A follow up to my recent video about the first big LED displays - now we have all the data! So, please enjoy the December 1974 Dialight Readout Selector Guide!
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- Music by Fran Blanche -
Join Team FranLab!!!! Become a patron and help support my YouTube Channel on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/frantone
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- Music by Fran Blanche -
Philips bought out Signetics in 1975; they appear also to have acquired Dialight, around the same time.
I would say that given Philips’ big time semiconductor manufacturing and philosophy “If there is market need, we make it!”, all the semiconductors pointed out were almost certainly from the parent company, Philips. Another special item you pointed at, was the hexadecimal display module. That I have seen in one instrument, HP 5005 Signature Multimeter. The most striking feature was the additional characters beyond number 9. They were H, E, L and P. You may easily guess, what they might be used for. But actually they were part of the 0 to 15-bit signatures. Understandably, A and C could have been used, but B and D could not with the 7 segment repertoire.
Ah yes, I feel so fortunate to have been raised around technical manuals, MOTOR manuals, et al. Every year I get antsy close to when the new NEC is published. Almanacs of every variety are the Oracle of philDELPHIa I consult daily. My bookshelf is a bizarre assortment of what I call my reference books. You name it operator manuals. Janes. Latin-English dictionary. Ancient North Americans. 2 year old World Almanac. Scattered pocket notebooks scribbled full of indecipherable scratchings of an obvious madman. Archaeology of Greece. Archaeology of Afghanistan. Last year's NEC. RCA Receiving Tube Manual. . And a bunch more…just to cover the basics anyway, you know, the normal stuff.
Yup, I'm a reader.
As always love your work, thanks for years of entertainment/education
I was a junior / senior in high school at that time (graduated in '75). I can't say I saw anything like that before I started working at a local parking garage in '78, where they used what looked like vacuum tubes that displayed digits.
It would be interesting to hear a little about Monsanto, yes the agriculture business. Back in the late 60s/early 70s they were the source for visible light LEDs. I know you mentioned them but I'd like to learn more about why and how they got into this field as it seems so far out of their business. I haven't seen much information about this.
they did have a range of indicators used in aricraft galley and perhaps cockpit, i did have Dialight as a franchise i managed for a company in the UK in the mid 90's then its main focus was packaged leds, smt led and light pipes to get light from smt led from pcb to panel, and some older products that were reaching end of production, they had started traffic light heads and aircraft warning lights for buildings and high structures. they were in sunnyvale cali by then.
God this is so cool Fran!
So I've always wondered. Is it pronounced "Dya-Light' or is it pronounced "Dial-ite"
I know it's subtle but, I always pause every time I see that name brand, I hesitate as my mind argues over how to say it.
Very cool!
Interesting video! BTW, Dialight still exists although their HQ is in Farmingdale, NJ. Also, Siemens also made matrix displays although they mounted four displays on another package with the decode logic (PD3435).
That 5×7 matrix unit is very nice… I miss messing with display like these and discrete components. Nowadays, you take an Arduino and a display shield, and the rest is software (plus maybe a few mosfets)
Alpha/Numeric light displays are (or where) popular in military comms equipment. Idk if that helps anything. But yea. Thats where ive seen them quite frequently.
I may have a present for you. I have one of those early led display modules. I dont think it displays digits. Just indicator bars. Its packaged in a metal case just like a rf module, case ground, and only has maybe 5-7 pins.
Its out in the cold shed but ill get back and let you know what it is. If im not crazy. And see if its worth it to send.
Thanks again for all your content.
These tech drawings are ridiculously cool!
I dont often comment on your videos but i have to let you know i have been gathering my “vintage” Leds for their own box. 🙂 Man there are some cool colors and funky variations.
I appreciate your content. Its always fun.
Looking at the thumbnail I expected a "Back to the Future" episode 😄