Tour - Electr(on)cs

Digital sound in analogue mode - A let-in for bytes

Finally, I got hold of an Alpine Classic Set. As pointed out in the instructions the Krok played the sounds available in analogue mode. But according to the instruction manual more sounds should be available in digital operations - I couldn't stop thinking about this...

After some research it became clear that supplying this ominous serial pulse sequence to the F1-input would do the trick to trigger the train departure announcement or the whistle with echo. This turned out perfectly well after removing the locos housing and supplying power from the track to the sound module's F1-pin every second. Of course I once also caught "F4" and the beast fell silent inadvertently...

A microcontroller should be able to emulate this...
Research and handicraft resulted in the following:


Both track power and sound module are connected to the cable terminal on the left, the LEDs show the current operating status. The trimming potentiometers on the right are used to adjust the beviour in dependence on the track's voltage:

The departure announcement is triggered as long as the loco did not start moving during 30 seconds after switching it on. The pantograph's sound will be played if a change of direction occurs after at least 20 seconds of standstill. After riding more than 30 seconds at a "high" speed, the whistle with echo will be actuated.


A prototype's provisional mounting:



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