I spent weeks building this custom electro-mechanical display (homemade split flap display)

Comments · 426

• AD

  @AdamGMakes · 5 months ago · pinned

  People keep asking if I succeeded in making the whole thing for under $1000. My bad for not including a cost breakdown in the main video, I was rushing to get it finished and it slipped my mind haha. Well, I&apos;ve added everything up and the verdict is in: the total cost was around $850! Here&apos;s a google doc that includes the bill of materials for each module, as well as the cost calculation I did. Some things are not included, like the raspberry pi and the power supply, and that&apos;s just because I had them laying around already. <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_3G4qSvZpnNevmcqNJC5qrFE5lh5iK9hrilx09Y15Uc/edit?usp=sharing">https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_3G4qSvZpnNevmcqNJC5qrFE5lh5iK9hrilx09Y15Uc/edit?usp=sharing</a>

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• DA

  @davidwalker575 · 5 months ago

  I’m so familiar with that slightly embarrassed feeling of “surely I shouldn’t be allowed to be proud of this PCB, it wasn’t as hard as I thought”. Designing and receiving your own PCB is such a great feeling, be proud!

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• SA

  @samot1808 · 5 months ago (edited)

  The pogo pin rail is genius!

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• DO

  @donovangregg5 · 5 months ago

  The first time he turns it on, its screaming at him &quot; AAAA AAA AAAAAA AAA!!!&quot; lol, cracked me up!

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• DG

  @DG8RS · 5 months ago

  As someone who salivates every time they see a Vestaboard ad, but just can&apos;t justify the price and cloud account lock-in, you absolutely killed it with this project. IF they were closer to 2 grand I&apos;d grab one in a heartbeat, but I&apos;d still feel robbed knowing I have to have their cloud app to use it. GREAT JOB!!!!

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• MA

  @mattwest9705 · 5 months ago

  You should do a video on the software! I&apos;d like to know how you address each one and know the order. Really well done

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• LE

  @LEDCUSTOMSUFA · 13 days ago

  I think, you’re the first person on YT who use PCB production service without advertising them. That’s incredible!))

• TO

  @toulow · 5 months ago

  There is nothing better than watching someone make something because THEY want to. Not just to score points with the algorithm.<br>I was young when those Flip Disk Displays were used at train stations, but I do miss them.

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• RT

  @rtvlogames3708 · 5 months ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C8_AtxEEQc&amp;t=900">15:00</a> I like how the first time it really comes to life it screams😂

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• RA

  @Ragnar8504 · 1 month ago

  Our train stations (Austria) had a type of split flap displays that didn&apos;t use individual letters but just one set of flaps spanning the entire width of the display. Way easier to build but every new timetable meant printing and adding a few new flaps as train numbers and/or departure times changed. As you can imagine those flaps were enormous and the sound they made was quite different, more of a whoosh than the click of those small ones. Think of it as a pigeon flapping its wings, that&apos;s pretty close I&apos;d say. I vaguely remember one station built in the mid-90s having split flap displays with individual characters on two platforms in the early 2000s - two platforms that only ever saw one train line. By then LCDs were already very much a thing so split flaps were being phased out.

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• OL

  @olens.6987 · 5 months ago

  This build was &quot;flippin awesome&quot;!!!

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• SU

  @suzanagordon6342 · 5 months ago

  Adam, this is incredible...so proud of you!

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