public messages). Have a nice day! :) Matt
+Tony Baines the heater was a possible clue, sometimes in winter the gear oil can overload the drive and trip the overload the heater near the gearbox will help and putting thin oil in the pots too
+Tony Baines in the highly unlikely event of a total rope fail the car and balance weight will shoot down, attached to the car and weight is a single rope, when the weight shoots down it pulls the dogs in on the car, these are egg shaped steel teeth that grab the guides, hey presto everyone alive :)
I have heard in some countries lift engineers sometimes bypass the lift door interlock using jumper leads so they can observe the lift moving in the shaft or stop the car between floors with doors open to access the roof of the car. Sometimes the engineer has forgot to remove the bypass when passengers start using the lift. This can result in injuries if the lift starts moving with doors open. This has happened in other countries such as the us: www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/suzanne-harts-midtown-ele_n_1304521.html But I have never heard of it happening in Britain. Do we have extra safety mechanisms to prevent lift moving with doors open even if a bypass jumper lead has not been removed?
I don't know exactly how those particular elevators work, but the old electromechanical ones with manual doors that I have been in, would have the cabin light turned off if the doors on all floors are closed (or bypassed with some jumpers). So if I open the door and the cabin light is off, I would know that either the light is broken or the door safety mechanism is not working properly, therefore the elevator could start moving if someone would press the call button on another floor.
ELPaso1990TX older relay logic elevators will move with the doors jumpered but modern microprocessor elevators have built in redundancy features to prevent this jumpering movement.
+ELPaso1990TX todays elevators can, its programmed in that if the doors open and the locks still made i.e. jumper leads, the logic will know and shut the lift down, some lift engineers carry various lock beaks, that they stick in the locks to run the lift with the door open, not only is this dangerous but its also illegal in the uk
I used to work on these lifts. Our safety device was to put the bypass wire through our car key ring. If you forgot the loop was in you could not drive away and leave it like that!
Probably one of the "shakiest" videos in the world, too. You need a decent camcorder with optical image stabilization dude! And/or reduce your caffeine intake... Still an interesting look behind the technology... Some of the relays look like they are similar to rotating relays of telephone switching stations yesteryears...
Still work on these express controllers from time to time (I'm a lift mechanic down in Oz). They were a great example of relay logic control. Thanks for sharing!
booksterpbm where abouts have you seen them installed?
Their floor selector design is ingenious and their relay design is very compact. Out of all the controllers I've seen, these Express one's always look really well designed.
Ah, you're a Lego man. I'm a Meccano man and I'm making an elevator in Meccano. I'm hoping to learn how to control it with relay logic, so your videos are very helpful. Thanks!
Honestly, a more impressive of an accomplishment that the most advanced microchip from now!
I truly love your vids of those old relay elevators!
Great video, you learn more from these videos than with a maintenance man.
Must be a Engineer
Just going through your back catalogue, your videos were awesome and interesting from the start!
I don't understand but love watching old fully analogue lift logic systems doing their thing! The switching device that rotates as the lift ascends or descends puts me in mind of an old electromechanical telephone exchange!
Hi, thanks for the comment. In fact it takes me ages to answer people's comments like this one, because I find myself clicking on the video that you've commented on and re-watching my own videos haha!! Thanks for the compliment :) Yes, indeed it does look like the devices in telephone exchanges, but I believe that Express Lifts had something to do with British Telecom, as they used very similar relays to telephone exchange relays. Can't remember what the connection was, but maybe someone can remind me.
Does this controller work as combinatory logic . With NAND and OR gates for exemple ?
I think these old control systems are really cool.
Analog controllers are so cool, they fascinate me
Basically, I’ll just blast this vid in my lift shaft (relay-controlled ofc!) and people will think that our lift is too loud.
It is also interesting that when the door open button is pressed, the door close relay Turm on after the timer has expired. Apparently, the door open button directly separates the door motor from the relay.
Can some one tell me what music was used when he showed the relay lift logic
Up and down crash stopper.good ole Express Lift.The worst fault on those GPO type selectors,was the brass cog wheel becoming worn.Takes me back a few years.Those pushes we called for some reason,bird bath pushes,lol good vid thanks.Yes I’m an ex lift engineer.12 years on maintenance and call outs with Express.Appy Dayz.Now retired after 45 years,
Always interesting to hear from ex-lift engineers. I nearly took a career in lift engineering, but decided to go down the security route in the end - now a tech engineer for access control systems. Also love hearing all the terminology - never heard the term bird bath pushes before!
Love looking at the old mechanical stuff, the new stuff doesn't really interest me. Thanks for the message.
Mr Matt I love your videos! So interesting, these machines are awesome. Keep up what you love doing and sharing it with us!
Where are they?
Hey thanks for your comment ;)
Most of these 'trips' are unplanned and opportunist so I don't have time to plan to take tripods, etc. Best to 'get in' - film - then 'get out' asap - prob why I'm shaking so much lol! Also, I never know what I'm going to film until I get in and look.
Adobe Premiere doesn't have image stabilisation (unbelievable really - does everything else).
In vid #2 @6:15, I had to move the images around constantly to keep text in right place to try and stabilise manually!
better than an excellent work....surprised me the details that you shared...
Why do elevator videos keep showing in my suggested.
well, I'm certainly not going to complain haha! Hope the videos are of some interest to you :)
Great info and great videos. Many thanks.
Does the lift still exist
Not sure if it still exists, not been back since I filmed it. 90% chance it's been modernised by now, as this was some years ago now (sorry for the copy/paste reply!)
Thanks a lot for this video !
cool, thanks for your comment
1:19 what's the name of the music?
the relay switches really make music!
Reminds me a lot of old telephone switching equipment.
Relay-controlled lifts in Europe are very different here! In America, they use ratchets and more, and in Europe, it uses some kind of other thing instead of ratchets, idk how to say it.
can you run the lift from there?
Nice compact motor room there, interesting motor set up. The motor room entrance is quite interesting too, I think the door needs more warning signs though... haha
That's very great video to find!
Does anyone have any information on the relays that Express used? I have a set of schematics for a cabinet and it appears that the actual windings are on 4 pins. I have obtained an X5475 relay which is mostly intact and there are two windings, one connects to pin "A", the other goes to pin "D" and they are both connected to "B" as the common. Pin "C" is not connected. It appears that different versions have different connections for the windings and the Schematics don't indicate how they are wired internally. I'm also unsure whether the relays need both windings energized or whether either would activate them. I was also lucky enough to find a wrecked floor selector which looks to have been stripped for parts. There were enough parts scattered around the room to be able to re-assemble it (mostly). It's surprising how much bigger these parts are in real life. It's really sad to see these old 40+ year old controllers being ripped out.
Wie heißt das Lied 1:20
6:10 I'm bit unsure about the reliability of those old alarm batteries, would be terrible if they were flat when someone is stuck in lift trying to press the alarm.
I suppose years ago that would be a big issue - you'd have to hammer on the doors to get someone's attention.
But with mobile phones (assuming the lift is not in the basement and it has a signal) you could ring someone.
I love this very eunique lift because it doesn't level
They call it "crash leveling" as the motor's momentum is stopped by the brake. If the brake is too loose then the lift will over run the floor every time, and vice-versa.
Also called 2 speed AC??
Single speed.
HAHA i laughed so hard about the ball valves. Oh noo!
terrified of the damn things lol. no way i'd be a plumber!
Интересные у Вас там релюшки.
where do you get the dream music
+Sivakumar Sadasivam Medwyn Goodall - Green Tourmaline. If you PM me your email I'll send it to you (was unable to send you a PM).
1:21 music please :)
That's Dash Berlin - Surrender
matt i cannot find the video with this music :( can you send me link please :D
ruclips.net/video/hAKQCfUlcmk/видео.html The video for the music? Sorry, I'm not a member of Dash Berlin, so I've got no idea if there is a video or not. I used the music in my video.
ok :(
Why is the motor 90 degrees to the ropes?
That's because you cannot see the missing component... the worm drive. When I get home I'll give you a link to one of my movies that explains it...
Awesome!
cool, many thanks :)
Step selector? For what it is used? Russian old relay lift controllers do the same, but is much simplier. Just 2 relays per floor plus door open-close timer and protection - 6 relays. In fact - an register for commands and cabin position comparator to determine up/down direction.
0:00 ...i've seen somewhere that poster....and that lift....don't tell me that this is 'GH' . I just recorded there like 2 weeks ago , but I wanted to give a video like 4-5 months later , becuase I have so many video that I want to share before that one uploading ;)
Nice video!!
Motor work with only one speed
Is this right?
+Redah Sader On this lift, yes, one speed. It's a one speed lift with "crash levelling". When the motor looses power the brake is adjusted to stop the lift level with the floor. Other old lifts work normally with 2 speeds. When you have a DC Generator, then you can switch many speeds to the motor, but these are usually for high rise.
mrmattandmrchay oh thank you man , your videos are amazing!!!
I have finished an electrical elevator design with relays but i have some Problems with Multi-speed dc motor but I saw many elevators with one speed so it's okay :D
+Redah Sader sounds cool! I've checked your channel hoping to find a video of it. Maybe you could upload at some stage? Thanks for the comment :)
I like your machines much better then the ones we use in the USA , ours are big and need oil and leak when they get old
thank you :)
I'm making a model one of them pleas respond
It stops very abruptly!
Harrihealey02 has closed his account. :( Any ideas why?
on 8:49 if you hear closely you can hear the relays
Yep certainly can, but I think that is the floor selector turning round that is making most of the noise. You've probably see it already, but Part 2 shows you all this... ruclips.net/video/W5Wcj9EJ5Ao/видео.html
oh ok :P
i like to see more of your videos of the relays and mechanics. im sick of new technology where computers control everything. machines with moving parts isn't just machines its art!
Absolutely my philosophy! Old lift machinery videos is what I do best, but it becomes harder and harders to find them these days
Dash Berlin-Surrender
thanks :)
This control is 30 years old and Express was bought by United technologies read OTIS a few years ago . This old type of telephone floor selector was never very good.
+738polarbear the MH selector was an excellent bit of kit and very reliable if it was properly maintained.
Actually way more, at 60-70 years old (installed in 1957)
We have an old relay elevator thats still going since 1958
There are certainly old lifts out there, finding them is the difficult bit! Thanks for comment
mrmattandmrchay: That is a GREAT!! video Thank You.
Cool, glad you enjoyed watching it :)
Fab video
And here I was expecting to see an “Express” elevator, not an elevator by “Express”
Great floor controller.
Well spotted! No it doesn't! I was looking for one also, but my lift engineer friend said that not all lifts have a governor - this one included as it's a one speed slow lift.
When this was installed it perhaps was not a requirement. Now - I guess you have to fit them(?)
So - excessive speed does not trigger a safety device, as there is little risk of an over-speed.
Cable failure - YES! If the cables were to break then there is something.
Ok, let me explain. The lift car DOES have a safety brake. There is a separate safety cable - This is connected DIRECTLY to the counter weight (the cable does not enter the motor room) instead it just goes up to the top of the shaft then two wheel diverts the cable over the top of the shaft then back down to the counter weight.
How does it work - SIMPLE! If the main cables were to fail, then the safety cable would remain which then pulls up the brakes on the lift car. Really simple.
If you send me a private message with your email address then I'll send you a photo of the top of the shaft (from this building) and you can see what I mean (don't put your email here in the public messages).
Have a nice day! :) Matt
+mrmattandmrchay
no matt its dashpot oil for the overloads or ellison.
+Tony Baines
the heater was a possible clue, sometimes in winter the gear oil can overload the drive and trip the overload the heater near the gearbox will help and putting thin oil in the pots too
+Tony Baines
in the highly unlikely event of a total rope fail the car and balance weight will shoot down, attached to the car and weight is a single rope, when the weight shoots down it pulls the dogs in on the car, these are egg shaped steel teeth that grab the guides, hey presto everyone alive :)
+Tony Baines
and the cable does enter the motor room matt it goes over 2 small idler pulleys these usually have grease storphers on.for maintenance.
+Tony Baines Not true .There is only a safety gear cable attached to a cwt if there is a room under the cwt ,
I have heard in some countries lift engineers sometimes bypass the lift door interlock using jumper leads so they can observe the lift moving in the shaft or stop the car between floors with doors open to access the roof of the car.
Sometimes the engineer has forgot to remove the bypass when passengers start using the lift. This can result in injuries if the lift starts moving with doors open.
This has happened in other countries such as the us:
www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/suzanne-harts-midtown-ele_n_1304521.html
But I have never heard of it happening in Britain. Do we have extra safety mechanisms to prevent lift moving with doors open even if a bypass jumper lead has not been removed?
I don't know exactly how those particular elevators work, but the old electromechanical ones with manual doors that I have been in, would have the cabin light turned off if the doors on all floors are closed (or bypassed with some jumpers). So if I open the door and the cabin light is off, I would know that either the light is broken or the door safety mechanism is not working properly, therefore the elevator could start moving if someone would press the call button on another floor.
ELPaso1990TX older relay logic elevators will move with the doors jumpered but modern microprocessor elevators have built in redundancy features to prevent this jumpering movement.
+ELPaso1990TX todays elevators can, its programmed in that if the doors open and the locks still made i.e. jumper leads, the logic will know and shut the lift down, some lift engineers carry various lock beaks, that they stick in the locks to run the lift with the door open, not only is this dangerous but its also illegal in the uk
I used to work on these lifts. Our safety device was to put the bypass wire through our car key ring. If you forgot the loop was in you could not drive away and leave it like that!
1:10 hah
Also at 3:29 if you look at the relay labeled "LS" you can see an arc... probably 30 volt dc?
I believe these were 110V.
115 DC
Ball valves.... Oh noes!
8:14 they should have included "the lift cannot steal you soul"
umm douse the lift have a govener???
This is actually from 1957
This is electrical engineering porn.
Probably one of the "shakiest" videos in the world, too. You need a decent camcorder with optical image stabilization dude! And/or reduce your caffeine intake...
Still an interesting look behind the technology... Some of the relays look like they are similar to rotating relays of telephone switching stations yesteryears...
That's lucky what is be caught at it! Likes a elevator busted wasn't you?!
aww, lost kitty :(
2 important tools emery board wood dowl
+guy b I'm gonna have to google it lol
'Accidentally'? How does that work? :/
RUclips delete all your videos I think when you delete your account. :(
hehe click bong click bong so funny wait are my lifts express or bennie
relay llamada 13500
My phobia :| :)
hey can we be friends
+Sivakumar Sadasivam Of course we can :)
You ruined the video with that noise you probably call music...thumbs down...