This project turned out way better than I thought it would. The perfect bedside clock to stop you ever over sleeping again! Or sleeping at all for that matter... if you've got any project ideas you want to see happen, stick them in the comments!
I don't know what your full experience is, but I totally would like to watch you over complicate something like a DIY NAS solution. Helpful given you're starting out on your youtube carreer. Would totally be interesting to see how you would make use of something like the Server caddys for the DELL PowerEdge lineup (or make your own interesting hotswappable mechanism for a NAS solution) You could also use an ESP32 for.. whatever else? who knows, surprise us
Once I've seen a small waterfall that consisted of like 20 hose on the top. Each hose had a valve and could be switched on and off individually and quickly. By doing so the waterfall was creating images... hope you understand what I meen...
This guy's going hard. Q&A, Follow up, AND giving us a guide along with files (not to mention the time it takes to come up with a script, edit the videos and create the documentation)? Hope you don't burn yourself out too quick
Thank you! I love doing this stuff, I figured I'd make a second video with some minor changes and Q&A before you guys have to wait months for me to build whatever the next thing will be lol
You could overcome the issue of unflipped flaps not updating by separating out the update function into two loops - doing the segments that need to be flipped first, and then going through the ones that should already be correct. This way you'll get the benefit of a nice consistent sound without the "stuttering" effect you get currently.
Idea for a "nightstand" mode that doesn't keep you up all night: Make it go into silent-mode after a certain hour, in this mode it will blank out the clock and only a press of the "What-Time-Is-It" button will reveal the time while its pressed, after which it will revert to its blanked out state again. Then when the "alarm" time arrives, it will resume the regular operation, changing every minute as usual. Might even be cool to use the flipping noises as the alarm itself by constantly flipping the segments back and forth (maybe alternating the time with the word "RISE" ) until the snooze button is pressed.
I LOVE THIS. That is such an amazing idea! If someone ends up using this as a bedside clock I'll be seriously tempted to code this out. It shouldn't be hard at all but would be so cool!!
The fact you took the time to do a follow up and answer questions from the first one, AND made modifications... Bravo! And the fact that at the end you gave in to all us juvenile commenters/viewers and made it flash 80085... Just legend!
you said there'd be a long period of flip flapping at the end, and I thought 'that's going to be terrible for viewer retention stats, im not going to watch that', then just like that the flip flapping finished, damn it really is mesmerising😆
@@tin_foil_hat99 I'm glad you did. They are glorious and sound awesome! I would make some if it wasn't for knowing they'd be far too distracting for my brain😂
I think it’s so cool how you explain everything so in-depth. Like, it’s crazy how dedicated you are! AND you provide all the files for free!? Truly someone that just wants to share their hobby for all the right reasons! I support it.
Thank you!! I think that for some more techincal projects such as this, especially when there are lots of questions, a part 2 can be super interesting. I guess because not as many people watch them it isn't worth their time for the larger channels.
Another advantage of the split flip (or most mechanical) displays is the audio indication that they are being updated. The Wilmington, DE train station had the flip displays (I haven't been in it since a renovation so I don't know if they updated the displays or not) so if one is sitting in the concourse waiting to know when to go up to the platform, you don't have to watch the display to see when there is an update. Even with moderate background noise, the sound of the split flip display updating is unique enough to pull one's attention away from a book or phone/tablet screen.
Oh that's a great point I forgot to mention! Makes you wonder why they don't just play a small tune or 'ding' with the modern LED displays (maybe they do, I haven't been in an airport for some time). Sadly I think they've replaced the split-flap displays now. Thanks for the comment(s) :)
Yeah just with projects! Find something you want to build, then use youtube and forums as you go. You build up the knowledge, and I've been doing it for around 8 years :)
I find the best motivation to learning is solving a problem with a project of sorts. It helps keep you on track. Think of something you wish you had, and imagine how you might build one cheaper, or better. Then start the project. I have always enjoyed learning by projects myself.
I bet you could detect the flap position using a hall effect sensor at the end of each bolt. The magnetic field would probably conduct enough through the metal to tell if it's half-flipped or on either bolt.
Would be really cool to see a stress test, a program that tracks the number of times each segment switches and then just runs them all endlessly till something goes wrong. Maybe a temp sensor on some of the coils as well?
Love the project. Maybe the next project could be a flip dot display? Like the design used on buses to show the destination etc. that one could use one electromagnet per pixel but I’m sure the challenges there is the sheer number of pixels needed.
Subscribed in 20 seconds! This is so impressive! I've been intimidated for years to mess with anything beyond the basics of batteries, resistors, and diodes. Hope to get to your level one day! Might try to build this for some experience 😁
i dont know man. p channel mosfets are pretty cheap on amazon. also, consider making the horizontal segments flip horizontally. might ad some challenge but will also eliminate a point of potential failure.
It seems to me that you could mitigate the problem of failures to flip by pulsing the current state magnets at a constant rate, sequentially throughout each unit. This would probably be a software feature. This way the entire display module changes all at once (powered by bigger caps) when a digit changes, but these small intermediate pulses would ensure that a failure to flip never remains stable for long. This would increase the overall power consumption of the display, but not significantly, and the sequential pulsing would prevent the maximum power draw from spiking higher than a digit change at any given time.
Here's how one can get rid of the relays: use 7 mosfets or transistors for each module Then instead of muxing as a grid, add one 74hc595 to each module which can drive 8 bits (and can be chained!!) For a 14A power supply here are some options: 1. 12V LED power supply. Look around and you'll find stupid cheap ones... Just don't expect quality :) 2. Automotive batteries, lead acid or newer types. They provide a convenient 12.6V. 3. Li-ion batteries: a single 10C 2000mAh Li-ion can provide 20A. Use in series to boost voltage. Use a BMS with discharge protection, charge properly, etc. 4. Supercaps are cheap these days. To supply 14A with only a few volts of droop you'll need like 300mF. If you use the common 2.7V 3.3F supercaps and connect 6 of those in series you get 550mF. But you might need balancing resistors and watch out for heating (esp. due to ESR mismatch) In all these cases you'll need to make sure your wires can handle 14A and put some capacitance like 1000uF in each module to counteract wire inductance.
Thanks for all the info, good stuff! I do have a 12v 20A powersupply (and even 40A...) but as you said they'll toast my thin little wires. I'd need to beef it all up a bit and I like the idea of a single shift reg. per digit. I think all up it would cost a fraction more, but it would have some good benifits. Using 7 MOSFETs would definitally allow the 14A to be switched easily, unlike my darlinton transisitor arrays, which would start producing 'magic smoke'. Thanks for the comment!
On lack of 3D printer: sometimes (but I'm not sure it is the case there) you can get away with spray-painted crafting cardboard. With carefully hidden bends and overlaps it is not distinguishable from painted metal. Can be used in case you don't want to invest into 3d printer for one-off project with not gears involved. You can even design the model in CAD and print cutting layout on the cardboard sheet.
Wow that sounds like a lot of work, there's no way I have the patience for that lol But hey, if you can do that I'm thoroughly impressed. Thanks for the comment!
@@tin_foil_hat99 I built an air duct for blower fan for server GPU used in a PC case. Basically handcrafting cardboard + chopsticks + wood glue + metal mounting bracket because there was no way around it. Tools needed are present in any home, basically. Took 3 evenings to design and build this thing... Well, it is about balancing short term vs long term investment. The most basic 3D printer have a price of 4 electric drills, I guess.
If you made all the segments the same shape as the center one you could flip them around the center axis which would require much less torque. But the look of the digits would change.
3:00ish - you could also add a middle ground to your overwrite mode - if the magnet does not need to be flipped, but you want to add that extra reliablility, instead of energising the magnet for 50ms, you could just run it for 10ms... it's still faster but gives higher reliability? :) Just a thought :)
Yeah that's a great idea! Someone else suggested flip all the ones that need flipping first, then go back and do all the other ones last, which has a simliar concept to your idea of flip the 'correct' ones with less of a preference. Thanks for the comment :)
I can see a way to check and update only the ones that need updating with relatively minor changes. If you were able to use a relay supply low voltage PWM to the power lines, you could roughly measure the inductance of the coils and see which way they were switched, then switch back to power to correct any that were wrong.
This is a great idea! The idea of PWM is quite interesting as the coil closer to the magnet would likley have a different inductace to the one further away. Sadly I think the shift regesters I've used are only serial out (meaning that they can't read signals back) but there are probably in&out alternatives. One of the things I love about YT is that you get so many great ideas from people such as yourself!
This is a great project. I may (someday) build one, but in the mean time I really enjoy these design and build videos (I always want to know how the sausage is made). With your software suite, have you considered incorporating some FreeCAD? There is a plugin for FreeCAD for seamlessly transferring KiCAD PCB designs into and out of FreeCAD (ECAD and MCAD integration) to help with complex board outlines and designing enclosures for boards.
Thank you for your comment! I'm glad you liked the project, I also love finding out how things work. My next project requires some very tight fitting PCB enclosures so I'll definitely check out freeCAD. Thanks for the heads up!
I learned most my stuff from youtube and experience. If you have an electrical engineering project in mind, maybe something to do with Arduino etc just work at it in your own time with youtube and google as your guide and you'll quickly build up skills.
You should make a live display with how many k subscribers you have, would be a fun feature in your house and the number doesnt change quickly enough for the displays to be updated
I love it! I was originally going to do this, but when I saw the RUclips api that tells you your subs also can delete, upload and modify any element of your channel I got scared that id accidentally "delete all" lol Just displaying the "k" subs is smart from a noise perspective
If you are using coils or relays you must have a diode protecting the back emf. Otherwise the induced high voltages will destroy your electronic components. Very quickly. If you want to see how much voltage there is. Just connect 1.5v to your coil and hold the leads when you break the connections. Or just use a fast multimeter or oscilloscope
Very mad. But maybe surprisingly feasible. I think I've done quite enough with flipdots for the time being but I'll keep hoping one day someone posts a remix with a 14 segment display :)
wondering if you could share what kind of power supply you are using. the coils are basically a short right? all the small wall plug power supplies i find have short circuit protection and they shut off when trying to energize the coils.
I just have a random 12v supply (I collect them over time from broken appliances). But, since the coils do have resistance they don't 'count' as a short as I was running it off a 12v supply with short circuit protection at some point. If all else fails, an old laptop charger/led power supply should do it. Edit: After re-reading your comment, have you tried this yourself? If so maybe I can help debug. Have you tried measuring the resistance with a multimeter, it might be too low. Make sure it's 12v, as anything more will allow a larger current to flow though and might cause issues.
thank you for the reply. i started my own kind of flipdot display about a month ago and while doing research came across your videos. mine has long bars that flip with several words of text that is different on the other side. for a sign that can change what it says. i have been testing with a variable power supply that doesnt have short protection. i dont have a coil winding machine, so i use a drill. counting coils is impossible that way. so i wind them tightly and count the number of layers. 10 layers of 28 gauge gives me 3.6 ohm per coil. tied together that is halved. at 12v about 750 mA works. i can bring it down to 7,5v at 1.2 A and down even further to 5v at 2.2 A. i tried 32 gauge wire and got a resistance of 10.4 ohm per coil but 32 gauge was harder to work with and the 28 gauge worked with my non short protection power supply so i went with 28 gauge. this was before trying with a 12v laptop adapter that has short protection. i see you have a resistance of 24.4 ohm. maybe i need to stick with the 32 gauge and do more layers? if i throw a 39 ohm resistor into my power line the short protection stops shutting it off but the coils no longer work.
also i am a little similar to you. been doing this stuff for about a decade. completely self taught using the internet. so i may also not do things the best way but i get it done. most of my time has been just leds but the last few years ive moved into motors, actuators, esp iot etc
also i am using l298n instead of relays because i had a few lying around and they are basically h bridges all by themselves driving 4 coils each for 2 dots per module
Still building this. But I need to redesign your case to have a period on each didget. Do you have some thoughts on problems I might run into? Your Instructables said that the PCB has this built in, and when I was creating a build list (which I can share) I specked it out for 6 didgets, with periods on each didget.
Oooo ok I wanted to do this too, but didn't have the need for decimal points. I think the only issue you'll run into is physically fitting a flip dot in it. If you can do that, you should be golden. The PCB will work plug and play for a period, but you'll have to modify the code to do the same. In very very short, the code works by passing one byte where the 1's are which flaps should turn white (the code will handle the black ones aka the 0s), the final bit of the byte is always just a 0 but if you change that to be 1 it will turn on the period.
@ I need to break into the Model, but I belive you included the step file. I think I will have the space if I make it a little taller. The worry I have is the electromagnet being to close to things
I have included a fusion 360 file but I'll go add the step file now (I normally do, must have forgotten). I don't think the electromagnet should be a worry as it should be far enough away. You can always do a bit of experimenting. If you do make a working version, I imagine it would be a very popular remix (should you want to share it).
@ Awsome I dont use fusion 360 so that would be helpful. And I will post the remix if it works.. Need to save up to buy the electronics, with 6 numbers it will be about 160 US
@@OuroborosArmory I uploaded the files. I'd try building just one digit first, there might be some other design changes you want to do whilst adding your period that might reduce costs for you or change the parts you need. But, entirely up to you.
Not being negative, but I would like to see each digit update all segments at the same time... either within one digit, or all digits at the same time. [I understand this is not how this was designed, and many think it is pleasing how it clicks and clacks as it updates.]
I'm sure I saw someone (Tom Scott, maybe?) once make a video where the approx. like count, or something along those lines, would be shown in the video. They did this by making a really long video containing all the possibilities and having a script use the youtube API to constantly edit which parts were played. You should do something like that with your display. :-)
@@tin_foil_hat99 No PLA option available. The default choice, UTR 8360 🤷♂, is the cheapest. I'm going to combine some of the files, reducing the space between parts, and see if that changes anything.
I just tried it too, I can choose pla which is about half the cost of UTR. By combining files you can get it to around $150 for all the parts which is still a good chunk of cash in my opinion... maybe leave the project on the todo list until oneday you (hopefully) buy a 3D printer! I would seriously recomend buying one, they're amazing.
As you mentioned that (Sometimes) a "Display Segment" fails to flip 😢 .. Try looping the "Flipping Code" 3 times. Giving the segments a Second and Third chance to flip and display correctly. 🤞🤞
@@x_CrossHair_x That's a interesting idea (both the code and the laminated cores). I agree it is better to fix the root issue first, but honestly sometimes software hacks work too (until they come back to bite you lol). I have no idea how I'd get laminated cores.
Nice. But why large rectangles? Why not dots? You could have made letters/images/etc everything you wanted. You can make an M or W when you lie one on it´s side. Put them on their side and stack them. You could make more letters.
Oh nice idea with lying them on the side! I chose rectangles because I was building these for someone else who wanted 7 segment displays. There are ways to represent all letters such as m and w on such displays but they don't really look like the actual letter. But yes alternatively I could have made a flipdot matrix
@@tin_foil_hat99 well who better than my old pal tin_foil_hat 🤣 i think you can overcome the challenge of setting up a manufacturing line for these things, i believe in you buddy.
Amazing once again, making a 20+ minute video with this production value from home is nuts, and a tremendous feat, and I didn’t even have any of these questions and yet I watched every second, but unfortunately there’s not a red circle in the thumbnail, so unfortunately I have to unsubscribe
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
This project turned out way better than I thought it would. The perfect bedside clock to stop you ever over sleeping again! Or sleeping at all for that matter... if you've got any project ideas you want to see happen, stick them in the comments!
I don't know what your full experience is, but I totally would like to watch you over complicate something like a DIY NAS solution. Helpful given you're starting out on your youtube carreer. Would totally be interesting to see how you would make use of something like the Server caddys for the DELL PowerEdge lineup (or make your own interesting hotswappable mechanism for a NAS solution)
You could also use an ESP32 for.. whatever else? who knows, surprise us
Great work. And I love the sequential flipping
Once I've seen a small waterfall that consisted of like 20 hose on the top. Each hose had a valve and could be switched on and off individually and quickly. By doing so the waterfall was creating images... hope you understand what I meen...
200ish to 13k is a jump good luck, don't drown have fun
When will this be available for purchase
I can't express how awesome this is
Woah that was quick! Thanks for the comment :)
This guy's going hard. Q&A, Follow up, AND giving us a guide along with files (not to mention the time it takes to come up with a script, edit the videos and create the documentation)? Hope you don't burn yourself out too quick
Thank you! I love doing this stuff, I figured I'd make a second video with some minor changes and Q&A before you guys have to wait months for me to build whatever the next thing will be lol
@@tin_foil_hat99do you have a blusky by any chance?
@TheWebgecko I'm not sure what that is sorry.
@@tin_foil_hat99 it’s like Twitter but less doomscroll-y
You could overcome the issue of unflipped flaps not updating by separating out the update function into two loops - doing the segments that need to be flipped first, and then going through the ones that should already be correct.
This way you'll get the benefit of a nice consistent sound without the "stuttering" effect you get currently.
That's a great idea!
@@jhonbus use a half effect sensor to know if your segment have been flip correctly
Idea for a "nightstand" mode that doesn't keep you up all night:
Make it go into silent-mode after a certain hour, in this mode it will blank out the clock and only a press of the "What-Time-Is-It" button will reveal the time while its pressed, after which it will revert to its blanked out state again. Then when the "alarm" time arrives, it will resume the regular operation, changing every minute as usual.
Might even be cool to use the flipping noises as the alarm itself by constantly flipping the segments back and forth (maybe alternating the time with the word "RISE" ) until the snooze button is pressed.
I LOVE THIS. That is such an amazing idea! If someone ends up using this as a bedside clock I'll be seriously tempted to code this out. It shouldn't be hard at all but would be so cool!!
@@tin_foil_hat99 awesome!
The fact you took the time to do a follow up and answer questions from the first one, AND made modifications... Bravo!
And the fact that at the end you gave in to all us juvenile commenters/viewers and made it flash 80085...
Just legend!
Thanks mate!! I couldn't not do the 80085 😂
you said there'd be a long period of flip flapping at the end, and I thought 'that's going to be terrible for viewer retention stats, im not going to watch that', then just like that the flip flapping finished, damn it really is mesmerising😆
I thought that exact same thing! And sure, it probably will damage viewer retention, but I'd rather make a fun video with more clicking
@@tin_foil_hat99 I'm glad you did. They are glorious and sound awesome! I would make some if it wasn't for knowing they'd be far too distracting for my brain😂
All glory to the HypnoClock
Dude, you are a legend!
Thanks @xpeterson !
I think you should investigate that capacitor idea. 14A is momentary, it might give you higher update frequency and make it less noisy.
I think it’s so cool how you explain everything so in-depth. Like, it’s crazy how dedicated you are! AND you provide all the files for free!? Truly someone that just wants to share their hobby for all the right reasons! I support it.
Thank you! I appreciate the comment :) Just doing what I love.
S 1:07
U 3:07
b 3:52
S 4:56
C 5:14
r 6:24
I 7:05
b 8:10
E 10:10
I'm so surprized people pick up on this stuff
@@tin_foil_hat99 No joke - I saw 'U2' first and thought _"I still haven't found what I'm looking for"_
Well you're the first one to notice it!
🏆
Dude the quality of those 2 videos is through the roof. Good job
Thanks mate!
I wish so many other channels would do informative follow up videos like this. Excellent work!!!!!!
Thank you!! I think that for some more techincal projects such as this, especially when there are lots of questions, a part 2 can be super interesting. I guess because not as many people watch them it isn't worth their time for the larger channels.
I love the follow up! Thanks!
You're welcome! That was a fast comment :)
21:19 crap he's onto us
You better watch out @crazybird199... :)
Another advantage of the split flip (or most mechanical) displays is the audio indication that they are being updated. The Wilmington, DE train station had the flip displays (I haven't been in it since a renovation so I don't know if they updated the displays or not) so if one is sitting in the concourse waiting to know when to go up to the platform, you don't have to watch the display to see when there is an update. Even with moderate background noise, the sound of the split flip display updating is unique enough to pull one's attention away from a book or phone/tablet screen.
Oh that's a great point I forgot to mention! Makes you wonder why they don't just play a small tune or 'ding' with the modern LED displays (maybe they do, I haven't been in an airport for some time). Sadly I think they've replaced the split-flap displays now. Thanks for the comment(s) :)
Great part 2! Love your humbleness and there's nothing like designing and/or building something yourself, issues warts and all!
Thank you! Engineering is the best :) ... except for integration hell ...
Thanks for part 2
You're welcome!
This is the first project of such scale that I started making. I love it.
Wow good luck!!
Insanely impressive that you are self taught. Did you learn just by doing projects like these or was there a specific resource you used to learn?
Yeah just with projects! Find something you want to build, then use youtube and forums as you go. You build up the knowledge, and I've been doing it for around 8 years :)
I find the best motivation to learning is solving a problem with a project of sorts. It helps keep you on track. Think of something you wish you had, and imagine how you might build one cheaper, or better. Then start the project. I have always enjoyed learning by projects myself.
That is exactly how I did it! Cheaper, better or customised!
This is such as amazing project. Thanks so much to share your knowledge.
You're welcome!
For the flipping upwards issue, you could ballance the flaps with some inserted nuts on the other side.
Oh smart, like a counter balance? Or even a magnet somewhere that helps boost it up.
@tin_foil_hat99 my intention was as a counter balance, but a magnet for some extra boost could also work.
Yeah nice idea!
This might benefit from Solid State Relays. But no matter that, it's a magnificent design and a gorgeous video to boot. You sir, are the best!
Thank you! SSRs are a good idea
I bet you could detect the flap position using a hall effect sensor at the end of each bolt. The magnetic field would probably conduct enough through the metal to tell if it's half-flipped or on either bolt.
Oh nice idea!! That's very smart, I really like this. It'd increase the cost a bit, but hall sensors are pretty cheap these days.
Nice improvements for V2!
Thank you!!
Awesome, its way cheaper and work intensive than I thought!
Thank you for sharing this awesome work. love the flipping sound
You're welcome, I'm glad you liked it!!
SOOOOO good. Thanks for the follow-up and I'm looking forward to whatever comes next!
Thank you!
Would be really cool to see a stress test, a program that tracks the number of times each segment switches and then just runs them all endlessly till something goes wrong. Maybe a temp sensor on some of the coils as well?
Yes this is a good point! The coils do warm up if the power is applied constantly, which changes how strong it is and can overall effect the display.
This has been awesome! Well done!
Thank you mate!
Love the project. Maybe the next project could be a flip dot display? Like the design used on buses to show the destination etc. that one could use one electromagnet per pixel but I’m sure the challenges there is the sheer number of pixels needed.
Yeah that could be a cool idea! Thanks for the comment
Subscribed in 20 seconds! This is so impressive! I've been intimidated for years to mess with anything beyond the basics of batteries, resistors, and diodes. Hope to get to your level one day! Might try to build this for some experience 😁
You just need to get going on any small arduino project! You'll pick it up before you know it, this might be a complex first project... but who knows
You know, I didn't think the relays would be that noticeable. But they give a nice higher pitched sound than the flips. It is mesmerizing.
Yeah they add to the whole clicking experience!
Adding a comment just so this bro gets engagement he deserves and the algorithm smiles upon him
Thanks bro, appreciate it!
I like hearing the relays clicking :)
me too :)
Good job mate.
If the narrow width of the center segment is causing torque problems, why not make it wider? Seems like there’s room above and below.
That's a really good point, I didn't think of that.
I prefer the per-segment updates. It's cool to see each number morphing from the previous one.
Yeah I've grown to love it! Afterall if you wanted a fast display you'd use LEDs, so really you'd only make this for the clicking and tactile feel.
Thank you for answering my question around if it knows where it is and how it needs to keep checking
No worries :)
i dont know man. p channel mosfets are pretty cheap on amazon. also, consider making the horizontal segments flip horizontally. might ad some challenge but will also eliminate a point of potential failure.
oh smart I like the idea of flipping them sideways, might look a bit weird but would help eliminate some issues
If you're already getting pcbs from a pcb manufacturer perhaps you can get the digit flaps cut as pcbs?
ooo that's a cool idea! first time anyone has mentioned it too!
It seems to me that you could mitigate the problem of failures to flip by pulsing the current state magnets at a constant rate, sequentially throughout each unit. This would probably be a software feature. This way the entire display module changes all at once (powered by bigger caps) when a digit changes, but these small intermediate pulses would ensure that a failure to flip never remains stable for long. This would increase the overall power consumption of the display, but not significantly, and the sequential pulsing would prevent the maximum power draw from spiking higher than a digit change at any given time.
This is a good idea. By using smaller pulses you could reduce power spikes and thus get the flaps to flip all at once. I like it!
Geeze! That was a smooth sponsor section!
Thank you! I try to find sponsors that are actually relevant to the audience, none of that other random crap unless I think it's genuinely useful
You doing my dream work😊
Keep it up❤
My dream work too 😊
Here's how one can get rid of the relays: use 7 mosfets or transistors for each module
Then instead of muxing as a grid, add one 74hc595 to each module which can drive 8 bits (and can be chained!!)
For a 14A power supply here are some options:
1. 12V LED power supply. Look around and you'll find stupid cheap ones... Just don't expect quality :)
2. Automotive batteries, lead acid or newer types. They provide a convenient 12.6V.
3. Li-ion batteries: a single 10C 2000mAh Li-ion can provide 20A. Use in series to boost voltage. Use a BMS with discharge protection, charge properly, etc.
4. Supercaps are cheap these days. To supply 14A with only a few volts of droop you'll need like 300mF. If you use the common 2.7V 3.3F supercaps and connect 6 of those in series you get 550mF. But you might need balancing resistors and watch out for heating (esp. due to ESR mismatch)
In all these cases you'll need to make sure your wires can handle 14A and put some capacitance like 1000uF in each module to counteract wire inductance.
Thanks for all the info, good stuff! I do have a 12v 20A powersupply (and even 40A...) but as you said they'll toast my thin little wires. I'd need to beef it all up a bit and I like the idea of a single shift reg. per digit. I think all up it would cost a fraction more, but it would have some good benifits. Using 7 MOSFETs would definitally allow the 14A to be switched easily, unlike my darlinton transisitor arrays, which would start producing 'magic smoke'. Thanks for the comment!
If it was a subscriber counter, it would have been going nuts :-)
I know! I could have never guessed this would EVER happen!! Thanks for the comment :)
Here's an idea too even further boost the usefulness:
a 14- segment display version
Oh no... here I thought 7 segments were hard to fit in the case
@@tin_foil_hat99 why not make the case twice the size ( for double the segments)
jumbo displays :)
AYY HE DID THE THING
even better tho somehow
On lack of 3D printer: sometimes (but I'm not sure it is the case there) you can get away with spray-painted crafting cardboard. With carefully hidden bends and overlaps it is not distinguishable from painted metal. Can be used in case you don't want to invest into 3d printer for one-off project with not gears involved. You can even design the model in CAD and print cutting layout on the cardboard sheet.
Wow that sounds like a lot of work, there's no way I have the patience for that lol But hey, if you can do that I'm thoroughly impressed. Thanks for the comment!
@@tin_foil_hat99 I built an air duct for blower fan for server GPU used in a PC case. Basically handcrafting cardboard + chopsticks + wood glue + metal mounting bracket because there was no way around it. Tools needed are present in any home, basically. Took 3 evenings to design and build this thing... Well, it is about balancing short term vs long term investment. The most basic 3D printer have a price of 4 electric drills, I guess.
I have been waiting for this
I'm glad :)
make the PCB boards and partner with US and Canadian retailer to resell for you in local markets
If you made all the segments the same shape as the center one you could flip them around the center axis which would require much less torque. But the look of the digits would change.
Yeah you could do that!
3:00ish - you could also add a middle ground to your overwrite mode - if the magnet does not need to be flipped, but you want to add that extra reliablility, instead of energising the magnet for 50ms, you could just run it for 10ms... it's still faster but gives higher reliability? :)
Just a thought :)
Yeah that's a great idea! Someone else suggested flip all the ones that need flipping first, then go back and do all the other ones last, which has a simliar concept to your idea of flip the 'correct' ones with less of a preference. Thanks for the comment :)
I wonder how hard it would be to add a small circle flipper for periods and decimals
I think a viewer is working on those mods themselves. I've made all the PCBs and code able to control a period. You'd just need to physically add one
I can see a way to check and update only the ones that need updating with relatively minor changes. If you were able to use a relay supply low voltage PWM to the power lines, you could roughly measure the inductance of the coils and see which way they were switched, then switch back to power to correct any that were wrong.
This is a great idea! The idea of PWM is quite interesting as the coil closer to the magnet would likley have a different inductace to the one further away. Sadly I think the shift regesters I've used are only serial out (meaning that they can't read signals back) but there are probably in&out alternatives. One of the things I love about YT is that you get so many great ideas from people such as yourself!
Fero ram
Слава Богу 42🙏❤СЛАВА 42🙏❤АНГЕЛА ХРАНИТЕЛЯ 42 КАЖДОМУ ИЗ ВАС🙏❤БОЖЕ ХРАНИ 42🙏❤СПАСИБО ВАМ НАШИ БРАТУХИ🙏🏼❤ХРАНИ БОсса💯Слава Богу 42🙏❤СЛАВА 42🙏❤АНГЕЛА ХРАНИТЕЛЯ 42
42 братуха
42 братуханчик
Well done!!👍😀
would like to see a Dot circle. added for periods.
This is a great project. I may (someday) build one, but in the mean time I really enjoy these design and build videos (I always want to know how the sausage is made).
With your software suite, have you considered incorporating some FreeCAD? There is a plugin for FreeCAD for seamlessly transferring KiCAD PCB designs into and out of FreeCAD (ECAD and MCAD integration) to help with complex board outlines and designing enclosures for boards.
Thank you for your comment! I'm glad you liked the project, I also love finding out how things work. My next project requires some very tight fitting PCB enclosures so I'll definitely check out freeCAD. Thanks for the heads up!
Hi. Thanks a lot for the video!
Hi! Thanks a lot for watching
Can you recommend any resources for beginners learning electrical engineering?
I learned most my stuff from youtube and experience. If you have an electrical engineering project in mind, maybe something to do with Arduino etc just work at it in your own time with youtube and google as your guide and you'll quickly build up skills.
0:00 what did I hear “welcome to hawk tuah”. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
you get new sub
Horray!!
You should make a live display with how many k subscribers you have, would be a fun feature in your house and the number doesnt change quickly enough for the displays to be updated
I love it! I was originally going to do this, but when I saw the RUclips api that tells you your subs also can delete, upload and modify any element of your channel I got scared that id accidentally "delete all" lol Just displaying the "k" subs is smart from a noise perspective
You probably need thinner wire on your coils and more windings to use less power.
Yeah that's a good call. But to wind anything thinner than 0.1mm wire by hand and then to solder it is very tricky.
how hard will be use flaps with 3 colors?? like triangle .. black, red, white??
cool idea! sounds difficult lol
If you are using coils or relays you must have a diode protecting the back emf. Otherwise the induced high voltages will destroy your electronic components. Very quickly.
If you want to see how much voltage there is. Just connect 1.5v to your coil and hold the leads when you break the connections. Or just use a fast multimeter or oscilloscope
Yep I've got little flyback diodes everywhere! Probably too many of them for that sake...
awesome sauce
heck yeah!
How feasable/mad would it be to create a 16-segment mechanical display?
Very mad. But maybe surprisingly feasible. I think I've done quite enough with flipdots for the time being but I'll keep hoping one day someone posts a remix with a 14 segment display :)
This display is lovely, has such a pleasant _'flow'_
Hope you're monetized now, good sir!
Thank you! The flow of it is really nice. I am monetized which is a crazy reality, but means I can finally pay for a (bit) of each project :)
You in Brisbane too??
wondering if you could share what kind of power supply you are using. the coils are basically a short right? all the small wall plug power supplies i find have short circuit protection and they shut off when trying to energize the coils.
I just have a random 12v supply (I collect them over time from broken appliances). But, since the coils do have resistance they don't 'count' as a short as I was running it off a 12v supply with short circuit protection at some point. If all else fails, an old laptop charger/led power supply should do it.
Edit: After re-reading your comment, have you tried this yourself? If so maybe I can help debug. Have you tried measuring the resistance with a multimeter, it might be too low. Make sure it's 12v, as anything more will allow a larger current to flow though and might cause issues.
thank you for the reply. i started my own kind of flipdot display about a month ago and while doing research came across your videos. mine has long bars that flip with several words of text that is different on the other side. for a sign that can change what it says.
i have been testing with a variable power supply that doesnt have short protection.
i dont have a coil winding machine, so i use a drill. counting coils is impossible that way. so i wind them tightly and count the number of layers. 10 layers of 28 gauge gives me 3.6 ohm per coil. tied together that is halved. at 12v about 750 mA works. i can bring it down to 7,5v at 1.2 A and down even further to 5v at 2.2 A.
i tried 32 gauge wire and got a resistance of 10.4 ohm per coil but 32 gauge was harder to work with and the 28 gauge worked with my non short protection power supply so i went with 28 gauge.
this was before trying with a 12v laptop adapter that has short protection.
i see you have a resistance of 24.4 ohm. maybe i need to stick with the 32 gauge and do more layers?
if i throw a 39 ohm resistor into my power line the short protection stops shutting it off but the coils no longer work.
two coils are tied together so one pushes and one pulls at the same time. which i believe is how you have yours set up
also i am a little similar to you. been doing this stuff for about a decade. completely self taught using the internet. so i may also not do things the best way but i get it done. most of my time has been just leds but the last few years ive moved into motors, actuators, esp iot etc
also i am using l298n instead of relays because i had a few lying around and they are basically h bridges all by themselves driving 4 coils each for 2 dots per module
Given the grid addressing approach, could a low-resolution display be made using the same principle?
yes definitally! If you arranged them in a grid then you most definitely could
12:55 what are the coins in this shot?
(I dabble in sleight of hand and having different coins to 'change' one into another is always useful)
Just 1 and 2 dollar Australian coins
Great to see the update. The result is amazing.
Now you need to make a metal one
That'd be cool
I love this
2:53 that's some weird image stabilisation why is the ESP label floating LOL
woah yeah didn't even notice that... probably some silly auto stabilisation on my 'smart' phone.
Still building this. But I need to redesign your case to have a period on each didget. Do you have some thoughts on problems I might run into? Your Instructables said that the PCB has this built in, and when I was creating a build list (which I can share) I specked it out for 6 didgets, with periods on each didget.
Oooo ok I wanted to do this too, but didn't have the need for decimal points. I think the only issue you'll run into is physically fitting a flip dot in it. If you can do that, you should be golden. The PCB will work plug and play for a period, but you'll have to modify the code to do the same. In very very short, the code works by passing one byte where the 1's are which flaps should turn white (the code will handle the black ones aka the 0s), the final bit of the byte is always just a 0 but if you change that to be 1 it will turn on the period.
@ I need to break into the Model, but I belive you included the step file. I think I will have the space if I make it a little taller. The worry I have is the electromagnet being to close to things
I have included a fusion 360 file but I'll go add the step file now (I normally do, must have forgotten). I don't think the electromagnet should be a worry as it should be far enough away. You can always do a bit of experimenting. If you do make a working version, I imagine it would be a very popular remix (should you want to share it).
@ Awsome I dont use fusion 360 so that would be helpful. And I will post the remix if it works.. Need to save up to buy the electronics, with 6 numbers it will be about 160 US
@@OuroborosArmory I uploaded the files. I'd try building just one digit first, there might be some other design changes you want to do whilst adding your period that might reduce costs for you or change the parts you need. But, entirely up to you.
Not being negative, but I would like to see each digit update all segments at the same time... either within one digit, or all digits at the same time. [I understand this is not how this was designed, and many think it is pleasing how it clicks and clacks as it updates.]
I'm sure I saw someone (Tom Scott, maybe?) once make a video where the approx. like count, or something along those lines, would be shown in the video.
They did this by making a really long video containing all the possibilities and having a script use the youtube API to constantly edit which parts were played. You should do something like that with your display. :-)
Woah that sounds like some fun coding, I'll look into it!
What if the white parts were semi translucent and it had back lighting 😲
oooooo nice idea!
love it
Your explosion in subscribers is justified. Great videos and the perfect level of tech detail.
Thank you! It's good to know the level of tech explanation is correct :)
Best 3d prints and cnc and molds and metal prints(metal 3d prints) are the best (this is only about 15% of pcbways capabilities)
Yeah!
Just the first 12 files 3D printed from PCBWay comes out to $215 for 5! And there are 15 more files! 😳 So much for my clock idea... 😟
woah what?? That's crazy, you could buy a printer for that much lol Are you sure you chose PLA? If you chose resin or something it may be much more.
@@tin_foil_hat99 No PLA option available. The default choice, UTR 8360 🤷♂, is the cheapest. I'm going to combine some of the files, reducing the space between parts, and see if that changes anything.
I just tried it too, I can choose pla which is about half the cost of UTR. By combining files you can get it to around $150 for all the parts which is still a good chunk of cash in my opinion... maybe leave the project on the todo list until oneday you (hopefully) buy a 3D printer! I would seriously recomend buying one, they're amazing.
@ I agree. I can get 6 inch tall 7-segment displays from SparkFun for around $20 each. I'd like to do the flip displays, but yeeaah... I can wait!
As you mentioned that (Sometimes) a "Display Segment" fails to flip 😢 .. Try looping the "Flipping Code" 3 times. Giving the segments a Second and Third chance to flip and display correctly. 🤞🤞
It is better to solve the root of the problem (in this case mechanical) than hack software to deal with the problem.
@ZeedijkMike I guess you could try making "Laminated" Magnet Cores for Efficiency and Strength but how you would get them made I have no clue.
@@x_CrossHair_x That's a interesting idea (both the code and the laminated cores). I agree it is better to fix the root issue first, but honestly sometimes software hacks work too (until they come back to bite you lol). I have no idea how I'd get laminated cores.
@ No need to go over board. It's just basic trouble shooting advice.
@@ZeedijkMike I still agree with you, better to fix the issue than mask it with a hack of a solution haha
You're in Brisbane.
Can you make a pixie tube one?
I don't think I can MAKE pixie tubes, but a display with them shouldn't be too hard. I think someone else already did it, great scott maybe?
ok completely unrelated but what note taking app is that at 1:50? that color wheel really got my neurons activated
Concepts App
Really glad I wasn't the only one! I was super excited to see a follow up to the project, but went "Squirrel!!!" As soon as that came up. 😂
Awesome video, what notes app do you use @9:33 ?
He said that earlier in the video, it's Concepts
thank you, it's concepts
Super
Nice. But why large rectangles? Why not dots? You could have made letters/images/etc everything you wanted. You can make an M or W when you lie one on it´s side. Put them on their side and stack them. You could make more letters.
Oh nice idea with lying them on the side! I chose rectangles because I was building these for someone else who wanted 7 segment displays. There are ways to represent all letters such as m and w on such displays but they don't really look like the actual letter. But yes alternatively I could have made a flipdot matrix
getting in early for this!
You sure are! Thanks for the comment :)
Please put these on your youtuber store l, as i need to follow the dopamine and purchase this, it will solve all my problems and give me purpose.
I'm sorry, as I mentioned in the video, it just isn't feesable. Maybe you've got a mate who can build some for you.
@@tin_foil_hat99 well who better than my old pal tin_foil_hat 🤣 i think you can overcome the challenge of setting up a manufacturing line for these things, i believe in you buddy.
Oh dear lol
16:53 you’re welcome
Spies.
lol I didn't even notice i got the spelling wrong
@@tin_foil_hat99 lol. I wondered if you were checking to see if people watched to the end !
@@Andrew_Fernie Yeah that's the reason why... :)
well well well, it looks pretty good. i now want one, i am ohiomesticated. #6
❤
👍👍👍
Amazing once again, making a 20+ minute video with this production value from home is nuts, and a tremendous feat, and I didn’t even have any of these questions and yet I watched every second, but unfortunately there’s not a red circle in the thumbnail, so unfortunately I have to unsubscribe
Here you go ⭕
Subscribed! Pleasure doing business