Forum

Steam sound unit (variable speed)

Just to update on the sound units. Alan Bond the original designer was selling under his Forge Electronics outlet. He has now, just passed on the future sales to www.scalewarship.com run by John Wills. John is in the process of adding the units to his on line shop and hopes to be able to supply in the near future. The units are very good and reliable and can produce very realistic sounds in line with motor speed. A separate 20 watt amp and 8" speaker on a baffle board works well for me in my Tugs.

6 years ago by Dave M

Forum

Steam sound unit (variable speed)

Thanks very much for this, I have a diesel unit from and it’s excellent! I’ll look them up, glad you can still get them, as I’d noticed they don’t supply the steam unit any more. Kind regards, Eric

6 years ago by EricMB

Forum

Steam sound unit (variable speed)

I have the following in my steam tug 'Alte Liebe' and I purchased it from originally but it is now sold by its original designer who now manufacture its under the name of Forge Electronics. http://forge-electronics.co.uk/index.php/boats/combo-mk3 You can change from petrol, diesel or steam and change each type according to how many cylinders you want to use. Simple programming via a plug and unit sound is proportional to speed and has an idle mode in the static position whereby the piston stops in steam or if using petrol/diesel the 'engine' shuts down then as soon as it receives a throttle input the 'engine' cranks over. I think it is a great unit.

6 years ago by ads90

Forum

Steam sound unit (variable speed)

Doug Whilst I agree the sound systems you have found are excellent, am I right in thinking they are designed for the model truck market? I am sure they can be modified. There are circuits in Practical Electronics and I am just waiting for someone else to produce a working design smaller than a large mobile phone. The best steam sound unit I found for my tugs of the IMARA era came from , coupled to a 20Watt amp and 8" speaker. Sadly they no longer supply the sound unit, but there are other suppliers. If I recall one of our members was involved and I suggest you visit http://www.forge-electronics.co.uk/index.php. If you are using two ESCs you really need two units but one amp and speaker would be OK You did suggest similar using pre-amp mixer, which would allow mixing of other sounds. On my lake you can hear this system from the middle of the lake 50 yds+ so I have an on/off switch if it causes nuisance!?!

6 years ago by Dave M

Forum

Hobby Engine Richardson Upgrade

Re Sound Units- "As part of our review into the product ranges we stock, this engine sound unit is no longer available from . We have been the retail outlet for the excellent engine sound module designs of Alan Bond of Forge Electronics for many years and have proudly supplied over 1,000 of these units to modellers around the world. The good news is that Alan is going to continue production of the programmable sound unit so please visit the Forge-Electronics website for pricing and availability. Our rather popular and well respected range of single voice and combo engine sound units have had a makeover! They still have the same great sounds but are even more user friendly." https://www.online.com/combo-engine-sound-unit-mk2.html Doug 😎

7 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Hobby Engine Richardson Upgrade

Hi Chris Good to hear you managed to get all the bits in. I did wonder where a speaker may be placed and without a good size its won't really sound right. I have used transducers and have two on my Small 1:16 Trent. They work best on the hull above the waterline as PM Devlin did with his model. The sound units and amps are great but last time I looked I couldn't find them on the site. Re the tank steering I suspect one motor is running faster than the other, you need to get them both at the same speed for the same stick movement on each stick. Any chance of some pics and video. A new post thread would be useful Dave

7 years ago by Dave M

Forum

Hobby Engine Richardson Upgrade

I have an old Southampton , off E.Bay a couple of years ago. I fitted the Components shop mixer, 2x 3400mAH NiMh packs(one for each motor)2 Mtroniks 15A Marine vipers, diesel sound system and also a 16 channel sound system. There is not a lot of spare space! I had a problem with the mixer eventually. it worked very well, as I did not think the turning circle in the original form was very good. I took it out eventually and went over to tank steering, which is OK but seems to be more effective in turning one way rather than the other, it's fine in a straight line. I found out after I had removed the mixer that the supposed problem was of my own making. So many wires inside that I was not in fact charging one of the battery packs so it ended up flat. Nothing wrong with the mixer at all! I mounted the engine sound speaker in the lower half of the cabin,where there was just enough room, where the window openings are not glazed(at least on my boat they aren't). Sound was OK but it was a bit lacking in volume, but I may need a higher power speaker, not sure as audio is a non area to me. The 16 channel unit is good in that a micro SD card is supplied with pre- recorded sounds, and instructions are given on how to record your own. The difficulty with this particular sound system is finding somewhere to put the second speaker as the 2 systems cannot be fed into the same speaker. it was a bit faint to say the least,possibly due to the tiny speaker I used. I tried to fit a transducer glued to the underside of the deck but there was no improvement so that is a work in progress. The inside of the hull resembled a very untidy birds nest! CHris

7 years ago by octman

Forum

Engine Sound Effects

Cormorant - Just spotted this thread - haven't received an e-mail yet - if you went via , maybe they haven't yet forwarded it to me - otherwise (Email Removed - PM Only) gets me direct. Check out my website www.forge-electronics.co.uk - if you have a gas turbine sound file to send me I can pop it into one of my FE101 units and post a video of the result. The sound is embedded in the program memory of the chip so cannot be altered by the user. I have one or two of these prototypes left for £25. You'd need to supply an amplifier for this version (unlike the FE100 - but no more of those left!) I've done further work on using sounds stored on a microSD card so users can customise units themselves - however this is still work in progress and I've been busy this last year with gizmos for model aircraft, so it's on the back burner. For lots of discrete sound EFFECTS see my 16 channel sound effect unit which has a built in 3W amplifier

7 years ago by alan bond

Forum

Engine Sound Effects

for info, I wanted a very specific sound unit for my Jaws boat Orca. Rather than just playing engine sounds etc, I wanted to be able to select specific tracks, music, dialogue etc from the film. I got all I needed from the internet, and saved on an sd card. Using a free download to convert music files, (google "lame for audacity")I then found an engine noise that I was able to have on a continuous loop behind the dialogue etc. I then got a soundcard from , and Alan devised a trigger unit, meaning I can select the tracks from a vacant channel on my transmitter sticks. eg, if I want the Jaws theme music, I have to move the stick 3 times up, if I want some dialogue from one of the characters, its 4 moves down, and so on, with something like 8 each direction, so 16 choices in all I am not tech savvy, and I found it pretty easy to do. The system is now several years old, so things have moved on, Alan will no doubt be able to help Paul

7 years ago by pmdevlin

Forum

Precedent Perkasa

Hi Steve The model sounds units produce realistic sounds but are not that loud if you intend to use them on the water. I agree the Action and Mtronic units are not cheap but do mimic the throttle setting. Which ever sound system you use you will need a good 20watt amp and large 5" speaker mounted on a baffle to get realistic sound on the water. My Trent uses the original Action sound unit with a 20w amp and 5" speaker mounted on a baffle midships. The sound is easily heard on the water and I had to fit a potentiometer to reduce the sound when I display the model. One of our club members downloaded a gas turbine sound from the internet and used a simple solid state player in the model. Sounded very realistic. I will ask him for the link and let you know the details. Dave

8 years ago by Dave M

Forum

fitting sound module to a tug that has 2 motors and a mixer

My tug has 2 motors and an Action Electronics P40 mixer. I have been looking at the Combo Engine Sound module but was wondering if this would cause any problems as I assume from the site that the module would normally have to fit between receiver and the ESC, but with the P40 mixer in situ would I have to connect from the mixer to the ECS instead,or from the receiver to the mixer? I was going to ask on the forum but after registering I was unable to find a way of posting a message. Probably a bit too dim for them ! The way I see it, one of 2 things will happen, if connected between receiver and mixer the sound module will behave as though there was only one motor, whereas connecting between the mixer and one of the ESCs the sound will only reflect what is happening to that particular motor. I have no problems with either of these situations, although I think option 1 is better, but what I am concerned about is that one of the options may be so wrong something fails, and all I have ended up with is a smoke generator! Chris

8 years ago by octman

Forum

fitting sound module to a tug that has 2 motors and a mixer

Hi Octman - a bit late now (and I've only just discovered this forum!) but if you'd used my mixer it has a "throttle out" signal which is the faster (fwd or rev) of the two outputs that drive the ESCs. in your case the best option is to connect between the RX and mixer throttle input otherwise you'd get different sound effects when turning in each direction. However this is still a compromise and you will find the paradox that when spinning on the spot the props will be full ahead and full astern, the water will be boiling but the engine sound will be a gentle tickover! My processed "throttle out" signal avoids this problem. (Incidently, I'm the designer of the sound units and prior to designing the mixer I addressed this problem in their programmable sound unit by providing two throttle inputs which you connect to the two ESC inputs - another way to skin the same cat!) Those of you for whom it is not too late can check out my rudder mixer on my website:- http://www.forge-electronics.co.uk/index.php/boats/rudder-mixer where you can download the instructions. in addition to the (true) "throttle out" feature, the mix is continuously variable from 0 to 100% and there is a unique "dynamic mixing" option. They are available from www.scalewarship.com

8 years ago by alan bond

Directory

(Working Vessel) glenross

scratch built puffer 1;24 scale with smoke generator and sound unit (Motor: graupner) (ESC: viper) (8/10)

8 years ago by miketom

Media

Toby Tug (previously a Seaport Workboat)

Here's a heavily modified Seaport Workboat - Toby. Videos to follow - the crane now works in three axis, and it has sound courtesy of a sound module. The searchlight works, as do the radar, running lights and nav lights.

8 years ago by EricMB

Forum

Sound system

I have one of their sound cards in my Orca. Alan Bond (who does work for ) made a trigger unit that operates from tx. Card takes an sd card that I have loaded songs, chatter, engine noise etc commentary from the jaws movie (stuff like this is plentiful on the web) and I operate via a redundant tx channel which track I want. Not used this boat for ages, but I am sure I have something like 16 different tracks etc this was prior to changing to a stick operation and was testing, but you get they idea! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZsOMiYtpmY

8 years ago by pmdevlin

Forum

Sound system

Thanks guys is what I was after. Will post result when fitted Thanks again Des

8 years ago by Deswelham

Forum

Sound system

Hi Des I think you are looking for http://www.online.com/model-engine-sound-effects.html. Their engine sounds are quite realistic if you feed them through a decent amp and speaker. Dave

8 years ago by Dave M

Forum

electric v drive

HI Steve You will be able to source what you want from http://www.online.com/pulleys-and-cams.html. They may not have the actual drive unit but certainly sell the pulleys and cogs. They have a sale on at present so should help ease the cost. Dave 😀

8 years ago by Dave M

Forum

robbe dusseldorf fire boat Wanted

HI Dragon If you are looking for toothed belts and drive gear you could try .http://www.online.com/ They stock a good range of all types. Dave

9 years ago by Dave M

Forum

Victory Industries Vosper RAF Firefloats

The main problem is the notors and the current/volts required. You can now get 2500MaH NiMh rechargeable pencells with tags which if made (Soldered) into a single bespoke battery would fit alongside the motors and run aft. Should be plenty of power there. Cheap model helicopters have some very small and powerful motors and are often available very cheaply (free to a good home) as they often break and are not repairable. They are low voltage as well. You can use gears to make contra rotating shafts from one motor quite easily, sourcing the gears is the problem. Scrap r/c model cars may be a cheap source, even the helicopters. also sell a range but at a cost. Hope this helps. 😀

11 years ago by Dave M

Forum

Model Slipway Tsekoa

Canadian buoy layer built from kit by Model Slipway. Model Scale 1:32. Length: 845 mm - Beam: 235 mm 2 x MFA motors and gearboxes 40 Amp ESC 2 x 6v SLA batteries diesel sound unit with 4' speaker Brass props Ready to sail, just requires Radio gear. £250 Collection from Stoke-on-Trent area, UK

11 years ago by Dave M

Response

tamar

I have the Action sound unit in my Trent. I use a 10W amp and a 6" speaker which give a very realistic sound as the Action has the Whitby lifeboat motors as one of the programmed sounds. You do need a good solid board to hold the speaker. 😀

11 years ago by Dave M

Media

SCOTISH RINGNET FISHER SCARBH

This is a scratch built 1;16 fishing/motor sailor from a free plan by james pottinger, made from old teak furniture with mahogany wheelhouse, sound system, 12 volt power shower motor, the original was built by james adams at gourock in 1946 and is still sailing in the western isles of scotland.

12 years ago by THECAPT2012

Directory

(Ocean Liner) RMS OLYMPIC

Scratch built from plan at 1:100 scale. Length is 8'9" and sailing weight 70kg. Two triple props and a central 4 blade prop all about 50mm. Battery is 48 AHr. Sails like the real ship and needs as much space. Stopping distance is about 30' from full speed. Need to fit the sound unit to warn other sailors! Using Action Noisy Thing with a 20W amp and large 80W speaker from my sons old car. Think I will get the switcher unit from Action to work the Fog Horn and other sounds. (Motor: MMI 555 (mk2)) (ESC: Mtronik Viper 15) (10/10)

12 years ago by Dave M

Directory

(Tug Boat) Lady Jan

Built from a Mobile Marine kit. Very scale appearance and sails realistically. Tows barges and other vessels very well and runs forever. Working lights and sound unit (ESC: Electronize) (5/10)

12 years ago by Dave M