Atmosphere Sounds

[Jim Banner]

This is a reponse to a comment by Robertj668 on another thread.  As it was getting off topic, I thought I should start a new thread.

I have been into atmosphere sounds for a lot longer than onboard sounds.  I started off using Innovative Train Technology's modules.  These are very easy to work with and can be used with a separate timer or a push button to produce the sounds intermittently.  Lately they have been producing some visual circuits as well (arc welder, etc.)  See their website at:
Innovative Train Technology

My next step was using CD players.  Many of these can be put on repeat and CDs play for so long that nobody realizes that the program repeats.  The CDs are cheap to make and can include lots of dead air time so that the sounds seem intermittent.  I have used both portable CD players and ones rescued from junk computers.  Many of the latter have two extra push buttons which allow them to play without needing a computer.  A whole bank of them can be powered by a single power supply, also rescued from a junk computer.  A pair of amplified computer speakers can serve two of these players.  Mostly I used mono recordings as the sound recorder built into Windows is mono.

The latest step has been using mp3 players.  These are available on sale for less than $10 for a 2 GB player which will play more than 24 hours without repeating and will do it on a cheap AAA battery.  Again amplified computer speakers are a good choice.  I stepped up a level by using "movie edit pro 14" to edit the sound effects and convert them to mp3 format.  This program is like Windows Move Maker on steroids and was on sale for $40 just before they introduced version 15.  For audio, it has 32 tracks, each with its own dynamic volume control and each with its own fader to send it to the left or right stereo channel, or anywhere in between.  Last spring I did a sound track for the farm on our group's large scale portable layout.  The left channel is household sounds and is fed to a speaker in the farm house.  The right channel is barn and barnyard sounds, everything from cows mooing  to the hired hand building a shed and the farmer trying unsuccessfully to start his old truck.  These sounds are fed to a speaker in the barn.  Between the barn and the house is a creek and a patch of trees.  The continuous babble of the creek is in stereo so that the sound appears to come from a point between the barn and the house.  Birds in the trees are intermittent and again in stereo  to put them in the woods.   The advantage of the multi track system is that you can manipulate the sounds separately and yet they can overlap in the final product.  Changes become very simple - too many cows?  Kill a few cow sounds in the cow track.  It is also easy to move sound bites in time (just drag and drop them) so that the horse give a horse laugh at exactly the right time after the farmer tries to start his truck and finally runs the battery dead.

This sound system was very effective at the train shows last spring.  It was not too loud - in fact, it was overwhelmed by the train sounds when the trains passed by (this was by careful choice, not lack of available volume.)  The intermittent nature of the sounds almost broke some necks as a canary started singing (or??)  just as someone was walking by.  And we knew the stereo was working properly when people were looking in the woods to see where the bird sounds were coming from.

I am thinking that I would like to do a web article on how this is done, both putting the hardware together and making up the sound tracks, perhaps even putting up some sound tracks to encourage people to try the hardware.  I don't know.  What do you think?

Jim   

[Mike]

Yes, yes, and yes! on all counts! Go for it!- Mike

[jonathan]

Jim

I would love to read such an article... and perhaps try it myself.  It sounds like a very successful effect with little investment.  That's the kind of thing that would make me want to pick up an MR magazine again.
 
Regards,

Jonathan

[Bill Baker]

WOW!  Absolutely.....go for it Jim.  Also, add schematics.  I would love to have such a book in my library.

And, think of this too.  If it's a great book, and I'm sure it will be, Kalmbach would buy the rights to it and you could retire a wealthy man!

Bill

[mabloodhound]

Jim,
This is just great!
I'm not sure you could make a book out of this but I sure would be interested in a web article or PDF on what you did.   Sounds are one of the primary things that enhance a layout or any diorama operation.
I'm looking forward to this.

[Robertj668]

Jim

Thanks for the post.  I finally understand what people say about message boards or for the younger generation with on line gaming that "E-friendships" evolve. 

Anyway Back to great information.  I think that there is so much great information on this message board from great people such as your self that it could be put into PDF articles. I have a lot to think about on how to do the sounds but I do like the idea on the computer.  But I think I want to make it interactive?

Who knows. But building this railroad with my son has been a great Journey!

Robert

[ta152h0]

That is a cool idea. I have a radial engine start sound in my pickuptruck. Turn it up and my truck has a BMW 801 starting up. May i suggest a aircraft strafing a train soun ?   Wright R3350's make an awesome sound

[renniks]

Jim,

Think that would interest a good number of people. For starters I think your posting some MP3 files would help those of us not savvy about mixing and making sound tracks to try the idea out.
In anticipation

Eric UK