https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/sec-kawhi-leonards-endorsement-deal-daktronics-nba-probe-continues/  

That is not true.

A lot of times it can just take a little bit of moisture getting inside of a module casing.

So NO, LED Module are not SAFE or DUMMY PROOF just because they are low voltage.

Quote

"Hello,

As CEO of Principal Industries, I would like to personally communicate some exciting news with you. Principal Industries has acquired GENLED Brands comprised of AgiLight, which offers premium innovative signage illumination solutions, and Acolyte, which provides unmatched custom architectural lighting solutions for interior and exterior projects. This acquisition strengthens and diversifies Principal's product portfolio in new and existing end markets while expanding its footprint in and outside of North America.

While this is big news for us, we want to ensure that it is business as usual for you and as such, all brands will continue to operate separately until we can confidently bring the teams together. This will ensure uninterrupted service for you. There will be no immediate changes to distribution or product lines. As always, we strive to maintain the highest level of service to best simplify the lives of our customers.

To read the full press release, click here.

Thank you,
Todd Fiske

CEO, Principal Industries"

Options and Choices at your local Sign Supplier just became fewer, and prices just went up.

Be sure to check out your International Sign Association Web Blast and Announcements which will contain "Congratulations Principal / Sloan on your newest / latest acquisition!!!"  

We all know what this means to the market place....lesser competition....higher prices...lesser quality.

This is the reason for Brighton LEDs....It will always remain Top Tier Quality!

Rant over.

First let me say it's important to always use the same color LED behind solid colored faces (No Outline), i.e. Blue LEDs behind Blue Faces, Green Behind Green etc etc.

In another Topic we discussed and displayed why it's better to use Red Behind Red and how much Luminance you will lose on a sign face if you use White LEDs behind Red Faces Here

The 12V & 24V .8W Brighton-II and the Brighton Lightning 12V .72W LED modules both have Ruby Red.

So let's display just how just how efficient these two High-End LED Modules perform compared to other Red LED modules on the market....and no better way than to show you a comparison than to put other like Power LED modules in a side by side comparison and show what the differences are, with comparing Like Power LED Modules this is truly a great Apples to Apples Comparison!

Let's first bring out the two 12V .72Watt LED Modules, the G2G WOW II Red & the Brighton Lightning Ruby Red.

Some other big characteristic differences are the following.

The Brighton LED Modules are Constant Current, and uses a 18 AWG Wiring. 

The G2G LED Module is Constant Voltage, and uses a 20 AWG Wiring.

Thicker Wire is alway better for long runs and you won't get as much voltage loss in those runs which can incur lower light output especially for Constant Voltage LED Modules. 

Constant Current LED Systems have IC chips or current regulators on board each Module on top of the conventional resistors for protection, this is added protection for each LED Module as well as assuring that the first LED on a long string is equally as bright as the last LED Module on the string.  With Constant Voltage LEDs the first LED on the string will be brighter than the last, also the first LED Module will take a bigger hit than the last LED on a string.  With CV Systems, any small reduction in voltage coming from the LED Power Supply due to long runs or inefficient Power Supplies the LEDs will dim even with the smallest fraction of a volt, this does not happen with CC systems...even and consistent lighting, as well as longer life is the advantage of Constant Current Systems.

The Comparison is composed of channels for each LED Line that measure 12"L x 4.25"W x 3" Depth Returns 

The Sign faces are 1/8" 7328 White with one of the Deepest Red Color....3M's 3630 series 33 Red.

Each Channel has three LED modules equally spaced 5" On Center Module to Module.  

Before going further I must stress that it is very difficult to take pictures of Red Light Sources and Sign Faces, it is very hard to truly show the stark differences between the Brighton & G2G LED Modules and how truly brighter the Brighton LED's perform in real life.

Using an ExTech Light Meter and measuring the Luminance or light right on the sign face we get the following:

For the Brighton Lightning Ruby Red channel we get a Foot Candle high of 81, and Low of 71, averaging out at 76 Foot Candles.  With three .72 Watt LED modules we get a total of 2.16 Watts, and putting out 35.19 Foot Candles per Watt.  The Foot Candles / Watt is important because it's showing the efficiency of the LED Module when it comes to light output.

For the G2G WOW II Red channel we get a Foot Candle high of 40, and Low of 36, averaging out at 38 Foot Candles.  With three .72 Watt LED modules we also get a total of 2.16 Watts, and putting out 17.59 Foot Candles per Watt. 

In our next comparison we will bring out the slightly higher LED Modules.....the 12V .8 Watt Principal / Sloan Qwik Mod 2 Red & the Brighton II Ruby Red available in both 12V & 24V .8watt LED Module.  No matter which version Brighton you use 12V or 24V, the Light Output is the same...at 24Volts it's just half the current of a 12V version.

Nothing is different in this comparison other than switching out the LED modules, the Faces and Channel Sizes are the same.  In this instance we will only use two LED modules form each LED Manufacturer with a spacing of 6" On Center, Module to Module.

For the Brighton II Ruby Red channel we get a Foot Candle high of 56, and Low of 47, averaging out at 51.5 Foot Candles.  With the two .8 Watt LED modules we get a total of 1.6 Watts, and putting out 32.19 Foot Candles per Watt.  Again......The Foot Candles / Watt is important because it's showing the efficiency of the LED Module when it comes to light output.

For the Principal / Sloan Qwik Mod 2 Red channel we get a Foot Candle high of 26, and Low of 23, averaging out at 24.5 Foot Candles.  With two .8 Watt LED modules we also get a total of 1.6 Watts, and putting out 15.31 Foot Candles per Watt.  

Again I have to stress that the lighting results are better in person than trying to display in a picture, and the stark difference between the two is truly something to see and pay attention to in real time.

Chip quality and efficiency is everything when it comes to LEDs, and a comparison like this also makes aware of the other differences such as system wire thicknesses for voltage loss....and are you paying for a Constant Current System, or a Constant Voltage System? 

Comparisons such as this really shows Custom Sign shops what they are truly paying for, and the quality they are paying for! 

You could be overpaying for mediocrity with mediocre lighting results.

If you're looking for something special, and can pay less for it compared to other products that cannot perform the same then....You've found it!

With our Brighton Ruby Red LED Modules, you'll get a High-End, High Efficiency product that will give you Competitive Light, NOT usable Light.  The Brighton Ruby Red will Punch at night over those average conventional Red LEDs. Brighton LEDs are all Constant Current for longer life and consistent lighting , and uses a much thicker system wiring for less voltage loss in long runs.

Remember this....as a wise man once told me..."Always buy the most expensive and only cry once!" 

Brighton LEDs are not expensive in cost for $79.99 (Bag of 80), but Expensive in Quality!    

You can find our Brighton Ruby Red LEDs in a link below.  Feel free to log into your account and place orders, or for questions or order by phone (858) 880-1400 orders@thesignsyndicate.com

https://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?/store/category/51-brighton-led/

The High-End Top Tier Brighton-IV Constant Current LED Module for Sign Cabinets & Large Channel Letters for when you want strong Competitive Light NOT, usable light! 

The BrightON IV Module as low as $75.00 per bag in small case quantities with FREE SHIPPING

The Existing Pylon Sign 44"H x 17'L x 18"D

Existing Fluorescent HO Lamps spaced 12" OC as per usual Electric Sign Industry Standard

In this simple low cost Retrofit no need for high cost proprietary tracks, clips...just simple aluminum stock you already have in your shop for sign fabrication. $85 worth of 1-1/2” x 1-1/2" angle, 3/4” square tube

1 hour of using self-tapping screws to attach the 1.5" x 1.5" Aluminum angles to the top and bottom of the Pylon Sign and adding in the vertical aluminum bars to where the HO Fluorescent lamps once were.   HO Lamps 12” OC Center. 18 Rows, 144 1.6w B-IV Modules, three 96w France TruPower LED PSU’s for the B-IV Modules. 

The result???.....Godly Light that tears into Daylight!

Brighton - IV LEDs Powered by France TruPower 100% Loadable LED Power Supplies

Again, the Aluminum angles in this project cost came to $85 total!   No Need for high cost proprietary bars, clips, holders.... just use the angles your custom sign shop typically already have in stock for Sign Fabrication. 

With the BrightON IV Spacing the module cost for double sided projects come to $3 per foot.

High Efficiency LED Modules (180 l/w) for more light per power, Constant Current NOTConstant Voltage for Consistent / Even Lighting & Longer Life.  24V instead of 12V for half the current which results in half the heat and resistance.  

You can purchase the BrightON IV Modules from our store (Here), and in small case quantities $75.00 per bag of 60 as well as our preferred France Lighting Solutions LED Power Supplies which include FREE SHIPPING all across the Continental US Only! ...or feel free to phone in your order (858) 880-1400

Anyway, the Versalift was designed to run off a generator, which is on the truck. I'd like to convert this to a battery bank so the generator doesn't have to constantly run.

My plan is to add perhaps 4 deep cycle batteries and some sort of charge controller/isolator so the trucks alternator charges these, (but it doesn't use them for starting). I may have to upgrade the alternator, but that doesn't seem like a big deal.

Anyone done something like this, or have any caveats? I just don't want to worry about keeping a generator running all the time when in use. Also quieter of course.

Real Life activities along with how busy I have been with developing our Brighton LED Line have taken me away from keeping this site active.  I wasn't expecting the Brighton LED line to really take off as it has.  It's required a lot of attention and I'm purposely trying to keep product circle on who sells it small.  Quality is where my focus lays and not Quantity.  I have no desire to be the next Principal LED where I get to a point where I'm just selling off a name and let the product quality drop.

Since the Principal LED gobble up of the Sloan, Hanley the whole quality in the market place has turned to absolute Dog Shit.....and that is what Shops have been buying...Dog Shit...and they don't even know it

Over the last few years it's been a race to the bottom.

Wensco, Spandex, Montroy is raging over Principal LED dropping them as a supplier so their rage is focused on their United LED by G2G to complete against Principal / Sloan. 

Then we have Everylite Raging over G2G which is nothing more than old G2G Employee/Partners splitting off to do their own thing as Everylite bitter at their previous place of buisiness or employment.  So Battle Lines are all over the market place and they're all competing for one thing...who can sell the Cheapest Module.

We've discussed a lot of this in ad nauseam 

Chip quality in LED Modules has gone down and price has gone up with the big monopoly along with having fewer choices at the Sign Supplier...All a mixed bag in conjunction in who can sell quantity over quality.  

This will all get very interesting, real fast

So.....I have a need fever, and the only prescription is...... more Benchmark Testing.

The Great White Hope IV

Just like the predecessors of the GWH III to the original we started back in 2009 we will test the Original Light output of various Vendor LEDs with similar spacing, monitor the Lumen Maintenance (Light Degradation over time) in measuring the Luminance in Foot Candles...or the light output on a sign face....as that is all we care about in the Electric Sign Industry  

Project Great White Hope 

We will also display one of the most important qualities when it comes to LED Chip quality that must be given attention too, that many either not know of, or really is never talked about because it cuts through all the Marketing Bullshit and that is the Foot Candles per Watt....this is the Chip Efficiency of an LED and this number will reflect how much light output you are getting for power put it.  The higher the FC/W, the better quality chip that LED has in it.  You can't get High Light Output from poor quality chips, only high quality chip have a higher efficiency to give you more light for lesser power.

For obvious reasons I will not be benchmarking every product out there on the market, just the most visible in the Market Place.

Project Tight Whitey

For example I will not be testing Principal LED's Synergy Mini or any in the family. 

A .46w LED module with poor lumen per watt is not worth investing our time to test especially at nearly $400 per bag in cost.  To me it's a joke of a product, something with such low output that will last you a long time because it operates/drives too low but you will literally need two to two and a half of these modules that one single LED module will do.  So having four .46w modules next to four Qwik Mod II modules would look ridiculous next to one another in a benchmark comparison. 

Also, a lot of Modules are being phased out....

Our current line up will be the following

United LEDs (G2G).8w for Channel Letters  

United LEDs (G2G) 1.2w for Large Channel Letters & Cabinets

Principal Hanley's The One 1w LED

Principal Qwik Mod II .8w

Principal Qwik Mod II .8w Red

Principal Sloans Prism .96w LED

G2G Wow .8w Module

Everylite Rebel 1w Module

Everylite 2D .72w Module

BrightON II .8w LED Module

BrightON II .8w LED Module Ruby Red

BrightON III 1.2w LED Module

BrightON IV 1.6w LED Module

BrightON SunFire 2.4w LED Module

BrightON Lightning .68w LED Module

BrightON Lightning .72w LED Module Ruby Red

A few more surprise Vendor Modules as we go along.

There is no better way to show the Electric Sign Industry and where we sit with the components we use in the signs we produce than creating a benchmark comparison

I should have this up and running in the next day or two, I will create a new topic and post here publicly for all to see and monitor over the next few years.

Like the previous Benchmarks, all LED Modules will be equally spaced for 2LED Modules, 3LED Modules, and 4LED Module. 

All LED Modules will be in 5" Depth Channels that are 24" x 4.25".  Sign Faces will be 1/8" 7328 White by Plexiglas grade C and all will operate by a shared France Lighting Solutions TruPower LED PSU. 

The only fault this benchmark comparison will have is that the budget Constant Voltage LEDs like the Qwik Mod II will be handy capped in Light Output because there will not be any remote slight voltage drop coming from a TruPower LED PSU that will affect the light output drop that would occur in real life setting should a LED PSU be loaded at 80 - 85%.  Constant Current LED Modules light output is not affected by slight voltage drops and remain consistent in lighting.

So, if we have one fault it lays here, but just know...all Constant Voltage LED modules would normally be a little dimmer in light for two reasons, TruPower LED Power Supply and for the fact that our PSU's will not be reaching anywhere near loadable capacity, and if we were to add modules down the road after initial start, it would affect these CC LED Modules Light Output in robbing voltage.  

Great White Hope Monthly Benchmark Evaluation 

The Reason I'm rebooting this much needed Benchmark Comparison for the Electric Sign Industry is for a couple of reasons.  Our Trade Needs this because too many Custom Sign Shops only knowledge base it dependent on what Sign Suppliers tell them...which is way too reliant on a poor source based on the importance on sales and who they sell now and not yesterday.  I also notice with Social Media which is another poor source of reliable knowledge, has been very incorrect and very biased based on who they sell and who their relationships are built around.  This simple Benchmark will shed light where there has a lot of poor light on the subject matter

This time with our own developed LED line will be in the mix, and of course it will be seeing as biased....in a sense it will come off that way....  But I always have encouraged custom sign shops to develop their own comparisons and really, REALLY see for themselves....as Seeing is BELIEVING     

More to come......

Plan to visit Bunker Hill, a few other historic sites, few breweries, and take some pics of the CITGO sign.

Thanks!

Merry Merry, Happy Happy to all!

https://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll17/search/searchterm/Collection of SmartWork Media/field/source/mode/exact/conn/and/order/datea/ad/asc

On the left is your average 12V .8 watts per module White LED on the market..... the Principal / Sloan Qwik Mod 2 Red

On the right we have the BrightON II Ruby Red available in both 12V & 24V…also .8 watts per module.  The Brighton Ruby Red is probably the brightest Red LED module on the Market. 

When we put a 7328 White acrylic sign face over the white we get a luminance of 177.5 Foot Candles of Light right on the sign surface .  Now we’ll switch the White acrylic with another 7328 White Acrylic with 3M Red 3630-30 Applied Translucent vinyl and see the results.

Red is very hard to capture using an iPhone, but believe me…..in person the contrast between the channels that has the White LEDS vs the Red LEDs is large.  The Red is overwhelmingly brighter than the White with a luminance on the sign face with 51.5 Foot Candles….and the White LEDs with a luminance of ONLY 16 Foot Candles.

When using White LEDs behind a Red face you will lose nearly 2/3 of the luminance on the sign face based on how the lens filters the wavelengths rather than using a High Efficiency Red LED like the Brighton Ruby Red. 

This is why it’s best to use Colors behind Colors….Most of the time!

Our 1.6 Watt 24 & 12 Volt BrightON IV LED Module for all your High End Sign & Lighting Projects. Our BrightON IV is a High Efficiency Super Light Output module made for your Large Channel Letters & Cabinets where you want Competitive Light...NOT Usable Light.

BrightON LED is made from within the Sign Industry...FOR the Sign Industry

Does anyone know who does the Cubesmart signs?  I have a bid request for a new location and they asked me to make the exterior channel letters.  That would be easy enough but I'm not the approved vendor.   i told the customer this and said we could at least provide the installation if we aren't allowed to make the signs.   It's possible that Cubesmart doesn't care who makes the signs but I doubt it.

Thanks!

Rocco