Texas Special Engine 218

These EMD FT units were produced in 2010 and appear in the Vol 2 catalog.  The catalog numbers are: 6-38217, 6-38218 and 6-38219.

I would check the speaker before replacing the sound card.

I'm with Dan on this, speaker is likely where the problem is. Many times little shards of metal get picked up by the speaker magnet through the fuel tank openings.

Does the sound get better if you go faster? We have a conventional Wabash FT (early 2000s) where the sound will be mostly static, pops, and clicks, until you get up to, maybe, 10 volts or so. Unfortunately, at that voltage the engine is already going warp speed. We ended up wiring the motors in series, which got the comfortable running voltage high enough that the sound would work.

Thanks to all for responding. The sound does improve when the voltage is increased. I'll look for the catalog and ck with Lionel to see if the  speaker is still available, Interesting that only the B unit shows up in the 2019 Greenburg guide.