Zmodell digital sound player
Sept 4, 2020 17:29:56 GMT -5
tjdreams, zscalehobo, and 2 more like this
Post by scanrail on Sept 4, 2020 17:29:56 GMT -5
Hi friends,
I would like to introduce another useful accessory for model railroading and dioramas – digital sound player. It adds a new level of realism by high-quality playback of ambient sounds. My initial idea of making such device was to add station announcements to the Kibri 36704 “Friedrichstal” Hauptbahnhof that I plan to use on my layout. First, I tried to find some already existing solutions. Such devices already exist, for example, this one: www.trainmodules.com/products/76876
However, most of them has known disadvantages – high price and limited capabilities of playback, such as very short maximum length of audio. Yes, these devices can be controlled via DCC that can be useful for some users, but it was not a required feature in my case – I needed something that would be simple to control and has wider playback capabilities.
After some research, I chose a small device equipped with a MicroSD card slot that is capable to play MP3/WAV audio files. Actually, this player is designed to be controlled by Arduino or with external keypad, but I found a way to adopt it for railway layout needs.
The functioning principle of my player is very simple – a single audio file on MicroSD card is played endlessly, once the player gets power. The length of the audio track can be very long – as long as allowed by the capacity of the memory card. It means tens of hours of MP3 playback at the highest 320 kbps quality even on a small 4GB MicroSD card.
The sound is played on a small Ø40 mm 0.5W loudspeaker. It can be replaced with more powerful speaker, but the maximum power should not exceed 3W.
Only one audio track can be played at the same time, so there are no playlists or continuous playback of a number of tracks. If several audio files are on the MicroSD card, only one of them will be played anyway (first file in the file system).
Several players can be installed together on larger layouts – for example, you can add station announcements to the Hauptbahnhof, countryside ambient sound to the nearby village, and industrial noise to the factory. The sound volume is optimized to achieve the most realistic effect on Z scale layouts – it is clearly audible, but not too loud.
8GB MicroSD card comes in a package. I prepared a number of sound tracks – all of them are already on the memory card, so anything can be selected for playback:
• Railway station (announcements in German)
• City street
• Countryside
• Rain
• Night
• Seaside
• Church
• Industry
• Sawmill
• Sport match
To select desired audio track, simply delete all unnecessary tracks from the memory card and leave only one on it. Of course, it makes sense to backup all tracks to PC for future use. Actually, any user content can be played on this device, just prepare it in any sound editing software and save in MP3 with the highest quality.
The digital player requires a stabilized 3.3-5V power source. Since many layout accessories use higher voltage – usually 10-12V, I added a stabilized voltage reducer to the circuit that allows to power up the player within a wide range of 5-12V.
Here is what comes in the package:
• Digital sound player
• Voltage stabilizer
• Loudspeaker
• MicroSD memory card
• MicroSD to SD card adapter
• User’s Manual
Technical specifications
• Input voltage: 5-12 V DC
• Power consumption: 100 mA
• Storage: MicroSD up to 32GB, FAT16/FAT32
• MP3/WAV mono/stereo, 8-48kHz, 8/16 bit, up to 320 kbps, maximum length is limited only by the size of memory card
• Output: 0,5W 32Ω (3W max)
Here is a digital sound player itself:
Here are some installation samples. I equipped Kibri 36704 “Friedrichstal” Central Station with the sound player:
Important tip: for better sound output, you should find a place inside the building (or anywhere else where you want to install the player) with the best acoustic resonance, and install a loudspeaker upwards there. Based on my own experience, I recommend installing a loudspeaker in about 4-5 cm from the floor (or any other base surface) for best results.
Here is how I installed a loudspeaker into Kibri 36818 “Church Oberhofen-Göppingen”:
Best regards,
Alex
I would like to introduce another useful accessory for model railroading and dioramas – digital sound player. It adds a new level of realism by high-quality playback of ambient sounds. My initial idea of making such device was to add station announcements to the Kibri 36704 “Friedrichstal” Hauptbahnhof that I plan to use on my layout. First, I tried to find some already existing solutions. Such devices already exist, for example, this one: www.trainmodules.com/products/76876
However, most of them has known disadvantages – high price and limited capabilities of playback, such as very short maximum length of audio. Yes, these devices can be controlled via DCC that can be useful for some users, but it was not a required feature in my case – I needed something that would be simple to control and has wider playback capabilities.
After some research, I chose a small device equipped with a MicroSD card slot that is capable to play MP3/WAV audio files. Actually, this player is designed to be controlled by Arduino or with external keypad, but I found a way to adopt it for railway layout needs.
The functioning principle of my player is very simple – a single audio file on MicroSD card is played endlessly, once the player gets power. The length of the audio track can be very long – as long as allowed by the capacity of the memory card. It means tens of hours of MP3 playback at the highest 320 kbps quality even on a small 4GB MicroSD card.
The sound is played on a small Ø40 mm 0.5W loudspeaker. It can be replaced with more powerful speaker, but the maximum power should not exceed 3W.
Only one audio track can be played at the same time, so there are no playlists or continuous playback of a number of tracks. If several audio files are on the MicroSD card, only one of them will be played anyway (first file in the file system).
Several players can be installed together on larger layouts – for example, you can add station announcements to the Hauptbahnhof, countryside ambient sound to the nearby village, and industrial noise to the factory. The sound volume is optimized to achieve the most realistic effect on Z scale layouts – it is clearly audible, but not too loud.
8GB MicroSD card comes in a package. I prepared a number of sound tracks – all of them are already on the memory card, so anything can be selected for playback:
• Railway station (announcements in German)
• City street
• Countryside
• Rain
• Night
• Seaside
• Church
• Industry
• Sawmill
• Sport match
To select desired audio track, simply delete all unnecessary tracks from the memory card and leave only one on it. Of course, it makes sense to backup all tracks to PC for future use. Actually, any user content can be played on this device, just prepare it in any sound editing software and save in MP3 with the highest quality.
The digital player requires a stabilized 3.3-5V power source. Since many layout accessories use higher voltage – usually 10-12V, I added a stabilized voltage reducer to the circuit that allows to power up the player within a wide range of 5-12V.
Here is what comes in the package:
• Digital sound player
• Voltage stabilizer
• Loudspeaker
• MicroSD memory card
• MicroSD to SD card adapter
• User’s Manual
Technical specifications
• Input voltage: 5-12 V DC
• Power consumption: 100 mA
• Storage: MicroSD up to 32GB, FAT16/FAT32
• MP3/WAV mono/stereo, 8-48kHz, 8/16 bit, up to 320 kbps, maximum length is limited only by the size of memory card
• Output: 0,5W 32Ω (3W max)
Here is a digital sound player itself:
Here are some installation samples. I equipped Kibri 36704 “Friedrichstal” Central Station with the sound player:
Important tip: for better sound output, you should find a place inside the building (or anywhere else where you want to install the player) with the best acoustic resonance, and install a loudspeaker upwards there. Based on my own experience, I recommend installing a loudspeaker in about 4-5 cm from the floor (or any other base surface) for best results.
Here is how I installed a loudspeaker into Kibri 36818 “Church Oberhofen-Göppingen”:
Best regards,
Alex
