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Everydaymatters

Everydaymatters

Engineer
Joined
May 15, 2006
Messages
3,406
Location
Just North of Normal, Illinois
Why are the public announcements so hard to hear? I don't think I've ever been in a station where the announcements aren't either garbled or too low to be heard. Seems that with current technology they should be better. Even with the technology of 10 years ago it should be better. I think Seattle is the worst, but I could be wrong. Can the sound systems be improved, but nobody does any maintenance on them?
 
Good Luck even hearing an announcement in Fort Worth. NO outside speakers, even on the platform. The only 'speaker' is a home-style karoke machine thing at the ticket counter -- that can not be heard at a moderate distance.

Maybe one reason is the size of the station and the lack of acoustic quality in the building.

Another might be staff holding the mic too close and rushing through the announcement. THEY know what the said, but does anyone else?
 
Large masonry stations are not unlike great cathedrals built in the middle ages in Europe. The acoustics are terrible, no matter how good the sound system is. Mostly because of the long reverberations from the sound bouncing back and forth off the various non-sound absorbing wall and ceiling material. As I was a music major in college a hundred years ago, something we learned about structures such as the great hall in Chicago, and especially large stone churches, is - if you sing it, chant style, it is heard and understood much better. In fact, that is one of the reasons chant in a church service came into being in the middle ages. No one could understand a word anyone was saying. But, when the words are chanted, it is perfectly intelligible. Sometime when you are in a big church, try it.

Now - if we could get them to chant the announcements at CUS we'd all be set.
 
I've found the announcements at Philadelphia 30th Street and Penn Station New York to be reasonably clear. When 30th Street was rehabbed a few years ago, a new PA system was installed that was designed to be clear even within the large concourse. Except for one woman who insists on holding the wireless microphone too close to her mouth and causes the system to cut-out, it seems to work well. NYP announcements are crystal-clear with a soft-spoken woman's voice being an element of calm in a storm of chaos.
 
Now the Europeans have this down to an art in not only railway stations but in airports as well where a 3 or 4 tone chime sounds just prior to the announcement to get your attention. Combined with the "big board" it's usually not to diificult to get to the right place at the right time.
 
I have to side with PR60 I never have a problem hearing an announcement in NYP. One tip. You can hear the announcements in the restrooms much better in the restrooms then you can out in the larger spaces. I'm not sure if the announcements are automated or if they are people because its either a woman or man I cant imagine they sit somewhere all day and make announcements but they do come out very well in NYP.
 
C'mon everyone, the reason we can't hear the announcements is because we ruined our hearing with all this train watching. How many times did you leave the house with your parents going, "make for sure they turn the volume down on the whistle so you don't lose your hearing!" :lol: Think of all the DVD's we play in our homes of trains and we always turn the damn volume way up when the horn comes on. It must be a younger generation thing! :lol: There was a guy on a Pacific Surfliner from LA to SD that just loved the sound of his voice. Unfortunately, I couldn't understand 90% of what he was jabbering about! Must be a train thing! And the chanting thing in church, I might get stared at tomorrow morning if I start doing a "chant" instead of singing! :lol:

Al
 
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Long Train Runnin said:
the_traveler said:
No, the guy SAN-LAX yelled
FOUR SEATS, FOUR SEATS, FOUR SEATS, FOUR SEATS ...

after every stop! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Either he was selling 4 seats to a game or show in LAX or he wanted to sit with some one and indicated he had 4 seats?

Please do explain
Click to expand...
His announcement was for the four seats seating. His whole announcement went something like this:

FOUR SEATS, FOUR SEATS, FOUR SEATS, FOUR SEATS ... THESE SEATS ARE FOR GROUPS OF 3 OR 4 ONLY ... IF YOU ARE A GROUP OF 2 OR LESS ... EITHER MAKE FRIENDS ... OR DO NOT SIT THERE!
Click to expand...

And this was after EACH stop that we were got to hear this. And the volume was not at a "normal" level. (But we did get to hear it clear! :eek: )
 
Long Train Runnin said:
the_traveler said:
No, the guy SAN-LAX yelled
FOUR SEATS, FOUR SEATS, FOUR SEATS, FOUR SEATS ...

after every stop! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Either he was selling 4 seats to a game or show in LAX or he wanted to sit with some one and indicated he had 4 seats?

Please do explain
Click to expand...
He was just trying to be very very very emphatic in stating that facing seats were to be occupied only by groups of three or four, or some such. He did have a problem with the notion of "sense of proportion" when it comes to making a point, however, causing us, who were there, to remember only the Four Seats part of his repeated rant.
 
I actually disagree with prr60. I think that PHL has some of the worst accoustics. I took a trip up to NYP this past summer and I couldn't understand the attendent. I asked her "Where does Business Class board"? Since I took 172 to NYP and 2173 back to PHL becuse AGR had that double BC point promotion. Whenever I'm down there there's always a train boarding anouncment and I can't hear or understand a damn thing. So I look at te board.

Thanks,

Stephen
 
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