Need someone to rebuild a Marx Steam sound Tender.

Mine was acting up until I cleaned the wheels (and probably the center "wheel" too?) and then it worked as good as I can imagine it should. If you haven't tried this, it may be worth a shot.

 

It's a much better sounding item than Marx's diesel sound o power

 

J White

 

I cleaned the wheels/trucks and the center wheel and it hasn't helped. It was working great one day, then the next day it got quieter and quieter. I could barely hear it when running it with the Marx 666 engines, but it sounded a little better with the Lionel 8800, but today it just kinda buzzed as it went around the track. It could be as simple as the speaker giving out, but I don't have another one that size to test. Id rather just pay someone who knows more than I do, to just reinstall new components on the board and replace the speaker, if needed. I'm looking into buying a Lionel "sound of steam" tender, but from what I've heard (literally and written), the Lionel one doesn't sound as nice as the Marx and it requires a tether going to the engine. I'm also considering getting a cheap Lionel mechanical sound tender, since it doesn't use any electrical components or a tether. I don't know what to expect from it, since I've yet to hear one in action. I just got so used to the Marx tender that it doesn't sound right running the trains without it. If I can fix the Marx for less than it costs to buy one, I'll be very happy.

Adam, not knowing your experience, first off don't use the Marx anymore, or you may kill it fully.

 

 I bet you could find another working one, cheaper than the 2 way repair shipping, by looking on "auction sites".

 

  The "acoustic" Lionel tender sounds like a baby rattle

 Kind of cool as a show piece but I'm not fond of that "water scoop" or the sound.

 

Fix the Marx. And/or, keep an eye out for a Lionel tmcc tender.(I saw you are) 

A tmcc swap into the Marx tender might work well enough too. But the slope-back size might be an issue if that's the one..

 

The Lionel Sound of Steam is similar sounding to the Marx. But they have an issue.

The board is mounted on a foam that disintegrates with time, letting the component leg tips short out on the frame ruining the board. If you get one don't even test it without first making sure they wont short out. The travel from shipping would likely be the last straw for that foam. Pull it off and put something under the board(cardboard?) to protect the tips. If it works now, protect with plastic, cardstock, &/or tape then run it.

 They also are at the age some are having capacitor failures too. 

 

 You could also pick up a new iron, and maybe even a multi-meter, to get you going again. Once again cheaper than shipping alone might cost.

Do you have a Harbor Freight nearby? Good enough!

 You will likely find the tools very useful in the future.

 

 Very good help shouldn't be too hard to get here either. Except that I'm not too sure about finding a schematic of one. Pictures may help, but in general in shouldn't be too hard anyhow.

  Its a simple white noise generator with a cam & switch, or hall effect, and it would be a learning experience that will be useful again in the future on your railroad. If its not a broken wire, I bet its the speaker like you suspect, or a capacitor. Caps go bad with time most often, They are cheap, and can be found "everywhere". I would replace every one on the board, and the speaker. It will likely work again if it chuffed at all as it quit.

 You might not hit $20 total at Radio Shack. Online ordering even less. 

 Just copy the numbers on them, note position, and swap. 

 

 

  

Thanks for the info on the baby rattle. LOL I had a feeling  the mechanical tender might sound something like that.

 

The Marx tender is the slope-back, and they have the same issue with the foam. I replaced the foam in mine before it was an issue, but I guess age started taking it's toll.As far as the components, it's a very simple board and wouldn't be too bad, I guess, I have the electrical know-how, but my soldering skills are humorous at best. The only way I would feel good about my soldering would be if I had a REALLY good soldering iron and a lot of solder and junk to practice on. LOL. I have a multimeter, which has been very handy, one of the best tools I've bought. It get's used all the time. I just think I'd feel better having someone more qualified repair this tender, then when I get another one later on, I might be more prepared to tackle it.

 

Now that you mentioned wires, I hadn't checked the wire coming from the center wheel, there is a chance it might be loose or broken causing a poor conection... I'll check that out later today. It would be nice if that was the problem! Thanks.

I've checked the wires and tried staring at the circuit board for a while, but it's still not working right. I can see nothing visually wrong with the components, no broken solder joints or burn marks. It all looks about right for it's age, which must be the issue.

 

(I bought a mechanical Lionel tender, minus the shell. I thought I'd give it a shot, since I feel like even a bad "chug" is better than no "chug", until I get the Marx fixed.)

 

The board in the Marx is very simple, it seems to have less components than a Lionel SOS tender, so I may try my hand at replacing everything, but I would still rather pay shipping both ways and pay someone more experienced do the repair so I don't somehow destroy the board. So, If anyone is willing to rebuild it for me, I would GREATLY appreciate your reply.

Do you have a picture of the component side of this board?

I don't at the moment, but I'll take a couple and post them this evening.

I would be glad to rebuild it for you for just the cost of the parts to help a fellow member out!

Alan

Send me an email with the information if interested!

Alan

Here are the photos. They aren't very good, but I guess they are better than nothing. I have larger versions of them, but the focus isn't perfect on those either. John, I hope these help.

Alan, I'll be emailing you right after I post this!

yes looks like it has 5 transistors , three electrolytics  ,resisters and speaker, should not be a problem.as long as the parts are still available . plus i have new old stock parts also , so i may already have what i need, hope your speaker is good.

Alan

 

P.S. read my email i sent you tonight!

Alan

Looks a lot like the Lionel Sound-of-Steam static generator.  I like the split pickup wheel with the resistor, very creative!  Never saw anything like that before! 

John, from what I have read, the Marx is a similar Static generator, but it came out before Lionel's version. Marx really did a good job with the design. Mine seems to have been made in 1973 (according to the Roman Numerals on the bottom), but Marx started making them in 1969, so they were ahead of the game for a bit when it came to sound. I've heard that a lot of people prefered the sound of the Marx over the Lionel tender, but not having a Lionel myself, I can say. I do know that when Dad and I first got this tender, it was an amazing sight seeing that old 1955 Marx dad had as a kid running around the track with the headlight burning, with this tender chugging and smoke coming out of the stack on the engine. It was the happiest I've seen Dad in years and I admit, I was pretty darn happy too.

Email read and replied.

I looked at the speaker, it's a Sanyo S-5S01, but either S could be an 8. The good news is, it's a 2 inch 8 Ohm 0.2 watt speaker. There are plenty of replacements for it online for $5 or less. I'm just guessing, but I think as long as the replacement is 8 Ohm, 0.2 watt, and will fit in the tender, it should work the same, right? I mean, a smaller modern speaker with those specs would still produce the same level of sound? If so, the options really open up and some prices are as low as 99 cents if a 1 1/2 inch speaker is used instead of a 2 inch.

I too have a Marx chugging sound tender that stopped working. I haven't had a chance just yet to try to pin point the issue.  

 

I will try the above suggestions when I get a chance and would also be curious as to what went wrong with Adam's. 

I suspect any of the cheap 8 ohm 2" speakers would be fine in that application.

 

The range of a new speaker wont matter much. The watts and size will affect the volume, but any 8 ohm speaker should work without overworking the drive.

check your email tonight and ill get back to you about the repair!

Alan

I decided to try and do the repair myself and things didn't go well. Age had taken it's toll on the board and a couple of traces broke and a couple peeled up. I managed to get it back together with some jumper wires, but the sound never came out right and after a while, it just stopped. I'm guessing something else burned out. I'm just giving up on it for now, with the hope that I'll find a working one again someday, since I can't afford to have this one looked at right now.

Adam

I have a nice, working Marx SOP tender. $40.00 will get it shipped anywhere in the US.

 

Steve

Steve, email sent!

Steve, I've sent a few emails, but haven't gotten any replies. Just wanted to make sure a spam filter wasn't catching them or something.

Adam
I'm away from the house and can't get the receipt,  but the tender did ship Priority this afternoon.

I think this was a good solution.  Besides, with a working one, you can see what you need to make the other one work.

 

A good solution from a good guy.