Technical Details
The Grand Haven Musical Fountain is a complex system consisting of pneumatic, hydraulic, water, electrical distribution (at 2300 volts), sound, music, LED lighting, ethernet, and PC (personal computer) & PLC programmable logic controller) based controls automation.
Shown here is a screen capture of the Allen-Bradley PanelView+ that the fountain operators use to monitor the show.
Water & Mechanical Systems:
What the Musical Fountain Looks Like!
The Musical Fountain system is comprised seven modules of water formations grouped in odd (1-3-5-7) and even (2-4-6) segments, with the same water formations mirrored on each as the even modules are water plumbed together as are the odd modules. Augmented by a curtain of water at the front, a large fan-like array called the Peacock, and three fire hose nozzles - one placed vertically in the center (the Voice), and the others aimed at an angle from each end (the Bazookas).
The show produces a Dancing Waters style display. Other formations are called the Rings, the Candelabras, and the Sweeps.
The "sweeps" provide the moving effects, swaying side-to-side. A drive mechanism allows each pair of sweeps to follow or oppose each other in direction of movement, to move along long or short paths, hold or oscillate at positions, and to move at any of seven speeds, allowing the moving water to follow nearly any kind of music. The sweeps are driven by two hydraulic cylinders - each supplied from their own hydraulic pump.The water nozzles have never been changed, only cleaned and cared-for.
The water pumps consist of 2 - 100 HP and 1 - 75 HP which are powered at 2400 volts. The original installation had only 20 air piloted water valves. There is a 240 volt dual pump air compressor to supply the pneumatic system.
In 2017 the first new water features were added in over 50 years. Completed as a Senior Project by a group of Grand Valley State University (GVSU) School of Engineering students, the new features are called the Helix and the WAVE.
The Helix is a four arm spiraling feature in front of the Peacock that can send water up to 50 ft. high. The Helix has two LED light fixtures below so each side may have its own color.
The WAVE consists of 50 nozzles along the back 200 feet of the fountain that create numerous patterns including firework effects and a "WAVE" similar to fans celebrating at a sporting event.
The WAVE water feature shown above in action! Time sequences are fully programmable. Over 500 program commands are available.
Dovetails (DOVES) added by GVSU Sr. Project team summer 2022. These can rotate to compliment the Helix or be stationary to compliment the Peacock. A pneumatic cylinder catches and releases the DOVES.
Lighting:
Acclaim Lighting Rebel Drum
(New in 2015) Lighting is provided by 43 Acclaim Lighting Rebel Drum 36-watt RGB light fixtures, roughly 8 inches in diameter as well as two Acclaim Lighting Dyna Drum HO 240-watt fixtures focused on the 'Voice' spout; the highest water formation, reaching over 100 feet in the air. The lighting units are capable of special effects such as color fading, strobing, twinkles, among others. The beam angle of each fixture ranges from 10 degrees up to 40 degrees and are strategically placed to ensure full-coverage of the water. The lighting system is controlled through a DMX-512 universe fed by an Enttec DMX USB Pro with Acclaim Lighting X-Power HP Pro power supplies/controllers mounted within the fountain basin feeding the 24vDC required by the light fixtures across six channels (RGBRGB). The fountain playback computer now controls the high speed LED lights directly over the DMX network while the PLC controls the water and sweep motions.
Audio:
Control Room
The sound system consists of 6 - four channel audio amplifiers providing more than 28,000 watts of audio power. There are 32 18" JBL Subwoofers, and 12 JBL high frequency horns. The sound system was completed updated with new amplifiers and speakers through a community fundraising effort called “A Sound Investment” in 2019. This effort raised the over $100,000 necessary to update the system.
Here you can see not only the amplifiers but also a mixer panel, the playback computer, the spare operator interface (AB PanelView+), the DMX splitter panel, and an two uninterruptable power supplies.
Control Systems and Programming:
Paper Punched Tape (shown to left)
The original control system used an 8 bit CNC paper punched tape and a reel to reel audio tape player which used "pulses" recorded on one of the audio channels to advance the paper punch tape to the next fountain control code. The fountain command codes drove a control system that was primarily a wired wrapped custom relay panel.
The Musical Fountain’s First Computer
In 1983, the first industrial computer (an Allen-Bradley PLC-2/30) was installed, replacing the paper punch tape and the relay control panel. At this time, fountain control codes were embedded on an audio track of the reel to reel tape deck fully synchronizing the music and the fountain control codes. The press were invited to view all the upgrades in 1983 and a press kit was released with detailed information. You may view that here…
The fountain control codes were created by a Radio Shack TRS-80 personal computer for which George VerDuin created the software. Later, DAT (digital audio tapes) cassettes were used for the audio and the fountain command code source. The technology employed to implement the new control strategy was featured in a PLC trade magazine in 1987. more info…
Original PLC (1983) - Allen Bradley PLC-2/30
Around 1995 the PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) was ungraded to an AB PLC-5. In 2005 the audio source was converted to PC based .wav files with the playback software on the a personal computer sending the PLC the water and lighting commands. The playback software and a custom choreography software were developed by Brad Boyink and Jim Swarts of Meal Magic Corp. In 2013, a group of GVSU School of Engineering students upgraded the PLC processor to an AB CompactLogix with a PanelView Plus operator interface. The new PLC system was generously donated by Rockwell Automation.
Choreography Software
Even with the simplest of the many programs used to create shows for this fountain, choreographing one three-minute song can take as long as ten hours. While the original shows were quite simple and only featured around 300 lighting and water changes throughout an entire 25-minute performance.
The new modern shows average 1,500 commands per song, with some reaching as high as 6,000 lighting and or water commands in a single song. Some of the modern themed shows contain as many as 17,000 water and lighting commands over a 25-minute program.
In late 2014, the fountain’s proprietary control software was updated and greatly expanded by a group of students led by Terry L. Stevens from GVSU College of Engineering and Computing and Paul Lyzenga of Apex Controls. The choreography software is written in Java and the playback software is written in C#. This greatly expanded the functionality that the fountain's choreographers can utilize. With these expanded capabilities, audiences began to see shows unlike anything seen before in the fountain’s 50+ year (at the time) history. Individually addressable lights and greatly expanded sweep movements are just a couple of the new features.