16
Now, the effects of “On-Off” mode will be examined.
1. Open the TEST.MSG Message File.
2. Highlight the “Caution Ahead” message and click on the “Edit” button. This will open the mes-
sage editing screen.
3. Set the mode selection button to “On-Off”.
4. Click on the Functional Effects button in front of Data Field 1. This will open the Segment
Scrolling Parameters window for Field 1.
5. In the “Time ON” section, increase the setting from 0.000 seconds to 0.693 seconds.
6. After setting the “Time ON” duration to 0.693 seconds, click “OK” to close this window.
7. Click the “OK” button to close the message editing screen.
8. Click the “Display” button in the Main Programming Window.
As you will see, the word “CAUTION” is displayed for 0.693 seconds, but the word “AHEAD” is
flashed on the display for such a brief period, it is perceived as just a flash of characters, as with
“Continuous” mode. This situation is remedied by increasing the duration for Data Field 2 in the
exact same manner as applied to Data Field 1. Follow steps 4 through 8 as outlined above, only for
Data Field 2. After step 8, the message should appear as follows:
“CAUTION” is displayed for 0.693 seconds (Time ON), after which a blank screen is
displayed for 0.000 seconds (Time OFF)
“AHEAD” is displayed for 0.693 seconds (Time ON), after which a blank screen is
displayed for 0.000 seconds (Time OFF)
At this point the, cycle begins again with Data Field 1. Unlike “Continuous” mode, the display does
not have a blank period following the last used Data Field. In “On-Off” mode, the cycle repeats
itself immediately after the last, used, Data Field’s “Time OFF” instruction has been executed. To
gain further understanding of the “On-Off” mode and how different ON and OFF durations effect
message displays, enter different times into these fields and observe the results. Remember, the ON
and OFF times do not have to be alike. In fact, varying the ON time from the OFF time, can have
a dramatic effect on the overall message.
EXERCISE V: Scrolling
Earlier in this manual, the “ON Dir” and “OFF Dir” parameters were discussed. As outlined, the
default setting for all messages is “NONE”, meaning that data appears on the display
instantaneously. In this exercise, the basic “CAUTION AHEAD” message will be reconfigured in
several different ways, so that the operator will see how a message looks when different ON and
OFF directions and effects are applied. The operator will also gain a more practical understanding
of the differences between “On-Off” mode and “Continuous” mode, and which is the best choice
for a given message.
On-Off Mode...
1. Open the TEST.MSG Message File.
2. Highlight the “Caution Ahead” message and click on the “Edit” button. This will open the mes-
sage editing screen.
3. Set the mode selection button to “On-Off”.
