BINA-VIEW II: The Repair! 

Time to hook that up to an Arduino. Make the world's first 1x1 text terminal.

Fran, your enthusiasm is contagious! Plus, your brilliance and stick-to-it-tiveness is amazing. To call you a “renaissance woman” would be an understatement.

Maybe it was dropped at some point in it's life, dislodging the 32bit rod and the end springs. Great job fixing it though, you are now an authorised I.E.E. repair agent and your warranty can be reinstated... (no cover for the bulb though... very sorry)

There really is something satisfying about seeing some old clearly "obsolete" piece of electronic equipment brought back to life. The next step is to find a way to actually use this in a larger piece of gear. If only you had 4 you could make a clock out of it.

It's such a hilariously complex, error-prone solution to a nowadays trivial problem. But more importantly, it's a thing of beauty, especially the noises it makes. That click-clacking, so satisfying!

I just wanted to say, having just watched the first video and luckily having found this one as well, the moment you showed off the front in the first video, my eyes locked onto that 32 bit being too far down, and the whole time my mind was screaming, including for the first half of this video, "PLEASE NOTICE IT ISN'T ENGAGING"... and my absolute relief when you did was something I needed to voice. Thank you, so, so much.

I can't imagine more satisfying videos. Few days ago I had no idea such a technology even existed. Now I know exactly how it works, I've seen it being repaired, I saw every character. 100% completion. I love it!

Imagine an airport departure board made with these!

This. Was. *Fran-tastic*!!! These are the videos I love.... not just finding the rare bit of equipment, but them to figure out the repair!!!

You are now the foremost authority on Bina-View displays. I think that these older electro-mechanical displays are easier to repair than their digital counterparts.

On the topic of the switching order: The main solenoid lifts the character plates, which allows the selector solenoids to freely rotate the selector arms. Depressing the selector switch, then lifting the character plates while holding down the selector will cause the selector arms to rub against the selection teeth on the character plates. I suspect the best order of operations for this device would be to depress the switch that lifts the plates (set pulse), then, while holding that, depressing the switch to set the selector arms (bit/signal pulse). Now with both switches pressed, release the switch holding the character plates up, which lets them settle onto the selector arms. Now that the character plates are effectively holding the selector arms in place, the second switch can be released. This order of operations agrees with the description in the manual. The set pulse must be at least 30ms, the bit pulse must be at least 50ms, the time between bit pulse going high and set pulse going low must be at least 30ms, and the time between the set pulse going low and the bit pulse going low must be at least 20ms.

This display is mind-blowing. And then, without a manual, you repaired it. Wow. Just... wow. And nowhere else can I learn about this obsolete, obscure tech. Fran, please never stop making this stuff. Can't find the video I was going to comment on, but the haters can seethe all they like. You've run a great company, making products so cool that some people collect them. Your tour of the Wanamaker organ was, for an organ nut like me, astounding-- nobody else on RU-vid goes inside the console, gets into the chests, watches them restore pipes. You just keep being your amazing, talented, cool self, and if someone else has a problem with it, that problem is all and only theirs.

Nice job on a part 2! I am sure a lot of people were, like me, screaming at the screen that the right unit was too low. Glad you found it and trimmed it with your tongue at the right angle.

Fran, you crack me up. Part detective, part engineer, and part the amazement of a kid. Well done. Enjoyed seeing this very interesting piece of gear and you efforts in getting it going. Always fun to check in to see what you are up to. Stay safe and thanks for keeping us entertained and educated.

Fran really is the greatest. There won't be another woman like her for centuries.

Idea for a use: Put an ultraviolet lamp in it, and arrange a strip of glow-in-the-dark film scrolling in front of it.

This is the kind of stuff I come here for. Thank you Fran.

I am a machinist by trade ... and instrument designer/tech ... and design and build industrial electrical control panels. This is sooooooo fascinating on so many levels! Awesome job explaining the operation in your last video and fixing it in this one! Hats off to you !

A full multi character display with these would be a thing to behold.

It’s 15 minutes to 3am. Just finished the video where Fran says “I’m not gonna try to repair it”. Then the preview card pops up with ‘Part 2: I repair it!’. Now it’s 15 minutes *after* 3am. Thanks Fran. 😅

YES! You fixed it!! Now you only need 6 more to write FranLab :)

Thank you for taking the time to show this to me. ❤️

"You're doing it wrong" in the comments is so common it should be a meme. Everyone's an expert even for equipment they've never seen before.

I could see yesterday that the back 2 plates seemed to be stuck together and I was screaming at the tv (ok, only in my head) look, look! Lol. Glad you had a go at fixing it that was satisfying to watch... Next program up a pi to drive it and get it to spell out Fran Lab 😋

What a coincidence! Bina in Persian is an adjective and means "Being able to see , Seeing , Watcher. The antonym of Blind.

I remember seeing these things in air ports and train stations as a kid. Thanks for showing how this works.

Of all the bina view repairs I have seen, this is the best one

Agreed: this is the most satisfying video I've seen on RU-vid in a long time. Great job, Fran!

This is INSANE! I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS! From the other video I watched before this, I could tell that the “4/5/6” bits weren’t moving. And then I thought, wait, there’s no wire wrap for the last three solenoids... until you said they were inverted. I knew it had to be an alignment issue. This is so so cool! I love electromechanical things! And this thing must have been a mathematical nightmare to design and build, and figure out. Thank you so much for this video!

Please, let us all try to buy more BINA-VIEWs and send them to Fran so she can make a multi character display!

I literally cheered when that 'A' appeared. A perfect bodge.

Wonderful video. Takes me back to the days when these were used on railroad arrival/departure boards.

Thanks for making these videos Fran, they fill the hole left now I can't visit my engineer friends. They're just like you. In fact, one of them looks almost exactly like you. They almost exclusively repair vintage valve amplifiers, but if it's obscure; they love that stuff. I wish they'd watch your videos, but they are too busy with repairing random stuff.

Interesting note, the Nimo tube and the Bina-View were both products of the same company, Industrial Electronic Engineers (I.E.E). And as some else stated it's still in business today making what else ... Displays.

So glad you restored it, classic piece of electronics history.

I knew there was no way you'd let this thing sit as it was. I wish this sort of display were common today, its so magical and pleasing.

when you first looked at this display and said you wouldn't try to repair it, my heart brok a bit... I'm glad you decided to have a go Fran.

A good engineer can design something super-complicated, but a GREAT engineer can design something simple! Holy crap! It would have been easier to make a simple slide-show wheel (Remember the old ViewMaster toy?) and have it rotate the correct slide into view of the projector.

I just can’t stop smiling everytime I hear this intro song I WOULD PAY FOR A FULL LENGTH VERSION

Só much inspiration in 2 “simples” videos, all the clues left on there by chance for the curious viewer to be unable to resist the urge to follow them. Just a genius set of videos Came from Big Clive

6:11 I'm here talking to the screen... "It's too low... 32 is too low!" 11:52 Ahhh! I can relax now. 17:16 Preceed or follow this with any other setting quickly for a persistence-of-vision border?

This is really a beautiful device. Digital displays from the pre-digital era are really fascinating.

What an amazing bit of kit. Designing it in the first place is no mean feat.

What are you doing with me? What am I watching here? Fran, you make me a fan. Thank you for your great content.

Thanx to Fran & her Patrons. This was educational and fun.

Learning letters and numbers feels like sesame street all over again. :-)

2:54 This "BINAVIEW" was built specifically for use with Extended Binary Coded Decimal character set of 40 symbols. That and the archaic looking connector socket on the back makes this look like it was made for tube-based electronics only. So this device was designed long before 1969. 10:20 A time unit of 10 milliseconds used to be called a "jiffy?

So... Apparently no Anti-Aliasing in those days... Still though... You are so lucky to find such an awesome piece of engineering history.

Y'know, with so many unused addresses in there, all you would need to do is find a metal sheet of the right thickness and a laser cutter, and you could design and build additional glyphs for that beauty!

Oh wow there is something very special about this device. The design is so elegant. Glad you made it work again.

Kind of reminds me of the 'belt sign' we had at the Army Recruiting Center when I was a recruiter. It had a 6 inch belt with holes punched it in to allow the light through, the belt ran in front of a green florescent lamp and said witty things about the Army, like Fun Travel Adventure ARMY and so forth. Not as complicated but it worked back in 1977.

I think the datasheet actually tells you to activate the data and latch at the same time. After 30 ms you release just the latch (causing the selected plate to drop) and after another 20 ms you are free to also release the data. The way you did it (first energizing the data) shouldn't impact the way it works, it just wastes the power you put into the data-coils before you activate the latch.

I don’t even know what the hell I’m looking at, but this lady makes it fascinating. 😆

Fran. So glad you figured that out and so QUICKLY! Great job. I love seeing old electro-mechanical oddities being brought back to life! That's now even more "1 of a kind"! Congratulations.

I love you to pieces, Fran! I'm glad you changed your mind about trying to fix this thing ;D

I like how they use smaller holes for anti-aliasing to make the character edges look nicer.

Please make a proper driver board so it can display some text. The sound should be great if it switches way faster.

Thank you for all you do! I’m so happy you decided to attempt a repair.

Someone needs to kickstart a modern version of the Bina-view displays

You're probably the world's leading expert on Bina-View repair now!

Thank you for letting me share your joy in that repair. I am trying to imagine a wall of those clacking away at maybe an old train station and it is a lovely steam punkish image

I saw that just after 5:44 when you started trying the bits... I'm so glad you solved it. Keep 'em coming.

Glad you decided to tinker with it. Really awesome to see such an interesting piece working

What a very cool yet impractical display idea!

Excellent! Nothing feels better than bringing old tech back to life. Job well done!

Wow, that is a cool display. Nice find Fran

Phenomenal! So glad we got a 'deeper look' into this fascinating display! Thanks Fran, you're amazing!

Thanks for doing this Fran, fascinating content. I think most of us were eager to see if it could be repaired and I'm glad you did it in the end.

Smartly and elegantly done. Great video again!

Fran, I think your 40th plate is just the Blank. 26 for the letters, 10 for numbers, 3 for +, -, and the border, and 1 for the blank. Just a theory.

Thank You again Fran, so nice to see you got it working so well.

Well done Fran. Great video. Thank you for posting.

make a clock with a Bina-view, a Nimo tube, a Nixie tube, and an electro-mechanical device for each digit.

@Fran Blanche, You are awesome! Thank you for the video, keep up the great work and have yourself a great rest of the week.

So satisfying! thanks for follow up and working through the fix!

Excellent - glad you couldn't leave it alone!

God, I really want someone to start producing these again as a vintage thingy, like the nixie tubes that are back in production because people find them cool!

Wonderful! Great to see stuff like this. Well done and keep going Fran !

Fascinating to see some of the last generation of computer technology that was feasibly reparable by hand. Micro-transistors kind of put a stop to that.

Can you try with a more powerful bulb and put the diffuser back in place? I'd like to see how the characters looks like diffused.

What a Frantastic result! Great job!

Marvellous stuff, well diagnosed Fran.

Can you imagine how heavy a movie theater marquee would be with a bank of these in several rows?!? Whoa.

Great work deciphering this device! Good lab technique!

Well Done Fran, Awesome job !!

Glad you didn’t give-up on Binny.

2:05 A trick to counting those plates would be to use a needle and slowly run it along the edge. Just count the clicks as the needle jumps from one plate to the next.

Wonderful! So glad to see you fixed it!

Yeea... I knew you could do it. All 40 plates now accounted for. The border was kind on surprise to me. Maybe back then it kind of acted like a cursor location if you had a big array of BV units as a display. Thanks for the great video!!

I hope you build an Arduino based driver for this to test the performance of the display to see just how fast it can be driven through plate changes. It looks like this can be refreshed more than 10 times per second. 6 of these units would make an awesome digital clock. A 7th digit changing 10 times per second would really make for the most annoying clock in the world. ;). I've always been more impressed with electromechanical accomplishments than purely electronic. So much ingenuity and creativity employed when people solve real world problems with levers, linkages, cams and gears. Early adding machines and old cash registers are amazing. This is right up there with them.

Coolest display ever. Think of how noisy a whole bank of those would be, yikes!

Thank you for fixing this! So satisfying 😊

Awesome! Very satisfying to see it working. It would be cool if you could build a project around this, perhaps a countdown timer or something?

very cool, this device is fascinating, something about this is super exciting to see you get into, thanks for going through it

Way to go Fran, I knew you could fix it. Love all your vids, keep up the cool work, thanks.

Just seeing this tonight. Awesome work!

Hmmm... 40 plates = 26 letters, 10 digits, Outline box, "+", "-", and (I'll bet) Blank. If no plates are selected, light goes through both end masks and show a lit grid, which is why a separate Blank plate is needed.

It's amazing what you spot on camera. I had no clue, but could see that flange was lower than the rest and not engaging 😀

The intro music gets my upvote every time

Like I commented in your first video, I saw that last rail not actuating right, glad you found it!