basys controls

[licensed to chill]

Got sent to a building full of these controls. Everything in disrepair.
Any comments on this brand before i tear into them? Most of the controllers are sd100

[fculotta]

These are NOT user-friendly. They work, but that is the only good thing to say about them. HOPEFULLY, you won't find them password protected.

[berg2666]

Get the manual , I have one in my truck and can see if it will scan. but cullota is correct unless you have the default passwrod you may have problems, I am not sure if you can reset the password.

Remember one thing, If you scroll past an option in the menu you can not go back , you have to scroll all the way to the end and start over.....PITA

http://www.tcsbasys.com/docs/faq.pdf
http://www.tcsbasys.com/tech_support.html

[joey791]

Welcome to the Pinto of the control world

[twisted pair]

Welcome to the Pinto of the control world

Agreed. However it is by no means a true BAS / DDC system. In fact there real market is small commercial buildings (medical buildings, office buildings, retail stores, restaurants & banks) basically buildings under 50,000 sq. ft.

Most of there controllers offer basic DDC / EMS stand alone or networked, a step above programmable thermostats. While JCI, Honeywell, Siemens, TAC, Trane & Carrier have systems that would be just as good, TCS Basys is a lower cost.

If you program the controllers a lot there is a software called RevPro, which is a very scaled down version of Johnson Controls HVAC PRO with a direct connect cable and a RS232 to RS485 communications converter

Still a Pinto, but for small / light commercial if wired correctly and programmed correctly it is fine for a thermostat interface for most basic HVAC equipment with small point counts, and canned sequences.

Joey, there has to be a Cadillac and Pinto with most things in life (Personally I would take the Cadillac).

[joey791]

Agreed. However it is by no means a true BAS / DDC system. In fact there real market is small commercial buildings (medical buildings, office buildings, retail stores, restaurants & banks) basically buildings under 50,000 sq. ft.

Most of there controllers offer basic DDC / EMS stand alone or networked, a step above programmable thermostats. While JCI, Honeywell, Siemens, TAC, Trane & Carrier have systems that would be just as good, TCS Basys is a lower cost.

If you program the controllers a lot there is a software called RevPro, which is a very scaled down version of Johnson Controls HVAC PRO with a direct connect cable and a RS232 to RS485 communications converter

Still a Pinto, but for small / light commercial if wired correctly and programmed correctly it is fine for a thermostat interface for most basic HVAC equipment with small point counts, and canned sequences.

Joey, there has to be a Cadillac and Pinto with most things in life (Personally I would take the Cadillac).

Yeah twisted, we have one project sales guy that thinks TCS cost wise is almost the greatest thing since sliced bread, hence the imposed hatred in my last post :D

[twisted pair]

I actually signed up with them last year. We really only offer it through our Service Dept. which does smaller installs. Even though most of my customers are high rise office, hospitals, college campus’s and large commercial well over 100,000 sq. ft. I would still get 3-5 calls a year from building owners / mangers with small buildings that needed basic control work. Generic 3-10 ton constant volume rooftop units and a boiler an pump as an example.

Most of our TAC stuff is a little over kill, and in most cases those buildings do not require a front-end. So even though I don’t have a real need for it, if I am a little slow or need some fill in work I could do some small building control work with the TCS stuff and it is priced right for there budget. For me that’s another 75-100K a year in small service work and I have no dealer cost with TCS. I would much prefer any of our TAC lines, but it is usually more than a small building needs and can afford.

But that’s were it ends. My rule of thumb for the TCS Basys product is 50,000 sq. ft. and basic unitary HVAC applications period.

[simsd]

If you have issues call the factory. I have dealt with them before and they were great. Don't scrap it unless there is a real technical problem. I have used them on a few jobs without any problems. Don't confuse them with a true DDC system.

I can't find anything on the sd100. Their big claim to fame is that they had modulating outputs available for cooling and/or heating depending on your application.

[Control Man]

I wonder if he meant that the controllers he has on that site are the SZ not SD ? SZ are their common controllers , they did make a SD 1000 Micro Controller in the past

TCS / Basys controllers do a good job , have installed plenty with no problems or call backs , they are the low end DDC but many customers want that type of controller.

I have used them in schools , churchs , institutional and industrial / manufacturing locations , customers are happy and the controller / system does the job.

They are easy to use and program , manuals are easy to follow and if you have the REV PRO software ( they are now offering a FREE download ) its very simple to use. Using the key pad gets the job done as well but as a previous poster noted you need to scroll through the entire setup to get to a certain area and if you miss it you have to do it again.

[f1shermanjim]

The SD1000 is an old single loop controller of ours. There is no password required. If you need a manual for it, let me know & I can email it to you.

If it is not the SD1000, but something lese let me know & we can help you with that also.

Not trying to sell you anything, just offering assistance if you need it.

[jkalopejunk]

The SD1000 is an old single loop controller of ours. There is no password required. If you need a manual for it, let me know & I can email it to you.

If it is not the SD1000, but something lese let me know & we can help you with that also.

Not trying to sell you anything, just offering assistance if you need it.

I would like a copy of manual for the sd 1000 thank you jack = jackmangles@yahoo.com