Have the RS boxcar from the Dash8 set; volume is way low; any way to raise it? Nothing in instruction sheet about this. TIA
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Try changing the speaker to a better,more efficient one. Shown here for locos but same method applies.
http://www.jcstudiosinc.com/BlogShowThread?id=621&categoryId=
Railsounds boxcars are RS1 I think. I have installed RS4 boards from the now out of business Digital Dynamics. Sound is excellent. ERR company I believes sells RS4 now. You would have to ask them if theirs works with the existing hall switch for steam. The DD one did.
Dale H
Thanx, Dale.
I have two RailSounds boxcars, and they both have volume controls and on/off switches on the bottom. I'd be surprised if yours doesn't as well.
Mark:
Your particular boxcar is one of the first four or five RailSounds 1 pieces that came with a low-output sound driver and no amplifier board.
The problem was addressed later in 1990 with the addition of the 610-8007-110 Amplifier Board wired into the system. This board, which is still available from Lionel, is a fairly simple drop-in solution for the issue, and I've done this to the Reading T-1 and the Santa Fe boxcar you mention in your original post. Once you add the board, no other changes (other than finding a good way to mount the board and its volume pot) are necessary for a nice sounding system.
I hope this helps.
Todd
Just out of curiosity, how do you wire the amplifier board???
Mark:
I did my upgrades about 20 years ago, but from what I remember:
1) Remove the two speaker wires plugged into the RailSounds board and plug them into the amplifier board.
2) Connect the red and black wires from the amp board to ground and center rail.
3) Connect the one remaining (gray?) wire to the outside speaker post on the RailSounds board. The other speaker post on the RS board is unused, as the amp board gets its ground from the track.
The volume pot is pre-wired to the amp board. And that's about it.
Todd
Todd - thanx for the detailed insructions. I have two further questions - do I need anything else besides the amp board cited in your first post, and, how do I secure the amp pot to the floor of the car. Is there a predrilled spot for it?
Mark:
Sorry I missed your reply from last week.
Really the only things you need to complete the conversion are mounting brackets and fasteners. You'd need to drill holes or figure-out some other way of securing everything inside the car.
In my case, I mounted the amp board with a bit of double-sided tape, and set the volume pot to where I wanted before remounting the car's shell. Not very elegant, but it worked.
Another option would be to emulate the later Standard O RailSounds 1 boxcar that came with the amp board - the 6-17214 Railbox. Check out this link:
http://www.lionel.com/media/se...7214-000Complete.pdf
Compare with what you have in the Santa Fe. I think all the parts are available with the exception of the specially-drilled frame.
Feel free to shoot me a note (e-mail in profile) if I can be of any further help.
Regards,
Todd
One idea that's fun and free . . . take a small Dixie cup and trim so it will fit over the speaker you have. Not as good as the amplifier solution, but you might be surprised in the mean time.
I agree with Richard, a baffle behind a speaker does amazing things for most speakers. It doesn't have to be that deep, just enough to fit over the speaker and seal around the edge.
FWIW, I use spray can lids cut down for this task, they are a little more "robust".
