BR50, BR200 or BR400: which board to choose for a retrofit

Short answer: all three are 32-bit control mainboards from MoviLift's BR family, with up to 32 stops on the serial CAN bus; their documentation lists the EN 81-20/50 safety functions. The scope differs. The BR50 is meant for small and medium-sized lifts. The BR200 is the board of the whole controller range, for hydraulic and traction installations (geared or gearless) up to 1.6 m/s. The BR400 is the most flexible: assignable inputs and outputs, up to 4 m/s, WiFi and Bluetooth.

BR50, BR200 and BR400 compared

Source: product pages and documentation on movilift.com. "—" means the datasheet does not give the value.

When to choose each one

• BR50. Small and medium-sized installations: up to 2 door operators, 15 configurable I/O and 13 control types. It expands with CHM boards.
• BR200. The board of the whole MoviLift controller range: hydraulic, geared traction and gearless, with all MoviLift control types. According to its datasheet it is interchangeable with the BR100 and the BR400. For closed-loop gearless positioning it is paired with the BR-ENC encoder board.
• BR400. The only one of the three whose datasheet states more than 1.6 m/s (up to 4 m/s). It has 23 assignable inputs and 14 assignable outputs, up to 3 door operators and a built-in encoder connection to the Limax absolute positioner. WiFi and Bluetooth allow the BR-Next app and Elevator Status to be used.

What to consider when modernizing

• Stops and car. All three reach 32 stops on the serial bus. For the car operating panel there is the COP serial board, a car expansion board for up to 12 floors, or 32 with COP_chm.
• Safety and UCM. The documentation of all three lists the EN 81-20/50 safety functions, enabled by parameter C12, and reports uncontrolled-movement (UCM / "A3") error codes: BR50 codes 104, 109 and 110; BR200 and BR400 codes 104 to 110. Details are in EN 81-20/50 and UCM in modernizations: what the board must do.
• Diagnostics. The PDF manual of each board includes the error-code table and can be downloaded from the documentation and from each product's "Docs" page. Each board's "Docs" page also lists the codes with a documented cause and remedy: BR50 (10), BR200 (29) and BR400 (30).

Price and what is included

Price. MoviLift does not publish prices for boards or controllers on its website. A quote needs the type of lift, the number of stops and the shaft dimensions: ask for a technical proposal and a quote.

Single board or complete controller. If you are only replacing the control, the answer is the mainboard (BR50, BR200 or BR400); the product pages do not detail exactly what is supplied, so confirm it in the quote. If you are replacing the whole controller, MoviLift has complete controllers built around the BR mainboard:

• Hydraulic Controller: complete controller for hydraulic lifts, with direct or star-delta start, integrated batteries and ARD return.
• Geared VVVF Controller: geared traction with VVVF drive, with or without machine room, optional ARD return.
• Gearless VVVF Controller: gearless with VVVF drive, with or without machine room, optional ARD return.
• Homelift & Platform Controller: for home lifts and lifting platforms, with integrated batteries and ARD.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a control board cost, or changing the control?

MoviLift does not publish prices on its website. The quote depends on the type of lift, the number of stops and the shaft dimensions, and is requested from the contact page.

What does the supply include?

The BR50, BR200 and BR400 are the mainboard of the control; their pages do not detail exactly what is supplied. The complete controllers (hydraulic, geared traction, gearless and home lift) are built around the BR mainboard. Confirm the scope in the quote.

How many stops do the BR50, BR200 and BR400 handle?

All three reach 32 stops on the serial CAN bus. In parallel the BR50 reaches 8 and the BR200 reaches 12. The BR400 reaches 24 with the CHM hard-wired expansion.

Which one handles the highest speed?

The BR400, up to 4 m/s according to its datasheet. The BR200 states 1.6 m/s as its maximum. The BR50 datasheet gives no maximum speed: check the manual.

Are they suitable for hydraulic and traction lifts?

The BR200 datasheet lists hydraulic and traction installations, geared or gearless. The datasheets of all three report error codes for the hydraulic valves V1 and V2 and mention driving VVVF inverters.

Do they comply with EN 81-20 and EN 81-50?

Their documentation states that they implement the EN 81-20/50 safety functions, enabled by parameter C12.

Can I replace a BR200 with a BR400?

The BR200 datasheet describes it as interchangeable with the BR100 and the BR400. Before replacing, check inputs, outputs and parameters in the board's manual.

How are fault codes read?

On the BR50, BR200 and BR400 faults appear as "Err" followed by a number, for example Err 104. The code table is in each board's PDF manual, which can be downloaded from the documentation: each code has a description and, where the manual gives it, a cause and a remedy. The MoviLift catalogue counts 80 for the BR50, 111 for the BR200 and 108 for the BR400. Each board's "Docs" page also lists the codes with a documented cause and remedy: BR50 (10), BR200 (29) and BR400 (30).

Where are the manuals and error codes?

The documentation page and each product's "Docs" page offer the PDF manuals, which include the error-code table: BR50, BR200 and BR400.