Sports Radar 12 Inch Red LED Speed Display
The Sports Radar 12 Inch Red LED Speed Display is a stadium scale speed board: 12 inch red LED digits in an aluminum case, fed by a radar gun or a speed detector, showing the reading to a whole ballpark rather than to the person holding the gun. It is built for permanent and semi permanent installs on a baseball or softball field, at a drag strip, or anywhere the audience sits well beyond the range of a facility sized board.
Two versions are listed here and the difference is the only decision that really matters on this page. Reads up to 99 is the two digit board, model DL1211. Reads up to 199 is the 2.5 digit board, model DL1212.5, which adds a half height leading 1 and can therefore show a three digit speed. Choose the wrong one and the board will do everything you asked of it except display your fastest reading.
Also worth saying plainly before anything else: a display is not a radar. Neither version includes a gun. A working setup is this board, a speed source such as the SR3600 gun, the SR3800 gun or a DT100 speed detector, and a CAT5 cable run between them.
Reads Up to 99 or Reads Up to 199
A two digit display physically cannot show a three digit number. The DL1211 covers 1 to 99 MPH or KPH and a 100 MPH reading has nowhere to go on it. The DL1212.5 carries 2.5 digits, meaning a narrow leading 1 alongside two full size digits, and reads up to 199.
That makes the choice concrete. If anything you point a radar at might break 100, buy the 199 version. High school and college pitching staffs now put arms into the mid and upper 90s, and a showcase or a stadium board that tops out at 99 will fail on the exact pitch everybody came to see. Anything automotive belongs on the 199 board too, since car speeds run past 99 routinely, as do drag strip trap speeds and hard shots in hockey and lacrosse.
The 99 version is the right buy when nothing in front of the radar is going to reach triple digits: youth baseball and softball programs, recreational leagues, speed pitch attractions, cage and facility work, and fastpitch, where the pitch never comes close to the ceiling. It is the less expensive of the two and there is no reason to pay for headroom the field will never use.
One more practical note. If you are buying for a program whose players are getting older, buy for the roster you will have in five years rather than the one you have now. A speed board is a long lived piece of hardware and the ceiling cannot be raised later.
Built to Be Read From the Far Side of a Stadium
The two digit DL1211 is rated to be read at 650 feet, day or night, which is what separates a large format board from a facility display. The case is .090 aluminum with a white powder coat, and the digits sit behind a 1/8 inch red plexiglass cover with a velvet text overlay that resists scratches, dust and fingerprints, so a board mounted where nobody can easily reach it keeps looking right season after season.
Large format speed boards are usually the single most expensive item in a radar setup. This line sits well below the wireless sign packages assembled around other radar brands, which is the main reason schools, municipal parks departments and racing venues end up here. For a permanent outdoor installation, get in touch before you order so we can go over the mounting position with you.
One Radar In, One Number Out
Both versions take a single radar data port over CAT5 and RJ45. That is the practical difference from the 8 inch DL834, which accepts four radars at once and shows the fastest of the group. If your setup needs two guns feeding one board, the DL834 is the display that does it. If one radar covers the job and you need the number to carry a long way, this is the board.
Any Sports Radar gun or detector with a data port drives it, including the SR3600 and SR3800 guns and the DT100, DT200 and DT300 detectors. The DL1211 includes a 25 foot CAT5E cable, and longer runs are built from 25 foot and 50 foot cable with an RJ45 coupler at each join. Mounting hangers are installed on the back of the unit.
Who the 12 Inch Red LED Speed Display Is For
This is an institutional purchase far more often than a personal one. High school, college and academy baseball and softball programs mount it on a backstop, an outfield fence or a press box wall so pitch speeds are part of the game experience rather than a number a coach reads out later. Tournament and showcase operators use it because a board this size is visible from every seat in the complex. Motorsports venues and drag strips run it as a trap speed display, which is where the 199 version earns its price difference outright.
If the audience is closer than a few hundred feet, you do not need a board this big. The 8 inch DL834 covers about 350 feet and the 4 inch DL431-R covers about 200 feet, both at a fraction of the cost. When you want the gun and the board matched in one order, the SRDL-36-KIT and the SRDL-836-KIT package a gun with a 4 inch or 8 inch display, and the 18 inch display is the step up when the crowd sits farther out still.
Planning the Install
Work backwards from the seats. Fix the viewing position first, then the board height and angle, then the radar position, and only then the cable path. Measure the real cable route rather than the straight line distance, because a run that goes down a pole, along a fence and up into a press box is always longer than it looks on a site plan.
Give the radar the geometry it needs as well. A gun or detector reads most accurately when it sits close to in line with the flight of the ball, so mounting it square behind the pitcher or behind the plate produces better numbers than an angled position at the side of the field. Power comes from the included 5 amp 12VDC supply, and spare or replacement power adapters are listed separately.
Sports Radar 12 Inch Red LED Speed Display Specifications
- Digit height: 12 inches, red LED, on both versions
- Reads up to 99 version: model DL1211, two digits, 1 to 99 MPH or KPH
- Reads up to 199 version: model DL1212.5, 2.5 digits, reads up to 199
- Viewing distance, DL1211: 650 feet, day or night
- Construction, DL1211: .090 aluminum case, white powder coat, 1/8 inch red plexiglass cover, velvet text overlay
- Data input: single radar port, CAT5 and RJ45
- Compatible sources: any Sports Radar gun or detector with a data port, and NFSC radar units
- Power: 12VDC power adapter included on both versions, 5 amp supply on the DL1211
- Cable, DL1211: 25 foot CAT5E cable included
- Mounting: hangers installed on the back of the unit
- Radar gun: not included on either version
- Warranty: 1 year limited
- Made in the USA
What's Included
Both versions ship with a 12VDC power adapter. The DL1211 also includes a 5 amp supply and a 25 foot CAT5E communications cable. Neither version includes a radar gun or detector, so add a gun or a detector to the order, and add cable if the run from the radar to the board is longer than what ships in the box.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will it show a speed over 99?
Only the reads up to 199 version. The two digit DL1211 tops out at 99 and cannot display a three digit number. If a 100 MPH pitch or a car speed needs to appear on the board, the DL1212.5 is the one to order.
Which version should I buy?
Buy the 199 version for high school, college, showcase and elite baseball programs, for anything automotive, and for hockey or lacrosse shot speed. Buy the 99 version for youth baseball and softball, recreational leagues, fastpitch, speed pitch attractions and facility work, where nothing on the field approaches triple digits.
Does it come with a radar gun?
No. It is a display only. Pair it with an SR3600 or SR3800 gun, or with a DT100, DT200 or DT300 detector, and run a CAT5 cable between the radar and the board.
Can I connect two radar guns to it?
No. Both versions have a single data port. The 8 inch DL834 is the display that takes four radar inputs and shows the fastest of them.
Is the power supply included?
Yes. A 12VDC power adapter ships with both versions, and the DL1211 comes with a 5 amp supply and a 25 foot CAT5E cable.
How far away can it be read?
The two digit DL1211 is rated at 650 feet, day or night, which covers the seating at most fields and complexes.
How does it mount?
Hangers are installed on the back of the unit. Fix the viewing angle and the cable route before install day, and contact us first if the board is going into a permanent outdoor position.