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As many of you know, I released an MP3 audio player board a few weeks ago, Finally, the Universal MP3 Sound Board Has Arrived

At that time I alluded to a companion board that would allow you to change sound tracks based on car speed. The board has finally arrived.

Here's the board that is installed in the boxcar in the video with the MP3 sound board.

Wheel Speed Sensor Board

Wheel Speed Sensor Board used with Universal MP3 Sound Board

MP3 Board Typical Freight Car Application

Here it is, the first test of my new wheel speed sensor board used in conjunction with a multi-channel audio board in an O-scale boxcar. There are four audio clips that will be triggered at various scale speeds. Note that the sound clips are just some random factory sounds I put on the sound card, I just wanted to be able to recognize the transitions between the speed bands. As you can tell, they're not really representative of what would be appropriate sounds for this scenario.  As you can tell, the sounds change as the speed increases.  The speed transition points are just a SWAG as to what would work here, they are obviously changeable in the code of the microprocessor on the board.

  • The first clip is played when the car is stopped.
  • The second clip is played when the car is moving until it reaches 15 scale MPH.
  • The third clip is played when the car is going greater than 15 scale MPH.
  • The fourth clip is played when the car is going greater than 25 scale MPH.
  • As the car slows down the same speed bands are recognized and the appropriate sound clip is played.

Wheel Speed Sensor Board First Test Run

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  • mceclip0
  • MP3 Board Typical Freight Car Application
Last edited by gunrunnerjohn
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@Danr posted:

Nice, another “gotta have it”.

Any delivery timeframe?

Soon, I have to round up connectors and finish documentation on the board.

@Allegheny posted:

John, You are almost there, once you install the actual desired sounds you'll be able to market it with no problem.

Any idea's what this setup may run with both boards?

Installing "actual desired sounds" is somewhat of a sticking point.  I have no good source of sounds except for the Internet.  And, pretty much everything I see is copyrighted, so that's an issue.  It's no problem for individuals to download stuff they find for their own personal use, which is why the sound board talks about using the Audacity Sound Editor to create and mix your sound files.

At some point I'd like to hitch a ride on a local RR, I think I can work a contact on the Ivyland one out of Lansdale.  I could record my own freight sounds and then mix them, no sweat supplying those with boards.  Of course, if some enterprising individual going for a train ride happened to gift me some recorded sounds, that would work as well.

Last edited by gunrunnerjohn

Installing "actual desired sounds" is somewhat of a sticking point.  I have no good source of sounds except for the Internet.  And, pretty much everything I see is copyrighted, so that's an issue.  It's no problem for individuals to download stuff they find for their own personal use, which is why the sound board talks about using the Audacity Sound Editor to create and mix your sound files.

GRJ,

One place to look for sounds that are part of the public domain is Wikimedia Commons.  They have a huge collection of stuff on which copyright has expired, or was given a creative commons license.  

Another option is to search YouTube and use the filter to find things marked “Creative Commons”.

@TedW posted:

FWIW:  I don’t know if it’s possible to strip audio from, for example, a you tube video, or the ramifications of doing so, but there are tons of “hobo” video channels on you tube.  They all have many minutes of sound from the freight cars they ride in point to point.  Check it out. Hobo Shoestring is just one of many channels.

This is what I was thinking when I mentioned that and videos marked Creative Commons.  Tons of on train videos out there - and if it's creative commons, there should not be any copyright entanglements.  Stripping audio from a video shouldn't be hard from a technical perspective.

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