Giant scrolling text in 1945??

[Pimpom]

I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd
was celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for
jubilation was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a
building. Certain factors prevented me from discerning the type
of display used - 1) the part showing the display was brief, 2)
it was an old B&W film, 3) delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's
unlikely that the technology for a scrolling electronic display
existed then. So what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think
it's one of the great photos of all time.

 

[Arie de Muynck]

On 2020-04-21 14:23, Pimpom wrote:

I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd was
celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for jubilation
was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a building. Certain
factors prevented me from discerning the type of display used - 1) the
part showing the display was brief, 2) it was an old B&W film, 3)
delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's unlikely
that the technology for a scrolling electronic display existed then. So
what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think it's
one of the great photos of all time.

Probably lamps controlled by contacts sensing holes in a moving
paper-tape or cardboard strip. The tape can have any pattern to be shown
on the lamps. It would even allow tiny drawings and proportional fonts.

It is the same basic idea as street organs with a cardboard 'book',
although these are pneumatic.

Regards,
Arie de Muijnck

 

[George Herold]

On Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 8:23:22 AM UTC-4, Pimpom wrote:

I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd
was celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for
jubilation was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a
building. Certain factors prevented me from discerning the type
of display used - 1) the part showing the display was brief, 2)
it was an old B&W film, 3) delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's
unlikely that the technology for a scrolling electronic display
existed then. So what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think
it's one of the great photos of all time.

Hmm I vaguely remember rolling text along the side of some
building in times square. (NYC) I'm not sure what time that would have
been... nor what building it was on.

George H.

 

[Michael Terrell]

On Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 8:23:22 AM UTC-4, Pimpom wrote:

I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd
was celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for
jubilation was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a
building. Certain factors prevented me from discerning the type
of display used - 1) the part showing the display was brief, 2)
it was an old B&W film, 3) delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's
unlikely that the technology for a scrolling electronic display
existed then. So what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think
it's one of the great photos of all time.

I saw a video of the equipment. it was fully mechanical, with groups of steel balls rolling down rails to turn on the lamps in sequence. This both created the pixels, but allowed for smooth motion.

I believe it was on the Shorpy website.

 

[Michael Terrell]

On Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 8:38:44 AM UTC-4, Arie de Muynck wrote:

On 2020-04-21 14:23, Pimpom wrote:
I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd was
celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for jubilation
was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a building. Certain
factors prevented me from discerning the type of display used - 1) the
part showing the display was brief, 2) it was an old B&W film, 3)
delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's unlikely
that the technology for a scrolling electronic display existed then. So
what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think it's
one of the great photos of all time.

Probably lamps controlled by contacts sensing holes in a moving
paper-tape or cardboard strip. The tape can have any pattern to be shown
on the lamps. It would even allow tiny drawings and proportional fonts.

It is the same basic idea as street organs with a cardboard 'book',
although these are pneumatic.

Regards,
Arie de Muijnck

Paper tape wouldn't survive for very long, without relays to follow each contact, annd the mechanicl drag would break paper.

 

[Michael Terrell]

On Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 8:38:13 AM UTC-4, George Herold wrote:

On Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 8:23:22 AM UTC-4, Pimpom wrote:
I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd
was celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for
jubilation was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a
building. Certain factors prevented me from discerning the type
of display used - 1) the part showing the display was brief, 2)
it was an old B&W film, 3) delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's
unlikely that the technology for a scrolling electronic display
existed then. So what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think
it's one of the great photos of all time.

Hmm I vaguely remember rolling text along the side of some
building in times square. (NYC) I'm not sure what time that would have
been... nor what building it was on.

It was on the side of the New York Times building. It constantly scrolled headlines of current news.

 

[Lasse Langwadt Christense]

tirsdag den 21. april 2020 kl. 14.23.22 UTC+2 skrev Pimpom:

I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd
was celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for
jubilation was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a
building. Certain factors prevented me from discerning the type
of display used - 1) the part showing the display was brief, 2)
it was an old B&W film, 3) delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's
unlikely that the technology for a scrolling electronic display
existed then. So what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think
it's one of the great photos of all time.

as a far as I know the worlds first scrolling electronic sign was invented
by the danish engineer and inventor Viggo Jensen and put into operation
in 1914, it was controlled using paper tape and mercury

this is from 1939
https://www.danskkulturarv.dk/dr/bt-centralen-og-politikens-hus-lysavis/

 

[Pimpom]

On 4/21/2020 6:26 PM, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:

tirsdag den 21. april 2020 kl. 14.23.22 UTC+2 skrev Pimpom:
I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd
was celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for
jubilation was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a
building. Certain factors prevented me from discerning the type
of display used - 1) the part showing the display was brief, 2)
it was an old B&W film, 3) delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's
unlikely that the technology for a scrolling electronic display
existed then. So what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think
it's one of the great photos of all time.

as a far as I know the worlds first scrolling electronic sign was invented
by the danish engineer and inventor Viggo Jensen and put into operation
in 1914, it was controlled using paper tape and mercury

this is from 1939
https://www.danskkulturarv.dk/dr/bt-centralen-og-politikens-hus-lysavis/

Ah, so the technology did exist then. Thanks. I still wish I
could find that particular clip, though.

 

[bitrex]

On 4/21/2020 9:10 AM, Michael Terrell wrote:

On Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 8:38:44 AM UTC-4, Arie de Muynck wrote:
On 2020-04-21 14:23, Pimpom wrote:
I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd was
celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for jubilation
was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a building. Certain
factors prevented me from discerning the type of display used - 1) the
part showing the display was brief, 2) it was an old B&W film, 3)
delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's unlikely
that the technology for a scrolling electronic display existed then. So
what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think it's
one of the great photos of all time.

Probably lamps controlled by contacts sensing holes in a moving
paper-tape or cardboard strip. The tape can have any pattern to be shown
on the lamps. It would even allow tiny drawings and proportional fonts.

It is the same basic idea as street organs with a cardboard 'book',
although these are pneumatic.

Regards,
Arie de Muijnck

Paper tape wouldn't survive for very long, without relays to follow each contact, annd the mechanicl drag would break paper.

Paper tape worked OK as computer program storage....for headline news or
advertising text it only has to last a couple days

 

[bitrex]

On 4/21/2020 9:46 AM, Pimpom wrote:

On 4/21/2020 6:26 PM, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 21. april 2020 kl. 14.23.22 UTC+2 skrev Pimpom:
I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd
was celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for
jubilation was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a
building. Certain factors prevented me from discerning the type
of display used - 1) the part showing the display was brief, 2)
it was an old B&W film, 3) delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's
unlikely that the technology for a scrolling electronic display
existed then. So what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think
it's one of the great photos of all time.

as a far as I know the worlds first scrolling electronic sign was
invented
by the danish engineer and inventor Viggo Jensen and put into operation
in 1914, it was controlled using paper tape and mercury

this is from 1939
https://www.danskkulturarv.dk/dr/bt-centralen-og-politikens-hus-lysavis/


Ah, so the technology did exist then. Thanks. I still wish I could find
that particular clip, though.

Check this out, this is some high-quality _color_ film footage from NYC
in the mid-late 1930s!

<https://youtu.be/ZpXnEvW0XD0?t=1231>

Look at all this animated signage. State-of-the-art hi-tech stuff at the
time.

 

[bitrex]

On 4/21/2020 11:13 AM, bitrex wrote:

On 4/21/2020 9:46 AM, Pimpom wrote:
On 4/21/2020 6:26 PM, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 21. april 2020 kl. 14.23.22 UTC+2 skrev Pimpom:
I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd
was celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for
jubilation was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a
building. Certain factors prevented me from discerning the type
of display used - 1) the part showing the display was brief, 2)
it was an old B&W film, 3) delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's
unlikely that the technology for a scrolling electronic display
existed then. So what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think
it's one of the great photos of all time.

as a far as I know the worlds first scrolling electronic sign was
invented
by the danish engineer and inventor Viggo Jensen and put into operation
in 1914, it was controlled using paper tape and mercury

this is from 1939
https://www.danskkulturarv.dk/dr/bt-centralen-og-politikens-hus-lysavis/


Ah, so the technology did exist then. Thanks. I still wish I could
find that particular clip, though.

Check this out, this is some high-quality _color_ film footage from NYC
in the mid-late 1930s!

https://youtu.be/ZpXnEvW0XD0?t=1231

Look at all this animated signage. State-of-the-art hi-tech stuff at the
time.

The movie theater is advertising "A Damsel in Distress" with Fred
Astaire and George Burns as a new release which places this film around
Christmas, 1937.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Damsel_in_Distress_(1937_film)>

 

[bitrex]

On 4/21/2020 9:11 AM, Michael Terrell wrote:

On Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 8:38:13 AM UTC-4, George Herold wrote:
On Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 8:23:22 AM UTC-4, Pimpom wrote:
I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd
was celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for
jubilation was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a
building. Certain factors prevented me from discerning the type
of display used - 1) the part showing the display was brief, 2)
it was an old B&W film, 3) delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's
unlikely that the technology for a scrolling electronic display
existed then. So what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think
it's one of the great photos of all time.

Hmm I vaguely remember rolling text along the side of some
building in times square. (NYC) I'm not sure what time that would have
been... nor what building it was on.


It was on the side of the New York Times building. It constantly scrolled headlines of current news.

The hotel Astor had hired a new bus driver and instructed him to meet
all incoming trains and announce at the depot in a very loud voice,
“Free bus to the hotel Astor!”

Upon his arrival at the station, however, he became confused at all the
noise and hub-bub and started shouting as follows. “Free hotel at the
bust your Astor, I mean, Free ass at the Hotel Bastard, I mean, Freeze
your ass at the Hotel Buster, I mean Squeeze your bust at the Hotel
Faster, I mean, Bust your ass at the Hotel Freezer...oh hell just take a
cab.”

 

[bitrex]

On 4/21/2020 11:44 AM, Pimpom wrote:

On 4/21/2020 8:43 PM, bitrex wrote:
On 4/21/2020 9:46 AM, Pimpom wrote:
On 4/21/2020 6:26 PM, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 21. april 2020 kl. 14.23.22 UTC+2 skrev Pimpom:
I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd
was celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for
jubilation was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a
building. Certain factors prevented me from discerning the type
of display used - 1) the part showing the display was brief, 2)
it was an old B&W film, 3) delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's
unlikely that the technology for a scrolling electronic display
existed then. So what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think
it's one of the great photos of all time.

as a far as I know the worlds first scrolling electronic sign was
invented
by the danish engineer and inventor Viggo Jensen and put into operation
in 1914, it was controlled using paper tape and mercury

this is from 1939
https://www.danskkulturarv.dk/dr/bt-centralen-og-politikens-hus-lysavis/



Ah, so the technology did exist then. Thanks. I still wish I could find
that particular clip, though.

Check this out, this is some high-quality _color_ film footage from NYC
in the mid-late 1930s!

https://youtu.be/ZpXnEvW0XD0?t=1231

Look at all this animated signage. State-of-the-art hi-tech stuff at the
time.


Amazing. Running lights and switched signs are one thing, running text
requires another level of ingenuity IMO.

For very large signs I expect they didn't have the lamp-relays connected
directly to the sequencing apparatus; perhaps AC relay coils were
switched by gas thyratrons from low-voltage control signal, another
relatively novel invention at the time

 

[bitrex]

On 4/21/2020 12:21 PM, dcaster@krl.org wrote:

On Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 9:10:18 AM UTC-4, Michael Terrell wrote:
On Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 8:38:44 AM UTC-4, Arie de Muynck wrote:
On 2020-04-21 14:23, Pimpom wrote:
I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd was
celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for jubilation
was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a building. Certain
factors prevented me from discerning the type of display used - 1) the
part showing the display was brief, 2) it was an old B&W film, 3)
delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's unlikely
that the technology for a scrolling electronic display existed then. So
what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think it's
one of the great photos of all time.

Probably lamps controlled by contacts sensing holes in a moving
paper-tape or cardboard strip. The tape can have any pattern to be shown
on the lamps. It would even allow tiny drawings and proportional fonts.

It is the same basic idea as street organs with a cardboard 'book',
although these are pneumatic.

Regards,
Arie de Muijnck

Paper tape wouldn't survive for very long, without relays to follow each contact, annd the mechanicl drag would break paper.

But mylar teletype tape would last a long time. Does anyone know when mylar teletype tape originated?

Dan

Probably sometime after mylar was developed

So after the mid-50s

 

[dcaster@krl.org]

On Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 9:10:18 AM UTC-4, Michael Terrell wrote:

On Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 8:38:44 AM UTC-4, Arie de Muynck wrote:
On 2020-04-21 14:23, Pimpom wrote:
I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd was
celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for jubilation
was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a building. Certain
factors prevented me from discerning the type of display used - 1) the
part showing the display was brief, 2) it was an old B&W film, 3)
delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's unlikely
that the technology for a scrolling electronic display existed then. So
what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think it's
one of the great photos of all time.

Probably lamps controlled by contacts sensing holes in a moving
paper-tape or cardboard strip. The tape can have any pattern to be shown
on the lamps. It would even allow tiny drawings and proportional fonts.

It is the same basic idea as street organs with a cardboard 'book',
although these are pneumatic.

Regards,
Arie de Muijnck

Paper tape wouldn't survive for very long, without relays to follow each contact, annd the mechanicl drag would break paper.

But mylar teletype tape would last a long time. Does anyone know when mylar teletype tape originated?

Dan

 

[Pimpom]

On 4/21/2020 8:43 PM, bitrex wrote:

On 4/21/2020 9:46 AM, Pimpom wrote:
On 4/21/2020 6:26 PM, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 21. april 2020 kl. 14.23.22 UTC+2 skrev Pimpom:
I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd
was celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for
jubilation was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a
building. Certain factors prevented me from discerning the type
of display used - 1) the part showing the display was brief, 2)
it was an old B&W film, 3) delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's
unlikely that the technology for a scrolling electronic display
existed then. So what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think
it's one of the great photos of all time.

as a far as I know the worlds first scrolling electronic sign was
invented
by the danish engineer and inventor Viggo Jensen and put into operation
in 1914, it was controlled using paper tape and mercury

this is from 1939
https://www.danskkulturarv.dk/dr/bt-centralen-og-politikens-hus-lysavis/


Ah, so the technology did exist then. Thanks. I still wish I could find
that particular clip, though.

Check this out, this is some high-quality _color_ film footage from NYC
in the mid-late 1930s!

https://youtu.be/ZpXnEvW0XD0?t=1231

Look at all this animated signage. State-of-the-art hi-tech stuff at the
time.

Amazing. Running lights and switched signs are one thing, running
text requires another level of ingenuity IMO.

 

[Arie de Muynck]

On 2020-04-21 17:44, Pimpom wrote:

On 4/21/2020 8:43 PM, bitrex wrote:
On 4/21/2020 9:46 AM, Pimpom wrote:
On 4/21/2020 6:26 PM, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 21. april 2020 kl. 14.23.22 UTC+2 skrev Pimpom:
I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd
was celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for
jubilation was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a
building. Certain factors prevented me from discerning the type
of display used - 1) the part showing the display was brief, 2)
it was an old B&W film, 3) delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's
unlikely that the technology for a scrolling electronic display
existed then. So what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think
it's one of the great photos of all time.

as a far as I know the worlds first scrolling electronic sign was
invented
by the danish engineer and inventor Viggo Jensen and put into operation
in 1914, it was controlled using paper tape and mercury

this is from 1939
https://www.danskkulturarv.dk/dr/bt-centralen-og-politikens-hus-lysavis/



Ah, so the technology did exist then. Thanks. I still wish I could find
that particular clip, though.

Check this out, this is some high-quality _color_ film footage from NYC
in the mid-late 1930s!

https://youtu.be/ZpXnEvW0XD0?t=1231

Look at all this animated signage. State-of-the-art hi-tech stuff at the
time.


Amazing. Running lights and switched signs are one thing, running text
requires another level of ingenuity IMO.

https://historum.com/threads/new-york-city-scrolling-sign.48795/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_ticker#Building_news_tickers
-->
Building news tickers
Since the advent of the telegraph, newspapers commonly used their
buildings to share the latest headlines.[4] At first simple chalkboard
signs were used for bulletins, but limelight illumination, electric
lights, magic lantern projections, and other novel techniques were later
employed.[4] The method of using electric lights to spell out moving
letters was invented by Frank C. Reilly (August 20, 1888 – April 10,
1947) and patented in 1923.[5][6] Reilly called his invention the Motograph.

PATENT is here:
https://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=01451112&IDKey=929FB4D5674B&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fpatimg.htm

and just as I expected, a 'paper' tape system with contacts.


Another sign-maker that was famous for it:

https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/douglas-leigh-papers-6306
Search for "Douglas Leigh's automated electric news sign"

He died in 1999:

https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/25/realestate/streetscapes-douglas-leigh-sign-maker-the-man-behind-times-square-s-smoke-rings.html

 

[Adrian Tuddenham]

Lasse Langwadt Christensen <langwadt@fonz.dk> wrote:

tirsdag den 21. april 2020 kl. 14.23.22 UTC+2 skrev Pimpom:
I saw this on TV twice, possibly on Discovery channel. A crowd
was celebrating the end of WWII in the street and the reason for
jubilation was displayed in giant scrolling text on the side of a
building. Certain factors prevented me from discerning the type
of display used - 1) the part showing the display was brief, 2)
it was an old B&W film, 3) delayed reaction on my part both times.

I've searched for it from time to time without success. It's
unlikely that the technology for a scrolling electronic display
existed then. So what was it? A banner?

BTW I love the photo of a sailor kissing a girl that day. I think
it's one of the great photos of all time.

as a far as I know the worlds first scrolling electronic sign was invented
by the danish engineer and inventor Viggo Jensen and put into operation
in 1914, it was controlled using paper tape and mercury

this is from 1939
https://www.danskkulturarv.dk/dr/bt-centralen-og-politikens-hus-lysavis/

I can confirm that the sign over the Hippodrome theatre in Bristol used
the paper and mercury system well into the 1970. I am related to the
daughter of the man who used to operate it - he died of mercury
poisoning many years ago.

The system comprised a long strip of paper with the required text
punched as a series of holes, it was dragged along a flat-bottomed
trough by being unwound from a free roller and wound up by a powered
roller at the opposite end. It was arranged to droop between the two
rollers and a puddle of mercury sat on top of the dip.

The surface tension of the mercury prevented it from falling through the
holes, but it formed a meniscus projecting below the bottom of the
paper. These projecting globules made contact with studs let into the
insulated bottom of the trough in a pattern corresponding with the lamps
on the display board outside.

I understand that 240v mains was used to power the lamps, because their
filaments had to be thin with little thermal inertia to prevent smearing
of the message. This resulted in constant sparking, which filled the
air in the machine room with mercury vapour.

Lamps frquently needed replacement and this was done by the operator
from a catwalk along the front of the building, high safety rails would
have been visually unattractive, so the were omitted.

--
~ Adrian Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk

 

[Grant Taylor]

On 4/21/20 9:44 AM, Pimpom wrote:

Amazing. Running lights and switched signs are one thing, running text
requires another level of ingenuity IMO.

Why does running test require another level of ingenuity?

IMHO, text is ultimately just a LOT more lights.

If the paper tape has holes for each light, then it really doesn't
matter what the pattern of holes is.

Look at 9 / 24 pin dot matrix printers. It's how the lights / pins are
controlled as things move / scroll.



--
Grant. . . .
unix || die

 

[Pimpom]

On 4/21/2020 10:16 PM, Grant Taylor wrote:

On 4/21/20 9:44 AM, Pimpom wrote:
Amazing. Running lights and switched signs are one thing, running text
requires another level of ingenuity IMO.

Why does running test require another level of ingenuity?

IMHO, text is ultimately just a LOT more lights.

Not just a lot more lights. A lot more processing too. Running
lights - the kind you see on those signs - need only three sets
of lamps lit in sequence. Text needs a more complex operation.

If the paper tape has holes for each light, then it really doesn't
matter what the pattern of holes is.

You must be thinking in terms of modern technology that has
evolved, been refined and passed on for decades. The people who
developed those displays must have had to invent them from scratch.

Look at 9 / 24 pin dot matrix printers. It's how the lights / pins are
controlled as things move / scroll.

Think how much processing a DMP needs to control each pin
according to the input.