On Monday 29 September 2008 18:44, Ethan Dicks wrote:
Hi, All,
Since one of the first computers I ever got my hands on as a kid (Quest
Elf) happened to have TIL311 HEX displays, I've long been fascinated with
display technology of that vintage. I was poking around for images of
some of the related displays to the TIL311 and ran across a couple of
links with pictures and some history...
http://www.decodesystems.com/old-displays.html
http://www.decadecounter.com/vta/tubepage.php?item=33
In particular, I notice that one of the displays I have one of is a
TIL305 or MAN2 (no logo on mine). I was also looking at the TIL306
or TIL308, but don't happen to have any of those.
I do have a reasonable quantity of TIL311s for my various Elf and Elf2000
machines and even a set that came with an INS8073 SBC. I would love to
find a couple more TIL305s so I can round out an old project, plus I had
an idea for a project that would be interesting to use TIL306s or TIL308s
(don't care about where the decimal point is, so either is acceptable),
but ISTR some discussion on the list a while back about those in
particular, possibly as replacements to some HP counter, and how difficult
and expensive they are to obtain.
TIL311s are frequently found on eBay for various prices; I've gotten
them myself for as little as $2.50 each in small quantities. I doubt
that TIL306s and TIL308s are anywhere near that inexpensive, no matter
what the quantity, but I thought I'd ask if anyone has recently found
any place selling them. I'm not trying to repair a bit of vintage kit,
so I'm not willing to pay "any" price for them - if they are too expensive
(as I suspect they are), then I will find some other display.
Yes, non-driven LEDs are inexpensive to free and modern microcontrollers
can drive wads of LEDs easily and cheaply, but what I'm going for is a
1970s look with 1970s components (i.e., popcorn-logic driven, not micro-
processor-driven). The advantage of the TIL306s and TIL308s is now what
it was then - a high level of integration reducing the overall wiring
complexity and parts count. The disadvantage now as then is that the
displays are more expensive than the entire rest of the device.
They still look cool, though, and that's the real point.
Yup!
This is neat stuff...
I built a digital counter for a guy back in 1975, using TTL and displays that
I bought on Canal St. in NYC. I still have some number of that sort of
display around, and haven't figured on any particular use for them yet,
plus some that I've salvaged a bit here and there, some two-digit parts,
etc.
No 7446/7 chips on hand to drive them with, though. Or any of the
4000-series CMOS either. :-(
I was always wanting to get my hands on some of those hex or better yet 5x7
displays back in those days to play with. Oh well.
Definitely nifty stuff, for sure.
--
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James
M Dakin