That's a question????? — I purchased the New Model Power N scale 2-6-0 with DCC + sound and I find the sound is very low and it's set at the max. CV value of 63 which seems very low to me. MP says "do not go over 63 on the sound CV value". How can I get louder sound volume? Change the speaker? Change something else? This is very strange to me, most other N scale DCC plus sound engines that I own blow you out with the very loud sound they have. I usually have to lower the other sound decoders. MP has finished checking the sound on this engine and returned it to me and I feel it is the same as when I sent it to them. No noticeable difference????? I tried to find a Blog that has this problem but I can't find one. Your help will be appreciated. Mike
Hi Mike. I don't own a MP 2-6-0, but I looked at photos of the factory sound installation, and it appears that they use a round speaker (probably a 15mm round) with no enclosure, along with an MRC decoder. I suspect that your problem is a combination of a lousy decoder (MRC's sound decoders used to be terrible; maybe they are better these days) and a very poor speaker installation. What I would do first is try to improve the speaker installation. I'd use a small "cell-phone" type speaker in a sealed enclosure. Use an 8mm x 12mm speaker; you'll have to figure out how much space you might have (or can get by moving other components in the tender) for an enclosure. Again, remember from my prior response to your question about speakers that the enclosure doesn't have to be a simple box; if you don't have much depth but have width and length, make the enclosure longer and wider with the speaker offset to one side, and seal off the unused top area. But if I really wanted the best possible sound, I'd try to find a way to put an ESU LokSound Select Micro or a Soundtraxx Econami decoder in along with a better speaker. I just don't know how much room you can get for everything in the tender. But I've successfully installed a LokSound and 8x12mm speaker with sealed enclosure in the tender of a Walthers 0-8-0, and the tender of a Bachmann 2-8-0. I've put an Econami and 11x15 speaker in the tender of a Kato 2-8-2. So I suspect it is possible to do. John C.
adding an enclosure to the speaker may also work, you may be able to get away with a simple piece of styrene or possibly even cardstock to test that it improves the sound levels. Most likely the sound is bouncing back in the tender and not escaping through the tender. Are there any holes in the top to let the sound out? also swapping speaker for one with a built-in enclosure would certainly help, especially for the low base tones.
Hello John: If you could please send me pictures/and or links of the speaker you are talking about as well as where I can purchased the speaker so that I could purchase a few and do some experimenting with them. Maybe even pictures or link of a tender install you made so that I could try to duplicate it on my tender(s). I would like to give it a shot. Are you in N scale? See the attached picture of the 2-6-0 tender. — Thanks Mike
Digikey: 8x12mm Soberton: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/soberton-inc/SP-1208/433-1130-ND/6099104 You can also buy 8x12mm speakers with enclosures that you glue on from Streamlined Backshop, which is a TrainBoard advertiser. Go to SBS4DCC.com and look for their "sugar cube" speakers. Photo of speaker and decoder install in Bachmann 2-8-0 tender: I think I used a 9x16mm in this tender, rather than an 8x12. But the basic idea is the same. John C.
John C. What speaker specs should I be concerned with other than size. Maybe watts, ohms etc.? I read some where a speaker can draw too many something and harm the decoder or make the decoder over work? Also I noticed your 2-8-0 install doesn't have any wires running to the locomotive. What does that do or not do? Again — I'm very greatful for your help and time!!!! Mike
Hi Mike. There ARE wires running from the locomotive to the tender on the 2-8-0; the photos above just don't show the final installation. If you look closely at the top photo, you will see a 4-pin plug; that plugs into a 4-pin socket that has wires running to the engine. You just can't see the wires in the bottom photo. As for speakers, all you really need to worry about is matching the speaker's impedance rating in ohms to the decoder. You'll note that the speaker in the tender of the 2-6-0 is marked "8" with an upside-down horseshoe-like symbol next to it. That means "8 ohms." So you need an 8-ohm speaker, which the Soberton 1208 (8x12mm) is. Almost all modern sound decoders use speakers rated for 4-16 ohms, and nearly all the rectangular cell-phone speakers you can buy are 8-ohms, so you shouldn't have a problem since 8 falls within the 4-16 range. I wouldn't worry much about anything else. The frequency response of these tiny speakers is all about the same, and the power handling (about 500mw average, 1 watt peak) is also about the same, and compatible with the output of most sound decoders. The key is to mount these speakers in a sealed enclosure; that's necessary for best loudness. If you have a home stereo, you'll notice that the speakers are mounted in a sealed enclosure, not left open on the back side. There's a reason for that, and the reason is just as applicable to our tiny N-scale speakers as full-sized home stereo speakers. John C.
