# Automated hayride control?



## danbrookwell (Aug 26, 2013)

I was looking for a way to control lights and sounds for a hayride and am looking at possibly having some lights and speakers onboard the hayride. I have an effect in my head where sound and lights go off in the scene and make their way into the hayride itself (i.e. an explosion throws light and sound effects into the wagon). I know there would need to be a big show control element and I was looking for some sort of wireless way to do this since it can't be completely synced up because the tractors don't always run at the same speed and with these types of effects precision is key. Any help would be amazing. 


Dan


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## danbrookwell (Aug 27, 2013)

Sorry for the double post, bud does anyone know of any answers?


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## BillConnerFASTC (Aug 27, 2013)

I believe Disney does this with their Main Street parades, and read an article about it, no doubt long ago. Probably Theatre Crafts, if anyone remembers that magazine. Inductance loops comes to mind. Sorry - too far from this kind of stuff.


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## sk8rsdad (Aug 27, 2013)

Not knowing the budget, or the scale of the operation it is difficult to provide specific suggestions. I am going to assume there is very limited budget. If the budget is larger than that then there are stage automation companies who do this sort of thing for a living who would be more than happy to bid on the project.

Lights on board can be handled with a battery and 12V light sources. Sound would come from a battery-powered sound system. Is it your intention to have the scene on the ground trigger the effect on the wagon, or to have the wagon operator initiate the scene from the wagon. In either case there are any number of wireless protocols for providing a "start" toggle. A garage door opener might suffice. Reasonable synchronization would happen from having a common starting point and the same clocking mechanism on the ground and on the wagon.

If you need something more precise than that, then SMPTE, MIDI Timecode (MTC) or MIDI Show Control (MSC) could be used to sync the audio track and all the effects to a common clock. SMPTE is additional data recorded on the audio track, which means any consumer-grade MP3 player could be used as the audio and clocking source. 

Syncing over wireless requires more gear to take the clocking signal, decide what to do with it, and transmit those instructions to the effect devices. W-DMX (google it) would allow for wireless control either from the wagon to the ground or from the ground to the wagon. You would need 1 transmitter (or receiver) per wagon and a receiver (or transmitter) on the ground. There are less expensive home-grown hobbyist wireless solutions using either infrared or 900 MHz band RF. The people that do those really large christmas light displays in their front yard have built a cottage industry around that sort of gear.


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## wakkoroti (Aug 27, 2013)

You could use something like this GPS triggered audio device (Alcorn McBride TourTraXX Features) and then have it also playback SMPTE to send to a lighting playback controller of your choice.


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## danbrookwell (Aug 27, 2013)

Thanks for all the feedback! The budget is fairly small however could be extended if need be. I really am looking for something that could be automatically triggered by the location of the wagon along the hayride path. Basically when you enter a scene the lighting/sound will change and the wagon will be changing as well.


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## BillConnerFASTC (Aug 27, 2013)

Well, you could use a simple detector like on a garage door that is a light beam or something but would close a switch when interrupted. Might need some logic to not keep triggering for the same wagon. $30-40 range I quickly found.


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## danbrookwell (Aug 27, 2013)

Thanks everyone! I already have sensors and such, I'm moreso looking for a way to runny he logic behind this whole wirelessly synced method. I am completely new to all this so it's a little confusing..

Dan


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## Morte615 (Aug 28, 2013)

I'm on a cell phone so can't respond that well but I do haunted events including hayrides know a bunch of ways to sync things up. It will be a day or two before I can get to a computer but if you have any other details they could help. Also how technical are you? Could you use something home built or do you want a plug and play system

Sent from my LG-LS970 using Tapatalk 4


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## zmb (Aug 28, 2013)

I just saw that on a moving boat ride at Disney that they use HID Proximity cards glued along the track with the boat sensing it and using it as the trigger for audio to play. But I don't think the system would be the easiest to setup considering that it isn't the typical use of such systems.


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