Hi has some of you might be aware im building a class 185 but this topic is about sound devices so i will stick on topic, Does anyone know what would be the best device to capture sound of the engines onboard the train? im looking to keep the budget as low has possible so dont want my pocket burnt. Ive tried sevral attempts using a mobile phone but the quality is not to my liking ive also tried to edit the files but too much noise in background so im kinda cluesless of what to use because i dont want to buy something that wont do the job if you understand, if you have any suggestions please leave a comment however small it might help me and others who are trying to get good engine samples thanks.

Well, I use ICD Recorder SX57 (by Sony). The audio files can be transfered to MP3/WAV via included software. It cost me around 100€.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... 1665162270

Here are some audio samples:
http://www37.tok2.com/home/bvebox/klaxon1.wav
http://www37.tok2.com/home/bvebox/point2.wav

I think this is acceptable. I t is is in the middle of the mobile phone recording (even today's digital cameras can record sound only) and very expensive proffesional sound recorders.

You can use your own digital camera for recording the train sounds. Do the following:

1) The digital camera should be capable to record videos with sound. If so, switch to video recording mode.
If you want to record the sounds only, set the resolution to the poorest (320x240) so you
might save valuable space in the memory card.

2) Extract the .MPG files onto your computer.

3) Use SoundForge version 4.5 (or higher) to convert from .MPG to .WAV. This first part is done.

4) Use Windows Sound Recorder to cut all the undesirable sounds, till you get that sound you need.

HTH,

John Goncalves, Brazil
http://www.bvebrasil.com.br
Guaianazes-Estudantes v3 and CAF-UT 440 v2 are coming

Joao,
... Just a small message to remind you that we are waiting with interest your updated route and CAF rolling stock
Muito obrigado
François
PS: I am fully aware that these last weeks had not been pleasant for you [disculpame si no puedo exprimir facilmente palabras amables, sin embargo pienso que muchos BVE fans pensaban a ti durante aquellas semanas].

I use Audacity to edit my sound files. It's a powerful tool and it's also free.

Alon MP3 Dictaphone 2.93 installed on a Nokia E51 is used here, it can even record MP3s in 48 Khz/16 bit/96 kbps, or WAVs in 48 Khz/16 bit, and you can set the microphone's sound gain level, so it's cheap but great solution for sound recording.

joaocg wrote:You can use your own digital camera for recording the train sounds. Do the following:

1) The digital camera should be capable to record videos with sound. If so, switch to video recording mode.
If you want to record the sounds only, set the resolution to the poorest (320x240) so you
might save valuable space in the memory card.

2) Extract the .MPG files onto your computer.

3) Use SoundForge version 4.5 (or higher) to convert from .MPG to .WAV. This first part is done.

4) Use Windows Sound Recorder to cut all the undesirable sounds, till you get that sound you need.

HTH,

John Goncalves, Brazil
http://www.bvebrasil.com.br
Guaianazes-Estudantes v3 and CAF-UT 440 v2 are coming

Tried this and it worked alot better i used my mobile phone a samsung tocca which has a 5 mega pixel camera i lowered the res and also pointed my camera to the floor so it was not recording much detail and yes the sound improved, now i have a superb set of sounds which will get class 185 supporters in lots of excitement when implemented with the train, my next step is to stop the clicking noise whle the train is move and changing motor sounds, what i mean is from motor0 it changes to motor1 at around 20 mph but you can clearly hear it change with a click. im going to add on my topic class 185 coming soon how far ive got.