so, the static noise is definitely NOT the chuff? To be painfully clear, you can hear the chuff distinct from the “static”?
You did say bell and chuff, but the bell trigger input should be different from the chuff trigger input.
hmm…
Greg
Static is electrical noise. What would cause noise?;
Low voltage.
Loose wire/bad connection.
Noise from the motor.
Noise on the track (from the power supply).
Radio interference.
There are probably other causes, such as a weak or bad component, but the ones I listed are the ones that came to mind.
David, the issue here is that old sound systems often used “white noise” (static) for engine sounds or chuff.
We can go back and forth all day, but really need a youtube to hear it.
Greg
Greg Elmassian said:
David, the issue here is that old sound systems often used “white noise” (static) for engine sounds or chuff.
We can go back and forth all day, but really need a youtube to hear it.
Greg
Greg I will see If i can get a good video for you to hear it… Thanks…
Greg, true, on all counts.
I was just thinking out loud, as it were, since the idea posed was that the static was separate from the chuff. I jumped the gun on that one, since you asked, but the question has yet to be answered.
Well I think I have my problem solved. As I explained before, when the car was stationary there was no static or popping/ticking noise. When the car was moving it had a popping/ticking crackling noise and was cutting out sometimes. I was using Aristocraft power pick-ups in the axle journals that is like the ones used on the slope back tenders and stuff like that. I came across a LGB roller bearing type axle power pick-up, the one with the two pins on it. I changed this out and it has no static or noise from like before. It also does not cut out like it originally did in the beginning. So however the LGB pick-up is designed it is working much better… Thanks to all that have helped out. I would like to get some more of these for future projects… Travis…
Well I thought I had my problem solved… I have eliminated the static noise that I was getting thru the power pickup… Now what I am running into is noise from the locomotive motor. When the car is being pulled it is ok at slow speed. When running at a faster speed it has a squeal/humming noise. So how does one go about adding a filter to cancel most or all of the noise out…? I know it was asked to post a video, however I have videoed it several times and you cannot here it in the video like you can in person…
A non polarized, noise filter capacitor across the motor terminals should help.
Ok next question is can this be done at the speaker, and what do these things look like that I need to get so I could try it… Thanks for the help…
No, if you want to squelch the motor noise, its best to do that at the motor. Not after the noise has passed through the sound board.
David Maynard said:
No, if you want to squelch the motor noise, its best to do that at the motor. Not after the noise has passed through the sound board.
The sound set up is not in the locomotive tho. It is inside a separate boxcar. Yes I know “google is my Friend” However when I did Google this it came up with many things and I was not sure which one to go with…
Yes, the sound system is in a separate car. You could filter the power going into the sound system with a choke and condenser (coil and capacitor), but its best to eliminate the noise at the source, the locomotive’s motor.
If you put the filter at the output to the speaker, it will filter all the sounds going to the speaker. So, if you use a filter that is good enough to eliminate the static, it will also eliminate most if not all of the chuff, and make your bell and whistle sound very basey and distorted. Because the filter capacitor doesn’t know the difference between static and the sounds you want. It will filter everything.
So just to be sure… this sound car is completely separate from the loco, so put the sound car on the tracks by itself and push it… does it still make the same sounds?
If you are getting noise, you need more filtering on the power input to the sound board…
Greg
Yes , it is mounted in a boxcar. When you run the locomotive it picks up the noise from the motor in the Locomotive. So if I understand what you are saying… I could add another or larger filter between the track pick up ( which comes from the truck) and the sound board. would that be like a inline filtered capacitor?. I am learning here, so go easy on me… (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif)… Which one of these on this board is a filter capacitor?.
A capacitor goes across the power input wires from the track to the board. If you also use a choke (coil) it would go inline on one of the wires.
But I also wonder what Greg asked. If the car is moved along the track without the locomotive, is the sound clear or is there static?
David Maynard said:
A capacitor goes across the power input wires from the track to the board. If you also use a choke (coil) it would go inline on one of the wires.
But I also wonder what Greg asked. If the car is moved along the track without the locomotive, is the sound clear or is there static?
Sound is clear when just the car is pushed or moved…
The suggestion below requires a large non polarized electrolytic capacitor, huge and expensive… really expensive.
You want the filter capacitor AFTER the track voltage has been “converted” from “non polarized” to “polarized” (not great terminology, but consistent with this discussion).
But, noise reduction is an art, and you start at the SOURCE, not at the END POINT… minimize or eliminate the generation of the noise in the first place.
First, if running DC, then by all means you want to cancel out noise at the source… so you would filter the motor right at the brush terminals.
Then filter the input to the sound unit. I don’t know if this sound unit makes different noises in different directions, if it does not, then there’s a simple solution, with a full wave bridge connected to the pickups, then a BFC (Big Friggin’ Capacitor) across the output of the FWB… then that powers the board.
If the board makes different sounds between forwards and reverse (like whistle toots), then you need to “apply” the filtering directly to the board. I can point the attachment areas out on the picture if we need to do this.
Greg
David Maynard said:
A capacitor goes across the power input wires from the track to the board. If you also use a choke (coil) it would go inline on one of the wires.
But I also wonder what Greg asked. If the car is moved along the track without the locomotive, is the sound clear or is there static?