Ideas for Electronics

"KertDawg" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

One thing that comes to mind is combining light and sound. There are a number of sound modules available as well as various small lights. How about scripting audio visual sequences in an area of your layout?

• a phone rings, then a light comes on in a house

• a dog barks and a porch light turns on

• etc.

Norman,

That's good. I'll keep that one in mind. It's easy to make, though it's going to be challenging to script!

Thanks!

- Kertis

"KertDawg" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

You could do some fun things. The phone ringing, for instance. Picture a house with curtained windows so you can see light but not images. A softly flickering light one front room and a murmur of voices & music would give the impression of someone watching TV. Then that phone rings. After a second, the TV sound mutes. After another second, a light goes on in the other front room of the house. After 10-15 seconds, the light goes out and the TV sound comes back.

Your imagination is the only limit.

KertDawg said the following on 7/29/2005 10:40 AM:

I am just starting to play with a sound chip I got from Jameco,

mfg part number ISD1110P. This is a 10 second sound chip and is recordable. I plan to initiate it via trackside sensors. Haven't decided what sounds yet but that will be resolved as the layout progresses. They come in various sound lengths up to 60 seconds. One idea was barking dogs as the train went by or maybe a coyote on a mountain if the light is low.

Kirk

Anything here of interest?

. . . or

Paul - "The CB&Q Guy" (Modeling 1969 In HO.)

Don't know your budget but Miller Engineering has some very nice animated electronic displays. I don't recall if it's Miller or another company but there used to be a complete drive-in theater available in HO scale that used a TFT screen to show movies from a video source like VHS, laserdisc or DVD. Costly though, around $300+ IIRC.

Just record the soundtrack from any of the movies shown on Playboy TV or Spice TV. ;-{>

working rail block control lights are pretty cool - you can use an upward facing reflective IR photosensor to sense the trains and run your logic in the PIC (assuming you are using Microchip's controllers)

ITT Sound has that on one of their chips already.

Scroll down to: HQ2010 - Romantic Interlude

Mike Tennent "IronPenguin"

I just released a new structure lighting board that has a flickering TV, 2 always on amber LEDs and one that blinks on and off. It would be easy enough to incorporate something like that into the same board. Just a matter of programming, so I might look at it.

Also a gas station kit that has one of my welder simulators, 2 "fluorescent" LEDs and a bathroom light that goes on and off. I'm not sure what sounds could be incorporated. In older stations (before self-service) there could be the "ding" as a car pulled up.

I'm also about to release a lightning/thunder module that synchronizes ITT's thunder storm sound chip with 3 Bright White LEDs (or maybe 2 Whites and a yellow.) The LEDs will pop the first bolt, then a split second later will come the sound. The sound chip has several smaller strikes and rumbles which I'll simulate with less than full intensity on the LEDs. Should be pretty cool.

Settling on the method of triggering the board (or any sound board) took me some time and thought. Although it is possible to just trigger it with a train passing by, I didn't think that was all that realistic, so I designed a timer for it so the user can have it go off at set intervals. It can also be triggered with a push button that will override the timer.

Mike Tennent IronPenguin Electronics MRR Electronics Special Effects Lighting

-------------------------------------------------- Model Railroader's "Realistic Animation, Lighting & Sound" offers a number of projects:

Here are some sites with animated items:

Iron Penguin Electronics:

Smoke 'n' Hole:

ITT (Sound Modules):

My 11'x3' N scale railroad has 222 lights and sound. It was a very interesting project and offers an added dimension of reality. I believe you'll find this to be a rewarding project. Good luck!

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:

History of N Scale: Railroad Bookstore: to 1,100 sites:

Opps! The url for the book might be corrupted. Here it is again:

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad: History of N Scale: Railroad Bookstore: to 1,100 sites:

Or "Snoring, with a touch of gas" coming from a parked caboose . . .

If you have a farm near the tracks, you can have the chickens squawk or dogs bark and the owner yelling at the dog whenever a train passes and blows the whistle for the grade crossing.