I sat below this board the other day, while they were testing it. If I'm not mistaken, it emits a flipping sound...trying to emulate the older, lo-tech boards. Didn't the old boards work fine? Are there benefits from this new board aside from the fact that it's high-tech and flashy?
What amazes me is that installing the boards with the sound effect must have been one of the earliest decisions they made about the project-- it was the subject of an article in the Globe in 2006.
As far as the need-- I think I saw somewhere on UH that the flippy signs broke down an average of three times a day, and that parts to repair them were becoming scarce. If so, then, yeah, they needed to replace them.
The new boards (including the ones at each track) are also more friendly for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, since announcements are displayed as text on the board, intead of just happening over the PA.
a lot of moving parts (IIRC, replacements for which haven't been available for years).
The old Solari boards at South Station worked like the early "digital" clock radios sold from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s did, only the design and controls were far more complex.
In summary, each "cell" on the sign consisted of a drum with numerous 'split' pages with printing on them. When a certain destination, train name or track number was desired, the control software would rotate the drum until the desired 'split page' was displayed. The 'click clack' sound was from the mechanical rotation of the drums as they scrolled through other page combinations before stopping on the desired information.
Apart from being a maintenance headache, the old boards had very limited flexibility. For example, special service messages could never be put on the old boards. Athough I don't particularly like some of the "nanny" messages they post at North Station ("sugar coating" the surcharge by calling it the "On Board Service Fee" for one), you have to admit it's potentially a very useful capability for informing passengers of major delays.
As for the fake "click clack" sound of the new boards, I find it doesn't really bother me once I figured out not to to look at the board while it's making the sound (for one thing, I still expect the display to be changing in sync to the sound).
However, as others have noted, the sound is not only generated when a board change is commanded, it also occurs at random even with no operator input. That CAN be very annoying.
Sure, we finally have boards to look at, if you don't mind the classic Garden Obstructed View problems.
However, it seems the most recent nice, new stuff arrived around the same time the TV crews started to camp out on the Zakim side of the facility. Suddenly, blank space above the stairs from the Orange/Green Lines and walkways becomes useful information! Wow!
Is it driving anyone else crazy that the digital sign at the Roslindale Village stop spells Roslindale "Roslendale"? Ack -- I wish the T would get spellcheck.
Back Bay now has boards displaing all the trains (including the ones back into South Station). They list the train number, what track it's on, and "on-time". But nowhere does it say what time the train is scheduled to arrive/depart. I couldn't care less about the train number, I just need to know if I have time to grab a coffee before my train leaves.
I sat below this board the
I sat below this board the other day, while they were testing it. If I'm not mistaken, it emits a flipping sound...trying to emulate the older, lo-tech boards. Didn't the old boards work fine? Are there benefits from this new board aside from the fact that it's high-tech and flashy?
I hate the fake clicky!
I have deemed the retro sound effect The Stupidest Sound Effect Ever.
What amazes me is that installing the boards with the sound effect must have been one of the earliest decisions they made about the project-- it was the subject of an article in the Globe in 2006.
As far as the need-- I think I saw somewhere on UH that the flippy signs broke down an average of three times a day, and that parts to repair them were becoming scarce. If so, then, yeah, they needed to replace them.
The new boards (including the ones at each track) are also more friendly for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, since announcements are displayed as text on the board, intead of just happening over the PA.
For one thing, replacing the boards eliminated
a lot of moving parts (IIRC, replacements for which haven't been available for years).
The old Solari boards at South Station worked like the early "digital" clock radios sold from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s did, only the design and controls were far more complex.
In summary, each "cell" on the sign consisted of a drum with numerous 'split' pages with printing on them. When a certain destination, train name or track number was desired, the control software would rotate the drum until the desired 'split page' was displayed. The 'click clack' sound was from the mechanical rotation of the drums as they scrolled through other page combinations before stopping on the desired information.
Apart from being a maintenance headache, the old boards had very limited flexibility. For example, special service messages could never be put on the old boards. Athough I don't particularly like some of the "nanny" messages they post at North Station ("sugar coating" the surcharge by calling it the "On Board Service Fee" for one), you have to admit it's potentially a very useful capability for informing passengers of major delays.
As for the fake "click clack" sound of the new boards, I find it doesn't really bother me once I figured out not to to look at the board while it's making the sound (for one thing, I still expect the display to be changing in sync to the sound).
However, as others have noted, the sound is not only generated when a board change is commanded, it also occurs at random even with no operator input. That CAN be very annoying.
I'm suspicious
Sure, we finally have boards to look at, if you don't mind the classic Garden Obstructed View problems.
However, it seems the most recent nice, new stuff arrived around the same time the TV crews started to camp out on the Zakim side of the facility. Suddenly, blank space above the stairs from the Orange/Green Lines and walkways becomes useful information! Wow!
If true, I view it as
as just one more reason to be glad that the Celtics are in the NBA Finals!
Speaking of signboards, can the MBTA get spellcheck?
Is it driving anyone else crazy that the digital sign at the Roslindale Village stop spells Roslindale "Roslendale"? Ack -- I wish the T would get spellcheck.
Back Bay needs better boards
Back Bay now has boards displaing all the trains (including the ones back into South Station). They list the train number, what track it's on, and "on-time". But nowhere does it say what time the train is scheduled to arrive/depart. I couldn't care less about the train number, I just need to know if I have time to grab a coffee before my train leaves.