Birbla

Join the discussion

Write your take first — we'll ask for email only when you're ready to publish.

Sign in
  • Hacker News
  • Details on how it works and similarity to FPGA at "Retrocmp" site; DIGI-COMP I - https://retrocmp.com/articles/digi-comp-1
    by rramadass
  • Jörg's automation of the machine is truly fun :) The mechanics of the machine are really clunky and giving it an external clock made it function so much more smoothly iirc.
    by aap_
  • Really cool! Will we ever construct Babbage's Analytical Engine?
    by rustcleaner
  • There was a (stalled) recent attempt: https://blog.plan28.org/?m=1
    by erelong
  • Wow. didn't know mechanical computers could be so simple.
    by qsera
  • I had one! One of my favorite possessions in elementary school. It came with a nice booklet introducing the theory. Because I studied that booklet, I was probably the only brat in my 2nd grade who knew about number bases. I entertained myself by converting decimal numbers into binary.
    by leephillips
  • Wait til you see the DigiComp II! It has flip-flops driven by marbles and gravity. Truly astounding.
    by drfuchs
  • It looks amazing! Thanks for mentioning it!
    by a1o
  • I learned binary computing from that machine.
    by WalterBright
  • I bought one of these from Edmund Scientific when I was a kid. I wasn't able to figure out how it worked. I've thought about it occasionally over the years. Enjoyed the video
    by redretrat
  • 3D print your own: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1477209

    This reminds me, a CNC wire bender is on my list.

    by contingencies
  • I had a CARDIAC when I was young.
    by NetMageSCW
  • Still got it? Would be pretty neat to bust out of the attic ..
    by MomsAVoxell
  • There is an enthusiast discussion group at

    https://groups.io/g/DIGI-COMP/topics

    by PopAlongKid
  • I still have my Digi-Comp I, as well as Dr. Nim and Think-a-Dot.
    by disillusioned1
  • Reproductions are still produced, see the wikipedia page.
    by andrehacker
  • It's cool to see Chris Staecker's channel getting some love, he brings a a kind of joy I miss from the old internet. I know it's still around, but it certainly feels more difficult to find and suppressed in many ways.
    by jedimastert
  • I think the algorithm recommended Chris to me because of his topology videos, and from there I watched all his "old computing devices" stuff. Something about the Boston accent, the dry humor, and the occasional audio jump-cut make his stuff quite funny.
    by professoretc