Tech Brief #1028 - Push Buttons Placing Extended Calls (EN, BD3)

Product / Models Affected:

EZ Communicator Navigator, Bulldog III

Situation:

MUTCD 2009 section 4E.06, 4E.08, 4E.11, and 4E.13 describe behaviors based upon the length of the button press. Because of these MUTCD requirements, some Traffic Controllers are now able to detect the length of the button press. Are Polara’s Push Buttons able to place an Extended Button Press to the Traffic Controller? YES!

Solutions:

Since our earliest products, ALL Polara Push Buttons place Calls in proportion to the length of the physical button press. The Call to the Traffic Controller is equivalent to a continuous contact closure for the “duration” of the button press.

For EZ Communicator Navigator Push Button Stations (ENAV), the Call is in proportion to the pedestrian push with a settable limit from zero (0) to six (6) seconds (EConfigurator setting of “EXT PUSH TIME”, default is 1 second). For any valid button push, 0.2 seconds is the minimum time for a placed Call.

With Bulldog III Push Buttons, the Call is also in proportion to the pedestrian push, but with an approximate limit of 10 seconds. For any valid button push, 0.3 seconds is the minimum time for a placed Call.

Examples: A very quick button push of 0.1 seconds would result in a 0.2 second Call for ENAV’s and 0.3 second Call for BDL3’s. A button push of 1.5 seconds would result in a 1 second Call for ENAV’s (using default setting) and 1.5 second Call for BDL3’s