cheap chips (sound)

[Budliner]

yes thats what I did the shack has a sale ti the 31st
its 4 seprate functins digital recorder, timer, bright white led light, digital clock,
there on sale from $19.99 to $9.97 I did see a artical in model rr that installed one with upgrades
oh it comes with two 2032 cells
seems you are correct the sound needs some work but wow thats cool
a cow in the box car lol

B

[jeffers_mz]

There's a lot of things to think about going that route.

1. A stable power supply. Not so hard if you will static mount the chip, amplifier, and speaker system, more of an issue if you choose to mount the package in a locomotive or rolling stock.

2. Data access. If you record directly onto the chip, you can't process the incoming sound. Background noise can't be filtered out using a noise gate or equalization. No compression to punch up the sound either. You won't be able to equalize the sound so that it performs best with that speaker. You'll get bumpy roll-offs in the lows, resonant frequencies in the car or structure where the device is mounted, and probably electrical noise as well. If you record through a mixing board, you can take care of all these problems, but then you have to worry about uploading the polished sample files into the IC, which means access to the ROM/RAM registers via some type of data port, along with the software necessary to make it happen, again, more of a problem in a loco or rolling stock mount.

3. A/D (and probably D/A) conversion, pre amplification, amplification, and volume control. If you want decent bass, you may have to look at passive or active crossover networks to split the signal into a tuned and ported bass bin. Many voice recorders are only designed to record legible voice, and the frequency response is similar to that of a telephone or AM radio. The sample rate and bit depths are optimized to maximize data storage and minimize space requirements. The listener will probably realize what the sound is supposed to be, but is unlikely to be fooled or impressed.

4. Sample access. If you use a recorder, you can capture your own sound samples, subject to the limitations listed above, but if you go the component route, not only do you have to find samples, which can be expensive if purchased, but you also have to jump through successive stages of hoops to transfer them to the IC in a compatible format it can recognize and read.

I'm looking into similar issues and have started a different thread looking for information on factory solutions. I have a studio but the problems listed above make me think I'll end up with better performance using a commercial setup. By the time all is said and done, I expect better sound and less expense as well.

If you're bound and determined to proceed anyway, Radio Shack carries both completed voice recorders and lone digital recording IC's commonly referred to as DAC's (digital audio chips).

[Budliner]

voice recording IC
whats a good source
I like to add some sound