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Author Topic: How does a Vane Display Work?  (Read 3989 times)

Jeremy Nelson

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How does a Vane Display Work?
« on: August 25, 2008, 04:15:18 PM »
I've always been curious how it works, because I've seen them on shows like Nick Double Dare, Jeopardy, and Pyramid. I assumed for the longest time that they were lights, like most other game show displays were, but after a closer look, I don't think they are. I was watching a TOC final episode from Jeopardy's last set, and when Alex cleared the scores, I heard a distinct click as each contestant's score was reset to zero. If somebody could correct me (I'm not even 100% sure that they're called vane displays), I would appreciate it.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2008, 04:15:38 PM by rollercoaster87 »
Fact To Make You Feel Old: Just about every contestant who appears in a Price is Right Teen Week episode from here on out has only known a world where Drew Carey has been the host.

johnnyd1788

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How does a Vane Display Work?
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2008, 04:21:35 PM »
I always thought the top half of each number rotated down to display each number, but this is not my field of expertise and someone else can explain it...
« Last Edit: August 25, 2008, 04:21:53 PM by johnnyd1788 »

clemon79

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How does a Vane Display Work?
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2008, 04:27:25 PM »
[quote name=\'rollercoaster87\' post=\'195144\' date=\'Aug 25 2008, 01:15 PM\']
I've always been curious how it works, because I've seen them on shows like Nick Double Dare, Jeopardy, and Pyramid. I assumed for the longest time that they were lights, like most other game show displays were, but after a closer look, I don't think they are. I was watching a TOC final episode from Jeopardy's last set, and when Alex cleared the scores, I heard a distinct click as each contestant's score was reset to zero. If somebody could correct me (I'm not even 100% sure that they're called vane displays), I would appreciate it.
[/quote]
Those are plastic reflective segments on hinges, yes. The "home" position is rotated 90 degrees so you only see the black edge of a segment, and to activate a number, the relays for the seven segments fire to cause the necessary segments to flip out such that the reflective side now faces forward, and the unnecessary ones (if needed) to flip in so that you can only see the edge again and it's effectively invisible. This, of course, is MUCH less energy-hungry than a traditional display, as it only uses electricity for the actual numbers during state changes, where an eggcrate or an LED display or has a constant drain of power to keep the necessary lights lit. (In fact, aside from during a state change, at least in some vane displays, you can flip the segments by hand...when we did the Children's Miracle Network telethon, we would always set the tote board by hand so that it read "HELLO" for the opening segment.)

So there you go.
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Particleman

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How does a Vane Display Work?
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2008, 08:23:11 PM »
Here's a closer look.  It should give you a good idea of how it works.  This unit is exactly like what you see on TV.  They're also widely used on vintage Whac-a-Mole machines.

http://www.katymae.com/Pictures/flipsegment.jpg


And if you find general electromagnetic displays interesting, you'll really like this Youtube video.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT7nj2Rl4kU
« Last Edit: August 25, 2008, 08:24:39 PM by Particleman »

Robert Hutchinson

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How does a Vane Display Work?
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2008, 09:09:51 PM »
When Jeopardy! first switched over to displaying contestants' scores on screens, I thought I could still hear the clicking I associated with the old displays after each score change. I eventually presumed that the noise was coming from the off-screen score displays provided for the contestants, which might still be using vane displays.

Does anyone know if that's accurate? Was I just hearing noises in my head? (It's been known to happen.)
Visit my CB radio at www.twitter.com/ertchin

Jeremy Nelson

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How does a Vane Display Work?
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2008, 09:18:07 PM »
The "Take a Tour of the Set" panorama on the Jeopardy website has a set of vane displays to the side of the gameboard. You can see it here:

http://www.jeopardy.com/multimedia_virtualtour.php
Fact To Make You Feel Old: Just about every contestant who appears in a Price is Right Teen Week episode from here on out has only known a world where Drew Carey has been the host.

Unrealtor

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How does a Vane Display Work?
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2008, 10:33:42 PM »
[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' post=\'195165\' date=\'Aug 25 2008, 08:09 PM\']
When Jeopardy! first switched over to displaying contestants' scores on screens, I thought I could still hear the clicking I associated with the old displays after each score change. I eventually presumed that the noise was coming from the off-screen score displays provided for the contestants, which might still be using vane displays.

Does anyone know if that's accurate? Was I just hearing noises in my head? (It's been known to happen.)
[/quote]

IIRC, the sushi bar set had seven-segment light displays instead of vane displays on the podium, so you haven't been hearing the on-podium displays for quite a while.

I can't tell, at the resolution of the panorama on the J! site, whether those are still vane displays. But what I really wonder about is why they have eight digits. Are they going to recycle the set off to Zimbabwe after this is done?

/I'll have "why Mugabe is great" for 100 billion, please.
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Jeremy Nelson

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How does a Vane Display Work?
« Reply #7 on: August 25, 2008, 11:32:57 PM »
[quote name=\'Unrealtor\' post=\'195175\' date=\'Aug 25 2008, 09:33 PM\']
I can't tell, at the resolution of the panorama on the J! site, whether those are still vane displays.
[/quote]
From the looks of it, the off screen scores seem to be lights, rather than vane displays. They just look like they share the same "font".
Quote
But what I really wonder about is why they have eight digits. Are they going to recycle the set off to Zimbabwe after this is done?
Oh...I fear to see the size of the scoreboard for trillion dollar ToC :)
« Last Edit: August 25, 2008, 11:34:54 PM by rollercoaster87 »
Fact To Make You Feel Old: Just about every contestant who appears in a Price is Right Teen Week episode from here on out has only known a world where Drew Carey has been the host.

TimK2003

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How does a Vane Display Work?
« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2008, 09:36:42 AM »
[quote name=\'rollercoaster87\' post=\'195178\' date=\'Aug 25 2008, 11:32 PM\']
[quote name=\'Unrealtor\' post=\'195175\' date=\'Aug 25 2008, 09:33 PM\']
But what I really wonder about is why they have eight digits. Are they going to recycle the set off to Zimbabwe after this is done?
[/quote]
Oh...I fear to see the size of the scoreboard for trillion dollar ToC :)
[/quote]


Alas, the days of the game show "Who Wants To Be A Zimbabwe MegaGazillionaire" are over. :(

It was fun while it lasted, though!

Sodboy13

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How does a Vane Display Work?
« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2008, 10:24:49 AM »
And hey, they'll likely be back around by this time next year!
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