E5 sound decoder ??

[domino]

Hey all

 

Im thinking of getting sound in my E5 H0 model , but dont think there is at E5 sound available , so i was thinking a sound like the Eurostar or ICE3 , what do you think ??

 

Brian

[KenS]

While I don't have direct experience of any of these, there are plenty of videos of the real things online for comparison.  The thing that strikes me about the E5 departing from a station is how subtle the sound is. JR East has obviously taken some care to baffle the sounds of the motor-control system, which is usually the most distinctive aspect of an electric train's sound.

 

Compare:

 

JR E5 (IGBT)

 

with

 

ICE3

and

Eurostar 373

 

The big difference in sound is likely to be between trains using GTO control systems and newer ones using IGBT (introduced in the late 1990's, I believe), which has a distinctive pitch, although there is still a lot of variation from one model of train to another. The E5 is definitely IGBT, and I think the 373 is as well, but I'm not well-read on European trains. The ICE 3 however is reported to be GTO (per this site) and that's a somewhat different sound.

 

Of course you won't get the specific sounds for door-closing alarms or other things, but it may be close enough if you use a train with the same control system.

 

There's a separate debate about how good sound in a model (as opposed to speakers under the layout) can be, but with HO you can fit a larger speaker and enclosure (the closed space behind the speaker) for more bass, and electric trains tend to be dominated by high-frequency sounds.  It certainly seems to be worth a try.

 

Many (all?) of the ESU LokSound decoders are reprogramable, so you could also think about taking sounds off videos and using them, although I suspect there would be too many other noises to make that very good.  It might be a good way to include a door-closing alarm sound or an announcement though.

[kvp]

The sound depends on many things. First the motor type, which can be universal, DC, bipolar, AC synchronous or AC asynchronous. The control system can be tap change, resistor, ward-lenonard, thyristor, gto or igbt. The third factor is the transmission system, which can be nose suspended, hollow shaft or cardan shaft. Fourth is the brake noise.

 

One of the most quiet trains are the thyristor control DC units with hollow shaft drive, since they only emit a 50-100 Hz transformator noise and only the loudness changes depending on the selected power level. Good examples are the ED75 and hungarian V43 locomotives. Usually the biggest noise comes from the compressor and the ventillation system. For an even more quiet train, a resistor control DC unit with DC overhead power and a good hollow shaft or cardan transmission can be almost completly silent, if you don't count the clatter of the control relays. A good example is the 113 series.

 

On the other end of the scale its the high frequency AC asynchronous motors where the biggest noise comes from the audible frequency AC asynchronous control system. The worst offenders in europe are the siemens units, for example the taurus locomotive and various simens emu-s.

 

A nice, easy to recognise sound comes from nose suspended universal motors, this is the classical grinding gears sound with the long whine that starts from a low frequency and goes up with speed. Many old traction motors used this system in the past.

 

A funny type is the DC powered axle wound bipolar motor. This ones makes no running sound at all, since there is no transmission (the motors are on the axles) and with a set DC level, there is no switching noise and with an open motor no cooling is required. so the only noise comes from any air compressors or other auxiliary gear, like motor-generator sets. (this early type has been extinct in the last 100 years or so)

 

Generally sound wise:

-tap change: completly silent

-resistor: relay noise

-ward-lenonard: white noise generator

-thyristor: low frequency hum (50-100Hz)

-gto or igbt: variable frequencly noise, can be low (not really used), audible (german) or higher than audible (afaik this is used in japan)

 

For transmission:

-nose suspended: classic gear noise

-hollow shaft: not much at all (except early spring types, modern rubber ones are quiet)

-cardan shaft: noisy if open, quiet if covered

 

Brakes:

-steel on steel wheel: very noisy

-steel on steel disc: more quiet, but can be really noisy if misadjusted

-steel on composite wheel: quiet but can smell really bad

-composite on composite disc: quiet, but rarely used

-electromagnetic track: quiet

-dynamic track: completly noiseless

 

I wonder what propulsion systems are used in modern shinkansens, since the newest one seems to have really bad transmission noise with no motor or control noise.

[domino]

Thanks for all your reply`s , so if i want to install sound decoder in the H0 E5 model  , with sound do you think will fit best now that the real E5 sound is not available  ??

 

Brian