Grandstand music is just NOISE

Got another one for the stupid CP tricks file.

I noticed while photographing the ride from the grandstand that the music being, uh, "played" from the speakers in front of the grandstand is nearly inaudible, and worse, a hearing hazard.

Not only are they being driven beyond what they were designed for, but what you can hear over the launch sound effects is high frequency. If you have any kind of sensitivity or hearing issues like I do, you know that this outright stings.

And if you think it's bad for the people in the grandstand, imagine the people standing inline to get on the ride, who often get stuck there and told the line must form there.

The point is, the music there serves no purpose at all. You can't hear it over the sound effects, which are pretty much constant now that they have a pretty good launch interval. Turn the speakers off, before someone busts an eardrum.

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Jeff - Webmaster - GTTP - My Blog
Blogs, photo albums - CampusFish
What time does the water show start?

Good point Jeff! I actually like the sound effects anyways over the music. I think they play the same 3 songs over and over and over again anyways. I feel bad for the old people that sit there from 9am - 9pm (like my grandfather did). He said he had no intentions on walking around but was "fascinated" by the Dragster. He also was complaining that the park needed to play more Elvis. I agree, get rid of the music and BLAST the sound effects!

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Dragster Laps - 21
Trips to the Point (2003) - 19
"I see the end coming. I see the darkness spreading"
*** This post was edited by DragsterFAN 9/8/2003 6:43:20 PM ***

Yeah, I agree. Everywhere else in the park the music is at a pretty normal level, consistent with a comfort zone for human ears, however, on TTD, they go WAY beyond just "playing" music, heck, blasting the music would be a nice way of doing it. Here's an example: I just recently installed a new cd player in my car, the cd player has settings that tell it to really push the sound through the speakers. They can't handle it, so I blew two of them, but I was going to replace them anyways.

CP- shall we chalk this one up to moronic ideas also?
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Everything that has a beginning, has an end. 11.05

Not to mention I hate having to raise my voice just to talk to someone next to me.

Also, Jeff, when will we see some Dragster photos in the Gallery section?

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AKA Cobraroller on Cbuzz

The likely quote of "If it's too loud, you're too old," comes to mind. :)

Personally I think that MF's speakers the first year or two were much worse than Dragster's grandstand music. I've walked by there many a time and wasn't annoyed by it, but maybe I just have a bias for loud music.

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...and the most anticipated event of summer 2003 is...

The Matrix: Reloaded!

*** This post was edited by CP_bound 9/8/2003 8:05:18 PM ***

Are you talking about that wonderful BUZZZZZ coming from those speakers mounted on the fence right in front of the grandstands Jeff?

Maybe there is a new problem there. But I have always heard a buzz from those speakers (which I know this time are community), from day one. Perhaps a bad ground, but more likely some electronical piece oscillating from 20KHZ or under, that the amp (or speakers, or wire) is picking up.

If I was CP I would call whoever put those in and get that buzz out of there (and any other problems).

Thinking more, it could be also some electrical part on the launch track causing the buzz in the speakers

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"This second hill is my favorite part of the ride. It is so Cool!"
TTD Status: "Contaminates in the system" S.K. Per my conversation
EA Sports "It's in the Game"
*** This post was edited by Hooper 9/9/2003 9:50:50 AM ***

The buzz has nothing to do with it. They're too loud and you can only hear high frequency noise from them while the ride is in operation.

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Jeff - Webmaster - GTTP - My Blog
Blogs, photo albums - CampusFish
What time does the water show start?

I like the music, I just think its too loud. You can never have too much Elvis.

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Dan Haverlock
TTD Rollbacks 0 For 20
"get a job man!"

I like the music also. The buzz that was mentioned is annoying and interferes with the music. It wasn't there earlier in the season, they need to fix that.

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I'd rather be in my boat with a drink on the rocks,
than in the drink with a boat on the rocks.

Speaking of the buzzing - try listening to the intermittant buzzing in Dragster's station and looking over at Wicked Twister at the same time. The buzz is present whenever WT's lims are firing. You'll hear the buzz, it will stop and within a second or two, you'll see WT heading up one of it's spikes. I know the power for the two rides comes in on the same line, but there has to be a way to fix this little problem.

As for the music in the grandstands - I didn't even know such a thing existed since I always hear the sound from the ride drowning it out.

Another issue with sound at Dragster is in the queues. Once again, CP seems to have skimped on the number of speakers. There is one big speaker at each end of the queue and when you are close to one of them, you can hear real well, but in the middle of the queue (like just inside the vending machines) you can hardly hear a thing. They need at least one more in the middle somewhere.

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew
2003 Magnum Crew

Surely they would have put in a volume or gain control to those speakers??

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"This second hill is my favorite part of the ride. It is so Cool!"
TTD Status: "Contaminates in the system" S.K. Per my conversation
EA Sports "It's in the Game"

ridiculously uncut quotation removed. -J

What are you talking about? The LIM's overpower all other noise in the station... why do you think when you talk to an employee in station they pause right before launch? The only thing you can hear period is the LIM's working... there's no buzz, normally, at any time coming from WT's speakers. (I should know... I kinda work there.)
*** This post was edited by Jeff 9/12/2003 4:24:47 PM ***

Ben, he was talking about being in Dragster's station, not Wicked Twister's. The point he was making is that they share the same power source (the new line put in last year) and the interference from WT's LIMS can be heard on Dragster's speakers.

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--Seth

Speaking of the buzzing - try listening to the intermittant buzzing in Dragster's station and looking over at Wicked Twister at the same time. The buzz is present whenever WT's lims are firing. You'll hear the buzz, it will stop and within a second or two, you'll see WT heading up one of it's spikes. I know the power for the two rides comes in on the same line, but there has to be a way to fix this little problem.

Its not a problem with the power line its on, its the LIM's magnetic energy interfering with speakers. Speakers are driven by magnets, when you get a much larger magnet around them, they tend to get interference.

And I defienently agree with the music being played. Its nothing but distortion and you never get any bass output because its being over driven.

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If idiots could fly planes, this place would be a friggin airport!
Stiny get me a Danish

*** This post was edited by Will_1205 9/12/2003 3:15:09 PM ***

Actually you are wrong.. the noise is being induced into the power lines and being picked up by the amplifiers that are plugged into said power lines.

Trust me on this one.. ;)

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June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100
VertiGo Rides - 82

...and most likely the only workable solution would be to power the amplifier either from a different power supply, or possibly through an isolation transformer. Or how about this: Rectify the amplifier power to 82v DC, then pump that through an inverter to get the AC for the amplifiers.

Messy, but it would eliminate the inducive noise. Eliminate ground loop problems, too. But it's like using a BFG as a starter's pistol...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.