Road Alert Message Sign Controller
Contents
1. Enter N to return to edit mode this will also advance the message to the next one if you were editing message 1 you will now be at message 2 Note The Road Alert Message Sign has the ability to display several message formats ex scrolling rolling flashing The format of each individual message determines how it is displayed by the device See the section Creating Message Effects for information on how to obtain various effects 5 Repeat step 4 until all messages have been downloaded or edited to the controller memory 6 To exit keyboard mode press the ON OFF button Continued on page 6 Figure 2 Figure 3 Part No 212 0030 USB D amp R 5 ON OFF 1 ARROW DIMMER SCROLL SCROLL 4 DISPLAY STORE d L DIMMER SCROLL SCROLL 4 DISPLAY ct we Figure 4 Figure To Load Messages via USB thumb drive Refer to the Road Alert Message Manager Programming Manual to create the message this is necessary to create the correct message syntax Not using the RAMM program to create the text files will result in the files not loading properly into the Road Alert controller 1 The controller must be connected to a message device the RA LED Sign and the device must be connected to power and ground prior to loading messages 2 Ensure the power to the controller is off press On OFF button 3 To initiate the interface a Press and hold the SCROLL button Figure 2 b Press and r2. key 5 Directional arrows Directional allows may be created in messages by using character combinations as follows a Left arrow no tail type lt Shift b Right arrow no tail type gt Shirt c Left arrow short tail type lt Shift followed by d Right arrow short tail type gt followed by Shift Extend the tail by adding additional acter as a tail LU LU characters As an alternate format use the char Part No 212 0030 USB D amp R 7 ELECTRONICS CO m EMERGENCY VEHICLE SOUND LIGHTING amp EQUIPMENT D amp R ELECTRONICS CO LTD 8820 GEORGE BOLTON PKWY BOLTON ONTARIO L7E 2Y4 CANADA TEL 905 951 9997 FAX 905 951 0019 Part No 212 0030 USB D amp R 8
3. ELECTRONICS CO m EMERGENCY VEHICLE SOUND LIGHTING amp EQUIPMENT Road Alert Message Sign Controller User Manual DIMMER U Table of Contents Introduction 2 Touch Pad Interface 2 Operating Instructions 3 Powering on the device snsennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnamunz 3 Display factory default messages ssrennnenzenzi 4 Display user defined messages 1 gt 4 Selecting a Message for Display 11 1100100 4 Clearing Message Display sssennnnnnnennnenzenzzn 5 Programming User Messages 5 To Load Edit Messages via Keyboard Interface 5 To Load Messages via USB Thumb Drive 6 Creating Message Effects 7 Contact Information 8 Part No 212 0030 USB D amp R 1 Introduction The ROAD ALERT Controller is a micro processor controller designed to be used in conjunction with the RA20 and RA40 Road Alert traffic direction devices The controller allows for the onboard storage of up to 80 user defined messages in addition to having five 5 factory loaded messages Message format allows for a wide vari ety of message styles to be implemented i e fixed rolling scrolling or flashing The controller supports maintenance of user messages using the Road Alert Message Manager RAMM a Windows compatible software interface and loading the me
4. age Sign by pushing the DISPLAY button When pushed the active message in the LED message preview area will be displayed on the Road Alert TM Message Sign When a message is being displayed on the sign the red LED indicator on the DISPLAY button will be lit Clearing Message Display The message display may be cleared by displaying the Blank factory default message Note when the Blank message is displayed on the device the red LED light on the DISPLAY button is not illuminated Programming User Messages The ROAD ALERT controller has the capacity to store eighty 80 user defined messages Messages lists maybe downloaded to the ROAD ALERT controller either by using the Road Alert TM Message Manager RAMM software and a USB thumb drive or directly via the keyboard interface The ROAD ALERT controller Touch Pad will already have a set of standard messages preloaded into the user memory section If these need to be erased load a USB Thumb Drive with a blank message file and follow the loading procedure on page 6 Otherwise erasing the messages by keyboard will require accessing them one at a time To clear messages using the keyboard press the DEL key when the message is displayed and confirm YES NO to message line deletion Do this for all messages displayed until they are all gone or just delete what is desired To Load Edit Messages via Keyboard Interface 1 The controller must be connected to a me
5. are triggered based on the configuration of the message The user is advised to experiment with different message configurations in order to create the desired overall effect The following common effects are detailed and are required if the message programming is done bv USB Kevboard oniv Note Messages move from right to left on the sign onlv 1 Fixed Message to have a message appear continuousiv on the sign the message must be equal to or shorter than the maximum display size i e for the RA20 a message eight 8 characters or less 2 Scrolling effect is created by entering a single line message which is greater than the maximum display size The message will scroll across the device from right to left 3 Rolling effect this effect is created by entering a series of message lines separated by a line break When entering a message via the keyboard interface a line break is cre ated by ending each line by pressing the Page Down key on the keyboard Each line must be less than or equal to the maximum display size for the device A maximum of three 3 lines may be entered per message 4 Flashing This effect is created by entering a rolling message with the same message line repeated To vary the flash speed leave a blank message line between repeat lines Note Each message line must contain at least one character To create a blank line press the SPACE bar on the keyboard followed by the PAGE DOWN
6. e that the interface cable between the RA20 or RA40 is connected to the controller before attempting to use Powering on the device Press the ON OFF button to supply power to both the ROAD ALERT controller and the Road Alert Message Sign When powered on the LED mes sage preview display area will display the last message that was displayed on the device Continued on page 4 Part No 212 0030 USB D amp R 3 Display factory default messages The following factory default messages are available Blank ALL CHARACTERS OFF Arrow RIGHT Arrow LEFT CENTRE OUT Arrow Flash alternate flash of two outboard characters The default message list is accessed by pressing the ARROW button on the touchpad which will cause the Blank message to appear in the LED message preview display area Each subsequent push of the ARROW button will cause the next sequential factory de fault message to be displayed as the active message in the LED message preview area KRWN O Display user defined messages The user defined message list is accessed using the SCROLL W or SCROLL J buttons to browse through the messages Each subsequent push of the button will cause the next message in that direction to be displayed as the active message in the LED message preview area Selecting a Message for Display At any point the message displayed in the LED mes sage preview area may be displayed on the Road Alert Mess
7. elease the ON OFF button The controller will respond by displaying the message D amp R Electronics c Release the SCROLL button The controller will respond by displaying the message Connect Keyboard or thumb drive Figure 3 d Connecting the Thumb drive will bring up the first text file on the drive Using the SCROLL button on the controller will display the text files on the Thumb drive Figure 4 the displayed file will be the one loaded when the store button is pressed e Press the STORE button to load and save the message file into the controller Figure 5 f Turn OFF the controller and remove the USB thumb drive NOTE loading a new text file will always overwrite the existing files in the RA Controller memory location To erase all messages in the RA controller memory simply create a blank text file using the RAMM program and load it into the RA controller using this procedure To modify a single line or add another message line use the Keyboard procedure this will write directly to the onboard memory of the RA controller Follow the steps outlined in the keyboard interface portion of this manual Continued on page 7 Part No 212 0030 USB D amp R 6 Creating Message Effects The RA20 eight character and RA40 sixteen character devices provide a contiguous arrav of LED s capable of displaving each character in 35 pixel resolution The micro processor has built in effects that
8. fined message list Note UP is defined as from lowest to highest indexed message SCROLL 4 Causes the controller to scroll down through the user defined message list Note Down is defined as from highest to lowest indexed message USB LOAD Function Activated by holding this key while using the ON OFF key DISPLAY Causes the currently active message in the LED display area to be dis played on the Road Alert device BACKLIGHT amp CONTRAST Activated by holding this key while using the ON OFF key ARROW In ARROW mode allows the user to loop through the factory default mes STORE sage list Each press of the button will cause the next message in the list to be displayed as the active message in the LED display area STORE function is used to complete the loading of the text messages via the USB thumb drive stick Table 1 1 USB allows for direct connection to one of the following e USB keyboard in order to update the user message list see Programming User Messages section e USB memory stick to load newly generated messages 2 LED This is the communication port to the Road Alert Message Sign Operating Instructions The ROAD ALERT controller provides all functionality necessary to select and display mes sages on the Road Alert Message Sign Note Ensure the RA20 or RA40 Message Sign has been properly connected to both power and negative earth ground In addition ensur
9. s sage via USB thumb drive memory stick or by directly connecting a USB keyboard In environments where Road Alert devices are single function the keyboard interface is sufficient Users wishing to manage a variety of message lists or where the Road Alert devices are shared by departments the RAMM software interface and up loading via a USB memory stick is preferred The Touchpad Interface The touchpad interface allows for complete control of the Road Alert device Messages may be viewed and selected for display The touchpad also allows for the addi tion of user messages via a direct connection to a Windows compatible USB keyboard or USB memory stick A complete list of touchpad buttons and functions is shown in Table 1 The LED message display area is a two 2 line display each with a specific purpose as follows 1 The top line of the display always displays the message currently displayed on the Road Alert device 2 The second display line will display messages from the internal or user message list as appropriate The message display is the current active message The ROAD ALERT controller is equipped with two 2 external interface ports Figure 1 as follows Part No 212 0030 USB D amp R 2 Button Function ON OFF Turns on the Road Alert and touchpad DIMMER Reduces the intensity of the Road Alert LED display array SCROLL 1 Causes the controller to scroll up through the user de
10. ssage device and the device must be Continued on page 5 Part No 212 0030 USB D amp R 4 connected to power and ground prior to loading messages 2 Ensure the power to the controller is off press On OFF button 3 To initiate the interface a Press and hold the SCROLL button Figure 2 b Press and release the ON OFF button The controller will respond by displaying the message D amp R Electronics c Release the SCROLL button The controller will respond by displaying the message Connect Keyboard or thumb drive Figure 3 d Connecting the Keyboard will bring up the first line of the already existing mes sage or a blank line if the messages have been cleared 4 To enter edit a message a Key the message in using the keyboard The message will display in the LED message preview display area as it is typed NOTE The cursor will always go to the beginning of the first message line b If preexisting messages are in memory the Keyboard 1 and arrows will allow you to scroll though them and the cursor will be at the beginning of each line To edit the message just type over the exisiting message c Press ENTER key on the keyboard to initiate the saving if the message the LED message preview display area will display the question Save Y N d Enter Y on the keyboard to confirm and save message in the controllers on board memory and advance to the next message line e
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