Understanding Electronics | The Evolution of Electronics
The Evolution of Electronics
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In the beginning (1945 - 1989) -- High VoltageIn the beginning, electronic message centers were small one and two line displays that used large high voltage incandescent lamps. The longer the required viewing distance was, the larger the lamp and the further apart they were placed. Lamps ranged from 15watt up to 55 watt with characters sizes from 18" up to 72". These message centers were used mainly for text and limited animations.As computers and software became more advanced, message centers became higher resolution. Light bulbs were painted or covered with a silicon 'boot' and the four-color message center evolved. The first 4-color display had the capability of 16 colors. |
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1989-1999 -- WedgebaseHigh power costs forced an evolution away from high voltage lamps to a small low wattage 'wedge base' lamp, named because they were no longer screwed into a socket, but rather wedged in. These small lamps were ideal for closer viewed displays and for higher resolution displays. They offered a lower initial cost along with lower power and maintenance costs. Computer software now made it possible to turn the individual lamps on at different brightness levels, thus producing 256 colors... then 512. |
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Today's Technology -- Light Emitting Diode (LED)Today, the LED market had finally produced a diode that was bright enough to be seen outdoors. The first outdoor LED's were red or amber. They offered the customer displays with 100,000 hour life, lower power and lower maintenance costs. With the emergence of a blue LED that was bright enough and cost effective enough, the LED electronic media that we know today was developed. By clustering the three colors of LED (red, blue, and green) and spacing them at different distances, these small pixels would be used for any market. In the past a display being viewed from a distance would use a very large lamp. Today this same display would use a smaller pixel but more of them. Of course, the computer/software industry kept pace with the hardware and the number of possible colors rose to 65 thousand... then 16million... then 4.4 trillion. |
