Palmer Digital Group Adds Audio Enclosure Option For Digital Menu Board Customers

Industry-first option reduced infrastructure, protects audio systems and simplifies cable management for QSRs.

Aurora, Illinois, July 12, 2023 — Palmer Digital Group, a full-service supplier and installer of  indoor and outdoor digital kiosks, now offers optional speaker-microphone enclosures for its entire range of outdoor digital menu board systems, covering single, double and triple-display solutions for its pedestal and canopy structures. The protective enclosures eliminate the need for a separate foundation to support QSR drive-thru audio systems, reducing costs and infrastructure while also simplifying cable management and menu board maintenance.

Palmer Digital Group (PDG) innovated the design last year for its single-board solutions, becoming the first company to offer an optional speaker-mic enclosure design as part of a complete digital menu board structure. Now available for all structures, customers can request the option on an initial order or add the enclosure to the installed structure when needed. In-field upgrades require no special tools, with installations completed in less than one hour.

PDG Vice President Chuck Lewis says that the enclosures were developed after speaking with customers who wanted to further streamline their outdoor ordering systems in accordance with drive-thru modernization strategies. Customers can choose side-mount or under-mount configurations, with each option offering the same operational benefits to QSRs.

“In addition to eliminating a separate structure, our enclosures reduce the need for additional conduit that would be required for runs to the standalone speaker-mic box,” said Lewis. “Whether mounted on the left, right or under side of our structures, our customers can share the same conduit that houses the cables for data connection for the digital displays. It simply makes for a cleaner and more unified installation, with both integrators and end customer appreciate.”

To achieve this streamlined cable management, the speaker-mic-wire is fed into the pedestal from underneath and then run through PDG’s horizontal display support. From this point, the speaker-mic cable is fed into the enclosure, where the final connections are made. The side-mount speaker-mic enclosures have the added benefits of a 20-degree swivel, which allows installers to optimize the clarity of the speaker and mic, which most often comprise products from 3M (PAR), HME and/or Panasonic.

Lewis adds that custom colors are available for all outdoor menu boards and enclosures to align with a customer’s brand. “One example is Rainbow Cone in the Chicago area, where we recently custom-painted one of our canopy menu board structures with pink polka dots, a color that has been associated with the brand since 1926,” he said. “It’s all about providing value-added options that are attractive to our customers and that add to the experience of their own customers.”