Carowinds Amusement Park Streamlines Communications With Telex IP-3000 Series Dispatch Consoles

The park installed two 18-channel IP-3018 consoles at a centralized dispatch location.

Carowinds, a 407-acre amusement park located in Charlotte, North Carolina, recently upgraded park communications with Telex IP-3000 series dispatch consoles, which combine a compact form factor with convenient and user-friendly “all-in-one” design.

“We replaced both older and newer consoles from other manufacturers with the Telex system,” explains Bill Parrott, technical services foreman for Carowinds. “The older consoles ran off analog tone remote interfaces that used phone lines. When the park’s existing 70-volt distributed audio system started to bleed over into the phone lines, it became a problem that needed a solution.”

The park, which straddles the state line between North and South Carolina, hosts more than two million people yearly. Carowinds features 60 world-class rides, a waterpark, live entertainment and family-friendly special events. Understandably, seamless communication is of extreme importance in an application this large.

“After researching all of the options available, we decided that the Telex system would fit our needs best,” adds Parrott. “Alex Hinerfeld with Secom Systems helped us fully understand the benefits of making the move to a Telex radio dispatch solution. The user-friendly system was easy to install and ultimately simplifies system administration, configuration and software updates.”

The park installed two 18-channel IP-3018 consoles at a centralized dispatch location. One monitors all park communication channels, while the other is dedicated to managing rides and any issues that might arise. An eight-channel IP-3008 is located at the security post at the employee entrance to facilitate communications with visitors. Both systems are also backward-compatible with existing Telex equipment, including several Telex IP-224 interface panels connected to various control stations (mobile radios) in the park.

Each console is available in public safety, enterprise or standard configurations to suit the specific requirements of the application. Public safety and enterprise configurations are equipped with direct IP interfaces for interoperability with digital radio equipment, e.g., NEXEDGE®. Public safety-configured devices also offer encryption and compliance with the P25 suite of system standards. Standard configuration models connect to an external IP-224, making them a cost-effective choice for integration with existing Telex systems, and may be upgraded to public safety and enterprise configurations as needed. A two-channel IP-3002 model is also available in standard configuration (non-upgradeable), in the same form factor as the IP-3008.

New versions of C-Soft and Telex System Manager (TSM) offer enhanced layout design, GUI personalization and system management – all geared towards supporting simple menus and more streamlined workflows.

“Once we made our decision, the entire project was pretty straightforward,” Parrot concludes. “Alex with Secom Systems was available to provide support as needed during the installation, but we mostly handled it in-house. We have channels dedicated to security, first aid and other channels assigned to park services, merchandise, maintenance and more. Everyone at the park is extremely happy with the result – especially the dispatchers, who find the system so easy to use.”