Adding real radio chatter to HO Metra via LokSound 5.

I few months ago I had seen a really well done Amtrak P42 (https://youtu.be/4mYZ1AqLjMo?t=244) that had real radio chatter and I thought it added so much depth and realism to the model, which led me on a mission to add this to my Metra project.

I ended up purchasing a Bearcat radio scanner, an array of different types of external antennas, and spent probably 6 days in total downtown Chicago recording radio chatter. It took a couple times to figure out what combination of antenna, frequency, and time of day that worked best. Additionally I was looking for very specific audio from BNSF centered around departing Chicago Union Station.

Check out the video below to see an example of where I incorporated the real audio into the model train on start-up.

I also resumed work on a new Arduino based Crossing Gate controller, but this time I’ve incorporated Metra announcements that play at a random interval.