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Pirate Bill
10-21-2002, 11:28 AM
Anyone know what the deal is with the music track on Screamin'?? Was there this weekend and it wasn't working at least on Saturday. I found it about 1/2 as fun without the music. Hope we're not looking at another Space Mountain problem here.

disneyscott
10-21-2002, 11:32 AM
Dont know why, but on Sun. only the orange and one of the green had sound. The volume was low and was hard to hear. This is not a new problem of no sound, it has been going on for a few months

Grandbreaker
10-21-2002, 06:19 PM
I know what you mean. The same happen to me 3 weeks ago :mad: oh well just bring your cd player put on the DCA CD
and enjoy it do the same for space have fun.

HeeHeeHeeHoHoHo
10-21-2002, 06:58 PM
They must have the technology - I mean Indy has been around a while and while there are minor sound glitches here and there - I've never known it to knock out for weeks/months with no fixes.

Perhaps they need to insulate and protect the wires/sound equipment a bit more. Those trains take a lot of abuse daily just running through the course and all the jiggling and jostling can't be good for a sound system...

Nevertheless it appears it is not a high-agenda item - evidenced by Space Mountain and now Screamin'.

MonorailMan
10-21-2002, 07:29 PM
I've found, that towards the end of the day, the music get's funky. I useally make CS my first stop of the day, because of this. :)

Pirate Bill
10-21-2002, 07:39 PM
Originally posted by HeeHeeHeeHoHoHo
They must have the technology - I mean Indy has been around a while and while there are minor sound glitches here and there - I've never known it to knock out for weeks/months with no fixes.

I was thinking that same thing while on Indy this past weekend. ;)

But about Indy, there were several points in the ride where the sound and music just cut out. The sound effects were still there. Consistently, it seemed to be right at the part where the 'walls' shoot the darts at you with the skeleton warrior guys painted on them (best description I can make.. :) )

Not to change the thread though... maybe there should be a "What's up with broken attraction music?" thread. :D

Laffite
10-21-2002, 08:08 PM
Originally posted by HeeHeeHeeHoHoHo
They must have the technology - I mean Indy has been around a while and while there are minor sound glitches here and there - I've never known it to knock out for weeks/months with no fixes.


But Indy is different. That ride is very sound dependent and the ride are very controlled. There are sensors through the ride that cues the sounds, and the speed of the cars are controlled. But for CA Screamin and Space Mountain, there's only one sensor that turns on the music when the trains leave the station. Both of those coasters are made of steel, and steel structures do change and shift depending on weather and time.

HeeHeeHeeHoHoHo
10-21-2002, 11:35 PM
Yes but we live in age where shuttles blast to the moon and back....

I think it's just lack of detailed maintance on attractions in general. Splash Mountain is my favorite ride and for months - there was a behive that wasn't spinning...... why?

Oh well

Polar33
10-22-2002, 12:17 AM
Originally posted by Laffite
But for CA Screamin and Space Mountain, there's only one sensor that turns on the music when the trains leave the station.

Not true. There are atleast 3 on both coasters that time the music at key points. I first noticed this on SM when I was riding in a slow (light weight) car, and there were places where there were bars of music that I never heard before. The next few times I went, I listened carefully and I actually heard the music mix in certain spots to keep in time with the ride.

Personally, I subscribe to the "G-Force strain" theory. But I also think that it wouldn't become so much of a problem if they would spend the money to maintain it a bit more. But we all know how good they have been at that recently.

refurbmike
10-22-2002, 09:28 AM
Polar is right. There are sensors through-out Space that re-adjust the music to your location, depending on speed and such. Usually, the changes are not too dramatic, but enough to re-synch the song to the ride.

Perhaps the music for Indy is on the computer systems below the chassis, so it doesn't really jolt? They would be safe down there and the worst that could happen is a wire coming loose - easily fixed with a welding torch.

sydney
10-22-2002, 10:25 AM
I really wish they'd fix the music on Screamin. Evidently space is beyond repair until they do a major upgrade...

But with cali screamin there hasn't been a rehab yet... per a previous dig update, they are reluctant to close the ride even for a breif while since their research has told them (corectly, i might add) that screamin is one of the main reasons many peopel make the hop across to dca at all.

I think they should bite the bullet and fix the ride.

And, to reiterate, yes, SM and screamin and Indy all have points in the ride where the music syncs to your position.

On california screamin... of the top of my head, the music syncs when your train takes off,at the top of the lift hill, for the loop, and for the bunny hills

Does anyone have an indepth explanation for how the music system works? I've heard so many varying theories, most having something to do with the cars picking up a signal in the track and then switching to another "station" at the right point in the track/song.

Anyway, I'm thinking it's been a while since I begged guest relations to PLEASE fix the music. so I'll be dropping a line next time I"m there...

refurbmike
10-22-2002, 10:36 AM
There are CMs positioned thu-out the ride that swap cassette tapes really fast with the ones on your rocket/car. You can't even see them sometimes, because they're hiding in the railing.

Laffite
10-22-2002, 10:51 AM
Originally posted by refurbmike
There are CMs positioned thu-out the ride that swap cassette tapes really fast with the ones on your rocket/car. You can't even see them sometimes, because they're hiding in the railing.

So how much do they get on their wages?


HeeHeeHeeHoHoHo
Yes but we live in age where shuttles blast to the moon and back....

That's right! We can go to the moon but we can't have stinking music on our trains?!? :eek: :D

--Preston/Laffite

tabacco
10-22-2002, 11:59 AM
I'm 99.99% certain that the music is stored in some sort of solid-state memory system aboard each train. It wouldn't make sense to use something like a CD because moving parts == problems when you're talking about sound systems on something as bumpy as a roller coaster car, and I'm pretty sure it's not technically feasible to transmit a signal through the track.

refurbmike
10-22-2002, 12:21 PM
It's actually an onboard stored unit, but then each "track" to synched as it passes a certain spot. So it plays "track 1" from the start until the first turn, then synchs to "track 2", etc. I don't know where the exact spots are, but you get the idea.

CoasterMatt
10-22-2002, 12:54 PM
Originally posted by refurbmike
It's actually an onboard stored unit, but then each "track" to synched as it passes a certain spot. So it plays "track 1" from the start until the first turn, then synchs to "track 2", etc. I don't know where the exact spots are, but you get the idea.

I'll add just a lil bit to that, the music segments are stored on compact flash cards, the sensors signal what segment to play

Laffite
10-22-2002, 12:55 PM
Well what ever it is, it's not working now is it :D :(

ahecht
10-22-2002, 01:47 PM
The main difference between the coasters and Indy is that indy runs on powered rails, and the coasters don't. Both CA Screamin' and Space Mountain have large batteries on board, and these batteries are charged during the brief time that the cars sit in the station. These rapid charge/discharge cycles wreak havock on the batteries, and they start to lose capacity. By the end of the day, they start to run low, and either the volume goes way down to save power, or the music cuts out all together.

These batteries are quite expensive to replace, and the only real solution is to replace the batteries more often (or switch to super expensive lithium batteries, which have a longer life). With cost cutting as it is, I don't expect this to happen any time soon.

Don't forget that there are 108 speakers on each car, and if it is anything like RnRC at Disney/MGM, it uses 32,000 watts of power. That's pretty tough on any battery that only gets charged for 20 seconds at a time.

refurbmike
10-22-2002, 03:06 PM
I'm surprised that Disney didn't think of a way to generate power off of the rollers. It might not be a lot, but it could help.

Laffite
10-22-2002, 03:22 PM
Originally posted by refurbmike
I'm surprised that Disney didn't think of a way to generate power off of the rollers. It might not be a lot, but it could help.

You mean like generators running of the wheels? Like how there are generators on DRR.

refurbmike
10-22-2002, 03:39 PM
Yea, generators. It can't be that complex, can it? I mean, they have simple versions on common bicycles. I'm sure WDI could come up with something...

Laffite
10-22-2002, 03:51 PM
The problem is, if you have a bunch of generators tied to the wheels, then the wheels will be harder to turn because of the frictions and resistance from the generators. How much drag is added depends on how many generators are tied to the wheels. Now, since there the generators add frictions and rotational inertial to the coaster wheels, they will be harder to turn and thus the trains will go noticably slower, thus the possibility of the trains not making the circut.

--Preston/ Laffite, ie me.

Pirate Bill
10-22-2002, 03:52 PM
Originally posted by ahecht
Don't forget that there are 108 speakers on each car, and if it is anything like RnRC at Disney/MGM, it uses 32,000 watts of power. That's pretty tough on any battery that only gets charged for 20 seconds at a time.
I'd be curious to hear what the down time is for the music on RnRC now that you bring it up. It's been running a lot longer than Calif Screamin'. Anyone out in FL that can vouch for it's track record??

HeeHeeHeeHoHoHo
10-22-2002, 10:20 PM
How interesting! So the later you ride Screamin' the more likely the sound will be out or faded?

It seems as thou whole trains don't have sound for days though... morning/noon/night(if open) :-)

sydney
10-22-2002, 10:39 PM
i'm always impressed with the info we glean off these threads.

So that's a good question-- since the RRC in FL is basically themed around it's soundtrack, is there more effort put into keeping it's music up and running? I've never been to WDW, but I can't imagine the "Rock and Rollercoaster" without "Rock and Roll"