Film to go with Hello

[robsmorgan]

I thought it was time to post a short film of my layout. This way you can have a laugh at my 'Cheapskate' sound system - I probably overdid the whistle and edited out too much of the bell - See the thread I posted a few months ago.... made with a very cheap MP3 player (circa £6 + SD card) from 7Dayshop.com, a 6watt mono 12v amplifier from Maplin + speaker (circa £8). The loco is my weathered Baldwin Annie (Bachmann Big Hauler) I have modified it for 2.4Ghz 6 chanel radio control using kit from Hong Kong (£34 inc p&p) plus (the expensive item) from G Scale Graphics.... a 2.4Ghz Enhanced Railboss unit - which provides a useful range of control functions.

The bridges (again mentioned in previous threads) were both made from 1" box mild steel which I arched... and plastic plasterer's beading to suggest the steel structure. The tunnel and embankments are work-in-progress. The final piece of the jigsaw will be the return loop via the shed at the current terminus.:thinking:

The film was shot on a Key Fob camera (from China circa £8 inc p&p) which I learned about on MyLargeScale.com.

The weakness is in my old computer (I am using now)!!! Not only does it tend to crash whilst rendering the final film, the raw film footage wasn't in a suitable .avi format for my software (Pinnacle Studio - can't get results from Adobe Premiere either) so had to convert using AVS Video Converter..... Then I needed to obscure the infuriating time & date stamp 'provided' by the cheap camera. So all-in-all the original quality has dropped a tad..... but the camera (colour & sound) really is only £8 inc. so I really am not complaining.

I hope you enjoy and agree that the sounds aren't half bad for so little money!
Oh yes! the sound track were downloaded from Youtube footage.... better quality originals might be worth finding.

The link is:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb638_78O7s

Regards
Rob

 

[Tony]

Rob an £8 video cam that takes that quality fottage you gotta be kidding for gauds sake post the link man me thinks they will be sold out soon hope you have shares

very nice railway btw nice weathering and a authentic feel to your line

tony

 

[robsmorgan]

Rob an £8 video cam that takes that quality fottage you gotta be kidding for gauds sake post the link man me thinks they will be sold out soon hope you have shares

very nice railway btw nice weathering and a authentic feel to your line

tony

Hi Tony
I tried the old link with no success:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150396336237&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:GB:1123 < Link To http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/...ame=ADME:X:AAQ:GB:1123

but there is a current link to a British importer who includes a4Gb card in the price.... the picture looks as though the camera is identical:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQitemZ110525001233 TONY HAS FOUND A BETTER DEAL BELOW!

I wouldn't rush - I will keep looking over the next few days and re post IF I find the Chinese supplier again.

Regards
Rob

 

[Tony]

is this it

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MINI-DV-Spy-C...1?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CCTV&hash=item2306afbf77
or

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Llavero-espia...m&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_186&hash=item2306c634de

Tony

 

[robsmorgan]

is this it

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MINI-DV-Spy-C...1?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CCTV&hash=item2306afbf77
or

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Llavero-espia...m&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_186&hash=item2306c634de

Tony

Blimey Tony - you even beat my price! yes they both look the same - you will need the Micro SD card as well 2Gb is plenty to make the sort of film I did!

May buy another myself now UPDATE:- I just bought another two - work out at pretty much £8 each.... SPARES

Thanks
Rob

 

[gregh]

Fantastic work all round Rob. Love the sound you've got. Does the chuff rate change with speed? Great loco and layout. Bridges are mind blowing.

A mate of mine had one of those cameras last week. $55 here in Oz. Must get one on eBay. Does yours need external memory? If so where does it fit/hang?

 

[trammayo]

An inspiration - just shows what you can do if you know what your doing - love those bridges (that Niagra bridge looks fantastic - first time I've seen that). What a keyring!

Mick

 

[Cliff George]

Very nice video, well done

Cliff

 

[robsmorgan]

Fantastic work all round Rob. Love the sound you've got. Does the chuff rate change with speed? Great loco and layout. Bridges are mind blowing.

A mate of mine had one of those cameras last week. $55 here in Oz. Must get one on eBay. Does yours need external memory? If so where does it fit/hang?

Thanks for your continued encouragement Gregh

The chuff sound is the bog-standard speed related Bachmann kit included with the loco.
I changed and relocated a smaller speaker in the tender to provide the 'real estate' needed for the 6watt amp, a better speaker with a cardboard sound tube to emphasize the whistle & bell sounds through the coal surface. The tube then acts as a stabilizer for the 3 packs of 2800mAh AA batteries (10 cells in total) which power the motor & extra sounds amplifier. I located a single AAA battery carrier under the engine cab (reasonably easy access) to power the MP3.

The R/C works OK triggering the sounds.... they are recorded in Whistle - 5secs silent - Bell sequence, by triggering the pause or backward MP3 function, it is possible to get which you want & when (practice helps!) and of course, using the Railboss board gives me the magnetic reed switch triggering option as well.

??? Perhaps I should run a thread on the loco R/C conversion on fitting the bits in!???

Let me know if you have any difficulty getting a fob - the least I could do is send you one as a gift for all the great ideas you have given us:admire:

Oh yes - there is a slot on the side for a micro SD card - 2Gb is ample.

Best wishes
Rob

 

[robsmorgan]

An inspiration - just shows what you can do if you know what your doing - love those bridges (that Niagra bridge looks fantastic - first time I've seen that). What a keyring!

Mick

Thanks a million for your brilliant comments Mick, I don't really know what I am doing - just had to try things (as the bits were relatively cheap if it went wrong) Sorry about the misspelling of Niagara (but then it isn't a detailed copy!! The biggest problem was bending the 1" mild steel box section in accurate pairs - please don't look too closely!


Best wishes

Rob

 

[robsmorgan]

Very nice video, well done

Cliff

Thanks Cliff - true praise indeed coming from you!!
I just hope I can get somewhere close to the level you have achieved - although I will probably stick with a few steam locos and a railbus (aiming to scratch build/convert a Bachmann composite coach into one!?)

Regards
Rob

 

[Alec K]

Rob, I can't tell you what encouragement you have given me to persist with the soldering iron and the Maplins components. You amply deserve a creativity award.

Best wishes

Alec

 

[robsmorgan]

Rob, I can't tell you what encouragement you have given me to persist with the soldering iron and the Maplins components. You amply deserve a creativity award.

Best wishes

Alec

Really kind of you to say this Alec, suggest you take a look at RS (Radio Spares) as a good supplier of well priced components - momentum/reed switches, project kits & thousands of lovely things for men!
link:- http://uk.rs-online.com/web/ Thanks again Rob

 

[Westcott]

Rob,
Wow, I'm not sure which is better - the bridges or the video!
On 'Niagara', what material is the chord, and how did you curve it smoothly?

 

[robsmorgan]

Rob,
Wow, I'm not sure which is better - the bridges or the video!
On 'Niagara', what material is the chord, and how did you curve it smoothly?

This is all too much - very kind comments... thanks!

The 1" box steel came in 3mtr lengths, so I had ample to create the arches without any joints. My rather poor maths enabled me to calculate something close to the arch dimensions. Using an old railway sleeper with 15mm pins fixed at strategic points, I worked them into a curve one by one (all four had the same span) trying not to create any 'flats' - then to match them as reasonable pairs.

The bridge decks are 8" x 2" treated timber and easy to fix the centre point of the arches to. Once they looked OK, I started fixing the "steelwork" with self tapping bolts.

Hope this helps

Perhaps an illustrated thread is called for??

Best wishes & thanks again
Rob

 

[owlpool]

lovely line and impressive video - and all on a shoestring
how new is the moss between the rocks? - is it transplanted there or is it old and grew there?
the bridges look great from this perspective BTW

[spelling]

 

[robsmorgan]

lovely line and impressive video - and all on a shoestring
how new is the moss between the rocks? - is it transplanted there or is it old and grew there?
the brodges look great from this perspective BTW

Hi Paul, Diolch yn Fawr!

The moss is transplanted and all but the most recent work seems to have taken pretty well - that part of the garden is heavily shaded and damp anyway - which helps
Have been following your Molestation thread(accidental pun there), some pretty strange remedies me thinks!!!

Best wishes
Rob

 

[owlpool]

lovely line and impressive video - and all on a shoestring
how new is the moss between the rocks? - is it transplanted there or is it old and grew there?
the brodges look great from this perspective BTW

Hi Paul, Diolch yn Fawr!

The moss is transplanted and all but the most recent work seems to have taken pretty well - that part of the garden is heavily shaded and damp anyway - which helps
Have been following your Molestation thread(accidental pun there), some pretty strange remedies me thinks!!!

Best wishes
Rob

yeah - the blasted things are still at it - 2 new hills this am
still, small silver lining in that I use their finely milled soil to top dress a depression in part of the field
but then the cats and chickens use that for their own devices

 

[robsmorgan]

lovely line and impressive video - and all on a shoestring
how new is the moss between the rocks? - is it transplanted there or is it old and grew there?
the brodges look great from this perspective BTW

Hi Paul, Diolch yn Fawr!

The moss is transplanted and all but the most recent work seems to have taken pretty well - that part of the garden is heavily shaded and damp anyway - which helps
Have been following your Molestation thread(accidental pun there), some pretty strange remedies me thinks!!!

Best wishes
Rob

yeah - the blasted things are still at it - 2 new hills this am
still, small silver lining in that I use their finely milled soil to top dress a depression in part of the field
but then the cats and chickens use that for their own devices

I do sympathise Paul, really!!!
but wouldn't mind at least being allowed within the law, to deal with the sparrowhawks here.... I've lost six excellent breeding doves to them in the last 3 weeks - my only legal option is to keep my birds (only 5 left now) in an aviary
which isn't fair to them...... swap??

note the 'stranger' visiting near righthand side

Best wishes
Rob

 

[robsmorgan]

Rob an £8 video cam that takes that quality fottage you gotta be kidding for gauds sake post the link man me thinks they will be sold out soon hope you have shares

very nice railway btw nice weathering and a authentic feel to your line

tony

Update on £2.99+p&p camera availability: I have had confirmation of despatch this AM, but they must still be coming from China as the estimated delivery is 3 to 4 weeks.... lucky mine is still OK then and worth the wait though!

Rob