Your horn.Your loco.

LokSmith turns a recording of a real horn, whistle or bell into a sound your ESU LokSound decoder can play. It trims, loops and writes it straight into your LokProgrammer project.

Download for Windows See how it works

Free account, no card needed · 3 horn exports a month · Windows 10 & 11

HORN_K5LA.wav · 5-chime Loop found

5chimes found 22 kHzmono 16-bit −1 dBpeak level No clickat the loop

From trackside clip to decoder

You film the horn at the crossing. LokSmith handles the rest: mono, sample rate, levels, fades, loop points and the slot in your project.

Bring a recording

Drop in a video from your phone or any audio file. LokSmith pulls the sound out for you, so there's nothing to convert first. Diesel horns can have separate recordings for forward and reverse.

MP4MOVMKVWAVMP3M4AFLACOGG
Trim on the waveform

Auto trim finds where the horn starts and stops. Drag the selection to fine-tune it, zoom in close, and listen back before you commit.
Let it shape the sound

LokSmith counts the chimes and finds a point in the held note where the sound can repeat without a click. It then cuts the horn into the parts a decoder plays: a start, a loop that holds as long as you hold the key, an end, and a short fast exit for quick toots. Bells get a seamless loop.
Write it to your project

Pick the sound slot in your .esux project and LokSmith puts the new sound in through LokProgrammer 5, then reopens the file to check it. Or export plain WAV files and import them yourself.

Built for the fiddly parts

Getting a horn to sound right on a decoder is mostly audio plumbing. That plumbing is what LokSmith does.

167

Horn layouts from real projects

LokSmith matches your recording to one of 167 proven part layouts from real LokSound projects (diesel horns, steam whistles and diesel whistles), so your horn plays back the way decoder horns are built to.

Forward and reverse horns

Give each direction of travel its own recording. LokSmith tunes each one separately and the decoder plays the right one for the direction you're running.

Bells that loop cleanly

A short crossfade where the bell wraps around, so it rings on without a tick each time it repeats.

Hobbyist and Pro

Any aux sound

Air release, coupler clank, a station announcement: one-shot sounds of any length, with fades, for a function key.

Hobbyist and Pro

Projects you can return to

Every trim, setting and target slot is saved in a .lksmith project with a copy of your media. Re-export any time.

Tuned to what you recorded

Let LokSmith work it out, or tell it what it's hearing: a 2, 3 or 5-chime diesel horn, a steam whistle with up to 6 voices, a tune, or a sound effect.

Horn selections of ½ to 3 seconds loop best, up to 7 seconds. Bells: ⅓ to 1½ seconds.

Sample rates for your decoder

Export sample rates included in each plan
Export	Free	Hobbyist	Pro
22 kHz	Included	Included	Included
31.25 kHz	Not included	Included	Included
16, 32, 44.1 kHz	Not included	Not included	Included
8-bit compact	Not included	Not included	Included

Straight into the slot

LokSmith reads your LokProgrammer project, lists its horn, bell and empty sound slots, and writes the new sound in. It takes care with your file.

A backup before every write. Timestamped copies of your project are kept on your computer.
Adds, doesn't overwrite. Your horn becomes a new choice next to the existing ones. Replacing an earlier LokSmith sound is something you switch on.
Checked after saving. The project is reopened and verified before it replaces your original.
Knows when LokProgrammer has it open, and can bring that window forward for you.

LokSmith export log

09:41:02 Reading SD70ACe.esux ok
09:41:02 Slot 4 · Horn · 3 choices
09:41:03 Analyzing selection · 2.40 s
09:41:03   chimes 5 · confidence 91%
09:41:03   loop point at 0.62 s ok
09:41:04 Layout diesel 5-chime, fast exit
09:41:04 Writing start · loop · end
09:41:05 Backup saved ok
09:41:07 Added to slot 4 as "LokSmith K5LA"
09:41:08 Reopened and verified done

Start free. Upgrade in the app.

Every plan gets the full editor and writes horns into your project. Paid plans remove the export limit and add bells, aux sounds and more sample rates.

Free

To try it on your own horn

$0forever

3 horn exports a month
Full waveform editor
Auto trim and normalize
Write horns into your .esux project
22 kHz export

Download free

Hobbyist

For the dedicated modeler

$12.99per month

Unlimited exports
Bell and custom aux sounds
31.25 kHz export
Use it on 2 computers
Email support
Community sound packs Soon

Download, then upgrade

Pro

For serious sound builders

$24.99per month

Everything in Hobbyist
Every sample rate: 16, 32 and 44.1 kHz
8-bit compact export for tight decoder memory
Priority support
Prototype-matched horn packs Soon
Creator marketplace Soon

Download, then upgrade

Prices in USD. Start on Free, then upgrade from the Account panel in LokSmith. Cancel or change your card any time in the Stripe billing portal.

Questions from the workbench

Something else? Email loksmith@vonkworks.com.

Which decoders and software does it work with?

LokSmith writes into ESU LokSound projects (.esux) made with LokProgrammer 5, both the current format and older ones. If you'd rather do it by hand, it also exports plain WAV files you can import into any LokProgrammer project.

Do I need LokProgrammer installed?

To write sounds into a project, yes: LokSmith uses LokProgrammer 5, installed in its usual folder, to put the new sound into the slot. You can still edit and export WAV files without it.

Do I need an account?

Yes, a free one. You create it the first time you open LokSmith, with your email or your Google account. No card is needed for the free plan.

Does it run on a Mac?

LokSmith is a Windows app for Windows 10 and 11, the same platform LokProgrammer runs on.

Could it damage my sound project?

LokSmith saves a timestamped backup before every write, adds your sound as a new choice rather than replacing one, and reopens the saved file to verify it before swapping it in. It never tries to re-encode ESU's protected sound data.

What makes a good recording?

A clear clip with the horn well above the background noise. Phone video from the lineside is fine. For horns, a selection of half a second to three seconds gives the cleanest loop.

Are my recordings uploaded anywhere?

No. Your media and projects stay on your computer. LokSmith only talks to our servers to sign you in, check your plan and look for updates. See the privacy policy.

Who makes LokSmith?

LokSmith is made by VonkWorks. It's an independent tool, not made by ESU. ESU, LokSound and LokProgrammer are trademarks of ESU electronic solutions ulm GmbH & Co. KG.

Make it sound like the real one

Download LokSmith free and turn your first recording into a decoder sound tonight.

Download for Windows