Should I buy this? Electromagnetic flip disk display 5x7 split dot matrix

[HayleyLola]

Hi Guys,

You may have seen my previous post about wanted to get my Fiancé a flip dot matrix for Christmas. I found this for sale on eBay and wondered if it would be a good purchase and something that could actually be made into something?


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Electromagnetic-flip-disk-display-5x7-split-dot-matrix/304091228119



If it is good, how many units are needed to make it worthwhile?

I really have no idea about this kind of stuff, so I am trying to ask those in the know so I don't have to ruin the surprise!

Thanks,

Hayley

[james_s]

Those are totally cool. Personally I would want at least four of them to make a clock. 3 or even 2 of them could make a useful thermometer. A single digit could be used to make a single digit sequential display but having several is a lot more interesting.

[DaJMasta]

If you google "5x7 font" you can get an idea of what the stuff displayed on them at 'nominal' resolution of one character per panel.   You could turn them sideways to use a shorter font (5x3) and get more characters, or use them in a pictoral mode as just a graphic display of whatever size.  I agree that 4 would be the baseline for a lot of projects, but 6-9 could give you a fair bit more flexibility in what you could display - scrolling text is a bit harder to get away with when each dot is physically switched and clicks.

It's the kind of thing where the project probably comes from the stock you have, though, so there are likely some creative ways to use however many to get what you want done.

[up8051]

Remember one thing, these displays are loud when changing state.
So they are not very suitable for indoor use.

[PlainName]

these displays are loud when changing state

Maybe great for an alarm clock!