HOW TO DESIGN A SIGN SYSTEM USING OUR COMPONENTS, 7 to 32 points

For medium sized sign animations we sell the 32 Point Controller, part number PCB32PD

VERSATILITY:
The software that can be written for this board is what makes it so versatile. There are three
adjustable "stepping" clocks on the board that can be adjusted with a small screwdriver.
The program can tell these clocks to perform various functions such as stepping a lamp
action on, then off. They can also be programmed to be a variable time delay adjustment to
enhance a pattern. For example Clock 1 can be programmed to be the speed control for a
spell on action and Clock 2 can be programmed to be the "all on" delay time before the
pattern repeats.

DIP SWITCH:
This board also has a DIP switch that can be programmed to select different patterns
or be used to set a "times through" pattern option. For example the points spell on from
point one to point 32, then all of the lamps start to scintillate in a 6 point 4 on / 2 off pattern.
If the DIP switch has all of it's switches in the off position these lamps will only scintillate
one time then go back to spelling on again. If all of the DIP switches are turned on the 6 point
scintillation pattern would repeat 16 times before jumping to the spell pattern.

REMOTE AND RESET INPUT:
This board also has a Remote and Reset input plug. The remote input can be programmed to
change the pattern the board is displaying when an input is detected. It can be programmed as
a on / off control allowing the sign to become blank if a remote input is detected (great for
change booths, when the booth is closed the sign is turned off without switching the main
AC breaker).
The Reset input allows you to reset the computer chip on the board, restarting the pattern
by applying 9 Volts DC to the Reset input. On one large pylon sign the Reset input was ran down
to the base of the sign so that the sign could be reset without the use of ladders and lift trucks.

CONNECTIVITY:
A 6 Point Controller can be wired to the Remote inputs of six 32 Point Controllers and the
boards could be programmed to do a spell pattern only when a Remote Input is detected.
Then the 6 Point Controller could be programmed to randomly turn its outputs on and off
causing the 32 point controllers to spell on for varying lengths of time.

OUTPUT DRIVE:
Each output of the 32 Point Controller can drive one triac input. The outputs are connected in
series with on-board LED lamps and these lamps turn on when an output is active. There are
8 pin Molex headers mounted on the board where dummy loads can be plugged in and the boards
patterns can be seen (via the LED lamps) and the clocks can be adjusted before the board is
installed in the sign. Driving multiple 20 amp triacs (for load currents over 20 amps) can be
accomplished by programming the board to duplicate the same pattern on more than one pin.

The output of the controller can also drive the Remote Input of another controller. A sign pattern
could be designed where two boards are interconnected with the 32nd point of the first board is
wired to the Remote Input of a second board, whose 32nd point is wired to the Remote Input
of the first board. The action could be that the first board spells on to the 32nd point triggering
the second board to start scintillating, after a programmed time the second board would turn on
the Remote Input of the first board telling it to turn off its pattern and start the process all over.

As an alternative to switching the neutrals of a sign 6 outputs could be assigned to each letter
of a word in a sign. The controller could be programmed to step on 6 points at a time, spelling
the name. Once all letters are on solid these same six points per letter could be programmed to
scintillate in a 6 point 4 on / 2 off pattern for a programmed amount of time before repeating the
spell on action.

Tell your customer, "yes we can do that", then call us and
we will figure out how.


Choosing a Triac Board (Driver) to handle the AC current drawn by the loads is the next
step in the design process. * click to go there *