Outdoor LED digital signage

[cj7ole]

We are getting real tired of getting out the long pole or ladder (particularly in the winter) to change the letters in our outdoor sign. I see a lot of single color LED signs, red or amber, with 3 or 4 lines of text that looks real interesting. A big church nearby even has a multicolor one that can do graphics. Any experience out there with these types of signs, and what kind of budget is needed (ours is 2 sided)?

[colour]

Did you ever get any replies to this? Because I'm wondering the same exact thing.

[Gracetech]

LED signs are a bit expensive. I've seen the cheap kind run for 5k a side. It's getting cheaper every year and i'm sure someone will get the price where it should be.

crt

[frank]

I used to sell LED signs. One factor that controls the cost is the "pitch" or separation of LEDs. The larger the pitch, the "coarser" the image and the lower the cost. Higher res = smaller pitch = more $. And of course the # of colors it can display is a major factor too. Monocolor red is least expensive, amber is next-to-last but brighter to the eye than red. With full color signs, the # of colors is a factor. Also, be sure to try the software that controls the sign--some of it is nasty.

DF (dual face) signs are not so effective the further they are from the road; most effective DF signs are on a "V" to improve the viewing angle.

I have a chart somewhere that shows the size of character needed to be read by traffic at different speeds. Let me know if you need it and I'll pm it to you. Use too small a character and it either can't be read or becomes a public nuisance because it distracts drivers too much trying to read a long, hard-to-read message because the letters are too small.

Your local municipality almost certainly has ordinances controlling outdoor signage, with clauses for moving electronic signage, so you and the installer certainly need to be heads up on that and the permit process; otherwise you could have a very expensive project and no sign to show for it.

I never got into the outdoor market much as it required boom trucks, permits, union labor, etc., none of which I had or wanted to get into.