WIRING SUPPORT

 

For customers setting up their displays and software for the first time, we find that 90% of the problems are caused by faulty wiring.

The three most common wiring problems are:

The incorrect pins on the Computer's Serial Port were used

Trans-Lux displays that are driven using a Serial Connection require two signals; Transmit and Ground.  Please refer to the following diagrams to determine the the transmit and ground pins on your computer's serial port.

DB-9 Connectors

  • Pin 3: Transmit
  • Pin 5: Ground

DB-25 Connectors

  • Pin 2: Transmit
  • Pin 7: Ground
 

Symptoms of this problem are:

  • Displaying of garbled data on your displays
  • Nothing being sent to your displays
  • Intermittent operation of your displays

The two wires connecting the Display to the PC are backwards

On Trans-Lux displays being driven with a serial port, it is not uncommon for the two wires (ground and transmit) to be inadvertently swapped.

Symptoms of this problem are:

  • Displaying of garbled data on your displays
  • Nothing being sent to your displays

 

The two wires going from the Computer's Serial Port do not make it to the display

When running cables between a Trans-Lux display and a computer, companies will often "home-run" the cable; that is, run the cables connected to the computer and the Trans-Lux display to a patch panel.  Then, at the patch panel they will bridge the aforementioned cables.  Unfortunately, these wires are not always bridged properly.

Symptoms of this problem are:

  • Displaying of garbled data on your displays
  • Nothing being sent to your displays