Digital Signage Sales 101: 10 Behaviors, Making LED Sign Manufacturers Great!

The LED Sign Industry is a comprised of many manufactures all with unique strengths, weaknesses, and product offerings.  There are many choices for sign companies to select from, depending on their individual company’s needs.

Not all companies are alike, not all product is alike, not all warranties are alike and it takes some work and trial and error to find the best relationship.  Just like a first date does not mean marriage is imminent, neither does the order of one LED sign project, or two or three. It takes time to determine the true nature of the supplier for your LED sign.

Also, over time, it’s possible to glean the truth about your current LED sign manufacturer. How do they behave when the pressure is on? What kind of choice do they make when someone will win and someone will lose- do they sometimes take the proverbial “hit”?

Regardless of who supplies your LED display projects, there are 10 awesome characteristics that a sign company should consider:

1.       They are open and available and you can call them up, visit their factory and meet their team.
2.       They support your sales plan and do not compete with you for retail sales in your area.
3.       They constantly “push the envelope” on new technology and innovations, sometimes challenging the industry status quo.
4.       They have great software engineering capabilities.
5.       They recognize “Content is King” and can provide customized solutions.
6.       They have a responsive sales team that answers your questions, usually immediately.
7.       They provide flexible solutions for your urgent production requests.
8.       They find a way to always say “yes”.
9.       They provide a “rock solid” warranty on their product minimizing loopholes.
10.   They are focused on educating you, your customer, and giving back to the community.

With all the great possibilities that exist why would you settle for any LED sign manufacturer who did not conform to these ideals?  LED manufacturers have you as “their” customer, they are not your customer. Consequently, it is okay to expect more from them. It is okay to ask more from them. It is okay to seek out and select the best possible choice for your sign company.

In the early days of LED sign technology with limited manufacturing choices, you were restricted and had to settle for a “less than perfect” fit. Now with some “due diligence” you can find exactly the best LED sign manufacturer "fit" for you.

Remember too, that there is a difference between a business "partner" and just a "vendor". Referring back to my earlier metaphor of "marriage", it applies here as well. Your spouse is your partner, your administrative assistant at work is more like your vendor. Your partner stands beside you and helps you as part of a deeper and more intense commitment. Your assistant supports you to a point. At your workplace that point may be when 5PM rolls around or you've fallen into organizational disfavor.

When you find a LED sign manufacturing "partner" that can boast many of the 10 aforementioned characteristics, then you will rest easier, live a less complicated business life and  make more money by way of happier customers.

Do it, you’ll be able to tell the difference immediately and your customers will support your choice.

This blog post and comments represents my personal perspective and do not reflect the opinion of Vantage LED, Inc. or SignVine, Inc. or any other person or organization. Thank you to Vantage LED for allowing me to pen a guest blog every 3 weeks. If you have constructive feedback please email me at michael@signvine.org.  - Mike Prongue

LED Sign Tech & Spec: Check The Power! Electrical Supply and Outdoor Digital Signage

-Scott Hofheins

Is the sign getting the correct power? This is one of the first questions I ask when an LED sign is exhibiting strange or seemingly random issues that normal troubleshooting cannot solve. Nine times out of ten the power is found to be the root cause. Unfortunately (in the past) I had to learn this the hard way, spending hours working on solutions that ultimately would fail due to bad power. This can be extremely frustrating for both the end user and the technician.

I hope to help save some time and effort for people with these issues by providing some common power issues that I've seen occur, and ways to recognize and avoid them altogether. We won’t go to in depth about how power works in general, but my earlier post about voltage and amperage, and Deacon’s post on “the silent killer” have additional information on this topic..

To start with, I have found it’s always good to verify the power immediately in the following situations:

• If the sign is at a special event using portable power, like 208 VAC.  
• If the sign is using a generator for power.
• If the sign is blank, and you cannot communicate to it.
• If the issues on the sign don’t “make sense” after normal troubleshooting procedures.
• If the sign is on multiple circuits, and only certain sections of the sign are blank, corresponding to the circuits.

Voltage Drop

Any electrical installation Must take voltage drop into account. Electricity travels through wires (conductors) that have a certain amount of resistance. As the length of the wire increases, the Voltage will decrease. This will cause the sign to be under-powered, and will cause issues with the power supplies and internal components.

Indicators:

• Long distances between sign, and the main source of power.
• Sign or sign components reboot at seemingly random times.
• Components work for a certain amount of time, but repeatedly fail.

System Voltage

Electrical devices are configured to work on certain voltage ranges and phases. Most devices in the US work on either 120 Volts or 230 Volts. Although devices can operate within a 10% range either way (ie 115 Volts or 220 Volts), they must stay within that tolerance or damage will occur. In most cases you cannot run an LED sign on 230 Volts that is setup for 120 Volts without major damage to the components and complete failure of the sign.

Indicators:

• Sign powers on, but runs erratically.
• Sign will not boot up after power on.
• Issues with sign components that cannot be traced to a definite cause.

Wire Size

The wire size is extremely important to provide SAFE and adequate power to the sign. If the wire size is too small for the sign’s power requirements you can cause damage to the sign and the electrical system. Voltage drop will occur, and the amperage levels can cause the wire to overheat and melt.

Indicators:

• Small extension cords, not meant for commercial or heavy duty use. This usually happens if the sign is hooked up for temporary power, or on mobile LED units.
• Discolored or semi melted wires or connectors.
• Significantly lower voltage measured at sign than at the main power source.

Breaker Amperage

LED Signs will pull a certain amount of amps, depending on the sign type and configuration. The breaker sizes need to be sufficient for this amperage, or the breakers will trip when the sign exceeds the breaker’s amperage rating.

Loose Connections

Electrical connections must be tight to function correctly. Loose connections usually occur during the initial installation, or service work done on the system. Temperature changes can affect these connections causing the sign to work in warm weather, but not in cold weather.

Indicators:

• Power can be measured on the incoming side of the terminal, but no power registers on the sign side.
• Sign works in warm weather, but not cold.

Main Power Source

Sometimes power can be interrupted from the main source to the sign. This can be caused by a break in the line itself or an issue with the power panel at the building, or sign.

Indicators:

• Breakers are tripped at the sign or building.
• Sign is completely blank on both sides and no communication can be established.

208 VAC System

I decided to do a special section on this. A 208 Volt system is NOT the same as a 230 Volt system. In most cases you will have issues with an LED sign that is configured for 230 Volts, on a 208 Volt system. Depending on how the 208 service is connected, your sign may initially work, but start to have a variety of issues in the long run. I've seen systems that were displaying issues that didn’t logically seem to have anything to do with power, but immediately were fixed when the power was corrected to a 230 Volt system.

It’s usually a safe bet that power is the issue when you have an LED sign from a trusted source with issues that you are unable to fix using reasonable troubleshooting methods. Power issues can create a wide variety of symptoms and can be very challenging to recognize immediately. Always keep power in mind as you troubleshoot an LED sign system. If you find yourself saying, “this just doesn't make sense”, it’s time to check the power.

-SH

I hope this post has been informative and helpful. As usual, I welcome ALL constructive comments. Please feel free to comment and add anything I’ve missed, or additional tips you may have regarding this topic. Please visit www.vantageled.com for many other resources, white papers, and of course: Great looking LED Signs!

**All posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically stated.

LED Sign Tech & Spec: Providing Correct Power Voltage to LED Signs and Why 120 VAC and 240 VAC are Both Important

- Scott Hofheins

Since we're on the subject of power (see Deacons Post), I thought I would write a little bit about Voltage, Amperage, how they affect LED signs, and why it’s important to supply the correct voltage. I will try not to get too technical, but stay clear and straightforward. 


What is Voltage and Amperage?
To keep it simple, I’ll explain power by using a water system filled with sand particles as an analogy.

• Voltage: How strong the “water pump” is pushing the electricity through the system. The water pump is consistent, and it’s pushing force doesn't change much (+/- 10%). If you capped the end of the “pipe” (flip the switch off) the voltage level would never go above the strength of the “water pump”. Typical outlets here in the U.S. supply 120 Volts and large appliance outlets (clothes dryer) supply 240 Volts.

• Amperage (Electrical Current): How fast the water is being pulled through the system. This “flow rate” is measured in Amps and will vary depending on the devices connected to the system. Signs can pull 20 -100+ Amps, and your smart-phone charger usually pulls only .5 - 2.1 Amps. Most residential outlets are rated for 10-15 Amps.

• Wire Size: How big the water line is. The sand in the water will cause friction, generating heat. The faster the “flow rate” the the larger the wire size needs to be to protect the line from overheating.

• Electrical Breakers: These are like emergency shut off valves. If the line does overheat, these valves immediately break the connection completely. They do this at specific Amperage levels depending on the breaker. The main breaker for your home is typically 100 amps, broken down into smaller breakers like 20, 30 or 40 Amps that connected to specific areas of a house.

How do these items affect LED signs?
LED signs are usually configured for 120 Volts AC (Alternating Current) or 240 Volts AC. These are standard voltages for most commercial and residential systems.The lower the voltage the faster the device has to “pull” the power. A sign configured for 120 Volts will pull about double the amperage when compared to the same sign at 240 Volts.

Smaller LED signs are usually configured for 120 VAC. This is because 120 VAC is more common, and is usually already supplied at an existing sign site. The larger amperage draw isn’t usually enough to justify pulling a new 240 VAC circuit to the site. Most signs in this category will pull 10 - 40 Amps, depending on the size.

As they get bigger, LED signs will start to pull more Amperage becoming less efficient. More amperage means a larger electric bill. So rather than using a 120 VAC sign that pulls 80 Amps per side, you will use a 240 VAC system that only pulls 40 Amps per side.

Why not just connect 240 VAC to a sign configured for 120 VAC to save energy, or 120 VAC to a 240 VAC sign?

• Amperage, Breaker Size, and Wire Size: As we discussed earlier, the amperage draw is directly related to the voltage. If your system was built to support a 240 VAC sign that pulled 30 Amps, and you installed the same sign configured for 120 VAC, the amperage would double to 60 Amps. This will affect both your Wire Size and Breaker Size. If you only account for a larger breaker size, you could start an electrical fire at 40-50 Amps when the wire overheats because the larger breaker will not “trip” until 60 Amps.

• Component Damage or Inefficiency: LED signs have many different electronic components. Some of these like the power supplies and cooling fans take AC (Alternating Current). Other components like the LED modules and video boards use DC (Direct Current). The power supplies are responsible for this AC to DC conversion (again, see Deacons Post). If you supply the wrong AC power, you can affect the other components in the system with mixed results.

• Power Supplies: Quality manufacturers use “Auto Switching” power supplies that will output a solid DC current within a range of AC voltage (120 - 240). This might save your power supplies from damage due to incorrect voltage, but the rest of the system can still suffer. However, the damage is much worse if the manufacturer does not use Auto Switching supplies. As soon as you supply the wrong power, many of them will burn out completely.

• Cooling/Exhaust Fans: Most cooling fans in an LED sign are connected directly to AC power. This means that their rotational speed is directly related to the alternating “cycles” in AC power. A cooling fan designed for 120 VAC that is connected directly to 240 VAC may blow completely. Conversely, if a fan designed for 240 VAC is connected to 120 VAC it may blow, or turn much slower causing the sign to overheat.

• Other Components: If the power supplies blow, they can surge the DC power for other components causing damage. If they don’t blow (if you supplied a lower AC voltage) they will sometimes provide a corresponding lower DC voltage. This will cause long term damage to the components and they will fail in variable degrees over time.

Why can’t I connect Three Phase 208 VAC to my 120 VAC or 240 VAC Sign?

I won’t get into the details, but unless you pay for a very custom build LED signs will only be configured for Single Phase Power. You will have issues if you connect directly to Three Phase power. Don’t Do It.

Can I connect to Single Phase 208 VAC?

I do not recommend this either. LED signs are more sensitive to voltage than a clothes dryer or refrigerator that operate just fine in the 208 range. An LED sign might work initially, but you run the risk of long term component damage due to under-voltage. You would also see poor performance of any AC direct components like cooling fans.

If the LED sign is configured for 120 VAC, the safe operating range is typically  110-120 VAC. If the sign is configured for 240 VAC, the safe range is usually 220 - 240 VAC.

The bottom line is: Voltage Matters.  Now (hopefully) you know why.

-SH




I hope this post has been informative and helpful. As usual, I welcome ALL constructive comments. Please feel free to comment and add anything I’ve missed, or additional tips you may have regarding this topic. Please visit www.vantageled.com for many other resources, white papers, and of course: Great looking LED Signs!

**All posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically stated.