M T H locomotive speakers

I've never had a problem finding or retrofitting a speaker into a locomotive.  The hardest to find are the 16 Ohm variants for the Early 5v PS2 engines especially when they are smaller than the usual 50 mm size like in the railking F3's. While not ideal, I get a 40mm 8-ohm speaker on Amazon (easy to find) and wire an 8-ohm resistor in series to artificially increase the load to 16 ohms for these special cases.

The newer 4-ohm speakers are pretty easy to find in various sizes from MTH or other sources like eBay & Amazon.

From your post we can't tell what speaker exactly you are needing.  Part #?  size in mm? ohm rating?  height restriction?  What is the original speaker?

Jim

@Transman posted:

once a speaker fails they are out of luck,no replacment plug in speaker,

???????? That's waaaaay too broad of a statement to say. First off, MTH parts sold  and still sells and has speakers last I checked, but in saying that, none were ever plug and play. You always had to solder wires to them. Heck, even the upgrade kits- the wires are not soldered to the speaker.

But more so, what exact size (diameter in mm) of speaker and impedance rating (Ohms) cannot you find?

Digikey and other suppliers have suitable speakers, not to mention there is still https://www.mthpartsandsales.com/

Why are you out of luck? MTH doesnt make the speakers. Measure the diameter and read off the electrical specs printed on the back of the speaker. Input the specs into amazon or ebay and you'll find plenty of replacements.  Those speakers are for answering machines or TVs and such. They're not specific to being stuffed into a model train.

@Transman posted:

After not being able to get a PS2 speaker thru the usual channels, meaning Gunnerjohn and MTH parts for starters,am I to assume that there are 100s if not more people out there with MTH locos that once a speaker fails they are out of luck,no replacment plug in speaker,

I always manage to find speakers when I need them.  I just don't always have them on hand if someone is looking.  As others have said, post the specs and I'm sure a number of sources will be revealed.

I did a search for 50mm speakers on Aliexpress and found a ton of 4 ohm and 16 ohm speakers for MTH use.

One example: 4 ohm 5W for $5 shipped.

Well, You did not try me as a usual source I have plenty of original MTH speakers.  But as stated size and ohms matter.  G

Hi everybody thanks for the responses, I really appreciate it, sorry for not being specific enough but here's a picture on my next post

here it is

ARRRGH the dreaded STAR speaker strikes again !!

I'm coming up with #40

@Transman posted:

here it is

So a 45mm diameter, 16 Ohm speaker in a PS2 5V.

Now granted, yes, some are out of stock and not my first choice is left, but it would technically work....

Again, keyword search 45mm. Then I refined the list using the word speaker to filter. The website does not allow or show direct links so you have to enter the search criteria.

https://www.mthpartsandsales.com/shop/search

Again, I'm not saying this is the ideal or best choice, but we are far, far, far from no option being available.

That's a 45mm speaker, a little hard to find but search on Amazon for a 36mm 16 Ohm speaker, that should fit into that space.

I also come up with at least 3 different options at digikey.

https://www.digikey.com/en/pro...7HagCyudNgCufXBPHigA

@GGG posted:

Well, You did not try me as a usual source I have plenty of original MTH speakers.  But as stated size and ohms matter.  G

Sorry GGG, did not know, but I am very glad to have another resource,Email your contact info and I will surely save it

FYI, you want to have at least Efficiency - dBA of 80 or more for decent volume.

Yes that was an odd ball speaker.  The BF-13 is a worthy replacement.  Even MTH parts site show the obsolete speaker picture with the crumbling magnet. G

Vernon and Gunrunner, out of these 3 which one would you pick? (my next post) I'm thinking the

CDS-4553-16-SP ND         

digikey page

I just ordered a replacement (3 actually) from MTH as a replacement for my Chessie Steam Special. Got them in, pulled the old speaker and unsoldered the connecting wires, soldered them to one of the new ones (checking polarity - but it probably does not matter) remounted it, and the engine was working fine again. MTH was a big help, and great service to me. Not to get around to ordering those traction tires I need. I fear I procrastinate often.  Good luck with your venture, I think just getting a part is often harder than initiating the repair!  Greg