|
BusTalk A Community Discussing Buses and Bus Operations Worldwide!
|
View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
timecruncher
Age: 73 Joined: 23 Dec 2008 Posts: 456 Location: Louisville, Kentucky
|
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 8:40 pm Post subject: *yawn* more Gilligs for TARC |
|
|
We recieved 17 new 40-foot Gillig low floor coaches this past month, and a few are making it out onto the street. They're nice enough, LED lighting inside and out, of course, and finally (!) something besides white paint on the buses!
Much better than the very tired old color scheme:
And someone please compliment the fine formatting job on our LED destination signs...
Thankyew, thankyew!
Luminator is only the second-most aggravating software to work with after Trapeze FX scheduling and runcutting software!
timecruncher
Of course I messed up your run. That's what I do. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
RailBus63 Moderator
Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 1063
|
Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:44 am Post subject: |
|
|
Great job on those destination signs, Cliff. It's so aggravating to see the hack jobs done by so many TA's these days. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
timecruncher
Age: 73 Joined: 23 Dec 2008 Posts: 456 Location: Louisville, Kentucky
|
Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 3:40 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Gee, thanks!
The LED signs are easier to work with than the flip-dot ones, but trust me when I tell you that to get the sign to do what I did for route 72 required a half hour of formatting and arranging of text.
The default image for route numbers are straightforward and sized/located perfectly. The sign reading or display, however defaults to the largest font possible and must be re-sized and re-located manually to get it to look right.
The display on my computer screen is not user-friendly either, with the index covering the sign displays. When you're done, it looks somewhat like it will look on the bus.
The entire index is then uploaded to an SD flash card that can be taken and downloaded onto the buses. That takes from 5-30 seconds, less for LED and longer for flip-dot signs. Setting these things up the first time is a time-consuming headache!
timecruncher
"Driver, your sign says out of service. Where are you going?" |
|
Back to top |
|
|
RailBus63 Moderator
Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 1063
|
Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 8:37 am Post subject: |
|
|
I guess I'm not surprised that the programs are not exactly user-friendly - there are just so many bad examples to destination sign formatting out there. The worst
example of this has to be the job done by Boston's MBTA - you get readings like this:
77 HARVARD
77 STATION
77 MASS AVE
Two of my favorites are Connecticut Transit and the Toronto Transit Commission. Both have figured out how to maximize the amount of information to display without
resulting in overly busy signs or ridiculous abbreviations (one of NYCT's biggest flaws, IMO). |
|
Back to top |
|
|
gmnewlook
Age: 52 Joined: 02 Nov 2007 Posts: 67 Location: Montreal, QC
|
Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 1:58 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Well, the Société de transport de Laval is no better. Most reading are abbreviated. Like this one:
60 ST-MARTIN
60 HOPITAL JUIF
60 METRO MONTMO.
They really look like a second rate transit company... |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Lothian
Joined: 30 Oct 2009 Posts: 14
|
Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:58 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Is the Nova LFS demo still at TARC? (the emissions test bed) |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Bill D
Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 332 Location: Waterbury, CT
|
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 5:19 am Post subject: Re: *yawn* more Gilligs for TARC |
|
|
timecruncher wrote: | ... And someone please compliment the fine formatting job on our LED destination signs...
Thankyew, thankyew!
Luminator is only the second-most aggravating software to work with after Trapeze FX scheduling and runcutting software!
timecruncher
|
The Luminator IPS software allows you to make custom templates to format sign messages in varoius ways, but personally I have lost patience trying to do so and end up manually formatting messages. CT Transit seems to be moving away from Luminator and specifying Twin Vision signs for their orders but I have not yet had the opportunity to work with their software. As your picture shows, if you take the time to develop and format the display, the results are well worth while. Nice work!
Bill |
|
Back to top |
|
|
busworld
Age: 36 Joined: 16 Dec 2016 Posts: 1
|
Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 8:39 am Post subject: |
|
|
if the destination information is long, you can make it scrolling, so it doesn't look like busy.
yes, it takes some time to learn how to program the led destination signs for beginners. After that, it would be quick to program and download the data to SD card, then insert it to led signs.
RailBus63 wrote: | I guess I'm not surprised that the programs are not exactly user-friendly - there are just so many bad examples to destination sign formatting out there. The worst
example of this has to be the job done by Boston's MBTA - you get readings like this:
77 HARVARD
77 STATION
77 MASS AVE
Two of my favorites are Connecticut Transit and the Toronto Transit Commission. Both have figured out how to maximize the amount of information to display without
resulting in overly busy signs or ridiculous abbreviations (one of NYCT's biggest flaws, IMO). |
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You can attach files in this forum You can download files in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|