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HiI was watching footage of some engines switching on one of my train tapes and noticed when the engine idles, when they shift the Reverser either in Forward or reverse, the engine speed slows a bit. Is there a way I can adapt that sound on my engines in MSTS that when you shift the Reverser (in forward or reverse), the engine idling pitch drops a bit and then putting the reverser in neutral, the pitch would go back to normal??Redfox Future engineer for the New Brunswick East Coast Railway"Grab Life By The Horns!"- Dodge
RE: Idling sounds on engines, Jeff_Ashton, Oct-15-04, 10:21 PM, (1) RE: Idling sounds on engines, krswen, Oct-16-04, 07:10 PM, (2) RE: Idling sounds on engines, kro52, Oct-27-04, 08:24 AM, (3) RE: Idling sounds on engines-I figured some of it out!, railguy, Nov-21-04, 11:16 AM, (4) RE: Idling sounds on engines-I figured some of it out!, Redfox, Nov-22-04, 01:11 PM, (5) RE: Idling sounds on engines-I figured some of it out!, railguy, Nov-25-04, 12:06 PM, (6)
Because there is a discrete trigger for the reverser, it should be possible. You would need to take the original "in gear" idle sound (Powercruise0?), make a copy (Powercruise_Idle maybe) and adjust the wav to run just a bit faster. The harder part is amending the sms file. I think you will need to set up some discrete triggers to toggle beween the two idle wavs, though I'm not sure if you would need to create a new stream. For help with wavs and sms files, go here for some excellent tutorials:http://www.railpage.org.au/steam4me/trainsim/tutorials/Give it a try!Jeff
I was thinking the same thing. You could start a new stream but I'm not sure how you would turn off the old one.BTW, the reason the engine speed sometimes slows slightly is because the traction motor blower kicks in when you move the reverser out of neutral. The new engines with computer controlled EFI don't "sag", but the older mechanical fuel injection ones can in response to the added load.krswen
Greetings All, Just to clear up that idle question. The engine does not slow with the traction motor blower kicking in. As per example, on a GP38 with mechanical fuel injectors, the TM blower is mechanically driven which runs all the time. There is an idle speed which lowers when the reverser is moved from fwd/reverse to neutral and there is an additional "low idle" for fuel saving on many EMD's. The engine governor will compensate for additional loads and maintain the required rpm. These are a few items that put loads on the engine, compressor staging, electric cooling fans cutting in or out etc. The sound is sometimes deceiving as the given idle rpm will sound different when these auxillary loads are placed on the engine but the rpm will remain the same plus or minus a few rpm. KRO52
RE: Idling sounds on engines-I figured some of it out!
First, an explanation of the idle function on the newer 710 equipped EMD locos (to which my post here specifically applies). When the prime mover is either hot or cold, the engine controller will keep the prime mover at "high idle" (some have said at rougly notch 2). Once the prime mover has reached optimum temperature, the controller will drop the prime mover to low idle to conserve fuel. This idle speed is very slow. If the prime mover temperature rises or falls out of the optimum range (for example, if the prime mover temperature falls too low on a winter day), then the controller will place the prime mover in high idle until the optimum prime mover temperature is again attained. On some units, the engineer can even set the controller to shut down the prime mover completely (if the unit is a trailing unit not needed to keep air pumped up, etc., and the outside temperature is above freezing) once optimum temperature is reached. The prime mover will restart and shut down, as needed, to maintain temperature. So, one can often hear these locos idling up, idling down, or shutting down and restarting while they sit, unattended, at a siding, terminal or yard. Interesting.I figured out how to do this in MSTS, sort of. I took the MLT 710 sound .wav's and their .sms file. Then I grabbed Grant Culbert's SD75I low idle .wav. I used Goldwave to mix an "idle-up transition file" between the low idle and the "fast" idle of the MLT file, and a corresonding "idle down trasition file." Then I modified the .eng file and added another throttle notch (at 1% power). I made substantial modifications to the MLT .sms file. Here's what happens: The initial trigger starts the the low idle .wav. Notch the throttle to the 1% setting (it still shows "idle" in the cab throttle control), it drops off the low idle .wav and starts the "transition" file to high idle. After that, notching out the throttle makes the .sms file behave just as MLT designed. Drop the throttle to 1% and the engine will idle down to high idle. Drop the throttle to idle and the "transition down" .wav initiates and melds into the low idle .wav. After a heck of lot of tweaking, the transition works!I also built an unpowered loco to sit idling in the yard (I used the standard Route-Riter utility for this). Then I built an .sms file for this, using the transition .wav files and the high and low idle .wav files. Now my "unpowered" loco will sit in the yard and go from low-idle to high idle to low idle every 5-10 minutes ors so just like the "real thing" sitting at a terminal.Since I've used payware files for this, some that I modified, I can't distribute it, but I proved to myself that it could be done. It's not perfect, I've still got some minor "pops" and "clicks" in the files (related to cue points) that I haven't gotten rid of yet, but I'm working on that. The transitions are pretty smooth, though. Fun stuff.
RE: Idling sounds on engines-I figured some of it out!
HeyI have Grant's SD75I sounds. Is there a way you could send me that sms file edited for that?Redfox Future engineer for the New Brunswick East Coast Railway"Grab Life By The Horns!"- Dodge
RE: Idling sounds on engines-I figured some of it out!
LAST EDITED ON Nov-25-04 AT 12:07 PM (EST)
Redfox,As I stated in my earlier post, I used the .eng and .sms files from MLT's EMD's and modified them. Since they are copyrighted payware, I wouldn't want to redistribute them. I also used one of Grant's .wav files, along with MLT's in the re-mix. If I could get Grant's permission to use his files, I thought about e-mailing the .sms, modified .wav's, and .eng files to MLT to see if they would want to distribute it, now that they appear to be "back."Also, yesterday I listened to an SD70 do its thing while sitting in the yard (my office is a few blocks from a UP yard and I can walk down there at lunch). I was concerned that my low-to-high idle transition might be a little too slow, but hearing the real thing made me think that I got it about right. Some dumb luck on my part.