Home Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Potential bad news for TAC 20/22 systems OBSOLETE!

Bad news for TAC 20. Please read! If you have an older version of the TAC 20/22 (without LCD), it is now rendered OBSOLETE! This include models sold under the Miami Elevator/Thyssen buyout (i.e ThyssenDover, ThyssenMiami, etc). Northern TC microprocessor products are not impacted. You might still be able to get spares the third party vendors such as ECIAmerica and World Electronics. Keep in mind, these parts are aftermarket and may deviate from the OEM version.

PS: If you have to mod, go with MCE. Stay AWAY from Smartrise. Be careful with GAL, at least for now, due to the Vantage transition. Some products are constantly changing and being merged into their new NEXUS line.

Also, while I'm not totally against mods, always get a second opinion before doing so, some of the smaller independent comanies like to identify the Big 4 equipment as completely obsolete and/unservicable even when it's not just to engage in the SCAM I like to call the "Obsolete and No Longer Servicable" marketing scam to upsell the victim into converting the workhorse into a lousy generic job with most likely a SmartRise controller, where the boards fail and have to be changed like diapers. Gotcha! The company gets to charge on all of the board change and safety vios common to SmartRise. That mod wasn't a bargain after all. Not all mods are bad though.

While I'm not fully against non-proprietary systems, nor fully for the big 4; however, there are both advantages, cons and scams on both sides. So, do do and do your HW before falling for a mod. If an independent is doing your mod, find out what vendors the controller comes from. I personally recommend MCE, VCI (formally VA Controls), or Vertitron. I would also recommend staying away from harmonic door operators. The just don't offer the safety advantages and lower failure rate as the European style linear. All companies, except GAL, as rendered their harmonics obsolete, with direct linear replacement. If you would like to know why harmonic door ops are bad in this day and age, please check out my post in this link: https://www.vatortrader.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=37580 The best solution for door op upgrade on a Miami Elevator or Thyssen is the Wittur (related: TK LD-16). It works on all controller accepting discrete signals.

For more info on the TAC https://colleyelevator.blogspot.com/2025/03/end-of-lifeobsolete-elevator-equipment.html

There’s no need to be anxious about GAL’s controllers or the fact that GAL are now part of Vantage (and have been since 2018). The GALaxy IV traction and eHydro products really aren’t “constantly changing” as a result of GAL being under the Vantage umbrella.

Have they been improving in functionality? Definitely! e.g. through support of new A17.1/B44 Code, new features in the controller software and through the latest GALileo releases, and also the addition of Destination Dispatching to GALaxy IV.

Are they addressing obsolescence to ensure longevity of the GAL product? Absolutely! GALaxy III was first sold about 19 years ago and even though it’s no longer sold, there is a newer more-capable processor board available for early-series units, and an upgrade path for now-obsolete Magnetek HPV 900 drives to the KEB F5 drive. That same sort of commitment to long-term software, hardware and technical support should exist for customers using GALaxy IV and eHydro too.

It’s no secret that Vantage has a new NEXUS hydraulic controller - it was on display at the NAEC 2024 Convention in Atlantic City. It’s not a GALaxy or a Pixel, but a new platform with the latest advances in technology.

That future-looking approach is no different than Otis when they moved from relay and elementary digital logic in VIP-260 to microprocessors for the Elevonic 101/401 in the late-70s and early-1980s, which then gave way to a brand new “Modular” platform that resulted in Elevonic 4xx/3xx/2xx through until the early 2000s, and then morphed again into the current GCS product line. If you look at any other controller manufacturer, the story will be similar in the evolution of their product lines - the march of technological change in the elevator industry is constant!

Thanks for the info. Saw the actual letter on another site. It doesn't mention the LCD screen, but shady TK wants to push mods.

As for controls Smartrise is a mess right now. MCE makes a good product but their support isn't what they used to be. We have been going with Alpha, especially on hydros. Goes in easy, and tech support picks up for the crews. They are new, but I don't see how they will fail. Don't let the lawsuit scare you. Its so personal for Gil. He's scared because Alpha is destroying them. They were the buzz of the NAEC convention for sure.

I think we are splitting hairs between the majors and the solid non-proprietary stuff. The difference is you aren't locked in as a customer. I literally tell customers, "We install 3rd party equipment, anyone can work on it. We have to do a good job, because if we don't its easy to find another provider".

That wittur is a good operator as well. Just wish their staff would get it together. Still having issues with the interface equipment. The operator is from overseas but they make the interface (header, hangers "panel adapters") in the states. He have had issues. Beautiful laser cut parts, and stuck in the bend press upside down for example. But vantage is such a mess, we try to avoid them at all costs.

Another door op. provider that's good is Fermator. Make sure you buy the European style, not Robusta from Columbia Elevator. The version Columbia sells has sturdier hardware, unlike the cheap Schindler 3300 plastic door rollers that cracks in two all the time. The electronics are decent, but older versions like the VF4 are prone to electrical shorts and fires. That's been fixed in newer models.

Overall, I think Fermator is better than GAL in terms of harmonic operators (which I hate, except for extra large door openings); however I like the Delta/Monarch Nice900 (modified for GAL and NA market) powered MONXT operator better then Fermator's electronics. The MONXT motor and drive can fit onto some Fermator ops. as a direct replacement; meaning, if you have trouble with one provider, you can always try the other.

Don't dare fall for that GAL MOVFR knockoff "smooth operator" crap from SEES, genuine MOVFR is king compared to their knockoff.

Link: Look for Premium NA model: https://www.columbiaelevator.com/doorequipment