Jump to content

ELECTRIC SIGN SUPPLIES
If You're Looking For Premium Electric Sign Industry Components From Trim Cap, LED's, Neon Supplies, Power Supplies, Pattern Paper.  Then Please Visit Our Online Store or Feel Free To Call Us For Inquiries or Placing an Order!!
Buy Now

SIGN INSTALLER MAP
Looking for a fellow Sign Syndicate Company Member For A Sign Install or Maintenance Call?
Click Here

For Sign Company's Who Work As Subcontractors
Before You Work For A National Sign & Service Company You Need To Look At The Reviews Of These Companies Before You Work For Them. Learn When To Expect Payment From Them and What It's Like To Work For Them, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. Learn and Share Your Experiences Yourself For Others

Click Here

Message Center manufacture sells product then out of business - parts?


amer28

Recommended Posts

Greetings and thanks for any help. First off, we did not sell this message center, merely trying to help a new customer that bought one and now seems to be stuck. I figure that this must be happening across the country so maybe this will also help others. If there is a thread already addressing this please direct me.

Got a call from a church that their message center was not operating properly. When Tech arrived said only labels he could find were "AS LED" and "Alcon Technologies". Looks like AS LED is the manufacturer of the message center (or maybe they just slapped their label on) and Alcon is the manufacturer of the transmitter and receiver. Does anyone have a contact number for these guys or a source for parts if in fact they are out of business. Of course already looked on line with no luck (found an Alcon company but they dont know what were talking about).

More importantly, with all the message center start ups and then they go out of business, is there anything to do besides tell the customer "sorry, you got screwed and now you need to buy from a Dactronics or Watchfire, etc"

Thanks for any help.

Lance

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem here is a company decides they want to be a reseller of EMCs and they get into the business not really knowing or understanding what they're doing. They do a trip (maybe even two) to China and get their egos so pampered they feel like experts after a few factory visits. They start buying the cheapest systems they can find and putting them up, attempting to match the USA industry-standard 5 year warranty (sometimes they go with the Chinese/Korean 3-year warranty). Everything looks good until year 2 when systems start having problems. They go back to the manufacturer who says, "Send us the bad parts to China, we will fix them." They didn't plan on having to pay to ship things back to China. They start shipping parts to China and pulling parts from inventory. Soon the demand for parts exceeds their inventory, China STILL hasn't returned the parts which were shipped a month or two prior and the company who felt so great bringing-in and selling cheap product w/out support ends up financially strapped w/out the ability to sell anymore and lawsuits piling up. At this point, they close their doors and head out rather than live up to the warranties or deal with the lawsuits and this results in situations like your customer's.

Unfortunately a lot of businesses are in this situation and I've seen a new "fix-it" business emerge from dealers who have some connections with the off-shore component providers and experience enough to fix the systems without having to know who the actual manufacturer is/was. The customer should have bought American (Vantage LED, Watchire, Dak, Yesco, anyone other than some unknown front for an offshore manufacturer), not many people know much about the systems though and there was very little information out there. I'm working to change this with the blog I write (click here to view the blog) but change is slow and there are lots of people out there in this situation.

There are a few companies who are familiar with the Chinese systems and have gone out to repair the systems time and again to help customers (as these businesses can rarely front the money for another investment in LED Signage). I'm not sure who you could call in the Delaware area, but you could give Aaron Patterson of HiLight Electronic Displays (FL-based company) a call and if he doesn't know someone in the area, he might be able to source parts and help your techs out remotely (I'm sure you could work out some arrangement). He's a very knowledgeable guy and his family has been in the LED signage businesses long enough to see a lot of companies come and go (and they've always been there to help clients out). http://www.hilightdi...om/contact.html

I hope this helps your client out. It stinks seeing someone put up that much money and ending up holding the bag when things go wrong.

Edited by Deacon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Lance,

After talking with you it seems like you just need to get some wireless devices to re-enable communications between the computer and the sign.

You have the right idea to test the theory. Get a long Cat5 cable that you can run from the computer directly to the receiving card in the sign. 300m is the longest length of cable that will work. Power the sign and computer off and back on after connecting the cable. If you get a signal on the display you will know that the only issue is the communications devices between. Let me know what you find out. If you need further assistance, you have my numbers. Hope that helps.

Link to what I believe is the Alcon devices manufacturer. In India and Taiwan.

http://alconwireless...in/wireless.php

http://www.alcon.tw/home.htm

Link to the vendor that I have used for wireless communication devices. These are an alternative if you cannot match the ones in place. They are true outdoor antennas.

http://www.caymanwir...71876-ns2l.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Topics

  • Posts

    • It would be the cable appropriate to fit in the sheave size, measure what is on there currently. And 2.25 - 2.5 times longer than the fully extended boom length. You can probably find the least required number of wraps on the winch drum.
    • Done a few, do you have questions?
    • Accent Graphics is looking for a sales rep to take over some existing accounts as well as cultivate new business.  This is a great opportunity for the right individual.   We’ve been in business over 40 yrs, are profitable and debt free, offer a competitive benefits package and have a strong staff. Please visit our website at accentgraphicsinc.com and send your resume to operations@accentgraphicsinc.com  
    • Hey everyone, I wanted to share some insights I recently explored about how digital signage is transforming communication within hospitals and healthcare environments. Whether it's patient experience, internal messaging, or emergency alerts — digital displays are making a huge impact. Here are 6 key benefits I discovered: ✅ 1. Reduced Perceived Wait Times Waiting in hospitals can be stressful. Digital signage helps by displaying health tips, entertainment, or wait time updates to ease patient anxiety and improve their experience. ✅ 2. Real-Time Emergency Alerts In urgent situations, hospitals can use digital screens to instantly broadcast important alerts or emergency codes across departments — faster and more effectively than overhead systems. ✅ 3. Improved Staff Communication From shift updates to meeting reminders, internal digital boards streamline communication and reduce confusion among staff, especially in larger facilities. ✅ 4. Wayfinding Made Easy Navigating hospitals can be confusing. Interactive digital maps and directional signs help visitors and patients get to their destination without constantly asking for help. ✅ 5. Promoting Health Campaigns Hospitals can use signage to promote wellness programs, flu shot campaigns, or COVID updates — all in a visually engaging way that captures attention. ✅ 6. Better Patient Engagement Screens in waiting areas or patient rooms can be used for educational videos, treatment FAQs, or even personalized messages — creating a more informed and connected patient experience. I wrote a full article diving deeper into each of these, if anyone wants to read more: https://www.wipath.com/top-6-advantages-of-using-digital-signs-in-hospitals/ Would love to hear your thoughts — are you seeing digital signage being used effectively in your hospitals or clinics? Cheers!
    • Come see our BrightON LEDs displayed at the Abitech Sign Supply Booth #4618 this year at ISA Las Vegas....come see what we have coming next!  
×
  • Create New...