Do You Think I should Replace This Speaker

😱 Black hole speaker! 

looks like the layout was in a machine shop. 

Probably should stop using steel wool on the track.

And that is why I built this car. Placed in the front of the locomotive with a couple of buffer cars, it picked up a lot of "fuzzies" the first few times around the layout. When you cut track with an abrasive disk, that's what you get.

On the club modular layout, I send it around at least once every event. It picks up a wide variety of items including screws, nuts, and washers.

That's really cool John. I've had bad speakers before but never anything visible.

I wonder if am ESL Speaker can be developed for this. would cost a ton but no magnet 

Tom that’s awesome!! great idea! 

Gilly@N&W posted:

And that is why I built this car. Placed in the front of the locomotive with a couple of buffer cars, it picked up a lot of "fuzzies" the first few times around the layout. When you cut track with an abrasive disk, that's what you get.

On the club modular layout, I send it around at least once every event. It picks up a wide variety of items including screws, nuts, and washers.

You just need a strong speaker and you won't have to use that LOL.

so John was it a ps2 3 volt or 5 volt board?

Maybe he was playing music through the Protocast feature by the group "Shards & Schrapnals"   If their isn't a band by that name there should be. 

I can't imagine what environment this engine was in to collect all that metal!  I've had issues with magnetic debris before, but nothing like this!

Alan, it was a 3V board, and the amp is a giant PITA to solder back on, very fine pitch leads!

FWIW, I've had this car for years, it has a super strong magnet inside, and it sucks up everything magnetic.  It's all plastic except the axles.  I had put metal wheels on it, but the magnet was so strong that it pulled the axle up tight and the wheels couldn't turn!  With the plastic wheels, there is enough reduction in the attraction where the wheels rotate.

The great part is, you just hold this over the bench (or the trash), and pick the magnet out.  Everything drops off the bottom and you're ready for another pass.

John I know what you mean about giant PITA, I had to replace the usb power connector on a wiu someone broke off and it was the same PITA!

I seen a similar engine from a guy that used steel wool to clean his track!  Warned him don't do that again, and clean up all the pieces otherwise his track cleaning is going to be very expensive experiment!

Jim

Alan, putting the USB connector on is a piece of cake!  The PS2 amplifier is a TSSOP package with .65mm (0.0256") lead spacing!  Soldering that is a whole lot different than a USB connector!

Jim Sandman posted:

I seen a similar engine from a guy that used steel wool to clean his track!  Warned him don't do that again, and clean up all the pieces otherwise his track cleaning is going to be very expensive experiment!

Jim

This guy was lucky that I could replace the amplifier chip and speaker, otherwise the bill would have been about 3x what it will be.

I have to have folks with younger eyes replace those Audio Amps on the Proto 2 3v boards.   I just bribe some at the day job.

Jim

The amp is really beyond my normal bounds, I usually draw the line at .95mm spacing parts.  I have started using my hot air station for these parts, it actually does work pretty well.

I opened up a pair of pro horn drivers because they were working but not at full volume. The reason was the diaphragms were stuck in metal flakes just like that. I noticed the actual magnets were deteriorating and the iron flakes were sticking to the diaphragms causing them to virtually lock up. The gap where the coil should be had filled up. I had never witnessed it before. Seems like being made outside the US, some manufacturing doesn't have the experience with metals and castings.

 It appears almost like the zinc rot in trains that we fear so much. If you want to know where those shards of metal are coming from, tear out the cone and inspect the magnet itself. I bet it has that type of rot.

Bill DeBrooke posted:

Probably should stop using steel wool on the track.

It took awhile.  I stopped using steel wool and eventually the steel fibers became a lot less.    

Its interesting how the shards aligned in certain patterns, ostensibly due to the magnetic force lines?

Yep, the stuff is all lined up on the magnet.  I can't imagine this many pieces coming from the magnet, my guess is steel wool.  When I get a chance, I'm going to contact the customer, if he has more MTH locomotives on the same layout, he needs a lot of speakers!

Ask the owner to relocate the track away from the lathe and milling machine. 

Well, I'm certainly going to have to suggest something, or he'll be sending a lot of repairs my way!  I can't imagine this is his only locomotive, so I suspect he has more speakers that look like this one.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Yep, the stuff is all lined up on the magnet.  I can't imagine this many pieces coming from the magnet, my guess is steel wool.  When I get a chance, I'm going to contact the customer, if he has more MTH locomotives on the same layout, he needs a lot of speakers!

You maybe right. I suggested a deteriorating magnet because of you describing a shorted coil. I figure that the short occurred inside the speaker.

I have found many things picked up from the rails on my MTH speakers. They were things like track nails and misc. items. They caused distorted sounds. Easily removed from the surface of the speaker.

 If those shards are all from using steel wool on the rails, he must be awful careless and/or blind?

I would suggest he switch to those green back 3M sponges that aren't steel.

I think I'll talk to him about how it happened and see if we can prevent getting another twenty locomotives with blown audio amps.

I put a Lionel 2055 on the test rollers last night. Should have shot a video of the sparks coming out of it. Definitely steel wool. Hope he only has postwar. I did take a photo of some of the shards that came off the axles to show why it is going to cost what is will be for a complete teardown.  Let us know when you get really good with the audio amps. I am reluctant to replace them. 

Happy Thanksgiving, Forest.

Where did all those steel shards come from?

Looks like the remnants of an etch-a-sketch! 

Rich

Forest posted:

Let us know when you get really good with the audio amps. I am reluctant to replace them.

I'm never going to get "real good" with those, they're a PITA!  Every time I get one in successfully, I feel like a winner.

richabr posted:

Where did all those steel shards come from?

Looks like the remnants of an etch-a-sketch! 

That's a question I plan on posing to the owner, when I look at them under a microscope, they're not steel wool, they look like machine ship milling leftovers.

Yeah 🤣

'Nuff said.   

Mitch 

Etch-a-Sketch uses aluminum powder.  Very fine powder.

Jan