When you remove an old speaker and put in a new one (Say for example railmaster DSM-8). Does it matter which wire goes to which side of the speakers? I installed an upgraded speaker on a intermountain gevo in ho scale and was told it didn't matter which wire went to which post, but then someone else said it did. So does it or does it not matter? Is it all speakers or some?
With a single speaker it does not matter. When installing multiple speakers, you want to match polarities otherwise one speaker would be moving in while the other moves out which would effectively cancel out the sound.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
To test polarity, if I can remember from about 50 years ago, attach one speaker wire to the positive side of a 1.5v battery and the other speaker wire to the neg side. The speaker cone will move towards you if the wiring is proper and away from you (downward) if reversed.
Be careful doing that with the small speakers used for onboard sound, those little speakers aren;t all that robust to handle a full cone excusrion on DC. Most are actually marked with a + and - at the terminals.
The below link has some good info about speakers. Store the link in Favorites you will need it.
http://www.mrdccu.com/curriculum/speakers.htm
Check out all his DCC links.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.