Frequently Asked Questions

I need more information than the datasheet provides? The datasheet is too generic.

The datasheets on our website are designed to be generic, with multiple options allowing you to consider additional design and functions best for your program. Milcots designs and builds military grade panel pcs, computers and displays for our customer directed projects. We have hundreds of drawings offline that we can share as a starting point for your project. So, if you don’t see what you are looking for, please contact us directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your project specs and we’ll be happy to help.

Contact us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. John, Clare and Keith all monitor this address, so you are assured of getting a human response.

The datasheets are very generic. If you would like an installation drawing for your specific unit, drop us a line and we’ll be happy to help.

Milcots manufactures, engineers and designs our products in Mahwah New Jersey USA.

Milcots is a ISO9001:15 certified and registered company. We are working towards AS9100 certification.

The first 2 characters refer to the type of unit, eg SA Stand Alone Rugged Display, RP Rugged Panel PC, PM is a Panel Mount (Rugged Display with Flange Mount – mostly for consoles and workstations). The SA and PM at the beginning refer to a display/monitor/screen without any processing ability, also known as a “dumb display”. The second part of the code -X?- refers to the power supply, if it has a “D” the display or computer is compliant with EMI requirements in MIL STD 461, if it has an A there is no compliance. The last characters identify the unit’s unique configuration.

Note, ALL Milcots displays, computers and panel pcs are ruggedized for military use in harsh environments.

Example: SA55UH -3D-XXX

SA Stand Alone display (dumb display), 55 is the diagonal size in inches, UH is the code for the resolution (UHD, also known as 4K, 3840x2160), -3D stands for a 115-240 VAC power supply with a display compliant with MIL STD 461, XXX are specific digits allocated to a specific project for a specific customer. The last digits allow Milcots to pinpoint the configuration to the unit of interest.

Example: PM21UX-5A-YYY

PM is a panel mount configuration display (dumb display with a flange mount), 21 is the diagonal in inches, UX is the code for UXGA (1600x1200 resolution), 5A stands for 18-36 VDC, with no compliance to MIL STD 461, YYY is the digit sequence specific to the contract and customer.

Example RP13HD-5D-ZZZ

RP stands for rugged panel (panel PC with computer embedded), 13 is the size in inches, HD is the code for 1920x1080 resolution, 5D means 18-36 VDC with EMI compliance to MIL STD 461, ZZZ is the unique identifier.

Luminance as a physics term is “the intensity of light emitted from a surface per unit area in a given direction” but refers to what most people call “brightness” may be measured in Candelas per sq foot or sq meter (cd/sq ft or Cd/m2), Foot Lamberts(fL), or Nits.

A candela is the base unit of measurement for luminous intensity (SI standards). One ordinary wax candle will emit approximately one candela.

A nit is a measurement of light in candelas per square metre (cd/m²), so 1 nit is approximately the same luminance as one ordinary wax candle per square metre.

Foot Lamberts equal 1/π or 0.3183 candela per square foot and were originally used by movie makers and theatres to calculate the optimum viewing experience.

How many nits you need for your LCD screen will depend on where you will use it and how much ambient light is available. A rule of thumb: Desktops in office environments with a typical 20in display will be fine in the 200-250 range, but once you are in bright daylight or indirect sunlight outdoors consider 700 nits and above.   Outdoors, in direct sunlight over 900 nits would be required. There are different ways to improve sunlight or daylight readability and increasing the luminance of the backlight is one of them. Improving the transmissibility of light through the various materials of the front screen is another one, usually very efficient without the drawback of extra power dissipation.

This European initiated environmental directive: Restriction of use of Hazardous Substances, and commonly pronounced “rose”. A key part of the directive includes the removal of the following 6 hazardous substances from all electric/electronic equipment:   Cadmium (Cd), hexavalent Chromium (CR VI), Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). There are a few exemptions for naturally occurring/incidentally present or not intentionally added substances.

There is enough in this question to write a book... In a nut shell, there are the 4 touch screen technologies you are most likely to encounter: Resistive, Infrared (IR), Capacitive and SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave). Ok, knowing about SAW will just give you extra points in Jeopardy but we’re here to help.  

Resistive
A resistive touch screen typically uses a display overlay consisting of layers, each with a conductive coating on the inner surface. The conductive inner layers are separated by special separator dots, evenly distributed across the active area. Finger pressure causes internal electrical contact at the point of touch, supplying the electronic interface (touch screen controller) with vertical and horizontal analog voltages for digitization.

Capacitive

A capacitive (or PCAP) touch screen includes an overlay made of glass with a coating of capacitive (charge storing) material deposited electrically over its surface. Oscillator circuits located at corners of the glass overlay will each measure the capacitance of a person touching the overlay. Each oscillator will vary in frequency according to where a person touches the overlay.

Infrared
An infrared touch screen surrounds the face of the display with a bezel of light emitting-diodes (LEDs) and diametrically opposing phototransistor detectors. The controller circuitry directs a sequence of pulses to the LED’s, scanning the screen with an invisible lattice of infrared light beams just in front of the surface. The controller circuitry then detects input at the location where the light beams become obstructed by any solid object.

SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave)
A SAW touch screen uses a solid glass display overlay for the touch sensor. Two surface acoustic (sound) waves, inaudible to the human ear, are transmitted across the surface of the glass sensor, one for vertical detection and one for horizontal detection. Each wave is spread across the screen by bouncing off reflector arrays along the edges of the overlay. Two receivers detect the waves, one for each axis. When the user’s finger touches the surface it absorbs some of the energy of the acoustic wave, weakening it. You’re not likely to encounter this one but now you know how it works.

Milcots is interested in hearing from you, please head over to the careers page here.