The Tally LMS-1013 Dynamic 13 Character Tri-Color LED SignMy first impression of the sign was in how small the sign was. The sign was thicker in depth than it was tall. The sign was about a foot in length.Sign MarkingsThe sign was a demo sign, and labeled with a model number of LMS-1031, and had a serial number below it. Based on the format of the serial number, I'm assuming this sign was produced in 1996.I was a little amused at the warning sticker on the bottom which had a grammar error corrected by a ballpoint pen and a typo. On the back of the sign was a sticker with Tally Display's address, phone number, and a Revision number written in pen that said 20.A, though the shipping sheet said v2.0a. Another sticker said patent #5,612,711. Power RequirementsThe power requirements on the sign said 9 Volts AC, 60 Hz, 45 Watts. It came with a bulky power transformer with a Midas sticker saying it was a Class 2 Power Supply, Model MAS-00904000, and took an input of 120VAC 60Hz 65W, and produced an output of 9VAC 4A.I was a little disturbed to see that the power connector was not your typical connector you'd find at Radio Shack. It had two large holes and one small hole inside a jack that looked like a PC's keyboard cable, with three keying notches; the sign was female, the power adapter male. In short, if the power supply blows, it may take a little work to find another that will connect to the sign. That said, it sure feel rugged. The Back of the SignThe back side of the sign has plenty of holes for heat ventalation, and surprised me to see three jacks labeled J1 (6 pin), J2 (6 pin), and J3 (8 pin). Next to that was two sets of dip switches, each with eight switches, one red, the other black.Default Dip Switch SettingsSW1, which is black, closer, and smaller had these settings:1:ON, 2:OFF, 3:OFF, 4:OFF, 5:OFF, 6:OFF, 7:OFF, 8:OFF (off=down/up=on) Given that when I powered on the device it said ID 1, this is obviously the sign's network id number.
SW2, which is red, further inset, and larger, had these settings: MountingThe sign came with two mounting brackets and screw pins; honestly, it seemed to be a fairly elegant design, although I never used them. This sign looked like it would fit neatly and unobstrusively under my computer monitor.Connecting to a PCIn addition to the sign, was a device which was clearly used to convert standard computer cables to the sign phone cables. The device was labled CVT-03, had a sticker with Tally Display's address, phone numbers, email, and web page. On the back was a sticker that said Model CVT-03, gave a serial number, and Rev. 1.0.On one side was the power, and a marking saying MASTER showing RS-485 (6-pin female) and RS-232 (9 pin female). On the opposite side it said RS-485 PORT and had three ports marked 1, 2, and 3, all 6-pin female. Power Requirements of the CVT-03The sitcker also said 9V, 50Hz, 300mA, which corresponded to the separate transformer. This was a standard AC Adaptor wall unit like you'd pick up at Radio Shack. It was a Class 2 Transformer, Model PB-0930-AUL, taking an input of AC120V, 60 Hz, 6W, and producing an output of AC9V 300mA.CablesA standard 4-pin RJ-11 (non-cross over, black, red, green, yellow) phone cord was provided, along with a 9-pin female to 9 pin male RS-232 serial communications cord.ConnectivivityThe small power supply went to the CVT-03, the serial cable went between the CVT-3 device and the computer, and the phone cord to the sign.The shipping information said CVT-03 RS232 to RS485 converter, splitter, and repeater. The Master side takes the input (in this case RS232 from my computer) and the output jacks plug to signs. RS-485 port 1 on the CVT-03 went to port 1 on the LED sign, and all worked like magic. SoftwareSoftware for the LED Sign was called TDC-Edit v1.1 and came on a 5.4" floppy, which may be problematic as many new PCs are now being shipped without flopppy drives.
Directory of A:\
06/23/2002 01:47p 1,046,016 TDCEdit.exe
11/22/2002 02:32p 240,128 TDC-Edit operation manual.doc
12/06/2004 03:22p 100,477 LMS1013.MDC
3 File(s) 1,386,621 bytes
0 Dir(s) 70,656 bytes free
Please do not email me asking for the software.
I was pleasantly impressed to see the software worked with Windows 2000, and further that it did not require any installation, making it runnable directly from the diskette. The software performs three functions:
Color Codes <Cx>
Font Codes <Sx>
Feature Codes <Fx>
Logo Codes <Bx>
SupplierThe information I have for reaching the supplier is:
120 Clinton Avenue South Nyack, NY 10960-4315
Phone: 800-75-TALLY / 845-353-6300 Other Tally Display Signs / Other LED Signs |