Application Notes

Once that is stored in the Beta Brite, connect it to the available RS-232 port on your Supervisor computer.

Configuring Supervisor

1. Click on the Com Port Control Tab
2. Look in the Auxiliary Ports Box. In the "Lowest Aux Ports" box, put the port number the sign is connected to.
   In the "Number of Aux Ports" box, put 1.
3. In the grid inside the Auxiliary Ports box you will now see the new Aux port and it will be highlighted in blue. Right click on this line. You will now be able to set the port's parameters. You must set the port as follows to communicate with the Beta Brite:
   • Baud Rate = 9600
   • Data Bits = 7
   • Stop Bits = 2
   • Parity = Even
4. Click Accept once you have set the parameters and then check the Aux Ports Active Box.
5. Close Supervisor, then reopen the program. Watch the log to make sure that Supervisor can open the Aux port.

Writing Triggers in Command Builder

We will send a serial string to the Aux port. Characters that are not in < > marks are cAsE sEnSiTiVe (other than the text you are sending to the sign). In this example, we will send "On Air" to com 2:

cmd port2 "<nul><nul><nul><nul><nul><soh>Z00<stx>A0<esc> b<sub>9On Air<eot>"

NOTE In all of these examples, there is a required space between the <ESC> and the lowercase letter that follows it.

Here are some other examples:

cmd port2 "<nul><nul><nul><nul><nul><soh>Z00<stx>A0<esc> c<sub>2Pgm Too High<eot>"

cmd port2 "<nul><nul><nul><nul><nul><soh>Z00<stx>A0<esc> c<sub>4Hotline<eot>"

cmd port2 "<nul><nul><nul><nul><nul><soh>Z00<stx>A0<esc> c<sub>2Silence Alarm<eot>"

To return the display to normal, put this command in the trigger:

cmd port2 "<nul><nul><nul><nul><nul><soh>Z00<stx>A0<eot>"

If you do not issue this command, the alarm display will never turn off!

Font Size and Effects

You can adjust the mode (effect) and character set (font size) by adjusting two characters in the string.

Changine the Mode:

In this example, the lowercase b makes this message "Hold" on the screen

cmd port2 "<nul><nul><nul><nul><nul><soh>Z00<stx>A0<esc> b<sub>9On Air<eot>"

To change the display effect, use one of the following codes in place of the lowercase b:

Rotate - Message travels right to left - a
Hold - Message remains stationary - b
Flash - Message remains stationary and flashes - c
Roll Up - Previous Message is pushed up by a new message - e
Roll Down - Previous Message is pushed down by a new message - f
Roll Left - Previous Message is pushed left by a new message - g
Roll Right - Previous Message is pushed right by a new message - h
Wipe Up - New message wipes over old from bottom to top - i
Wipe Down - New message wipes over old from top to bottom - j
Wipe Left - New message wipes over old from left to right - k
Wipe Right - New message wipes over old from right to left - l
Automode - Sign picks modes at random - o

In this example message, the red 2 makes the text five dots high.

cmd port2 "<nul><nul><nul><nul><nul><soh>Z00<stx>A0<esc> c<sub> 2Silence Alarm<eot>"

Change the 2 to one of the following to adjust font size:

Five Slim- 1
Five Stroke - 2
Seven Slim - 3
Seven Stroke - 4
Seven Slim Fancy - 5
Seven Stroke Fancy - 6
Seven Shadow - 7
Wide Stroke Seven Fancy - 8
Wide Stroke Seven - 9
Seven Shadow Fancy - : (colon)
Five Wide - ; (semicolon)
Seven Wide - < (less than)
Seven Fancy Wide - = (equals)
Wide Stroke Five - > (greater than)

Sample Trigger 1 - turn on the on-air sign

In this example, we're going to take an existing GPI that turns on an on-air light and make it also switch the sign. This example assumes that the GPI output is engine #2 and the Beta Brite is connected to port 2 on the Supervisor PC.

trigger ae1 device1 bus2 on

cmd port2 "<nul><nul><nul><nul><nul><soh>Z00<stx>A0<esc> b<sub>9On Air<eot>"

Sample Trigger 2 - turn off the on-air sign

trigger ae1 device1 bus2 off

cmd port2 "<nul><nul><nul><nul><nul><soh>Z00<stx>A0<eot>"

Giving Messages Priority

If while the sign is displaying a message another trigger kicks on, it will overwrite thr first message. That might not be a bad thing if while the mic is on an EAS comes in so the sign switches from "On-Air" to "EAS". But if you're overwriting the "EAS" with "On-Air" it might not be a good thing.

Establish a variable to set priority for important messages that sets a flag. While the priority flag is on, the sign ignores everything other than the off command for that alarm. The only way one of these important messages can be overwritten is if another equally important message comes in.

By setting up a system of variables, you can test for higher and lower priority messages and only display the highest priority message.

Creating a User Variable in Command Builder

1. With your trigger table loaded in Command Builder, click on System Page.
2. In the first available user variable, type a word that represents your variable. spaces are not allowed, so if you want to use two words, run them together. For example, Sign Prioirty is not valid, but SignPriority is valid.
3. When you refer to this variable in the trigger, put a lowercase v in front of the variable. For example, you'll refer to SignPriority as vSignPriority.

For more information on variables in Command Builder, see Chapter 20 in the Command Builder User's Guide.

Improvements

You can use procedures to simplify the repetitive tasks. See Chapter 9 in the Command Builder Users Guide.

 

_________________
John Davis
Logitek Electronic Systems, Inc.

 

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