MS2 or MS3?

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traffic-light-man
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MS2 or MS3?

Post by traffic-light-man »

Hi All,

From my current research (for an article I'm writing for my website) the MS2 and MS3 are functionally the same, and indeed the DMRB implies they are directly compatible with each other.

There are two types of MS2 and MS3 from what I can gather, the type that is just 2 x 12 of characters and the type that is 2 x 16 with an EMI (Enhanced Matrix Indicator).

So, was the MS2 simply the flip-dot (with LEDs for night time) versions of the VMS that I recall (only recently being removed on the M6 in south Cheshire/Staffordshire, for example (here)), and the MS3 the LED only versions?

Any help much appreciated!
Simon
boing_uk
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Re: MS2 or MS3?

Post by boing_uk »

Try this document.

Essentially MS2 is two line tactical, with or without the EMI; MS3 is 3 line strategic.

Note at the end of the document they refer to D2M and D4M. I thought we invented those terms... :wink:
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Haydn1971
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MS2 or MS3?

Post by Haydn1971 »

boing_uk wrote:Essentially MS2 is two line tactical, with or without the EMI; MS3 is 3 line strategic.
No if isn't !!! The MS3 is a technical improvement on the MS2, you can get both 2 and 3 line versions of the MS3 - there is also an MS3 that uses the LED technology from the MS4, giving a better higher resolution text than the previous dot matrix style fonts of the MS2 & MS3
boing_uk wrote:Note at the end of the document they refer to D2M and D4M. I thought we invented those terms... :wink:
I'm pretty sure these were in DMRB in the early 80's, well before Sabre
Regards, Haydn

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boing_uk
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Re: MS2 or MS3?

Post by boing_uk »

I stand corrected - I didnt read the document properly (it was 1:15am when I wrote my reply :lol: ).

Right then.

MS2 is basically 2 signs in one: a text element and an EMI element. They are two separate sign elements - i.e. the text cannot go across the EMI.

MS3 allows text across the EMI element allowing a longer worded message without an enhanced message, or a shorter worded message with an enhanced message (such as (40)) etc.
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traffic-light-man
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Re: MS2 or MS3?

Post by traffic-light-man »

Ah right, that's cleared that up then.

Cheers for the replies :D

Is there an any way to physically tell the difference or is it a software based difference?
Simon
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nowster
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Re: MS2 or MS3?

Post by nowster »

traffic-light-man wrote:Is there an any way to physically tell the difference or is it a software based difference?
Less separation between the text character elements and the EMI element, I think.
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wrinkly
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Re: MS2 or MS3?

Post by wrinkly »

boing_uk wrote:Note at the end of the document they refer to D2M and D4M. I thought we invented those terms... :wink:
I think they've been in the DMRB or equivalent since the 1980s. Or the 90s at least.
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