Retrofitting a Sign With No Room for a Driver
What changes when the module runs straight off mains, and the three things that have to be checked before it can.
Retrofit work is constrained by a cavity somebody else built. When there is no space, no access or no appetite for a DC driver inside that cavity, the two AC models remove it entirely - along with the component that most often brings the maintenance van back.
Retrofitting a Sign With No Room for a Driver In 5 Steps
Confirm the mains voltage at the sign
A 120 V module on a 220 V feed is a one-second failure.
Both AC models are published for AC 120 V and AC 220 V. Which one you order is decided by the supply that is actually present.
Check the cavity depth against the two bands
Losing the driver does not change the optics.
The 6616B/AC publishes 80 to 120 mm, the 3939B/AC publishes 120 to 200 mm. Outside those, the retrofit needs a different approach.
Plan the run against the cascade limit
Mains voltage does not remove the published cascade limit.
Both models publish 20 modules single-ended and 50 double-ended.
Provide switching and protection to local code
Direct AC drive moves the electrical responsibility into the sign.
Mains still has to be brought, switched and protected at the sign position by someone qualified to do it.
Accept the published warranty difference
Assuming five years on a three year product is an expensive assumption.
The AC models publish a three year warranty. The DC range publishes five. That is the manufacturer's own figure and it is not negotiated here.
The Products Referenced Above
JDS-6616B/AC120V/220V
Mains-driven module at AC 120 V or 220 V, 1.5 W, IP67, no DC driver needed inside the sign.
See the specification
JDS-3939B/AC120V/220V
Square four-lens mains module, 39 x 39 x 9 mm, 2 W at AC 120 V or 220 V, IP67, for signs 120 to 200 mm deep.
See the specification
2835 LED Strip, High Voltage Series, 120 LEDs/m
220 V mains strip at 120 LEDs/m, 1440 lm/m and 120 lm/W, cut every 100 mm.
See the specificationRetrofitting a Sign With No Room for a Driver Questions
Can I mix AC and DC modules on one sign?
Is an AC module less efficient?
Start On Retrofitting a Sign With No Room for a Driver
Send the reference, the quantity and the destination market. A recommended starting point with the matching specifications comes back by email.