Identify This Object and Win...

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Balton

The Beast of Worship
Mar 6, 2001
13,428
118
63
39
Berlin
looks like something to collect atmospheric data...
like a weather probe...
 

Nachimir

Crony of Stilgar
Aug 13, 2001
2,517
0
36
Shelf Adventure.
Hmm, zipline speedometer would be fun, but I doubt it. Hard to make out details in the pic.

The ribbon cable doesn't seem to be connected to anything that can store data, so I guess it goes to a display. Yes, those white things look like large LEDs.

The red and green lines look like they could be ethernet cables. That it has a PCB with chips indicates it's running something simple, and in that position I doubt it's a slim client for anything.

It puzzles me that the electronics are exposed to the elements, so I guess it's either not meant to be hung out in bad weather, or is some kind of prototype.

It looks like it's meant to capture and display information on something: I guess a sensor for humidity, pollen, or the like... or maybe it detects data transfer along those lines and acts like a set of modem lights, and it being hung in midair is a complete red herring. Hmm, a jury-rigged wireless bridge, maybe?
 

Evil_Cope

For the Win, motherfather!
Aug 24, 2001
2,070
1
0
it looks like a bunch of crap taped together into the vague shape of a shock rifle, then for no real reason hung on some wires.

:con:
 

Kantham

Fool.
Sep 17, 2004
18,034
2
38
I can see computer shipset with IDE cable and ...... Dunno...

or whatever it is , i am also about to think it's something made for birds with food inside of it... only becasue it's random and generaly something that is used for that kind of thing looks like this.

More of a "weather probe" like mentioned above IMHO.
 
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QUALTHWAR

Baitshop opening soon.
Apr 9, 2000
6,432
71
48
Nali City, Florida
web.tampabay.rr.com
My first impression was that it was a joke, like when people throw tennis shoes over power lines. It sort of looked like a condom hanging off a paint stir stick with some sort of card taped to it.

After people started talking about it, I took a closer look and still think it’s probably a bunch of nothing, but I’m not so sure if it’s a condom now. I guess the thing could have wires running up the back of the paint stick, but I don’t see any extra wires with the two big wires it’s hanging from.

I guess it could have wires attached to those clamp-looking things, and it uses induction to do something, but I doubt it. But what has me wondering if it’s an actual, useful device is the clear plastic, or clear tape at the top of it. It looks like they used grey duct tape to hold the card on there, so I’m wondering if the clear stuff is plastic, and not tape. If it is plastic, maybe it’s trying to protect something. If it’s tape, I guess they just used 2 kinds of tape on the thing.
 

QUALTHWAR

Baitshop opening soon.
Apr 9, 2000
6,432
71
48
Nali City, Florida
web.tampabay.rr.com
I stumbled across the pic of this thing while doing a such for haircuts; i'm designing a website for a barber at the moment. Anyway, i went though my search again and found the page it was on. Here is the description of the object:


Spin Thingies
This was a piece of art that Rolf and I could not figure out without returning to see it in action. It was a bunch of electronics hooked to paint-stirrer sticks hanging from something that looked like a clothesline. There were lots of LEDs, so we knew we'd have to return at night.
What happens at night is amazing; the sticks spin, so the LEDs each trace out a path of light. But each LED is controlled by a tiny computer, and it is switched on and off as it spins to draw ghostly images or text messages in space. Some were multi-colored and some not. In some, the text appeared to move through space as if it were on one of those old news tickers attached to buildings 30 years ago.
 

Rukee

Coffee overclocks the overclocker!!
May 15, 2001
6,644
16
36
Over here!!!
Visit site
we want pics from the other side.
scratch.gif
 
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Balton

The Beast of Worship
Mar 6, 2001
13,428
118
63
39
Berlin
QUALTHWAR said:
I stumbled across the pic of this thing while doing a such for haircuts; i'm designing a website for a barber at the moment. Anyway, i went though my search again and found the page it was on. Here is the description of the object:


Spin Thingies
This was a piece of art that Rolf and I could not figure out without returning to see it in action. It was a bunch of electronics hooked to paint-stirrer sticks hanging from something that looked like a clothesline. There were lots of LEDs, so we knew we'd have to return at night.
What happens at night is amazing; the sticks spin, so the LEDs each trace out a path of light. But each LED is controlled by a tiny computer, and it is switched on and off as it spins to draw ghostly images or text messages in space. Some were multi-colored and some not. In some, the text appeared to move through space as if it were on one of those old news tickers attached to buildings 30 years ago.


damn... now that you say it!
Years ago I saw a science show that had a prototype of a "new generation of TVs". It worked on the same princiüples just that it had 4 or 8 rows of led's and the rotating bit was titlted by 90°degrees...
I wonder what happened to this thing. looked damn impressing in action(even though it was just one coloure LEDs who could just display basic stuff like text and "ascii art".
 

Twrecks

Spectacularly Lucky
Mar 6, 2000
2,606
10
36
In Luxury
www.twrecks.info
It's illegal. I'm going to call the FAA and FBI, get a DNA sample and hang the miscreants from a clothesline for dissident illumination. Clearly the object hasn'y been UL certified, heck, where's the NEMA enclosure or CE guarding! It's sensless acts of art like this that will get Ralph Nadar elected to the Presidency.
 

Nachimir

Crony of Stilgar
Aug 13, 2001
2,517
0
36
Shelf Adventure.
Balton said:
Years ago I saw a science show that had a prototype of a "new generation of TVs". It worked on the same princiüples just that it had 4 or 8 rows of led's and the rotating bit was titlted by 90°degrees...
I wonder what happened to this thing. looked damn impressing in action(even though it was just one coloure LEDs who could just display basic stuff like text and "ascii art".

Budweiser put them in globes and give them away to bars. bing

They flicker a lot, and probably give you seizures if you get too close. I once accidentally got close to one when it was starting up with a test pattern, and it made me feel really strange, as if I was about to lose muscle control.
 

Bot_40

Go in drains
Nov 3, 2001
2,914
0
36
York, UK
I bought this thing a while back, it's just a small plastic arm with 6-7 leds on the end and a handle, you can program it to say whatever you want (max 30 characters) then you spin it round above your head and it displays the message :)
I always wanted to take it to a club but it would most likely get lost/broken/stolen :hmm: