Hi Mark:
OOPS! I ordered the ear piece speakers. I just sent them an e-mail asking them to cancel the order. If they won't cancel I'll just have to bite the bullet.
Thanks for pointing that out.
Dave
Edit:
I just got an e-mail from the supplier stating that they had refunded my order and PayPal has already received the credit. There are some advantages to using eBay and PayPal despite the negative feelings that some people have about them.
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critter Mark and Paul: Thanks for the leads on the sugar cube speakers. Out of curiousity I ordered some of the CDS-18138A speakers (DigiKey part # 102-3541-ND) and some of the HTC ONE M8 speakers from eBay. I have two P2K GP7s to add sound to. Both will use Loksound Select decoders so I will be able to try the two different speakers out in identical installations. I'll keep you posted. Dave
Mark and Paul:
Thanks for the leads on the sugar cube speakers. Out of curiousity I ordered some of the CDS-18138A speakers (DigiKey part # 102-3541-ND) and some of the HTC ONE M8 speakers from eBay. I have two P2K GP7s to add sound to. Both will use Loksound Select decoders so I will be able to try the two different speakers out in identical installations. I'll keep you posted.
Dave - you ordered the loud speaker (in the enclosure) and not the ear piece speaker for the M8, right ?
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
An excellent other choice is the replacement speaker for the HTC One M8 Boomsound cell phone. That particular cell phone's audio was touted as one of the best for "bass" responce in cell phone reviews ( https://www.cnet.com/news/htc-one-m8-speaker-comparison/ ). These can be found all over ebay as well for a few bucks each.
A few comments back I see a 2014 reference to some Knowles speakers from DigiKey. In checking there today, I was surprised to see they still have 2000 or so "Grand" 13x18mm speakers in stock. I've used these primarily the past two years with happy results. This size (18mm) fits across a HO hood unit. They are in the process of being phased out / discontinued. they are $2.05 for 10+, quite a bargain. I ordered 13 to get my inventory to 24.
A replacement for the Grand is of interest for those using it. A fellow on the LokSound user group does some sophisticated testing (frequency curve stuff) a few months ago and he concluded that the currently available 13x18mm CIU Inc CDS-18138A, though more expensive at $5.36 for 10+ is a preferred substitute, with better lower frequency and power handling capability.
For those interested:
https://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?keywords=knowles%20grand
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/cui-inc/CDS-18138A/102-3541-ND/5355536
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
Bill sells 4 Iphone4 for 6 bucks.
http://www.pdc.ca/rr/catalog/product/railpro-and-accessories/51
Just another vendor option for you., scroll to the bottom of the list.
I've been using Soundtraxx large sugar cubes and Streamlines, all good to my ears.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
In response to two eight ohm speakers in series not adequate: This is not true; the sound is better than you would expect since the POWER required is less than the amplifier will deliver at 16 ohms; try it and you'll hear it for yourself
Carl in Florida - - - - - - - - - - We need an HO Amtrak SDP40F and GE U36B oh wait- We GOT THEM!
Kyle,
In case You have not found it yet. Here is a link to an excellant how-to on preparing an Athearn BB Engine for DCC. You should not need any other, should answer all your questions, including links to more:
http://www.mcor-nmra.org/Publications/Articles/Athearn_TuneUp.html
Take Care!
Frank
I would greatly appreciate if someone could maybe write up some instructions with pictures on how they installed the decoders and speakers. Photos would really help. I have some Athearn RTR locomotives that use metal contact strip and frame to connect the motor that I want to upgrade to DCC and possibly sound.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/231482.aspx
http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?pv60=106&FV=fff4000b%2Cfff80046%2Cfffc01a7%2C1880002&mnonly=0&newproducts=0&ColumnSort=0&page=1&quantity=0&ptm=0&fid=0&pageSize=25
This thread has a link to a source from Digikey.
Dave and Cacole,
Thanks for the warnings! I ran the loco again today and when it is across the room (about 18') it is still loud enough to hear it over the other sound engines; so I will leave it with the one speaker. I may try the other in a steam loco to see how it handles some of the deeper bass sounds.
BTW: I had planned to wire them in parallel as I thought it would remain an 8 ohm load.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
To add to Dave's comment about speaker impedance, if you wire two 8-ohm iPhone5 speakers in parallel the resulting impedance will be only 4 Ohms; two in series will be 16 Ohms.
Neither of these will perform adequately with a SoundTraxx decoder, which is optimized for only 8 Ohms. A 4 Ohm load will likely cause the decoder to overheat, and a 16 Ohm load will produce very weak sound.
Bob:
Just a suggestion to make sure your decoder will handle the resistance created when you wire in the second speaker. Depending on how you wire the two speakers you will have either 16 ohms or 4 ohms of resistance. If the decoder is designed for 8 ohms only you will probably cause some problems, one of which might be letting the smoke out.
After reading this thread I purchased 2 of them to try for myself. I got the iphone 5 speakers which have the plastic 'arm' molded onto it. I cut it off and the plastic housing was still a little too large so I cut some of the 'box' back to where the speaker 'cone' is; bad idea as it cut the enclosure off; lost 90% of the sound. I cemented some .030" styrene to close it off and all is well again. I installed it in my Atlas RS3, which already had a weak Soundtrax LS decoder and a 1/2" diameter Soundtrax speaker with enclosure. This is at least 2-3 times louder and still not too loud. I had to cut more of the front weight away to fit this one but it was worth it. Great idea. Now I will put the second speaker at the other end.
-*Bob
I also recently installed a pair of iPhone5 speakers into an old Atlas U33C along with a LokSound Select Direct, and the sound is better than another U33C with a SoundTraxx oval speaker with enclosure.
The iPhone5 speakers I purchased from an eBay seller have their own enclosure and were less than $5 with free shipping.
OK guys! Here are the initial results of my experiment with the iphone 5 or similar speakers:
I just installed a pair of these speakers in an Atlas RS3. I used a Loksound Select decoder. I used an enclosure from Streamlined Backshop because I wanted to hear the speakers without any impact from my own scratch built enclosures. In the future I will build my own enclosures.
The sound is terrific! It is much clearer than the sound from similar sized regular speakers. With all of my sound installations to date (15 or so) using regular speakers I have had to turn the volume down to half or less to make the sound tolerable. With the 'iphone' speakers the sound was great at full volume. It did not grate on my nerves like all of my other sound installations have at the factory set full volumes. I will turn the volume down but only because I want to hear my other sound locomotives. The sound volume may have been affected by the fact that I wired the two speakers in series which gives the arrangement a 16 ohm resistance. The documentation suggests that if you were to wire the speakers in parallel the volume would be louder. Given the quality of the sound with the speakers wired in series I am seriously considering changing all of my existing conventional speakers!
The enclosure is nothing exceptional and I think they can be easily built out of styrene sheet. However, as Streamlined Backshop says, the enclosures must be absolutely air tight. If they were to offer their enclosures for $2 or $3 each I would be quite willing to buy them instead of building my own.
zstripe RICH, Here's a link: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=IPHONE+5+LOUD+SPEAKERS Take Care! Frank
RICH,
Here's a link:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=IPHONE+5+LOUD+SPEAKERS
Rich
Alton Junction
Harrow back atcha.
Thanks for the info, David.
Streamlined Backshop has a lot of good information about the so called 'sugar cube' speakers, which are essentially the same thing as the iphone5 speakers. I suggest that you read through the installation suggestions because these speakers can be installed in different ways than conventional speakers.
http://www.sbs4dcc.com/sugarcubespeakers.html
I just bought 10 of the 15mm x 11mm speakers from Digi-Key for $1.89 ea Cdn. They will be cheaper than that in the USA. This is the Canadian listing:
http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?pv46=25871&FV=fff4000b%2Cfff80046%2Cf0006a&k=speaker&mnonly=0&newproducts=0&ColumnSort=0&page=1&quantity=0&ptm=0&fid=0&pageSize=25
I haven't had a chance to try them out yet.
Yes, ohms matter. If the speaker is 4 ohms and the decoder is designed for 8 ohm speaker, you need to use two in series, or it will fry the amp. If the speakers are 16 ohms and the amp is 8 ohms, it will not be very loud, but you cna put two in parallel for 8 ohms.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I just found some sugar cube speaker installations on Youtube.
Do ohms matter depending upon the sound decoder?
Any special considerations or do you just wire it to the decoder.
It obviously already has an enclosure, so do you just use it right out of the box, so to speak?
These are 'sugar cube' speakers - one in each end. The entire unit is a little over 2" long. The 'cubes' are about the size of an HO GE exhaust stack!
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Do a Google search for "sugar cube speakers", you'll get lots of results ....
How big are these speakers. Will they fit inside diesels, steamers?
I am sure they are on eBay, but you can also buy them on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Generic-iPhone-Ringer-Speaker-Replacement/dp/B00AZBFJPA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1382564462&sr=8-3&keywords=repair+iphone+speaker
I hope David M. Bedard sees this thread.
He recommends this speaker and says it can be found cheap on eBay.
Can anyone provide a link to one on eBay?