How to put your own sounds in a Passenger car

Sure, I've made a few cars with sounds.  I happen to be making my own sound modules, but there are plenty of commercial ones you can pick up on eBay. 

Sound module for small motorized units

Here's the thread were I was developing my RF controlled module for rolling stock.

Remote Control Audio for Rolling Stock

Here's my current RF triggered version.  They use the same MP3 module that I used in the above threads.  I buy the MP3 module and RF transmitter/receiver kit off eBay and I make the glue module that ties them all together and provides power.

Here's a different wrinkle, this one is driven by the ERR Mini Commander ACC board to allow command control of the sounds.

 Call me a  cheater; I used the guts from a usb Bluetooth phone controlling/controlled speaker I had found in a parking lot....ran over a few times. Sound is kinda quiet, but the battery lasts many hours.

Another one I used is called the H²O mini (better; speaker only) hidden in a "large crate" load. Louder, better sound, but dies off sooner.

You'd need a 5vdc regulation of the track power, same as usb has. Charging is already regulated by the speakers.

 Keep alive time is "hours" even without using track power; so I haven't eve done it yet, but also hate dead batteries so want to.

.... but I also already haven't used them in months. I'm just not too into sounds; period. Just as often music comes out of um

I found a 1.4 x 1.4 x .99 in Bluetooth speaker on amazon. 11 bucks and a 1.89x1.89 
the smaller one weighs under an ounce and brags 1-3 hrs playing time. The larger brags 8 hours at half volume. I’m gonna try the larger one! Thanks for triggering the idea. 

Marty R, Can't seem to find it, can you send us the link ?

Roll Your Own Station Sounds Diner

I'll be following this topic. I have been looking for one that I can record my own sounds on and that is loopable. I have had no luck yet.

I have put a Bluetooth speaker into a couple of MPC  engines that didn't have a horn/whistle. I bought these at 5 Below for $5.50 and installed the electonics in the fuel tank.  Then lengthened the wires to the speaker and glued the speaker to the underside of the roof. Took about a little over an hour to complete.  The sound board has a mini USB port for recharging the battery.  Run time is around an hour for an hours charge. You just need a smartphone or a tablet /laptop with Bluetooth. 

I downloaded a diesel horn app which contains about 50 different horn sounds, all American diesels. 

There are several apps that will give you different train sounds like crossing gates, bells whistles,  etc. 

The neat thing is that you also can play music through it. Im

Sorry but my fat fingers hit the send button prematurely. 

Here's a few pictures of how I did it. 

 I'm partial to cartoon  songs like looney tunes. 

MR_P posted:

Marty R, Can't seem to find it, can you send us the link ?

I can’t figure out how to put a link from the amazon app here, so here’s a screenshot. Search “smallest Bluetooth speaker” there is a smaller one, but it has less battery life. I plan on mounting it so I can charge it through an open door.

Thanks to Marty and 3rd rail, I've looked into this one, seems like the smallest I can find.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F...oding=UTF8&psc=1

FrankRazz posted:

Is there a way I can put my own sounds or music in a passenger car or boxcar?  I would like it to run off of track power with a battery backup when running conventional.   

 ...

By battery backup for conventional, do you mean (1) to ride-thru short track power interruptions when changing directions, and/or (2) to continue playing for minutes or hours when there is no track power at all?  I'm trying to confirm the "what" before proposing the "how"... don't want to put the cart-before-the-horse!

Mike D posted:

I'll be following this topic. I have been looking for one that I can record my own sounds on and that is loopable. I have had no luck yet.

Tell me more about loopable.  Is a momentary gap of, say, 1 second acceptable before the recorded sound re-starts?  So here's where I'm going with this.  If you use an MP3 player module that has the sound stored on a microSD card, the player will automatically repeat the stored MP3 sound when it reaches the end.  But this typically takes a second or so.   Because even the smallest microSD card (for about $1) stores HOURS of audio, you can use a freeware sound-editor (like Audacity) to create an MP3 file that has dozens or hundreds of seamless repeating copies of your sound.  Then you would only hear the hiccup or gap once every hour (or whatever).  Somewhere in an earlier OGR thread I posted this photo:

These $1-2 (free shipping from Asia) eBay MP3 player modules typically run on 5V DC and can drive 1-2 Watts of audio power which should be plenty.  You can get an AC track-power to 5V DC converter module for $2-3 (free shipping from Asia) on eBay.  Depending on the answer to the conventional track power question above, either a battery or super-capacitor could insure continuous, un-interrupted power. 

So all-in should be $5-$10 albeit requiring a level of DIY persistence.  To be clear, this approach stores the audio onboard the rolling-stock.  Several of the posts suggest a Bluetooth speaker where the audio itself resides on your smartphone, tablet, PC, etc. and is wirelessly transmitted or streamed to the speaker.  If there is interest in the onboard/standalone approach I can provide additional details.

Stan2004, That may work. What I want to do is make a diesel generator sound for a rail grinder I am planning. I am going to use my tractor that has a diesel engine to record the sound. I also want a module for the grinder sound. I am planning on using my angle grinder for the grinding sounds. Holding the grinder for an hour to record is a bit long. Same with the tractor running at high idle for an hour. I will think about it and maybe get it to work for my project. It is worth a try for ten bucks.

No hour long sessions, you just use an audio editor like Audacity and splice a 5 minute sound clip together a bunch of times, I made a number of five hour long audio strings for my audio boards that way.  If you pick where you splice, you won't be able to tell what happened.

Mike D posted:

...Holding the grinder for an hour to record is a bit long. Same with the tractor running at high idle for an hour...

I figure a 1 minute recording of each would be more than enough!  Then using the miracle of cut-and-paste in an audio editor and voila you have a 1 hour long recording!  So a brief hiccup after 1 hour should not be that big a deal in my opinion anyway.  To wit, the diesel engine sounds on our trains are "looped" where the unique portion of the sound is, say, 10 seconds...and they sound just fine to my ear when seamlessly looped.

For your particular application here's an idea.  From what I can tell you'd have a background diesel generator sound that's always running.  Then, when you want to start grinding the sound changes to include the grinding. You could use the stereo capability of MP3 to store two different sounds in a single MP3 file.  So, for example, the diesel generator would be on the LEFT channel...and the generator+grinder would be on the RIGHT channel.  I don't know how you plan to toggle between modes but you would then select one channel or the other.  It kind of comes down to whether you want 2 audio player modules and 2 speakers...or 1 audio player module with some scheme to select or mix 2 separate audio channels driving 1 speaker. 

Hmm.  How about a flickering LED that "sparks" as the grinder hits the rail! 

gunrunnerjohn posted:

No hour long sessions, you just use an audio editor like Audacity and splice a 5 minute sound clip together a bunch of times, I made a number of five hour long audio strings for my audio boards that way.  If you pick where you splice, you won't be able to tell what happened.

When looking at the waveform on Audacity, splice at the zero cross.  Trim off a few milliseconds if you have to.  Then play in a loop and see if you get a click.

Lou N

Hi Frank, something that I have been thinking / planning to do also.

stan2004 posted:

Mike D posted:

...Holding the grinder for an hour to record is a bit long. Same with the tractor running at high idle for an hour...

I figure a 1 minute recording of each would be more than enough!  Then using the miracle of cut-and-paste in an audio editor and voila you have a 1 hour long recording!  So a brief hiccup after 1 hour should not be that big a deal in my opinion anyway.  To wit, the diesel engine sounds on our trains are "looped" where the unique portion of the sound is, say, 10 seconds...and they sound just fine to my ear when seamlessly looped.

For your particular application here's an idea.  From what I can tell you'd have a background diesel generator sound that's always running.  Then, when you want to start grinding the sound changes to include the grinding. You could use the stereo capability of MP3 to store two different sounds in a single MP3 file.  So, for example, the diesel generator would be on the LEFT channel...and the generator+grinder would be on the RIGHT channel.  I don't know how you plan to toggle between modes but you would then select one channel or the other.  It kind of comes down to whether you want 2 audio player modules and 2 speakers...or 1 audio player module with some scheme to select or mix 2 separate audio channels driving 1 speaker. 

Hmm.  How about a flickering LED that "sparks" as the grinder hits the rail! 

There will be at least two cars. One generator cat and one grinder car. I am thinking I will use a different sound module in each car and use a pushbutton microswitch to turn them on and off. I had custom LED boards made by an old friend years ago. They use a 555 timer and a Johnson counter to illuminate different groups of LED's on the boards at different times. There is a pot on them to vary the clock rate. It is kind of primitive, but at a high clock rate causes the LED's to flash quickly and when flashing down on the road bed will give an acceptable effect for my taste.

Mike D posted:

 

...  I am thinking I will use a different sound module in each car and use a pushbutton microswitch to turn them on and off …

Triggering or how you were planning to turn sounds on/off was my next question.  Sounds like you have a plan. 

Another idea for the hard-core DIY'er would be wireless activation of sounds to allow triggering anywhere on the track.  I have posted on this technique before so here are some abbreviated comments:

4-channel remote transmitter fobs are a couple bucks.  A receiver module with 4 outputs also goes for a couple bucks.  These receiver modules can be configured to "toggle" mode so that pressing one remote button turns a particular output ON, and then pressing the button again turns the output OFF.  So this could turn a looping sound on or off.  Or the receiver output can be configured to only be ON as long as the remote button is held down.  So this could turn on a momentary sound...say a horn.  The receiver modules output a digital signal that can, for example, control the PLAY/PAUSE control of an MP3 player.  Or if you want to control more "power" you could use a receiver with a relay.  These relay modules can also be configured to different modes...such as toggle mode or even self-timed modes where pressing the remote button turns on the relay for a fixed interval - like 10 seconds; pretty cool for a couple bucks!  

Those are the transmitters I use for my sound modules.  The receivers I use are the small ones that just output a logic value.

I've actually been planning to make a custom stationsounds baggage or diner car for a friend of mine to add on to his Lehigh Valley John Wilkes loco and passenger cars.  I've got a set of pictures somewhere.  I turned the set into a full on custom thing with weathering and detailed interiors on all of the cars, complete with tablecloths, painted seats, posters, and passengers.  We are thinking of taking his baggage car and inserting a small bluetooth speaker in the shell to get it to make the noises we want.  This would probably be something that mainly gets used at train shows.  What I plan to do is use Garageband on my laptop to record myself and my friends reading out different train station announcements and voice-lines for the train, stuff such as "tickets please," "Which way is the dining car?" "The next stop is Sayre," "Attention Passengers: Train No.53, The John Wilkes, is now boarding on track 6." etc.  I'll then make it into a playlist on my phone, so that all I need to do is connect the phone to the speaker, and select whatever voiceline I care to hear at the moment, and then hear it play out of the baggage car.  I'll have to make some updates and see if I can add in any examples of voicelines I've already made.  I'll also look through my photos and see if I can add any photos of the set.  

For Music, it looks like the EWA A106 will work well. It fits through the door in a Weaver 40’ boxcar as well as an MTH Premier boxcar. It doesn’t fit through the smaller doors of the  not scale (the word escapes me) boxcars. The on/off button and change port are on opposite sides. So charging and powering on/off will be convenient. It has all the downside of any speaker muffled in a box. Sounds better on its side and sounds better with the doors cracked. I’m going to mount it sideways with Velcro tape and leave the doors cracked. This gives the best sound without drilling holes in the floor. The Velcro men’s I should be able to access the power button and port without leaving the track. 
I chose this over a smaller one based on battery time. I’m making a children’s Christmas song list, and apparently one for my wife, that starts with the Kingston Trio “Last Month of the Year” Album! This is great because it’s one more indication she like the trains! It doesn’t solve the problem of making good sound clips in specific cars, but if you make sound clips you can switch them on the fly, if you don’t mind connecting yet another Bluetooth device to your Choo Choo train

Mike D posted:

stan2004 posted:

Mike D posted:

...Holding the grinder for an hour to record is a bit long. Same with the tractor running at high idle for an hour...

I figure a 1 minute recording of each would be more than enough!  Then using the miracle of cut-and-paste in an audio editor and voila you have a 1 hour long recording!  So a brief hiccup after 1 hour should not be that big a deal in my opinion anyway.  To wit, the diesel engine sounds on our trains are "looped" where the unique portion of the sound is, say, 10 seconds...and they sound just fine to my ear when seamlessly looped.

...

There will be at least two cars. One generator cat and one grinder car. I am thinking I will use a different sound module in each car ...

You piqued by curiosity in MOW rail grinders and found several youtube videos.  For example this snapshot from this youtube video shows some additional ways to trick-out your rail grinder:

Apparently these behemoths have sprayers (for fire-prevention?) and plenty of smoke from the grinding.  So a fan-driven smoke-generator could be used to simulate these behaviors.  

So another source of the sound would be from such a video.  There are plenty of "free" online youtube-to-MP3 converters.  So I ran the above video thru such a converter, opened the MP3 file in Audacity, and clipped 30 seconds of the rail grinding from the middle of the video when it passes the camera.

This was rendered in stereo so you see 2 tracks of 30 seconds.  This is way more than enough audio to replicate a hundred times (or whatever) to create an hour long continuous MP3.  The cut-and-paste chore goes pretty quickly.  After copying it once, a 30-sec segment becomes 1-minute.  Then copy the 1-minute segment and you have 2-minutes.  Then copy the 2-minute segment and you have 4-minutes.  You'll quickly have a 1-hour (or whatever) long sound file!

The 30 sec audio clip extracted from the youtube video and shown above is attached to this post as an MP3.

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Separately, I was reading a recent thread about adding power to an unpowered boxcar and apparently the power-pickups can run $10 per car.  Hmm.  That's more than the audio electronics!  So if this project was in the planning stage, and since presumably the generator car and grinder car are always paired, perhaps an electrical tether between cars can save some cost.  For example, you could share one AC-to-DC converter...and if there's any kind of battery or supercapacitor involved, that too could be shared.  Just thinking out loud. 

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And.  I realize you already have a custom-built module to generate flickering lights.  But again, if this was in the planning stage, as I mentioned earlier these low-cost MP3 player modules support stereo.  So you can store the audio on one track, and something completely different on the other track.  For example you don't need to store audio on the 2nd track, it could be a signal that randomly drives an LED to create the flickering effect.  Or it could be (non-audio) commands to control mechanical motions that would be exactly synchronized to the audio track.  I've described this technique in earlier OGR threads if there's interest.  Not sure what you'd want to animate mechanically in a rail grinder though...that is, I initially thought a small spinning DC motor would be neat but the grinder in the prototype looks like it's behind a skirt/guard so you can't see it.