7000-series - Delivery & Updates

[Sam92]

23 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

I see the destination signs are still not working!

If you’re going by video it’s really bad and showing signs because of how the lighting interacts they’ve worked when I’ve seen them  now if you seen them and they didn’t work then I’ll concede on that lol

[strictures]

3 hours ago, chicagocubs6323 said:

As of yesterday.  Here's a video from yesterday.

 

Shows you how long it's been since I went past 18th St.  When was Kildare replaced by Kostner as a stop?

[artthouwill]

31 minutes ago, Sam92 said:

If you’re going by video it’s really bad and showing signs because of how the lighting interacts they’ve worked when I’ve seen them  now if you seen them and they didn’t work then I’ll concede on that lol

I'm going by the video both inside and outside the train.

[artthouwill]

1 minute ago, strictures said:

Shows you how long it's been since I went past 18th St.  When was Kildare replaced by Kostner as a stop?

Wow. It's been awhile for you!  The station is Kostner now.  In case you missed it, Hoyne was replaced by Damen.  I'm pretty sure these changes were made when the Renew the Blue was reconstructing the then 54/Cermak branch of the Blue Line. 

[strictures]

27 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Wow. It's been awhile for you!  The station is Kostner now.  In case you missed it, Hoyne was replaced by Damen.  I'm pretty sure these changes were made when the Renew the Blue was reconstructing the then 54/Cermak branch of the Blue Line. 

I also didn't realize Hoyne was replaced by Damen, which is the logical place, as there's a bus on Damen.  But then Lake St. never had a stop at Western, it was at Oakley, again a weird choice.

[Sam92]

3 hours ago, artthouwill said:

I'm going by the video both inside and outside the train.

Hmm I’ll look in person because some pics show the sign flawlessly others either the camera messes with the sign or causes the sign to show up in a different color when viewing on video. I can barely make out the pink when viewing the recently posted video because of lines appearing for example ??

[Sam92]

Just now, Sam92 said:

Hmm I’ll look in person because some pics show the sign flawlessly others either the camera messes with the sign or causes the sign to show up in a different color when viewing on video. I can barely make out the pink when viewing the recently posted video because of lines appearing for example ??

BUT I work AMs in the loop all week so I’ll check for myself if they stay on #301

[NewFlyerMCI]

2 hours ago, strictures said:

Shows you how long it's been since I went past 18th St.  When was Kildare replaced by Kostner as a stop?

 

2 hours ago, artthouwill said:

Wow. It's been awhile for you!  The station is Kostner now.  In case you missed it, Hoyne was replaced by Damen.  I'm pretty sure these changes were made when the Renew the Blue was reconstructing the then 54/Cermak branch of the Blue Line. 

It's interesting to see the generational differences on the forum. I'm only 6 years younger than the Orange Line. I'm old enough to remember when the Douglas Branch was still the Blue Line, but too young to know that Kildare & Hoyne were ever stations lol.

[chicagocubs6323]

5 hours ago, artthouwill said:

I see the destination signs are still not working!

I was talking to a CRRC employee and the reason for this is the destination signs on the 7000s consume less energy.  The LEDs in reality are blinking and have a lower refresh rate.  It's not as bad on the 3200s and 5000s because the LEDs have a higher refresh rate and consume more energy.  I wish they would fix the signs though.  It's hard to take photos of the signs when it's sunny.  I can only manage to get the signs to come out clear in lower light environments.

[Sam92]

2 hours ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

 

It's interesting to see the generational differences on the forum. I'm only 6 years younger than the Orange Line. I'm old enough to remember when the Douglas Branch was still the Blue Line, but too young to know that Kildare & Hoyne were ever stations lol.

Now gone head change your name to NephewMCI ?

[NewFlyerMCI]

20 hours ago, chicagocubs6323 said:

I was talking to a CRRC employee and the reason for this is the destination signs on the 7000s consume less energy.  The LEDs in reality are blinking and have a lower refresh rate.  It's not as bad on the 3200s and 5000s because the LEDs have a higher refresh rate and consume more energy.  I wish they would fix the signs though.  It's hard to take photos of the signs when it's sunny.  I can only manage to get the signs to come out clear in lower light environments.

Is this why the LED signs spazz out when I look at photos and videos of them that I take? I've always notice they behave erratically, but I always thought it was a camera issue, because when I look at them with my 4 eyes, they seem static (as in standing still)

[chicagocubs6323]

1 minute ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

Is this why the LED signs spazz out when I look at photos and videos of them that I take? I've always notice they behave erratically, but I always thought it was a camera issue, because when I look at them with my 4 eyes, they seem static (as in standing still)

It's the LEDs themselves that do that.  If you look closely at them with your eyes you can see them stutter a little bit.  Use exposure time of 1/60 to get the signs to come out clear.  The problem is that you need to be in a lower light environment so that the photo doesn't come out too bright.  Phone cameras can't accomplish this.

[chicagocubs6323]

 Here's a photo I took where the signs came out slightly better.

[Kevin]

Moderator note: Off-topic posts have been removed.

[Juniorz]

On 5/26/2021 at 3:21 PM, chicagocubs6323 said:

 Here's a photo I took where the signs came out slightly better.

1/80 to 1/100 are ideal settings to capture the LED destination sign and those are for Manual [M] settings on most digital cameras.

Most photographers are used to [and comfortable] utilizing presets on their digital camera, so this could be a great opportunity to getting familiar with using Manual [M] settings.

It takes getting used to, but once familiar, Manual [M] could become a favorite [and preferred] setting.

[chicagocubs6323]

32 minutes ago, Juniorz said:

1/80 to 1/100 are ideal settings to capture the LED destination sign and those are for Manual [M] settings on most digital cameras.

Most photographers are used to [and comfortable] utilizing presets on their digital camera, so this could be a great opportunity to getting familiar with using Manual [M] settings.

It takes getting used to, but once familiar, Manual [M] could become a favorite [and preferred] setting.

1/60 is the maximum for the 7000s.

[BusHunter]

I also took my first 7000 trip. The cars are depressingly similar on a side exterior view. The ends are nice though and they dont feel like a standard cta car looking at the ends. The interior is not bad. I love the seats please sign these guys up for an extended contract. The seats are wide, the backs are straight. The seating arrangement is much better than the 5000s. I laughed cause the aisle facing seats at the car ends has a bar to keep a homeless person from laying down. The bar needs to be bigger, it's too small. While it has some differences and new tech it's still just the standard cta rail car. Again not the manufacturers fault. The windows actually have hopper windows another thing that brought a smile to my face. The ac could be better. Your not going to freeze aboard these. The information signs while nice dont do anything more than the old signs. Theres no connection info nor times for that connection. That's kind of disappointing. Maybe a firmware upgrade is needed. Overall the car gets a 6, while I love the seats theres more than just the seats to a railcar. Alot of my disappointment is just the lack of something new. Best view is the coming and going of the cars. 

[MTRSP1900-CTA3200]

22 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

The information signs while nice dont do anything more than the old signs. Theres no connection info nor times for that connection. That's kind of disappointing. Maybe a firmware upgrade is needed…

Hoping they add more functionality to the displays. I’ve seen videos of Tokyo Metro trains with much smaller screens displaying little diagrams of the next station showing where the exits/stairs/elevators/other subway lines are in relation to the car you’re riding in. There’s definitely potential in those new screens onboard. It would definitely help for tourists, or the regulars who are looking to get to point B faster especially from a station with multiple exits.

[NewFlyerMCI]

23 hours ago, BusHunter said:

The information signs while nice dont do anything more than the old signs. Theres no connection info nor times for that connection. That's kind of disappointing. Maybe a firmware upgrade is needed.

My view is that CTA has gotten complacent on that because of the detail of the announcements (imo, the most informative train announcements anywhere in the country) but so many people listen to music these days (myself included) so they need to do better on the visual front

[artthouwill]

1 hour ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

My view is that CTA has gotten complacent on that because of the detail of the announcements (imo, the most informative train announcements anywhere in the country) but so many people listen to music these days (myself included) so they need to do better on the visual front

The announce to and visuals are only as good as the CTA operator's use of them.  Some operators only play the announcement for a station after they have arrived and once they have opened the doors, immediately hit the "Doors clising" announcement.   This cuts out other information regarding transfers and the train and its destination.   Some operators are so bad they play the wrong announcements altogether.   Fortunately. "Doors closing" doesn't affect the visual but playing the next station announcement could cut off the prior visual announcements.   Or by the time the portion of the visual you needed to see plays, the train is departing the station.  

Obviously if you are familiar with the city and the system,  you can navigate anyhow.  Not everyone is familiar with every train line and every part of the city.  If the bus announcements are GOS based and not dependent on the operator, why can't the rail system do the same, at least above ground?  

[NewFlyerMCI]

23 hours ago, artthouwill said:

The announce to and visuals are only as good as the CTA operator's use of them.  Some operators only play the announcement for a station after they have arrived and once they have opened the doors, immediately hit the "Doors clising" announcement.   This cuts out other information regarding transfers and the train and its destination.   Some operators are so bad they play the wrong announcements altogether.   Fortunately. "Doors closing" doesn't affect the visual but playing the next station announcement could cut off the prior visual announcements.   Or by the time the portion of the visual you needed to see plays, the train is departing the station.  

Obviously if you are familiar with the city and the system,  you can navigate anyhow.  Not everyone is familiar with every train line and every part of the city.  If the bus announcements are GOS based and not dependent on the operator, why can't the rail system do the same, at least above ground?  

Oh, I always thought the announcements were automated. I definitely agree with your last point

[artthouwill]

18 minutes ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

Oh, I always thought the announcements were automated. I definitely agree with your last point

Yes. The operator presses a button gor the next announcement 

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

11 hours ago, artthouwill said:

Yes. The operator presses a button gor the next announcement 

Sometimes in the 5000 series I noticed operators use an automatic system to announce the announcements so they don’t have to click buttons. The next station announcement only plays like 5 seconds after the train starts moving from the station.  The current station announcement starts playing once the operator opens the doors, and after that,     He might press the doors closing ending the announcement. Now I think in the automatic mode, the next station announcement portion is correct but arriving station needs a GPS like the buses do and start announcing about 20 seconds before the train doors open so everyone can hear the transfers and announcements  

[artthouwill]

15 minutes ago, Erin Mishkin Jr. said:

Sometimes in the 5000 series I noticed operators use an automatic system to announce the announcements so they don’t have to click buttons. The next station announcement only plays like 5 seconds after the train starts moving from the station.  The current station announcement starts playing once the operator opens the doors, and after that,     He might press the doors closing ending the announcement. Now I think in the automatic mode, the next station announcement portion is correct but arriving station needs a GPS like the buses do and start announcing about 20 seconds before the train doors open so everyone can hear the transfers and announcements  

Thanks.   That makes sense.   But sometimes its so inconsistent on the same train, based on what you said, I wonder be able to tell if the operator was using the buttons or automatic system. 

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

24 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Thanks.   That makes sense.   But sometimes its so inconsistent on the same train, based on what you said, I wonder be able to tell if the operator was using the buttons or automatic system. 

You're welcome.    How I tell the operator is using the automatic system is when the current station announcements start playing once the doors open.   The buttons means that the announcements for the current station start playing before the doors open.