If you’ve ever waited for a train or a plane at a railway station or an airport, you might have had your eye on a large split-flap departure board, an electromechanical device that can show letters, numbers, graphics, and images on flipping physical cards. These clicking displays are also popular in retro flip clocks.
See how this split-flap display works with this video explainer by software engineer and hardware hobbyist scottbez1. He also shared how he made his own.
Then watch these related videos next:
• Painting and erasing a clock in real-time
• Sign Songs from PBS’ The Electric Company in the 1970s
• A Giant Flipbook Machine for the Kanazawa Citizen’s Art Center
h/t @Kottke.
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