LED Sign - If you can make one of these work for me you can have one!

[bigal_scorpio]

Hi to all,

I have 2 identical LED signboards and no idea how they work.

If anyone can build, or show me how to build, an interface to control them then they are welcome to the other one!

These are large displays (see washing machine behind it to get an idea of the size. They are mains powered (UK 240v ac) and are terminated with a 3 pin mains plug. There is also a data lead that is terminated by a standard RJ45 plug.

I have extensively trawled the net for any info on these modules but found nothing useful since the makers no longer exist.

The picture shows the display going through its startup routine which scrolls diagonal lines for about 10 seconds. Both displays do exactly the same and I assume because of this that they are in working order. They have 36 x 5 x 7 - 5mm Amber LEDs. 1260 in all.

I want one that can be used by a friend to scroll messages and display the time and date etc for his garage.

Anyone fancy a challenge and a free 1260 LED display?

Al
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[jimlovell777]

I would try here and ask if they have the manual **broken link removed**

The label tells you the baud rate and data format. If they can't help you let us know.

 

[Mr RB]

They may be missing the controller, that plug looks like it would plug into the controller brain, that probably had a little keypad etc to enter the message.

The label does mention 9600 baud so they might also be controllable from serial...

If it was me I would pull the covers off one and look at the input circuitry to see if you can identify any obvious serial input circuitry like a MAX232 IC etc.

 

[DirtyLude]

If it was me I would pull the covers off one and look at the input circuitry to see if you can identify any obvious serial input circuitry like a MAX232 IC etc.

Label says it's RS485. Is there a known pinout for RS485 on an RJ45 cable? I think there is, but I don't have any experience with it.

 

[Wilksey]

RS485 requires a 232 - 485 Converter or a MAX 485 chip. It is a 2 wire operation mode, we use a ICPCON IAR5720 232-485 converter module.
However, look here:

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[hdc090360]

Ferrograph have a website https://www.ferrograph.com/
You may find that this is not a moving message display with effects like you normally see. The fact that it has a network id means it is probably a message board for a call centre, displaying information like the number of calls waiting etc. I was given five similar ones from another manufacturer in Australia and they where quite rude about giving me information on it. Gave me the incentive to reverse engineer the code. I still haven't used them as they are very simple without any effects at all.

 

[bigal_scorpio]

Ferrograph have a website https://www.ferrograph.com/
You may find that this is not a moving message display with effects like you normally see. The fact that it has a network id means it is probably a message board for a call centre, displaying information like the number of calls waiting etc. I was given five similar ones from another manufacturer in Australia and they where quite rude about giving me information on it. Gave me the incentive to reverse engineer the code. I still haven't used them as they are very simple without any effects at all.

Hi mate,

Do yours go through an animated startup routine?

These ones do so I can only assume they are scrolling signs of some sort.

Al

 

[bigal_scorpio]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the replies so far.

I have taken all on board and even Emailed the makers, though maybe I shouldn't hold out much hope from that?

I will open up one and see whats inside and post details and some pics!

Al

 

[DirtyLude]

There are RS485 to RS232 adapters. If they are cheap enough, just get one and hook it up to a PC with a terminal program. If the protocol to talk to the board isn't something easy and possibly plain text, I'm not sure how you could figure it out, though.

 

[ericgibbs]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the replies so far.

I have taken all on board and even Emailed the makers, though maybe I shouldn't hold out much hope from that?

I will open up one and see whats inside and post details and some pics!


Al

hi Al,
See youve been to the car booty again.

Look here for RJ45 to RS485 pinouts

Pinouts of Cables

Can you take some pixs of the inside of the display showing the termination of the RJ45 cable.... ic types etc.

PS: I dont need a scrolling LED display...

 

[bigal_scorpio]

Hi Eric,

The new picture of your good self is very regal looking.

These displays are way more sophisticated inside than I thought they would be, the board has a power input header and the RS485 header connection and some others, but what surprises me is that the only output from the board that can go to the matrix is a single OPTICAL cable! WOW 1997 was obviously more advanced than I expected.

But there are some other headers that are marked up as TTL/RS485 (3 pin), Temp (3 pin), Bright (2 pin), RS422 (5 pin) which is the actual connection to the RJ45 lead out of the unit and last but not least an RS232 (5 pin)!

So it may be possible to utilise this as the main input. There are also half a dozen various ICs that look to me like EEPROM, BIOS, ZILOG SL1919 and a MAC IC also a 232 IC.

PICs will follow shortly when the cameras battery has charged up. DOH!

All the best..........Al

Pics as promised.
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[Wilksey]

I dont understand why RS485 is 3 pin as it is a 2 wire connection, unless you have a ground connection?
RS422 is also a 4 wire connection TX+ TX- RX+ RX-, again the 5th connection could be ground for a cable shield?
Temp might be a temperature sensor, I work for a company that makes motorway LED signs, and we have a temperature and humidity sensor inside the chassis.

Bright may be a dim / bright setting for night time, all this would do is adjust the duty cycle or the voltage of the power rail.

RS232 is a self explanatory one.

The website I mentioned previously may have some details about the protocol.

Wilksey.

 

[XVar]

Nice timing posting this, I've just got hold of a very similar sign (an FDS 15/20 DX) that I've been researching over the past couple of days, although mine uses electrical connections to the matrix and not optical. Here's what I know so far about it:

It came from a call center and only had 2 wires connected to an RJ45 connector (presumably just used for sending the signal around the buildings CAT5 infrastructure terminating at a serial connector), which after tracing the MAX232 IC as mentioned above, I now know are the RX and Signal Ground connections (doesn't need transmit because it doesn't send anything back I presume). I've connected these to the TX and Ground of a 9 pin serial cable but have absolutely no idea what commands/protocol it uses.

There's also a dip switch block, the first 4 switches set the "address" using binary (switch 1 = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 4, 4 = 8) between 0 and 15, I think this is only used when you daisy chain several together though. Switches 5 and 6 set the baud rate, and switches 7 and 8 do various test routines, one which shows V1.05 L=00 N=02 B=12, haven't figured out what that means yet other than v1.05 is also written on the sticker on the EEPROM.

**broken link removed** link has some information about similar wallboards under the Wallboard Installation and Maintenance section, including the afformentioned dipswitch configurations.

I've also e-mailed the manufacturer asking for spec docs/info, so far I've just been CC'd into a message from the sales address asking someone if they can help with my query.

Update: Figured out what the N and the B from the L=00 N=02 B=12 info screen mean. If you change dip switches 5 and 6 while on "info" mode the B changes between 12, 24, 48 and 96 which is obviously 1200, 2400, 4800 and 9600 baud. If you change switches 1 to 4, the N changes although as mentioned above I don't think that settings used unless you've got several of them.

 

[hdc090360]

Hi mate,

Do yours go through an animated startup routine?

These ones do so I can only assume they are scrolling signs of some sort.

Al

Al,

No startup routine at all. It only comes up with a unique id which is used in the incoming data to assign it an alias. I think that in a call centre all of them are wired in parallel so they only need to use one serial port to control all of them. Yours are obviously more advanced because RS485 is designed for multidrop if I remember correctly.

Duncan

 

[lessthanchris1]

I have another LED board, I was wondering if you guys have heard of it.
Made by Vipco electronics Inc, of Toronto. Its a 4' long, 16 x 168 LED display. It has a power connection (to which I need to find a power supply) and an RJ-45 data port. I've only found one video of a sign by the same manufacturer. Is it common to use RJ-45 connections in LED signs? These were from a supermarket, with three signs total, so I assume there was a base pc somewhere?

 

[lessthanchris1]

I was able to get power supplies, the signs power up. I apparently have signs # 1,2 and 4. They have DIP switches, pins 1-7 control sign number, pin 8 controls baud rate.

I have a serial to RJ45 cable on order, and we'll see what happens!

 

[sahu]

Hi Eric,

The new picture of your good self is very regal looking.

These displays are way more sophisticated inside than I thought they would be, the board has a power input header and the RS485 header connection and some others, but what surprises me is that the only output from the board that can go to the matrix is a single OPTICAL cable! WOW 1997 was obviously more advanced than I expected.

But there are some other headers that are marked up as TTL/RS485 (3 pin), Temp (3 pin), Bright (2 pin), RS422 (5 pin) which is the actual connection to the RJ45 lead out of the unit and last but not least an RS232 (5 pin)!

So it may be possible to utilise this as the main input. There are also half a dozen various ICs that look to me like EEPROM, BIOS, ZILOG SL1919 and a MAC IC also a 232 IC.

PICs will follow shortly when the cameras battery has charged up. DOH!

All the best..........Al

Pics as promised.
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