Improved sound volume for the Williams GP30?

Pro hobby,

What did you do with the weights?  Leave them off?

Fredstrains

 Weights were mounted to front and rear chassis.  This provides more weight directly over the trucks.

Would the actual speaker fit inside the die cast tank.  If so, the tank could be used as an enclosure with small holes drilled on the bottom of the tank to allow the sound to get out.  This is what most vendors do, place the speaker in the fuel tank.

The diecast fuel tank assembly is too small and shallow to fit a speaker. See the photos of the fuel tank. It would be possible to drill holes in the bottom of the fuel tank castings but I have found that the sound seems to be amplified with just the weights removed from the fuel tank area.

Photos of the speaker remounted on the chassis.

pro Hobby,

What did removing the HOT GLUE from around the Speaker Enclosure accomplish??

JUSY CURIOUS!

FREDSTRAINS

I can see why removing the weights from the fuel tank below the speaker can provide a better "sound chamber" so the sound volume is more robust, but I'll have to admit that I fail to see how the speaker facing in the opposite direction of where it was originally could yield any significant changes in overall sound volume.

The speaker position is now OFFSET slightly.  This increases the space between the body and the face of the speaker.  Not a great improvement but with the narrow "hood" the speaker is mounted very close to the body.

Some of the hot glue overlaps on to the speaker "cone".  This could cause some distortion.  No guarantee that you will notice any difference!

My conclusion: The Williams engine sounds or performance cannot compare with more expensive models on the market. Buy the latest Lionel "Legacy" or MTH Proto 3 diesel if you want to obtain state of the art sound. 

See Lionel 6-34600 Southern Pacific "5010" Legacy GP-30 $499.99

The diecast fuel tank assembly is too small and shallow to fit a speaker. See the photos of the fuel tank. It would be possible to drill holes in the bottom of the fuel tank castings but I have found that the sound seems to be amplified with just the weights removed from the fuel tank area.

IF this is the case, purchase the lionel or mtH die cast SCALE fuel tank that will accept the 50mm[2"] speaker.

than sell the williams fuel tank as parts on da bay!

Interesting idea about purchasing a scale fuel tank.  I don't suppose that you checked to see if there was clearance?:  railhead to frame;  also room between the trucks?

Several shops have Legacy GP7/9 engines for $300 with all the bells and whistles,Why buy a Williams that you have to open up and revamp?

Gunny

Maybe he wanted a GP30 and not a GP7/9.  I believe you can buy the Williams for a lot less than $300.  If you're set up to run only conventional trains, why bother with all the bells and whistles?  

It seems to me that some of the issues, due to tight fit of the speaker housing, would be solved with the new Williams SD-90 NS Heritage diesels that use the latest sound.  They are available.  Does anyone have one of these? And, if so, could you compare the volume of the sound with that of the GP-30?

I also believe that using a smaller speaker driver, such as the one used in the WBB scale GG1, and facing it the length of the engine (rather than sideways) might produce better results.  JMHO.

Yes you can buy a Williams for around $200 which is a good deal if you are happy with the sound and don't want the legacy features. I just want an engine with good sound out of the box,not after I revamp it.

Gunny

That speaker is a stock 2" unit.  The housing (black plastic "enclosure") can be removed.  The actual speaker should be able to fit inside the fuel tank.  The main issue is the "thickness" of the magnet.  If the magnet isn't too deep the entire speaker should fit inside the tank and the tank becomes the sound enclosure.  This is where Williams should have but the speaker or used a slightly smaller 40mm "baby fat boy".