ABANDONED TOWER EXPLORE - Rare ACONIC transistor lift control system from 1970s

Thank you again for putting all the effort together to make such a thorough and detailed video on these truly remarkable lifts and the really interesting building in which they're located! I am glad that I was able to help you on the subject of the Aconic controller and it has been a very interesting journey for me as well so far, studying all the old manuals and reading into what the engineers of Schlieren invented here in the 1950s. I am looking forward to creating part 3 with you and to dive deeper into the subject. Also thank you again for linking my video of the Aconics, timing has been a good coincidence and I'm really glad that I was able to film this extremely rare group of lifts.

The video style, effort that has gone into it, the music, they add so much anemoia type of nostalgia honestly. Something about places which were cared for and then just forgotten for ever, but still exist... broken, but exists.

I spent a lot of time in (working) elevator rooms a few years ago on a contract job. We audited about 500 elevators throughout a government agency, including some that were over 80 years old. It was really cool to see this and it brings back some memories of opening up a machine room not knowing what decade the actual equipment would be from. In some cases they modernized 1950s elevators to 80s standards and left the old electro-mechanical cabinets and motor-generators behind. I’m not sure what the maintenance standards are like in the UK but in North America the elevator contractors are focused on new builds and modernization and do not care about service and maintenance contracts. In some cases one technician will be responsible for 150 elevators all over the city, each needing about 5-6 hours a month in code-required service. Well you do the math, they simply aren’t getting the service and not one of those 500 elevators was even close to meeting the A17/B44 code standards for North America. Even though it’s required by law! Thanks for the videos!

I appreciate the fact that you are making the effort to put it all back together when you could have literally thrown it on the floor (especially since it is already broken and beyond repair).

Came for the "Iconic" lift controller, stayed for the Aconic lift controller, said "Alright mate" to the pigeons. 11/10.

2 pigeons casually living in the lift motor lol, cool vid honestly. the editing put into this is insane, I know how darn hard it is to edit a video. I like how in depth they go into the lift motors and control boxes, checking every detail, love this kind of content

This must have been cutting edge back in their days. By early 70s transistors proved to be reliable for any application. They struggled a bit with power applications up to late 60s. But for signal control this was the way to go. They can swtich millions of times without deteriorating, and this reduce maintenance. You will still see relays where high voltage or power need to be controlled. But for logic control this was the perfect choice. I imagine that back on this era, we weren't so sure about solid state yet and many other companies just stuck to the safe an proven relay logic. And because all the engeneering was used to it, while moving to solid state would require another different set of skills.

This channel hits all my love of electromechanical, love the effort that is going into documenting these old lift systems, the attention to technical detail is absolutely outstanding.

I love the quality and effort that is put to your videos. As an engineer myself (but from another field than lifts), I'm the type of person who is always curious and seeking for the answers. I don't need to do that here, because your videos are so detailed that my curiosity is well satisfied. You're doing outstanding job here. Your videos and explanations helped me to overcome my fear of lifts long, long time ago.

As someone who has been fascinated by machines of all kinds since before I can remember, these elev—excuse me, lift videos are absolutely fascinating. And imagining the history behind the unused buildings as you walk through is kind of fun. Thanks for work you put into making and sharing them.

And yet again, MrMatt has the answer. I came across this exact controller in the Agfa Gevaert plant here in Antwerp. I always wondered what it was, because in the 17 years i'm into the buisness this was the only time i've seen this controller. Turns out it's the elusive Aconic. Sadly, this lift was decomissioned in the late '90s. The freight elevator in the same motor room, that probably had the same controller, was modernised by us KONE with an LCE cpu and KDM drive unit.

Best thing about these videos (besides the absolutely geek-out over obsolete technology) is that all you need is a giant gun center-screen, and it could be real-life Doom. The music absolutely rocks. :-)

8:43 “Do not swop” Love it 😂

Great spot for the final showdown in an action film :)

This is so intriguing... the atmosphere of the video makes it somewhat spooky, but it's interesting to see what's left inside abandoned places like these! I've personally seen abandoned towers like these in person, but I'd never dare to venture into one, haha

Every time I see one of your videos... WOW! It is undoubtedly quality over quantity and I LOVE IT! Also amazing how you got all of this and put together. Thank you very much for sharing all of this with us!

I imagine fault tracing and troubleshooting on one of these lifts would have been quite daunting for any technician accustomed to working with relay logic. Having to trace a signal instead of hearing an audible click of a relay and being able to readily see the position and condition of the contacts, even with the tech at the time they could have had a bunch of status LEDs to guide a technician as to what the I/O of a particular cad was doing. Electronic enough to [hopefully] increase reliability but still antiquated to be unable to run self-diagnostics.

Having found your channel a few weeks ago I am truly hooked! The attention to detail in your explanations and graphics is fascinating and I’m learning a lot already. You capture the feeling inside these buildings beautifully as well, the music and filming make you feel like you’re in the room with these beautiful machines, their quietness now all that’s left of a once bustling and full of life building. Having never really paid much attention to lifts in the pass I can see the incredible work that goes into them and how they become almost their own being in a building. Keep it up and I can’t wait to see more.

The copper thieves must take heavy tools with them to take out those field windings. You were lucky that the vandals haven't smashed all those circuit boards up. Beautifully made circuit boards from the 1970's. Thanks for making the video.

these videos never cease to amaze, the editing is always on another level every time. Never heard of this type of lift logic before seeing this, very much looking forward to seeing more in the next part. Also very curious to see what the inside of those lift cars look like. I hope those pigeons appreciate those old lift motors lol