Rechargeable programmable scrolling LED message badge / name tag

These are the finest scrolling LED message badges available. I know, because I researched dozens of them trying to find this kind. Unlike the cheap kind, they are rechargeable, so you don't have to keep feeding them batteries. You set the messages with your computer, so you don't have to keep poking buttons in the back. They have a magnet bar, not just a flimsy pin, to hold them on with. And the instructions are written in actual English! (Spanish also available) I bought these to sell locally and had more than I could sell before Christmas, so I put a few up here on eBay. They were so popular I got more, and here they are again.

RECHARGEABLE! Unlike the scrolling LED message badges that require disposable batteries, these are rechargeable. If you've ever had to keep buying watch batteries for the non-rechargeable kind, you know how expensive that can get (I do; I have one). These have a built-in rechargeable battery that charges via a USB connector from your computer or just about any other USB charger, such as many cell phone chargers. I'm not entirely sure what the run time is (the manufacturer says 10-15 hours) because I haven't actually run one down. When I was taking some out of the packages to sell, I found one that arrived drained; it had gotten switched on in shipping. I plugged it in to charge for an hour, then turned it on, and it was still going strong when I packed up the booth almost 7 hours later.

COMPUTER PROGRAMMABLE! You set the messages (up to 6 of them) on your computer. You just type them into the little program that comes with the badges and click "send". This is much, much better than the kind where you have to laboriously poke, poke, poke little buttons on the back and go all the way through the entire alphabet for each and every letter (and if you make a mistake, start over). Plus, with these you can set up simple graphics for two of the messages, which is cool for things like holiday messages (trees for Christmas, party hats for New Years, or whatever you want); there's no way to do that at all with the button-pushing kind. You can enter six messages with up to 140 characters each and set their speed and display mode individually. You can switch between messages and also set display mode, speed, and brightness with the buttons on the back.

MAGNET FOR ATTACHMENT! There is a metal plate in the back and a bar with two extremely strong magnets which sticks to it. You can attach the message badge to your clothes without making holes the way the pin kind does. It's strong enough to grip through a leather jacket. You can also attach it to things the pin kind can't touch: signs, displays, and just about anything else. It looks great as a name tag on Christmas stockings.

ENGLISH INSTRUCTIONS! There's a doc file of instructions on the CD-ROM that comes with the badge, but it was clearly written by someone for whom English was not their first language. Nor their second. Nor quite possibly their third. I've used one of these scrolling message badges for several years and I know how they work, so I wrote up much more understandable instructions for it and I put a printed instruction sheet into each package. My instructions are also available in Spanish, although online translation software had a lot to do with those and I can't promise they're not unintentionally funny in some way.

COMPACT! A lot of the cheap scrolling LED message badges were made to be used by companies and have a large blank space where the company name can be imprinted, rather like those pens everyone gives you. These are made to be exactly what they are, so they don't waste space on a bunch of blank plastic. As you can see in the picture, they're exactly the size they need to be for their LED display. This makes for a more compact badge, and gives you more options for where to put it. I wear mine on a baseball cap a lot.

SHIPS FROM THE USA! No wait "10-15 business days for delivery" here. I've already done that part, and had a big box of them delivered to me, so you don't have that wait for the package to cross the Pacific. I send them by Priority Mail (the shipping price is what the Post Office charges me) and I take the orders to the Post Office by the next day. The Post Office claims 2-3 day delivery anywhere in the US for Priority Mail.

ENDLESS USES! You can wear them, of course, and support your team, advertise your business, promote your favorite cause or candidate, display your ham radio call letters, or just be festive. You can also put them on Christmas stockings (a name that is also a present!), hang them up as ornaments, put them on signs and displays to announce prices, new items, etc., wear them on your hat, and just about anything else you can think of. They're perfect for holiday gift exchanges, stocking stuffers, and of course as a present for the person who has everything (but probably not one of these).

A NOTE ABOUT GRAPHICS: Messages #5 and #6 can be simple graphics. You have a 7 x 23 pixel display to work with, and that can of course be set to scroll for a total of 840 pixels in width. You can either use the simple built-in editor to design your graphics or cut and paste from a program such as Windows Paint.

THE PHOTOS: The first five pictures with this listing are photos I just took of one of the message badges. They show the badge itself, the package contents (including the instructions I wrote), the mini USB connector, what it looks like in the dark (the badge is actually sitting on a black T-shirt in a closet), and an idea for using it: as a name on a Christmas stocking. The final photo is from the manufacturer's website, and it actually gives a better idea of what they look like, in terms of the lighting, then the ones I took. It's not very big, however, and can't be enlarged. These badges are really eye-catching. I get comments on them wherever I wear mine.

TECHNICAL DETAILS:

Unit size: 2-7/8" x 1-3/16", or 74 x 32 mm, and about 11 mm thick
LED Color: Red
Display size: 7 x 23 pixels (4 characters)
Message length: 140 characters per message
Message capacity: 6, of which 1-4 are text-only and 5-6 are either text or graphic
Display modes: 6 (scroll, flash then scroll, roll up, roll down, flash, static)
Speeds: 8
Brightness levels: 8
(mode and speed can be set separately for each message)
Software: mini CD-ROM with LED Badge V1.3 for Windows
Charging and data connection: mini USB (cable included)
Battery Life: 10-15 hours (reported); 12+ hours (tested)

• Scrolling LED message badge
• USB cable for computer connection
• CD-ROM with PC software
• English or Spanish instructions (please specify)
  

If you are getting 2 or more badges, please request total from seller rather than paying immediately so that I can set the shipping correctly; eBay doesn't have an option for X units per shipping charge, so I have to do that manually or it will insist on charging you too much.

Unfortunately, USPS has raised their mail prices, so the shipping cost has gone up slightly. Also, I can't get the USPS padded envelopes, so I've switched to the flat-rate box. It's a better package anyhow. I can get three into a box, four if I really stuff them (or about 10 if you don't need the plastic blister packs, just the CDs/USB cables/instructions). So 1 message badge would cost $25.14 by Priority Mail ($19.99 for the badge and $5.15 shipping), 2 would cost $45.13 ($39.98 for two badges and $5.15 for shipping), while 8 would cost $169.42 ($170.62 for the 8 badges and 10.30 for shipping, since they'd have to go in two packages -- or you could get them without plastic blisters and save $5.15 on the shipping).

The Express Mail envelope is one of those big flat cardboard envelopes; it can fit up to six badges and some padding. Shipping is priced the same way, except at the Express Mail price, of course. (I won't ship in this without the badges' blister packs, but if you need a quantity in a hurry, contact me and I'll get the right size package from the Post Office, UPS, or other shipper of your choice).

Also, please specify in the instructions to shipper whether you would like English or Spanish instructions; I will send English if not otherwise specified.