Wait til you see the DigiComp II! It has flip-flops driven by marbles and gravity. Truly astounding.
a1o•Aug 17, 2026
It looks amazing! Thanks for mentioning it!
WalterBright•Aug 17, 2026
I learned binary computing from that machine.
leephillips•Aug 16, 2026
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.
jedimastert•Aug 16, 2026
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.
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
disillusioned1•Aug 17, 2026
I still have my Digi-Comp I, as well as Dr. Nim and Think-a-Dot.
qsera•Aug 17, 2026
Wow. didn't know mechanical computers could be so simple.
10 Comments
This reminds me, a CNC wire bender is on my list.