Updating the Floatplane Story with a Nod to Timing
My floatplane animation has morphed from layout prep to demonstration module for an upcoming animation clinic at the National Narrow Gauge Convention in Pasadena. But the essence of it has been preserved to demonstrate a combination of techniques for DCC decoder control with sound and motion, and independent control of the adjacent figure talking to the floatplane pilot. You can watch the results here:
The animation orchestration is conducted by a single Arduino Pro Mini running the CmdrArduino library by Don Goodman-Wilson (see railstars.com) with coordinated control of the mechanic on the dock with simple but synchronized switching of a small gearmotor driving the linkage for his arms. As I described previously, timing in this case is literally synchronized to the millisecond based on the original sound recordings programmed into the Digitrax SDN144PS decoder in the plane fuselage. The linkage can barely be seen below:
It was based on a suggestion by Laurie McLean that arm pivot up and down and not “turn” in place. This simplified the mechanism, since I was trying to move both arms simultaneously—not something I had done before. I developed a thin synthetic, flexible “skin” to cover the joint by taking a single ply of tissue (toilet) paper and coating it with three or four layers of liquid rubber used for making flexible molds for casting. It looks terrible “in the raw” but once trimmed and painted it is quite presentable, thin and very flexible. The paper makes it workable, and it can be easily trimmed and shaped.
Sound Discovery
I had been reading with great interest about the use of 8 Ohm cell phone earpiece speakers with sound decoders and since they were so small (about 8 by 11 millimeters) I decided to try one out in the floatplane. After adding the voice track of the mechanic on the dock, I was disappointed in the quality of the sound even after hours of “playing” with an audio editor and reprogramming the SDN144PS decoder. The voice did not play well with the sound of the engine running. MUCH to my surprise the little cell speaker not only fit with my one quarter inch plexiglass baffle, but it was remarkably clearer than before! So I set off to systematically try four different speaker configurations:
I had just received the new TCS WOW decoder, so I added testing using it with the four speakers as well. You can play the video below for yourself and see. The AGC (Automatic Gain Control) in my camera evened the volume out too much. The tiny cell phone speaker is pretty clear but much lower volume than the others. The large cavity baffle enhances the lows of some sounds incredibly well (although it is not covered in this video). The large cavity also lowers the high notes slightly. The clarity of the cell speakers is what stood out to me, and I didn’t expect that at all. I pass the tests on to all without detailed comment, as I will let your ears listen for themselves! J
The quality of the TCS WOW sound decoder is impressive. Now… if they would only let me reprogram it for animation! Oh Boy!
As always, suggestions and appropriate comments are most welcome. Have Fun!
Have fun! 
Best Regards,
Geoff Bunza
