Looking to purchase an MTH MALLET with proto 2. Not a bad price.......... but i don't like the idea of the notorious self destructing boards. Anyone know what voltage this engine runs on ?
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If the MTH site is to be believed, it's the 3V boards, must be one of the first models. Square charging port and two AA cells in the battery.
2-8-8-2 USRA Steam Engine w/Proto-Sound 2.0
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This one looks like ps2 3v. I looked at the instruction manual on MTH's website. Looks like the 3v battery.
Support > click the pamphlet icon.
Thanks John and Gabe . I never thought to look at the web site manual icon. Learning from the forum again. 🤓
I have a 30-1320-1. Same engine as the 30-1306-1, but one catalog later and in PRR livery. It has the two 1.2V batteries as shown in the photo that John posted.
Have you had it long Bob ?
Any particular issues ? It's been quite some time since I purchased a proto 2 . I did put BCRs in them and haven't had any problems. Have you tried the BCRs ? 🤔
As a class, the 3V PS/2 has been a pretty reliable board set. That's not to say they never fail, but they don't have the propensity to drop dead with no notice like the 5V PS/2 boards.
I have several PS2 3V boards that are 10-15 years old and operate fine. I did replace the batteries with super caps. The PS2 3V boards are pretty robust unless you direct short them or don't have adequate circuit protection. They don't have the spontaneously failing components like PS2 5V boards suffer from.
@Lou1985 posted:I have several PS2 3V boards that are 10-15 years old and operate fine. I did replace the batteries with super caps. The PS2 3V boards are pretty robust unless you direct short them or don't have adequate circuit protection. They don't have the spontaneously failing components like PS2 5V boards suffer from.
When you talk about the "direct short " does that just mean like a pinched wire while reassembling of course ,or is it possible to have a pilot truck jump a switch , for instance ,and cause a direct short ? 😨
@Dallas Joseph posted:When you talk about the "direct short " does that just mean like a pinched wire while reassembling of course ,or is it possible to have a pilot truck jump a switch , for instance ,and cause a direct short ? 😨
Yup. Direct short would be pinching a wire and shorting it directly to ground (I.E. the frame). Pilot truck jumping a switch is a track short, which shouldn't cause damage if your transformer has adequate circuit protection.
Direct shorts are bad because there is no fuse or breaker between the shorted wire and the component it's connected to on the board. That kind of short may not be enough to trip a transformer breaker/fuse but it can damage a board.
Thanks Lou. 🤗
I use the handheld remote , REV L TIU and a Z1000 on each loop ( 2 ) of track. So far nothing has been a problem with my proto 2 / 3v not tripping the Z 1000s breaker ( very rare happening ).
@Dallas Joseph posted:Have you had it long Bob ?
Any particular issues ? It's been quite some time since I purchased a proto 2 . I did put BCRs in them and haven't had any problems. Have you tried the BCRs ? 🤔
The PRR 2-8-8-2 was one of the first PS2 locos I bought (NOS) in 2011. I replaced the batteries in 2015 with Radio Shack 2301144. Not sure if they are still available, but I’m sure there are plenty of others that will do the job. I didn’t use a BCR at the time because I didn’t want to solder in a plug for the BCR. Not sure if you can plug a BCR (or one of John’s SBRs) directly into the board. This engine has been very reliable for me. The last time I lubed it in 2018 it had 230 hours and 2130 trouble free miles.
For 3V PS/2 you can just use a 5V 1.5F Supercap with the JST-PH 2-pin connector on it for the battery. Simple and cheap.
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Looks like John has a good inexpensive solution Bob. 😉
On the BCRs that I installed it was just disconnect the battery and direct connect the BCR. Probably more expense than what John's showing though. 🤔
Thanks for the reply.
The one I posted is just as easy, you just unplug the 2-pin plug from the top power board of the PS2 boards and plug the wire from the cap in. I've used a ton of these. You can also dispense with the entire battery/charging jack wire as you won't need it anymore.
The J and W BCR2s have a female plug. The MTH 2.4 V rechargeable battery also has a female plug. So, you can just unplug the battery from the wiring harness and plug in the BCR2.
John’s SBR has a male plug and as noted above it plugs directly into the board. I just installed a few SBRs but didn’t feel like untangling wires or pulling the plug from the board so I replaced the male plugs with female plugs from an old MTH batteries.
Since the 2-8-8-2 has the AA cells, the SBR is the way to go. That’s what I will most likely use the next time I replace batteries in it.
@Lehigh74 posted:The J and W BCR2s have a female plug. The MTH 2.4 V rechargeable battery also has a female plug. So, you can just unplug the battery from the wiring harness and plug in the BCR2.
John’s SBR has a male plug and as noted above it plugs directly into the board. I just installed a few SBRs but didn’t feel like untangling wires or pulling the plug from the board so I replaced the male plugs with female plugs from an old MTH batteries.
Since the 2-8-8-2 has the AA cells, the SBR is the way to go. That’s what I will most likely use the next time I replace batteries in it.
You don't really have to untangle much, just unplug the 2-pin connector and plug this one in. You can leave the battery harness in place, it doesn't weigh much. 
@Lehigh74 posted:The J and W BCR2s have a female plug. The MTH 2.4 V rechargeable battery also has a female plug. So, you can just unplug the battery from the wiring harness and plug in the BCR2.
John’s SBR has a male plug and as noted above it plugs directly into the board. I just installed a few SBRs but didn’t feel like untangling wires or pulling the plug from the board so I replaced the male plugs with female plugs from an old MTH batteries.
Since the 2-8-8-2 has the AA cells, the SBR is the way to go. That’s what I will most likely use the next time I replace batteries in it.
OK John , where do I get an SBR ?
I didn't see them on Hennings. 😢
Send me an email to my profile address.
Are you up and running gunrunners? 😴😎
@gunrunnerjohn posted:If the MTH site is to be believed, it's the 3V boards, must be one of the first models. Square charging port and two AA cells in the battery.
2-8-8-2 USRA Steam Engine w/Proto-Sound 2.0
Have received the Mallet . Exactly the way you showed the battery situation for the 3v board. Looks like MTH had their stuff on the right page !
The batteries are AA Nicads /700 mAh . Before I PERMANENTLY INSTALL THE BSR , is it OK to drop in a couple fully charged Energizer AA NiMH / 2000 mAh for testing purpose only ?
On this older model Mallet I have only opened the tender and I did find that rough metal flake look on the speaker that has been discussed before . Only one little speck of shiney stuff on the chassis floor. I have coated the speaker housing several times with ( Super Thin ) Super Glue. (( on the exhaust of an older vehicle I had porous leaking at the muffler and I coated the area, with that product and the rust ..............a year and a half later the muffler gave out........the area with the Super Thin coating came off in the shape of the original repair !!! 😨 ) Sooooo, I figured it would keep the shiny stuff on the speaker housing at bay for awhile.
The Mallet from Trainz on the Bay was no where near cosmetically challenged as I thought it would be. Great price and overall looks like new.
I will probably have questions on it for you later John 🤔
Thanks.
No problem with the other batteries, they won't have any issue.
Regarding the flaking on some older speakers, you MUST replace those! The flaking can also happen internally where any treatment you apply won't matter. If those metal flakes short the coil of the speaker to the frame, it's typically "lights out" for the audio amp at a minimum, and the damage can be more extensive.
I'll try to look at that owners manual you had photos from and see what the specs might show . This speaker's markings aren't very legible . If i can identify it I'll have to check my inventory ( junk ) drawers.
If I can find a spare one how do I know if it is a NONE FLAKE ?
GRJ ,
probably not going to work, I'm guessing..........Only speakers I have are VECO 50ASO4 / 4 ohm / 4W and 1 of the VECO 5ASO4-1 ???
Can't find out what speaker is in this thing.
If the speaker is good on the outside, it should be good on the inside. However, if it's flaking on the outside, there's a really good chance it's doing the same thing internally!
The closest parts manual I was ever able to find for my RK 2-8-8-2 is for an earlier (PS-1) unit. It has this speaker, but I don’t have a clue if it would be OK in the PS-2 3V version.
No, the 3V PS/2 and all PS/3 use a 4 ohm speaker, not the 8 ohm from PS/1 or the 16 ohm from PS/2 5V boards.
So the either of these two speakers should be OK John ?
The only physical difference I see is that the 5ASO4 - 1 has a visually smaller magnet housing than my other spares.
@Dallas Joseph posted:GRJ ,
probably not going to work, I'm guessing..........Only speakers I have are VECO 50ASO4 / 4 ohm / 4W and 1 of the VECO 5ASO4-1 ???
Can't find out what speaker is in this thing.
Yep, the VECO is one they replaced the STAR that they used to use. Either will work.
Thank big John. I hope I can get this thing tested tonight.
The 30-1305 3 volt has incadescencts for the tender backup light , the Firefox and headlight. Later I'll have to get back to you John for LED installations maybe with markers also.
What is the best bulb type for this replacement now ?
The VECO 4 ohm speaker install worked well and sounds good. The proto 2 steam sound is pretty nice . The OEM diameter was less than the VECO but I was able to use the original retainer by turning it upside down and using a little Dremel work.
The 3 voltsystem didn't have any problem with those Eveready rechargables .
Can't wait to do the BSR install. Judging from the photos of the BSR , and looking at the charging port in the tender ,it doesn't look like any issue plugging the male connector into the port on the board. 🙄
I have used many of GRJ simple solutions and they work great and very easy to build.
I bought my MTH PRR mallet 16 years ago it is a 3 volt board. I have over 400 plus hours on it with no problems .
@Dallas Joseph posted:The 30-1305 3 volt has incadescencts for the tender backup light , the Firefox and headlight. Later I'll have to get back to you John for LED installations maybe with markers also.
What is the best bulb type for this replacement now ?
All PS/2 incandescent bulbs are 6V 60ma rated. I use a 220 Ohm resistor and a warm white LED for replacements. Typically, I use flangeless LEDs, they are the same size as the incandescent bulbs, see below for example.
Can't wait to do the BSR install. Judging from the photos of the BSR , and looking at the charging port in the tender ,it doesn't look like any issue plugging the male connector into the port on the board. 🙄
Just pull the 2-pin connector off the top board, plug the supercap replacement into the socket, job done.
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Reading this thread made me decide to dust off my 30-1320-1 PRR 2-8-8-2, take a peek at the speaker and run it. The speaker is starting to show signs of flaking around the bottom edge of the magnet so it looks like I’ll have to put off running the loco till I replace it. While I’m at it, I’ll also put in an SBR.
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I've seen some of the 4ohm STAR speakers start to flake as time has gone on. Much less common than the 16ohm STAR speakers used in the PS2 5V stuff.
Glad you have found all this info for the old Mallets good , Bob.
I'm having fun working on mine trying to improve grounds , repairing little issues , trying to straighten out a trailing truck wheel , etc., ....... just getting a handle on this old girl . 🙄
I have seen a couple of the 4 ohm ones start to flake. I suspect as they get older, the same issue will happen, the construction looks just like the 16 ohm Star speakers.
Looking for a speaker for the PS2 3V USRA 2-8-8-2. It looks like MTH does not have the BF-0000034 in stock (there is a link for “Add to Wish List”, but none for “Add to Cart”). I don’t recall the loco having a particularly bad (or good) sound, but I wouldn’t mind making an improvement.
I’ve never messed with speakers in model trains, but after a brief search, I came up the following list of possible replacements. I’m leaning towards the first two (recommended by Norton) or the third (recommended by Engineer Joe).
Does anyone have experience with any of these and can either recommend them or tell me to run away from them? Anyone have other recommendations?
https://www.xump.com/Science/M...aker-2inch-4Ohms.cfm
https://www.parts-express.com/...mium-driver--264-839
https://www.madisoundspeakerst...=product&id=1018
@taycotrains posted:I bought my MTH PRR mallet 16 years ago it is a 3 volt board. I have over 400 plus hours on it with no problems .
Really great looking smoke output on that Mallet ,Bob. 😉 it looks like there really must be a fire driving her down the rails.
You must have one heck of a Monster ventilation system !!! 😁
