| Sign Manufacturer's Brochures and Manuals Gulton Industries, Inc. (Lumnator Division) |
| For half a century, the Luminator Division of Gulton Industries, Inc. has led the way in the specialized field of transportation lighting. The introduction of L.I.D.S. (Luminator Information Display System) was a major breakthrough in destination sign technology. Early controllers were two separate components, one being the vacuum florescent readout, the other being the memory source with thumbwheels for selecting the code number. Later control console devices were a single unit with the thumbwheels being part of the console and push buttons for the various functions. Another version featured the same function push buttons, but instead of a thumbwheel, had an additional 12 button grid for the 0 to 9 numbers, plus a # and *. The most common version incorporated highly reliable pressure sensitive membrane switches. This version contained no moving parts. The sign displays were made up of 15 character spaces with a grid of 5x7 dots per character. Each of the 15 characters was its own circuit board. The sign dots are biased toward the curb and upward to catch the maximum amount of ambient light, thus creating a higher contrast ratio and increasing legibility up close and at a distance. The florescent tube lighting was positioned above the display. In 1984 they introduced the MAX line of destination signs. These improved on the L.I.D.S. model with better sign lighting and advanced electronic technology. MAX's destination messages were larger and brighter, offering passengers maximum readability. Day or night, MAX signs read easily up close or far away. That's because they designed MAX for the way people really read. The larger 6"+ letters are easier to see and easier to read. The yellow surface area is up to 81% greater than the former round dots. Each letter is comprised of flat rectangular discs which are lighted from the bottom for significantly improved visibility and no windshield glare. The messages can be read at wide angles to the bus from both the street and curb sides. The sign is designed to fit closer to the destination sign cavity window, it is uniquely readable by passengers standing close to the bus. The letters write from left to right - the way people read. All letters appear with an average writing time of 0.3 seconds. This faster writing results in the message being visible longer for more reading time between message cycles. MAX's 15 character sign displays were made up of three sections of five characters each. One panel was the master board with all the electronics to make the sign function. The other two panels were slave boards. In early versions of these signs, the only distinguishing difference between a master and slave panel was the dial switch to set the sign's address. Later versions had a separate circuit board attached to the back of the display board, that controlled the entire sign. Early versions of the MAX side signs were tall, about twice the height of the display, to allow for all the chips and circuitry. These side signs also had a circle shaped dot with a tab to catch the magnetic rods. With refined technology, the side signs shrunk in height, being not too much taller than the display area. The dots were now octagonal in shape on the side signs. In 1985, and while Luminator took was taking over the line from Gulton, other variances were also made available, including the introduction of the SuperMAX signs. These, in addition to the 15 character MAX signs, also had a separate 8.3 inch tall 3 character panel display with a 14x8 dot grid for each character, and could be operated in tandem. These larger 3 character signs were also used as rear signs by some systems. A smaller version of the SuperMAX was also offered as a side sign application, where the typical 15 character side sign was paired with a 3 digit sign made up of the same 6 inch characters used on front MAX signs. Three and four digit 6 inch letter signs were also offered as rear sign. Some more unique applications of the same technology included the single character 14x8 grid used on some of New York City's older subway cars, controlled by a single dial switch. In 1991 Luminator introduced the "Slimline" version of the former Gulton Control Consoles. It was about half the thickness of the older consoles, but a couple inches wider. These slim consoles were a technological improvement as they could use 256k memory chips, where earlier ones were limited to 64k memory chips. In the early 1990s with Luminator's shift to full matrix signs, the character based signs were phased out. Support for them continued well past their manufacturing discontinuation though, as even Luminator's IPS programming software from the mid 2000s (2006) had provisions to support programming these older MAX signs. Physical conversion units were also offered by Luminator to allow older MAX signs to run off of the same controller circuitry as what was in their newer matrix signs. To see images of the various Gulton / Luminator signs and consoles that were described above, please visit Rollsign Gallery's web page that shows the preserved collection of these signs by Clicking or Tapping HERE. (Opens in a new window.) |
| To see the various Gulton signs in my collection, click or tap HERE. To see the various Gulton signs and other related devices that are for sale, click or tap HERE. (Be sure to review the Terms of Service before purchase.) |
| (Including info on Pocatec & Axion signs) |
| Gulton 3 panel brochure - Page 3 MAX "Maximum Readability" Click / tap to enlarge. |
| Gulton 3 panel brochure - Page 4 MAX "Maximum Programmability" Click / tap to enlarge. |
| Gulton 3 panel brochure - Page 1 MAX Front Cover Click / tap to enlarge. |
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| Gulton 3 panel brochure - Page 2 MAX "Maximum Fleet Flexibility" Click / tap to enlarge. |
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| Gulton SuperMAX Destination Signs brochure. (Back) Click / tap to enlarge. |
| Gulton SuperMAX Front Destination Sign Blueprint brochure. (One sided) Click / tap to enlarge. |
| Gulton Model 620 Programming System brochure. (Photocopy) Click / tap to enlarge. |
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| Gulton SuperMAX Destination Signs brochure. (Front) Click / tap to enlarge. |
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| Gulton / Luminator Specification for SuperMAX Destination Sign System (Photocopy) Page 3. Click / tap to enlarge. |
| Gulton SuperMAX Side Destination Sign Blueprint brochure. (One sided) Click / tap to enlarge. |
| Gulton / Luminator Specification for SuperMAX Destination Sign System (Photocopy) Page 1. Click / tap to enlarge. |
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| Gulton / Luminator Specification for SuperMAX Destination Sign System (Photocopy) Page 2. Click / tap to enlarge. |
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| Gulton 3 panel brochure - Page 5 MAX "Maximum Ease of Maintenance" Click / tap to enlarge. |
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| Gulton/Luminator Technical Bulletin - Innovative Breakthrough in EEPROM Programming. (Photocopy) Click / tap to enlarge. |
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| Gulton MTU Capability Conversion for On-Board Programming brochure. (Back) Click / tap to enlarge. |
| Gulton / Luminator MAX Slimline Control Console brochure. (Front) Click / tap to enlarge. |
| Gulton MTU Capability Conversion for On-Board Programming brochure. (Front) Click / tap to enlarge. |
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| Gulton / Luminator MAX Slimline Control Console brochure. (Back) Click / tap to enlarge. |
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| Gulton 3 panel brochure - Page 6 MAX "Why Luminator's MAX Measures Up" Click / tap to enlarge. |
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