-
ℹ️ Heads up...
This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.
2024: General Discussion
- Thread starter Craig
- Start date
As a PLC engineer, it’s hardwares fault…
From my very limited knowledge rides are prone to programming problems, hagrids at orland went through years of programming adjustments to make it run well I suspect it is more a problem of tweaking code till it runs well (I know one type of ride has a timer that if the train dosnt pass a sensor after another within 5 secs it estoppes the block to prevent it from rolling back, I would assume little changes like the timer length may be made to increase reliability whilst keeping it safe
Squiggs
TS Team
The Bluey stuff is just plain weird. Their announcement and all the PR implied it was a meet and greet - and everyone seemed well up for just a meet and greet. She didn't need to have a show at all to do the job required, let alone a half-arsed show.
My assumption has always been that it was scheduled for this week to avoid clashing with Nemesis Reborn opening last weekend - i.e. they already knew they would reach capacity with just that, so move Bluey to the following week to reduce demand and free up some additional capacity last weekend and encourage families to take their first trip of the season today instead.
Have you watched Spinball operating recently?
The mechanical switch, that I assume shows if a car has passed it on the break run just before the station is regularly kicked open by the onload ride host as it doesn’t spring back into a “open” position.
It’s either bad maintenance and/or mechanically not fit for purpose.
Nothing to do with the PLC. Most rides approaching 20-25 years old will get PLC upgrades now. (Unless of course your corkscrew and rely on relay logic or some ancient PLC)
This will be reasonably straight forward whereby the actual processor unit and associated IO hardware will be replaced, and the software simply “added” to the new hardware without any significant changes as they have upgrade paths.
Fundamentally the PLC software, i.e. how the ride works won’t change. As the inputs/outputs haven’t changed in terms of sensors etc. Most rides at Alton, i would have thought, will have “conventional” IO (i.e. Hardwired back to the control panel, rather than intelligent devices (wired via a communication medium)) This makes the upgrades even easier.
Nemesis may be different if it has had software mods to accommodate a new lift hill VSD and changes to the braking system but they aren’t major. That will have had a PLC upgrade as well.
As will many other rides of a similar age, RMT, Rapids, Oblivion. There is more than likely nothing wrong with the kit, they are just no longer supported by the manufacturer for spares etc and are too difficult to maintain as it might need particular software that is also unsupported. Or the staff who know how it works are too old!
This work will be undertaken by a specialist company, probably someone acting on behalf of the manufacturer themselves (Consign AG I believe do a lot, also Amusement Technical in the UK)
I’d be surprised if this was done in house, as I get the impression most of Alton’s staff are electricians with laptops dealing with fault finding rather than “project work” as such which is a different beast. When was the last time you saw a tech turn up to a breakdown with a laptop bag? They just don’t need it.
The software/hardware used for attractions is tried and tested and software principles generally quite basic (although they will be using safety PLCs, compared to something like Pharma, Oil & Gas, Nuclear and Food and Bev)
Coaster trains are generally mechanical beasts with the harnesses released only by hardware in the station floor. Aside from that there’s not a lot to know.
Galactica on the other hand, I get the impression is a different animal altogether. But again without the software, schematics or inside of the control panel it’s hard to tell but I’m sure I’ve seen safety IO onboard the crafts in strip down pictures etc.
Dark rides usually look more interesting from a control perspective, and things like Rise of the Resistance are mind boggling from an engineering perspective.
My takeaway would be don’t mistake the control system acting as it should as a problem, overspeed and underspeeds are an environmental problem. (As we saw Saturday night with Nemesis) Or the the ride stopping due to getting irregular feedback from a redundant proxy sensor.
These aren’t software problems, but the system behaving as it should, reacting to its environment.
Last edited:
I am guessing the spinball wizer switch is a safety concern, if the car is out of angle then only the corner may trip the sensors and if in thr time it stops the corner passes the swith then if it were sprung it may be reset and continue past. An added safety measure by requiring the host to check and reset the awitch
ScottishChris
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Legend
It cant operate in the rain/ wet conditions. I believe it is down to having a tyre driven lift hill. Yeah, they built a coaster in the UK that doesn't like the rain.
NuttySquirrel
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Batman: Gotham City Escape
I believe this is no longer the case and Thirteen can now operate safely in wet weather. It was running reliably last Saturday albeit with a very long queue due to reduced ops.
It might have been closed today due to high winds outside its operating envelope today, or just experiencing technical issues.
ScottishChris
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Legend
I'm happy to stand corrected if it is the case.
Have they popped out to Kwik Fit and bought a set of winter tyres? I hear they have 10% off branded tyres at the moment...
TroySmith1
TS Member
Obviously the weather can’t be helped but it is a shame because if the park did have more flat rides/indoor attractions, you wouldn’t be as upset if you did travel so far. Obviously new flats, hex & possible an indoor rollercoaster are all in the pipe line. But it does damage the parks reputation in the mean time for some. That old line “Never go Alton towers the ques are ridiculous” that statement which has been around since the 90s has stopped people like my mum ever going, which is absurd to me but to that demographic of pre-perception some of the smaller parks like Drayton manor seems less daunting especially when it’s closer to drive, or taking younger family members who haven’t got the patience. Day like this don’t help with that narrative unfortunately, but hopefully in the future this will change.
To me a completely different story AT a magical, unique destination unlike anywhere else in the uk with some world class rides but you can’t shift some stubborn mindsets unfortunately.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
To me a completely different story AT a magical, unique destination unlike anywhere else in the uk with some world class rides but you can’t shift some stubborn mindsets unfortunately.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
DistortAMG
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- POTC Disneyland Paris
Sorry to sound pedantic as that was an interesting read, but Nemesis has had a lift hill VSD since 1994. Someone just saw it operating in tests recently and assumed it was new, but no, it was there since way back when. For anyone that does not know, in this context VSD = Variable speed drive. Aka a lift hill that that can go slowly or fast.
While on the subject, wrong topic I know, but Nemesis' lift hill motor seems wayyy smaller than it used to be, Could just be me, but I never remember it being that small.
Last edited:
coastinginlife
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
I visited Today and have the app but did not get the notification. Is there anywhere on the website I can find this information? Thanks in advance.
I assume you needed to have stored your tickets in the app.
BarryZola
TS Member
This rides operating envelope:
