Playing .mth Sound Files on your PC

AmeenTrainGuy posted:

Severn posted:

No editing in the Java version.  Mark went too fast for me to keep up in his original.  I helped him move the original to Embarcadero from Borland so had some familiarity with the code.  First I had the idea of going to GNU-C++/Qt ... but somehow did this Java thing instead.  Then I got side tracked...  But intended to go back to it, or the GNU-C++ version at some point and align them.

 

So are you going to update this later on so it has the edit?

Can you guys take this offline? I can't imagine there are many people who need to run this on Linux. This thread was for the tool that Mark built. He provides updates here. Anyone who wants to load one of these sound files onto an MTH engine has to use Windows on a PC or in a virtual machine.

George

Marks website is here where he releases updates and info:  http://www.silogic.com/trains/ADPCM.html

But there's also RTC (also there but different pages) -- which allows you to run mth trains through a DCS but less remote on a PC/Windows.

All software was written Embarcadero C++ ... only runs on PCs/Windows.

But I forgot about this -- Embarcadero supports multiple targets such linux, macos, hand helds using their RAD Studio product -- though it is > $1000 to get to that...

Could be done or some may qualify for an educational version.

https://www.embarcadero.com/products/rad-studio

The java version is an approach but someone has to maintain the code and keep it alive.  I just did it for fun, so may or may not have the interest.

General question. If I add custom recorded sounds via the handheld remote to an engine, when I connect to a PC and copy the sound file from the engine, will the newly recorded custom sounds be in that file?

Thanks!

If I add custom recorded sounds via the handheld remote to an engine, when I connect to a PC and copy the sound file from the engine, will the newly recorded custom sounds be in that file?

No. The Custom Sounds are in the TIU, not the engine.

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Okay, so I have a question.  I would like to take a recording of the whistle from a PS1 Union Pacific 49er and figure out a way to put it on my PS2 Union Pacific 49er.  Would that be possible using this program?

Unfortunately not. The program can only manipulate sound files for PS2 and PS3 engines. There is no way to download the sound files from a PS1 engine.

You could manually record the PS1 whistle and import it into the PS2 or PS3 sound file but you would lose some sound quality as you would be playing back a copy of a copy. The key would be to make sure that you are making the best possible audio recording of the PS1 whistle when recording the file from the original engine.

Landon, Getting the sound out of the PS1 engine is not something that ADPCM does. H1000 describes one way to do it by recording the whistle. There is a PS3 version of the engine 30-1704-1. You could get the whistle from that sound file. But I checked and the whistle for that model is 24 bit signed PCM. PS2 engines don't support PCM. You would have to use an audio editing program (like Audacity) to convert each whistle clip into 4 bit ADPCM. You could then replace the whistle in your PS2 49er. I don't how the quality of the whistle sound would be affected and you might not be any better off when the task is complete.

Mark

This GIF literally shows how I feel about this thread.

GREAT GREAT GREAT Contribution.

Took me about 2 hours to read through your site and was able to add SXS (Or is it SSXXSSXSX LMAO Your "HOW TO" video was great and made me laugh a few times Mark) to my 5V PS2 UP SD70M.

Was a breeze to do minus the part where Audacity had the audacity (See what i did there?) to save the file in .raw format even after I would change it to .vox BUT exporting using "Other app" and sending the output directly to SOX.exe did the trick.

BTW, I used this on a Win10Pro machine, only issue was I had to force a certain screen resolution as when I would try and edit the .mth file with the new SXS .ima I created for 042, I was not able to see the whole screen, the bit rate setting stopped just below 5,512Hz. I was able to select the category by pressing the down key and praying but before I continued I decided to close the application and start it in compatibility mode with the following settings:

This is what I love about this hobby, really getting into these engines and making them sound and run as the hobbyist sees fit for their layout.

Keep up the fantastic work!

Thanks!!

Will PS1 support ever be implemented?

As far as I know, the PS1 line did not have any ability to download new sound files. There are no .mth files for PS1 engines that I have ever seen.

The file that you emailed me is a PS2 file and does play correctly in ADPCM.

@SanDiegoMark posted:

As far as I know, the PS1 line did not have any ability to download new sound files. There are no .mth files for PS1 engines that I have ever seen.

The file that you emailed me is a PS2 file and does play correctly in ADPCM.

I believe you would need to burn the sound files on chips compatible with PS1 boards and then chip swap. I'm not sure how feasible this would be. MTH used to offer replacement sound chips for PS1.

George

It would be fantastic if we could review the sound files without having to download them into the locomotives. 

I am no techie.  I have a MAC mini.  I'm 85.  Will I be able to download the sound files and search for some PS2 or PS3 files during my lifetime?

The way I used Zoom during the Pandemic was to follow a link set up by someone else and behold I was joining a meeting.

Wouldn't it be great to have a similar link that leads me to a listing of the sound files which can then be downloaded to my computer.

Lew Schneider

@Severn posted:

Marks website is here where he releases updates and info:  http://www.silogic.com/trains/ADPCM.html

But there's also RTC (also there but different pages) -- which allows you to run mth trains through a DCS but less remote on a PC/Windows.

All software was written Embarcadero C++ ... only runs on PCs/Windows.

But I forgot about this -- Embarcadero supports multiple targets such linux, macos, hand helds using their RAD Studio product -- though it is > $1000 to get to that...

Could be done or some may qualify for an educational version.

https://www.embarcadero.com/products/rad-studio

The java version is an approach but someone has to maintain the code and keep it alive.  I just did it for fun, so may or may not have the interest.

Am I correct in my understanding you ported the RTC to Java?

Anthony

Mark, a simple question.  I was tinkering with the ADPCM program 1.6.4, and I tried to edit the Softkeys, but it gets an error.  Oddly, the sound file is clearly there, but it complains about opening it. I clearly have loaded the sound file as I can play/modify sounds.

Can you tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Edit Softkeys: Unable to open sound file : E:\Downloads\Sound Files\p072pp3gs402_3_sp_070807afin.mth
Edit Engine Parameters: Sound file to be edited : E:\Downloads\Sound Files\p072pp3gs402_3_sp_070807afin.mth

John, this may be a work-around, not a real fix.  And of course I defer to Mark.  But you may want to try opening up permissions on the .mth file and see if that eliminates the "unable to open file" message.

@rtb posted:

John, this may be a work-around, not a real fix.  And of course I defer to Mark.  But you may want to try opening up permissions on the .mth file and see if that eliminates the "unable to open file" message.

Actually, that didn't work, I tried that first thing.  However, I did figure out how to bypass the problem.

The secret is to take ownership of the files.  There are a couple of .REG files that do the trick.

You can get them at the website below.  The two files to grab are in the middle of the page.

Add_Take_Ownership_to_context_menu.reg
Remove_Take_Ownership_from_context_menu.reg

This is the website to grab the files:  Add Take Ownership to Context Menu in Windows 10

If you add the Take Ownership to the file right click menu, taking ownership of the file allows editing.  It's simple, right click on the .MTH file and click on the Take Ownership entry in the menu.  You do have to be an admin account to use these.

Working with gunnerjohn to investigate the problem, I found that the ADPCM program tried to use the Sound File requesting more access rights than the program really needed. I've changed that in the next version to be released. The program will now only request the minimum access rights that it needs to edit the file. If you hit up against this problem and gunnerjohn's fix is not effective, l can send you a beta copy of ADPCM with the code change.

That's obviously the best fix Mark, I know some folks will be a bit reluctant to start tinkering with their Windows install to add these capabilities.  What other goodies will this new version have?

Well Anthony, better late than never maybe?

The answer is I did do a port to java + javafx.  It's probably a little out of date now but I have it out on gitlab.  It could be resurrected I would guess without too much work.

If there's interest I could probably figure out how to make someone a project member, etc...

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

That's obviously the best fix Mark, I know some folks will be a bit reluctant to start tinkering with their Windows install to add these capabilities.  What other goodies will this new version have?

This fix is the only one so far for v1.6.5. I haven't received any other bug reports or enhancement requests for a long time.

A huge THANKS!  Learning more everyday thanks to folks like you. Very simple and successful sound file change last night.