Sound on analogue

[Chris M]

This won't be everyones "cup of tea" but hopefully it will be of interest to some. I have been playing around with sound clips on mp3 files to add sound to my railway. I know how long each train takes to pass through my scenic section on my N gauge layout and have used an mp3 editor app to get some sound clips that are just the right length for the passing trains. I then dropped these clips onto my phone and connected it to a big speaker under the layout. The phone I was filming with picked up much more of the model loco sound than you hear when watching but nevertheless the video gives you the gist of it. It needs to be played through big speakers.

 

Ok this is not a substitute for  DCC sound; it is not as convenient or as well matched to loco movements. It does however have some advantages, especially for N. First it is a good deep sound, with a more powerful speaker I have managed to get the floor vibrating (I don't think this was good for the speaker or relationships with others in the vicinity). Second you get a whole train sound, not just the loco. Third, because I have to press a button at the right time I don't play sound all of the time. This kind of makes it more special when I do.

 

https://youtu.be/RziX8qmiPiY

[Chris M]

I also have a garden railway which is analogue track power with some battery power. My shay is track powered and is fitted with a mylocosound chip which is very good for £49. As with many sound cards the whistle isn't great and of course it can't be activated as the loco goes around the garden. Again I have edited some mp3 sound files this time to give me a selection of whistles. I then put a bluetooth speaker on the first wagon. On the video it is partially hidden by logs and I have since made it completely hidden. Once this is linked up to my phone I have a choice of very convincing whistles I can blow wherever I like. Luckily my neighbours are very understanding people.

 

https://youtu.be/98K-rKGwstk

[BG John]

What a difference. I find Aller Junction very convincing, as it has the sound of the whole train, but not the Shay, because the wagons are silent.

 

I'm getting into using Arduinos for layout control at the moment, and it wouldn't be difficult to start the sound effects on Aller Junction when a train is detected. If each train had an RFID chip to identify it, the right sound could be played for each train automatically. Shame none of the layouts I'm building are like yours, as it will be harder to do sound effects for branch terminii and shunting layouts. That doesn't mean it's not part of my long term plan though!

[Chris M]

What a difference. I find Aller Junction very convincing, as it has the sound of the whole train, but not the Shay, because the wagons are silent.

 

 

 

When you are out in the garden the wagons do make a nice sound as they pass close. They have metal wheels and give a nice clickety clack over the rail joints. A couple of them also squeak as the go along which is nice. I could oil them but I like the squeak. 

Edited May 16, 2017 by Chris M

[nickwood]

If you haven't seen this thread, check it out. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/83931-sound-for-the-masses/

 

I use a similar set up on Much Murkle at exhibitions to that you've described and on the thread above for some time now.

 

We have ambient bird song and other sounds in the background, whistles and steam effects, and can synchronise the sound of a steam engine departing pretty well at the push of a button with the sound fading into the distance as the train passes under the bridge into the fiddle yard. Works very well using  an ipad and a bluetooth speaker under the baseboard.

[Chris M]

I also use audacity.

 

I shall be going to the Severn Valley diesel gala this weekend and hopefully collect a few more sounds. I cant wait for Western Champion to be back in working order so I can get more of a Western on the main line. Being N gauge and following Dapol's recent announcement I am less interested in class 50 sound than I was.

[RandyWales]

This won't be everyones "cup of tea" but hopefully it will be of interest to some. I have been playing around with sound clips on mp3 files to add sound to my railway. I know how long each train takes to pass through my scenic section on my N gauge layout and have used an mp3 editor app to get some sound clips that are just the right length for the passing trains. I then dropped these clips onto my phone and connected it to a big speaker under the layout. The phone I was filming with picked up much more of the model loco sound than you hear when watching but nevertheless the video gives you the gist of it. It needs to be played through big speakers.

 

Ok this is not a substitute for  DCC sound; it is not as convenient or as well matched to loco movements. It does however have some advantages, especially for N. First it is a good deep sound, with a more powerful speaker I have managed to get the floor vibrating (I don't think this was good for the speaker or relationships with others in the vicinity). Second you get a whole train sound, not just the loco. Third, because I have to press a button at the right time I don't play sound all of the time. This kind of makes it more special when I do.

 

https://youtu.be/RziX8qmiPiY

Hi Chris....

Certainly my cup of tea....we shouldn't think of this method as a 'substitute-for' but an 'alternative' to DCC sound.

Mind you, I think it's far superior in terms of quality.

Randall

[RandyWales]

Hi Chris...

Are you using just a single speaker?

I'd consider using a pair and taking advantage of recordings that are in stereo and have the sound follow the train through the layout.

You've hit the nail on the head with regards to editing your soundfiles to take the same length of time as it takes for each train to pass through the visible section of the layout....then running the train at approximately the right speed so that you get the Doppler effect as the train passes your viewing point. With a few judiciuos edits, you could also have similar tracks that allow you to vary your viewing position ie...the Doppler shift comes earlier or later in the scene.

 

How have you been triggering your sounds on your iPhone? Reading your OP it seems you are just playing a track like you would a song.

 

I suggest (unless you've already done so) looking at the Soundbyte app.

You be able to save all your soundtracks with dedicated buttons (hundreds if you want) and trigger them at will.

You can assign buttons to whistles and horns, coach and wagon sounds, even countryside effects etc etc

It's a polyphonic app meaning you can play many different sounds at the same time.

Randall

[Chris M]

Thanks, I'll give soundbyte a go

[Chris M]

I also do cow, sheep and tractor sound when youngsters are watching so again Sooundbyte could be useful

I also do cow, sheep and tractor sound when youngsters are watching so again Sooundbyte could be useful

[The Johnster]

I'm afraid that all the sounds on my South Wales valleys 1950s blt are either in my head or actual chuff chuff noises that I make (nobody is around to see, I mean hear, me).  I am happy with the sound of wheels over rail joints, and have made indentations in the rails at 40 or 60 foot intervals as appropriate, chuff chuff my locos (an advantage of steam locos is that you get chance to catch your breath), and the rest, the stream chuckling away to itself, the clanking of the colliery overhead ropeway buckets in the background, and the incessant, relentless, interminable Welsh non-conformist rain, not heavy but fine, penetrating, soaking, and all-pervading, spreading gloom and misery like a Temperance preacher, gurgling in drains and gutters, and drip, drip, dripping everywhere while the birds are too depressed to sing, remains in my consciousness from childhood visits to relatives in Tonypandy and Ynyshir.  It seemed to be a particular sort of 1950s rain that you don't get any more, even in the Valleys.

 

I am too old and set in my ways, not to mention poor, for DCC to be a consideration, but a background recording of the above noises, perhaps with some signal box bells and the clank of signals being pulled off or returned to danger after a train has left, would improve the ambience; the layout lives in a bedroom which already has a bluetooth speaker in it so I can listen to music in bed from my phone without having to pollute my hearing with the phone's stupid, pointless, tinny little squeaky speakers.  I could record the signalbox noises and signals at a preserved railway, and presumably some sort of conveyor belt machinery would be ok for the buckets, particularly if it squeaked a bit.  Rain is available almost on demand in South Wales, but the right combination of drains and downpipes playing in minor chords needs to be found...

Edited May 20, 2017 by The Johnster

[lesmond]

I use ambient sound through a cheap Ebay mp3 player and a small (again cheap & from Ebay) amplifier with two ex-PC speakers. This supplies "desert wind" and "meep meep" on Road Runner, and also machinery noises, gravel shifting and occasionally a blood curdling scream on P.O.O.P (Patented Odour Obfuscation Products aka the Cat Litter Mine).

 

Audacity is the business for editing once you get the hang of it.

 

Both layouts are analogue control, and I find a bit of sound adds another dimension to the whole thing.

 

Les

[The Johnster]

I use ambient sound through a cheap Ebay mp3 player and a small (again cheap & from Ebay) amplifier with two ex-PC speakers. This supplies "desert wind" and "meep meep" on Road Runner, and also machinery noises, gravel shifting and occasionally a blood curdling scream on P.O.O.P (Patented Odour Obfuscation Products aka the Cat Litter Mine).

 

Audacity is the business for editing once you get the hang of it.

 

Both layouts are analogue control, and I find a bit of sound adds another dimension to the whole thing.

 

Les

Get some proper speakers, Les, and chuck the pathetic PC ones away.  Even, actually especially, at low volumes, you'll never regret it.

 

I agree about Audacity, and not that difficult to get the hang of...

[BG John]

PC speakers vary a lot, and some are pretty good. Deep Purple are currently performing on mine, that have a fair sized base unit under the desk.

[sp1]

PC speakers vary a lot, and some are pretty good. Deep Purple are currently performing on mine, that have a fair sized base unit under the desk.

Deep Purple are a very inspired choice....

[RandyWales]

I'm afraid that all the sounds on my South Wales valleys 1950s blt are either in my head or actual chuff chuff noises that I make (nobody is around to see, I mean hear, me). I am happy with the sound of wheels over rail joints, and have made indentations in the rails at 40 or 60 foot intervals as appropriate, chuff chuff my locos (an advantage of steam locos is that you get chance to catch your breath), and the rest, the stream chuckling away to itself, the clanking of the colliery overhead ropeway buckets in the background, and the incessant, relentless, interminable Welsh non-conformist rain, not heavy but fine, penetrating, soaking, and all-pervading, spreading gloom and misery like a Temperance preacher, gurgling in drains and gutters, and drip, drip, dripping everywhere while the birds are too depressed to sing, remains in my consciousness from childhood visits to relatives in Tonypandy and Ynyshir. It seemed to be a particular sort of 1950s rain that you don't get any more, even in the Valleys.

 

I am too old and set in my ways, not to mention poor, for DCC to be a consideration, but a background recording of the above noises, perhaps with some signal box bells and the clank of signals being pulled off or returned to danger after a train has left, would improve the ambience; the layout lives in a bedroom which already has a bluetooth speaker in it so I can listen to music in bed from my phone without having to pollute my hearing with the phone's stupid, pointless, tinny little squeaky speakers. I could record the signalbox noises and signals at a preserved railway, and presumably some sort of conveyor belt machinery would be ok for the buckets, particularly if it squeaked a bit. Rain is available almost on demand in South Wales, but the right combination of drains and downpipes playing in minor chords needs to be found...

Hi Johnster....

 

Are you related to our glorious poet Dylan Thomas by any chance?

You should subsidise your modelling by giving recitals.

Randall

Edited May 20, 2017 by RandyWales

[DCB]

Sounds like something for the future, but it really needs a sensor like an ABS or crank position sensor to trigger a chuff four or six (or two or eight for LNWR fans) times a revolution of the wheels which would make slipping kind of interesting and realistic instead of spoiling the impression completely

[lesmond]

Get some proper speakers, Les, and chuck the pathetic PC ones away.  Even, actually especially, at low volumes, you'll never regret it.

 

I agree about Audacity, and not that difficult to get the hang of...

 

They work perfectly well tbh. They were chosen from a considerable pile of speakers (I recycle electronic equipment for part of my living) after a lot of testing and are easily able to perform as they were intended to under exhibition conditions and are clearly audible.

 

These aren't tinny, poor quality, add on speakers to sit either side of a monitor, they are the internal rectangular type used in HP PCs, mounted in a suitable enclosure.

 

Les

Edited May 28, 2017 by lesmond

[The Johnster]

Hi Johnster....

 

Are you related to our glorious poet Dylan Thomas by any chance?

You should subsidise your modelling by giving recitals.

Randall

 

You are very kind, but I have no connection with the Bard of Cwmdonkin other than as a fan, though I am happy to admit to using his work as inspiration!