Commands¶

All command classes live in alphasign.commands (or their sub-modules). Each class has a .code class attribute (the protocol command byte) and a .to_bytes() method that returns the command's data field.

WriteText / ReadText¶

from alphasign.commands import WriteText, ReadText

`WriteText(message, label, position, mode, special_mode)`¶

Write a TEXT file to the sign (command A).

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`message`	`str \\| bytes`	—	Message content with optional control codes.
`label`	`str`	`"A"`	One-char file label. `"0"` = priority file.
`position`	`DisplayPosition`	`FILL`	Vertical display position.
`mode`	`DisplayMode`	`ROTATE`	Transition / display mode.
`special_mode`	`SpecialMode \\| None`	`None`	Required when `mode=SPECIAL`.

`ReadText(label)`¶

Request the sign to return a TEXT file (command B).

`parse_read_text_response(response)` → `(label, position, mode, message)`¶

Parse the raw bytes returned by the sign.

WriteString / ReadString¶

from alphasign.commands import WriteString, ReadString

`WriteString(data, label)`¶

Write a STRING variable file (command G). Max 125 bytes.

STRING files can be embedded in TEXT messages using string_ref("label"). They update without re-sending the parent TEXT file.

`ReadString(label)`¶

Request a STRING file (command H).

`parse_read_string_response(response)` → `(label, data)`¶

Dots Commands¶

from alphasign.commands import (
    WriteSmallDots, ReadSmallDots,
    WriteLargeDots, ReadLargeDots,
    WriteRGBDots, ReadRGBDots,
    build_pixel_row, build_rgb_row,
)

`WriteSmallDots(pixel_data, label, width, height, compress)`¶

Write a SMALL DOTS picture (command I). Max 255×31 pixels.

Each pixel is one ASCII character from PixelColor (e.g. b"1" = red). Rows are terminated with b"\r".

Use alphasign.Image to convert a real image to pixel data automatically.

`WriteLargeDots(pixel_data, label, width, height, compress)`¶

Write a LARGE DOTS picture (command M). Max 65535×65535 pixels. Same pixel format as SMALL DOTS.

`WriteRGBDots(pixel_data, label, width, height, compress)`¶

Write an RGB DOTS picture (command K). Alpha 3.0 / AlphaEclipse 3600 only.

Each pixel is 6 ASCII hex chars: RRGGBB. Rows terminated with b"\r".

`build_pixel_row(pixels)` → `bytes`¶

Build one row of DOTS data from a list of PixelColor values.

from alphasign.commands import build_pixel_row
from alphasign.protocol import PixelColor

row = build_pixel_row([PixelColor.RED, PixelColor.OFF, PixelColor.GREEN])
# b"102\r"

`build_rgb_row(pixels)` → `bytes`¶

Build one row of RGB data from a list of (R, G, B) tuples.

row = build_rgb_row([(255, 0, 0), (0, 255, 0)])
# b"FF000000FF00\r"

WriteSpecialFunction¶

from alphasign.commands import WriteSpecialFunction

All special functions are factory class methods — do not instantiate directly.

Time & Date¶

WriteSpecialFunction.set_time(hours, minutes)
WriteSpecialFunction.set_date(month, day, year)
WriteSpecialFunction.set_day_of_week(DayOfWeek.MONDAY)
WriteSpecialFunction.set_time_format(TimeFormat.MILITARY)

Audio¶

WriteSpecialFunction.set_speaker(enabled=True)
WriteSpecialFunction.generate_tone(tone_type=1)
WriteSpecialFunction.generate_tone(tone_type=2, frequency=0x20, duration=5, repeat=2)

Memory¶

WriteSpecialFunction.clear_memory()
WriteSpecialFunction.configure_memory([
    {"label": "A", "type": FileType.TEXT, "size": 256},
    {"label": "B", "type": FileType.STRING, "size": 64},
    {"label": "P", "type": FileType.DOTS, "size": (16, 60),
     "color_depth": DotsColorDepth.EIGHT_COLOR},
])
WriteSpecialFunction.configure_large_dots_memory([...], append=False)

Display Scheduling¶

WriteSpecialFunction.set_run_time_table("A", start_time=0x30, stop_time=0x60)
WriteSpecialFunction.set_run_sequence("KABAC")
WriteSpecialFunction.set_run_day_table("A", start_day=0x02, stop_day=0x06)

Dimming¶

WriteSpecialFunction.set_dimming_register(dim_mode=0, brightness_percent=72)
WriteSpecialFunction.set_dimming_times(start_code=0x30, stop_code=0x60)

XY Position¶

WriteSpecialFunction.display_at_xy(x=10, y=2, text="HELLO", enabled=True)

Hardware¶

WriteSpecialFunction.soft_reset()
WriteSpecialFunction.set_serial_address("0A")
WriteSpecialFunction.clear_error_status()

ACK/NAK¶

WriteSpecialFunction.enable_ack_nak(True)   # enable on sign
WriteSpecialFunction.enable_ack_nak(False)  # disable on sign

Counter¶

WriteSpecialFunction.set_counter([
    {
        "control": 0x80,     # counter on, increment
        "start_value": 0,
        "change_value": 1,
        "current_value": 0,
        "target_value": 100,
        "change_minutes": 0,
        "change_hours": 1,
    }
])

ReadSpecialFunction¶

from alphasign.commands import ReadSpecialFunction
from alphasign.protocol import SpecialFunction

cmd = ReadSpecialFunction(SpecialFunction.SET_TIME)

Sends a read request (command F). Call sign.read_response() after sign.send() to receive the data.

Available functions to read: all SpecialFunction enum members.

`parse_general_info(response)` → `dict`¶

Parse a F" (General Info) response. Returns a dict with keys: firmware, firmware_rev, date, time, time_format, speaker, memory_pool, memory_free.

WriteBulletin / StopBulletin¶

from alphasign.commands import WriteBulletin, StopBulletin
from alphasign.protocol import BulletinPosition, BulletinJustification

pkt.add(WriteBulletin(
    "SALE 50% OFF",
    position=BulletinPosition.TOP,
    justification=BulletinJustification.CENTER,
    count=3,
))

# Stop a running bulletin
pkt.add(StopBulletin())

AlphaVision signs only (command O / OT). Max 225 characters.