Whistle

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

greetings all

I am considering fitting a whistle or horn to my recently completed Seguin tugboat has anyone fitted a whistle or Horn to a boat and did it sound realistic.

Regards

Bryan

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

Whistle for boats

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

As above should have said an electronic gizmo

Regards

Bryan

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hi Bryan

Try one of Dave Milbourns from the Component Shop.

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

**LINK**

DM

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

Thank you Paul and Dave your suggestions are ideal, all I need now is a remote controlled on off switch as I only use two channel transmitters ,any suggestions or is this a stupid question.

Regards

Bryan

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

Two answers spring to mind, a cheapo 4 channel set is only around 30 quid, but you'll need a switcher or extra servo and microswitch on top of that. A Heath- Robinson method we used to use many years ago was to put a micro switch near the tiller arm, so that it only worked when full rudder and full trim were applied. I never liked it, because if the boat was moving it looked ridiculous.

If you're going to build more models in the future, and you'll want to add features to them, it might be best to bite the bullet and invest in a decent radio outfit.

Chas

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Bryan
If you have only a 2-channel transmitter then I'm afraid you're somewhat snookered, in as much as you need both of those for rudder and motor speed control. As Chas says, a budget 4 or even 6 channel set on 2.4GHz costs probably less than your existing 2-channel one did when new. As for a radio-controlled switch I can recommend this one – it's the one shown on the P29 instructions **LINK**
BTW you'll also ned a speaker – CompShop sell these, too.

Dave M

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Just browsing and found this, which I reckon would be just about perfect for Bryan's model – for forty quid!

**LINK**

DM

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

The old fashioned down and dirty way to fire off a sound unit on a 2 channel set (as mentioned above) is to use the trim overthrow on the rudder channel to operate a microswitch. Stop the motor, slide the trim over, give it a dab of full rudder, reset everything to normal before re-applying the throttle. Only works with sound units that need a dab to start, not the ones that need a continuous condition to run.

The second bit of the question – do they sound realistic? That depends on the amplifier, the speaker used, and how well it is mounted. Sound effect units fall into two broad categories – those that synthesise sounds, and those that use sample recordings of the real thing.

With the right speaker, the recorded ones sound better since they start with a huge advantage. Commercial ones are usually extremely versatile, but for a single sound, pricey. It is easily possible at ridiculously low cost possible to get recordable greeting card sound modules. They can store any sound effect that you can find, and play it back on demand, either the Heath Robinson way or via a switcher on a spare channel, both work, both need the amplifier and speaker.

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

Greetings Dave ,Malcolm and Charles,

I am at the moment contemplating my navel, I was thinking along the lines of a simple remote controlled on/off switch controlled by a separate hand held remote , surely in this electronic age someone has developed one . I have remotes that turn off and on adapters plugged into 13amp sockets, I was assuming that a12volt r/c switch existed that worked on similar lines to the mains ones as previously described. I am obviously ahead of my time.

After rooting through my garage I found a 4 channel transmitter that I had not used for a few years all I have to do is find the receiver

I thank you for all your suggestions and I shall return to this subject in due course

Regards Bryan

I

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

OK Bryan, here is the simple dirty way of doing it. It's cheap and clumsy but it works just fine. I've used it when models are on display and once whilst sailing, I nearly lost control.

I bought a cheap Bluetooth speaker, one of the drum shaped ones for 10 quid from our market, which I installed in the model . I then downloaded the ships siren sound and a couple of other effects from the internet on my mobile phone and put a shortcut on the home screen so I just had to touch them to get the sounds from the model.

It works, but doesn't compare with the ease of use of properly designed systems, and the range of the Bluetooth is limited but sufficient. For a tenner, you can do a lot, including pre set sounds on a micro SD card, just don't blame me if you lose control whilst looking for the right button on your phone.

Chas

 

Edited By Charles Oates on 07/01/2019 00:13:26

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

I should have added that although I've played with the above method, my current build ( Bardic Ferry) will have a much better syren and possibly other sounds from a properly sorted system, almost certainly using action electronics gear. Contolability is really important when several boats are in a small area

Chas

Chas

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

There are devices that offer wireless remote control over short range like this – https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Relay-Module-1-Channel-Remote-Control-Switch-Wireless-IR-12v-DC-F8l6-J1j5/1784162176?_trkparms=aid%3D666006%26algo%3DPRP.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20151029144032%26meid%3Ddcf12a317412444c9f47a92edc05935a%26pid%3D100534%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26&_trksid=p2349526.c100534.m4207 – but I see a couple of problems.

One is there is zero indication what band it works in, and whether it would interfere with other model control systems, or vice-versa. Thats in a crowded situation at short range. The Bluetooth option should get round that at te expense of carrying around the unit with the stored sounds on.

The other is the short range. One of the main reasons why I had a siren on my Snowberry was finding it at the end of a cruise. After the walk round the lake, I had to "park" it while passing behind some trees. It would usually take the opportunity to drift off, and finding a camoflaged boat 50 or so yards away isn' always easy, but letting the siren off helped a lot.

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Malcolm
At a guess it's 433MHz – like remotely-operated garage door systems. And <£3?! To think I once paid over fifty quid to replace one of those!
DM

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

Greeting all

Have bought a horn simulator and speaker from Action electronics, instructions state that a baffle board is needed for the speaker, how do I construct a baffle board and what is it made out of. Excuse my ignorance.

Yours in anticipation

Bryan

[Tim RoweParticipant @timrowe83142]

Bryan

Google is your friend. Baffle boards are basically how the speaker is mounted. Click here for a description and also you will find some videos if you make a search.

Plywood and MDF are commonly used but other materials as well. I think the principal is that if you simply fix a speaker in place you get a very weak sound and are not using its full capabilities. Giving it a proper mounts helps to develop the sound but I am sure you are not chasing HiFi quality.

Tim R

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

DM. good spot, planet returns. Wonder if the new receivers will work with the T5 sets…??? Silly money, almost rude not to buy one…Ashley

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Wonder if the new receivers will work with the T5 sets…???

Apparently not, Ashley.

DM

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

Posted by BRYAN ASTON on 18/01/2019 15:34:00:

Greeting all

Have bought a horn simulator and speaker from Action electronics, instructions state that a baffle board is needed for the speaker, how do I construct a baffle board and what is it made out of. Excuse my ignorance.

Yours in anticipation

Bryan

If a bare speaker is left that way, when the sound signal is connected, the coil and cone assembly will do its thing and wobble back and forth, moving air to produce sound. Unfortunately, the moving air off the back will almost exactly counteract the moving air off the front, so when the result gets to your ears you just get the difference, which is next to nothing.

If the speaker is mounted into a hole in a panel with a long air path from front to back, this cancelling doesn't happen, so you get to hear what you hoped for. A flat panel became known as a "baffle board". If the speaker is mounted though one side of a sealed box, it becomes a known as an "infinite baffle", because there isn't a path.

Various tricks are done to arrange for the sound off the back to get to the front with a change of phase so that it doesn't cancel, but helps at low frequencies,. In a boat, the space inside the hull behind the speaker plate is the "speaker box". The longest dimension of this space will effectively determine the bass responce of the setup. 50-odd years ago I could have quoted the formula.

So, in short, a flat panel with a suitable hole for the speaker to shout through.

Edited By Malcolm Frary on 19/01/2019 10:23:33

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

Greetings Tim and Malcolm

Thank you for your answers to my question, I now fully understand how to construct a Baffle board and box I knew that the diagram viberated but I had not appreciated that the air movement (sound waves) generated could also move to the rear as well as the front.

Message received and understood

Thank you Bryan

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