Canoga Park, CALIF., March 18, 1998—When officials at Southern California's Magic Mountain theme park asked Dale Ketchersid to develop an automated videotaping system for a new ride, he couldn't resist the temptation. You might even say the devil made him do it.
According to Ketchersid, the chief engineer for Canoga Park, Calif.-based Lone Star Security Inc., Magic Mountain was searching for a way to increase revenue generated from video concessions for a new ride called the Dive Devil. "Magic Mountain was using teenage park employees to operate the video cameras," Ketchersid said. "But they soon found that the quality of the videotapes varied from one operator to another, and they were losing sales."
In hopes of improving overall video quality and reducing labor costs, they asked Ketchersid to develop the automated system. "It wasn't easy," said Ketchersid. "It's one of the hardest projects I've ever done."
The biggest challenge was developing a system that could keep up with the ride itself. Dive Devil is not only one of the newest attractions at the Valencia, Calif. theme park. It's also one of the most daring. Ride patrons are strapped into a harness, hauled to a height of 174 feet and then launched into a freefall that reaches speeds over 60 miles an hour.
"Everybody laughed at me when they found out what I was working on," Ketchersid said. "They said it couldn't be done. There really was no existing technology that could do what they [Magic Mountain] wanted to do."
But after months working on the project, Ketchersid ultimately developed a computer-controlled tracking system that automatically pans and tilts the camera to follow the rider through a complicated sequence of actions. Now, all he had to do was find a way to signal the camera every time there was a new rider.
"What we needed to do was get signaling back to the camera to tell it to start and stop recording," said Ketchersid. "But at Magic Mountain everything is geared towards the guest. They don't shut down, which means you can't dig the place up. They don't want anything changed or disrupted."
The solution was Inovonics 900MHz wireless. To trigger the system, Ketchersid installed an FA416R Receiver linked to the camera and switch-activated Inovonics transmitters on the ride's scissor lift. When new riders board the lift, the transmitter sends a signal to the camera to start recording. When the ramp lowers at the end of the ride, another transmitter sends a signal to stop recording. According to Ketchersid, the system is working remarkably well.
"We looked at other products, but the only thing that I knew would be absolutely reliable was the Inovonics with the spread spectrum. Plus, the durability is there. Inovonics is 100% perfect for the application. It hasn't failed once."
Another advantage of Inovonics wireless is the cost savings. According to Ketchersid, the cost of two wireless Inovonics transmitters and a single receiver is about 1/20th of what it would be to trench and run conduit.
"It would have cost us about $1500 to trench," said Ketchersid. "But even if it had been a dollar-to-dollar comparison, it would still have been more effective for me to run wireless."
Installing an automated videotaping system might sound like an unusual job for a security company. But, said Ketchersid, small and mid-sized security companies are faced with increasing competition from larger firms, and have to be inventive to succeed.
"I've been in this industry since I was fourteen years old," said Ketchersid. "I've seen the changes. Years ago we would install an alarm system, it was $1500. Now people are installing systems for free to get the monitoring contract."
Rather than compete with the zero-down firms, Ketchersid said companies like Lone Star Security, Inc. need to specialize in more challenging applications and leverage their technical expertise.
"Zero down? We won't do it," Ketchersid said. "Anybody can install a low-end system. But it's hard for the large companies to handle the more technical applications because of turnover. We specialize in difficult installations and unusual applications, and it's going over phenomenally well."
In fact, Ketchersid is planning on a nationwide rollout for the videotaping system. Six Flags Corporation, the parent company of Magic Mountain, expressed interest in installing the system on additional rides located in parks throughout the United States. Other amusement parks are also considering the system.
Ketchersid also plans to market the technology to the security industry. "It's perfect for commercial applications," he said. "The camera will catch you and follow you through the store without someone operating the joy stick. That's an important aspect as far as management is concerned. Instead of hiring four guards to sit at a console, they only need to hire one guard because the camera can track somebody."