# New QSI sound files and some tips



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Nice weekend here, so decided to try out the latest sound files and programming software from QSI.

The sound files are dated 2/19/2010, version 7-32-1, and there is a new programmer software and a new USB driver.

What did I get?

First, you uninstall the old USB driver from add/remove programs, then install the new one. You can install the Q2upgrade program without removing the old one. Likewise there is a new version of the Quantum CV manager.

So, the thing I noticed right away was in the cut and paste, there were 2 new selections on each sound: low or high compression. low compression gives you better sound, high compression saves you space in memory on the QSI. 

I hauled out my 3 E8s because one of them is testing some new stainless wheels. I noticed that two sounds were set to high compression by default, the pumps, and the cooling fans. I set them back to low compression, so all sounds were are low compression.

(Why try to save memory? Because you can also add a user sound of your choice from a *.wav file, and you might need more memory if you used a big one. Also, certain sounds take more memory than others).

I programmed them up and wow! The prime mover sounds are more distinct, and more "clunky" at idle. The changes in acceleration and deceleration also seem more pronounced.

The bell volume and the horn seemed a little low, so I bumped the horn up to 99% and the bell to 50%. The bell really sounds nice, seems clearer.

Anyway, very happy with my "free" improvement. Gotta say one reason I stick with QSI is that there's something new every 6 months or so, and it's always an improvement.

By the way, I have fine tuning instructions for making the slow speed "jerkiness" go away. My settings are different than is what is on the QSI Solutions site, but they came from the QSI Industries engineers. I tried both sets of settings, and the ones on my web site gave better slow speed performance.

Check out my QSI tips here: *http://www.elmassian.com...trong>**

Regards, Greg*


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Cool news--thanks for the tip Greg. I will download those as soon as my new programmer arrives--I stepped on the old one and ended its career!


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez Greg!! Am I current or do I need to do the above?????????????? LOL mucho phone calls next week, or in the near future if NOT!!!! Hah LOL 

Greg is always willing to help us helpless/electronically challenged people!! Hee Hee 


No wise cracks from the peanut gallery, or should I say "cock sparrow gallery" hah you are in the same boat me thinks!!


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Mike and Jerry, be sure to change the PID parameters for really smooth slow running. It's on that page. 

The default settings are not quite optimized (unfortunately). 

Right now sitting back and running 3 E8s in a single consist with BEMF on. You've probably heard from many people that you cannot use BEMF in a consist, but it works fine now. 

Regards, Greg


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## RIrail (May 5, 2008)

Hey Greg, have you had any luck with "replace user sound wav. files". I have been trying to cut and paste one into the E-8 file useing the preveiw sounds and cut and paste page with no luck. It keeps giveing me a "Bytes 38-41 fact not supported, file Crogram Files\Q2Upgrade\QSI Sound Files\test.wav" error, I called the wav file "test" its size is 131k. 
thanks Steve


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## N1CW (Jan 3, 2008)

*Steve
Let me guess that you used MS Windows Sound Recorded to create/edit the .wav file. 
*
*You may get that error or Bytes 36-39 'fact' not supported using Sound Recorder.*
*Please use a different sound edit tool as a sanity test..

Or one of windows .wav file like 'gotpic or gotmail' as a quick check. 



*


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Yep got to down load all that new stuff to get things to work. Just went through the process as they fail to tell ya that when upgrading to the new version you also have to do the USB driver. Bummer they think every body is a gu ru of computers. Later RJD


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## RIrail (May 5, 2008)

HI Ray, I tried creative wave studio and windows sound recorder, even tried reducing it to 8khz mono 16 bit still get error. I did try Windows XP Ringing and it worked. 
thanks Steve


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

It's very interesting that they made "compression" a feature. In audio terms, "compression" is a technique of simultaneously boosting the quiet parts and reducing the loud parts, while boosting the overall energy level. . It tends to make everything overall louder and "punchier." Compression is why commercials sound louder than the show. Most commercial music is HEAVILY compressed, and I do mean heavily. If I record something, say four or five tracks, and then compress the heck out of it, it suddenly sounds "professional," meaning it sounds like all the other junk on the radio. 

That kind of compression is useful for making things sound loud and punchy. So does QSI mean that kind of compression, or do they mean compression as in turning an aiff file into an mp3? That is, making the file smaller? That kind of compression usually has a significant audio cost as well, usually sucking the midrange out of everything. Greg what you described sounds like audio compression, not file compression, because from your description there were more dynamics in the new file


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## N1CW (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By RIrail on 14 Mar 2010 06:19 PM 
HI Ray, I tried creative wave studio and windows sound recorder, even tried reducing it to 8khz mono 16 bit still get error. I did try Windows XP Ringing and it worked. 
thanks Steve *Steve
It a bit fuzzy (2 years ago when I was "DEEP" into V1.3 debug) 
as to the details of that problem. It was not the size but buffer init/allocation
for MS Sound Recorder. Somewhere I have a callable function call procedure
but my head may explode if I look for it.







*

*Once I changed sound editors, it got around THAT problem to find other bugs







*
*(WHAT MS Windows does not follow their own Function spec init requirements?)







*


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

No, the sounds are better, but I did not say (nor mean to imply) that there was dynamic audio volume level compression. 

It's a compression technique to save space, reducing the "resolution" of the sound file. I would guess it is a lossy compression, just like mpeg or jpg. 

The sounds sounded "higher" resolution, best way I could describe it, like the difference between listening to a lower and higher quality mp3 file. 

Mike, the QSI Yahoo forum is a great place to ask these questions, Gerry Preuss is often there and is an engineer for QSI Industries, the company who designed the product for QSI Solutions, the distributor. These are the guys to ask. 

On the wav files, I took some sample wav files off the Internet, like the "all aboard" from Tom Hanks on the Polar Express movie. They worked fine, but I'm not into all that audio stuff, having too much fun in other places! 

I think Ray has got it. 

Regards, Greg


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

More new stuff !!!

When using the latest sound files 7-32-1 (on the QSI site), the user defined sound now has more options.

You can actually load 3 sound files, so when you play the user defined sound, it has a startup sound, a loop sound and an end sound.


Why?

Because that's how you can make a continuous sound, like a custom whistle or horn.

So when you fire off the user sound, you get the startup, or "attack"... then the loop sound continues and loops as long as you hold the button, then releasing it gives you the end sound.

If you don't want to do this, you just load your sound in the startup record.

Very cool... 

Also, you do get the high and low compression options, and to set the volume.

It's neat when you get new goodies for free!

Regards, Greg


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