# Walthers American locomotive crane



## ncrc5315 (Jan 25, 2014)

I have a Walthers locomotive crane, how hard is it to put in a decoder, anybody done it? Second question, is there room for a speaker? Finally, is there a sound decoder, that has a screaming Jimmy audio file?


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## pleiku (Jan 11, 2016)

*American crane*

I have one and had the folks at Tony's Train Exchange install a dcc decoder. No sound but it rolls around my layout just fine and will even pull a car or two. I got a UP mow flat car with a rail load to match up with it. I have seen a video on YouTube where a guy also added lights, but still no sound.


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## ncrc5315 (Jan 25, 2014)

Thanks for the reply, I saw the video, pretty cool. Next question. I was looking at the Digitrax sound decoders, and it is my understanding, that you can install your own sound recordings. How would one go about putting in a recording of a Detroit Diesel?


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## /6 matt (Jul 7, 2015)

I've never loaded a custom sound file to a decoder but I am going to tell you that you should probably start by taking your recording of a Detroit diesel and loading it in a sound processing file like audacity (it's free) and filtering out some of the lower frequencies that your tiny little ho scale speaker won't be able to handle without distortion.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

ncrc5315 said:


> Thanks for the reply, I saw the video, pretty cool. Next question. I was looking at the Digitrax sound decoders, and it is my understanding, that you can install your own sound recordings. How would one go about putting in a recording of a Detroit Diesel?


Yes you can. You'll need a Windows computer, SoundLoader software a Digitrax PR3 programmer and SFX decoder. Detail is here: http://www.digitrax.com/sound-depot/


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## ncrc5315 (Jan 25, 2014)

Cycleops said:


> Yes you can. You'll need a Windows computer, SoundLoader software a Digitrax PR3 programmer and SFX decoder. Detail is here: http://www.digitrax.com/sound-depot/


Cycleops, I appreciate your response, but, my question was more to how do I get a sound file of a say a 6-71 or 8V71 Detroit? Can I record my own sound file, what do I need to do this?


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

If you read the info on the Digitrax link they tell you how to create your own sound file, all the information is there:

"Creating New Sound Project Files From Your Own Recordings

If you're really motivated you can take .wav files you've recorded and make your own customized sound project files. This process of converting 'raw' sounds you've recorded in the field into a Sound Project file is a long and exacting task, especially if you want the sound to be realistic. On the other hand it is very rewarding to hear the recordings you have made come from your models. Sound editors are readily available on the web for free. 

There are two kinds of sounds in SoundFX decoders, simple sounds and sequenced sounds. A simple sound is a sound that always sounds the same and always has the same length. An example of a simple sound is a bell. The striker strikes the bell and it rings for a certain length of time. The other type of sound SoundFX decoders support is sequenced sound. A sequenced sound is a sound that is made up of three parts: an Attack sound, a Sustain sound, and a Decay sound. Examples of sequenced sounds are the whistle, water pump, horn, etc.

To prepare a simple sound, using a sound editor:

1. Isolate the sound by trimming the excess time from the recording by carefully marking the beginning and the end of the sound you want to create.

2. Save this trimmed file as a .wav file as "8 bit" and 11 kilohertz (khz).

3. Open the SoundLoader application. The main screen of SoundLoader shows "sound types" or parts of the locomotive's sound scheme (Diesel Bell, Diesel Brakes, etc).

4. Locate the sound type you want to change in this list and "right-click" on that entry -

5. Select "Assign Sound File" 

6. Browse to the new Wav file you created and saved previously, select the file and click the 'Open' button.

7. You've successfully modified the original Sound Project File. Save this modified sound project file under a new file name.

You can repeat the above steps and replace as many (or all) of the sound types as desired in the original Project file. Once you've finished your customized Sound Project File you can download it directly to your locomotive using SoundLoader's "Program" button, email it to a friend who has a similar Locomotive, and submit it to the Sound Depot by clicking here to share it with other model railroaders on the Digitrax Sound Depot."

You can record from your phone or tablet but remember to save to a SD card in order to make the recording transferable to your PC. Or you can buy a digital recorder for about fifty dollars like this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-digital-voice-recorder-black/8572041.p?id=1218879313495


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