Sunset 3rd Rail 4-6-0 Speaker

Assuming Loksound uses 8 ohm speakers, any 8 ohm speaker would work. As for size a Fatboy is 50 mm in diameter and a baby Fatboy is 40 mm in diameter. Parts Express has many speakers that would work. Some better than Fatboys. Check out the Visaton speakers and see if they would fit.

Pete

I don't know about that specific locomotive, but a Loksound 5L is rated for use with 4 or 8 Ohm speakers.

The best sounding O scale size speakers I’ve ever heard are the Tang Band that are available at Parts Express which has been mentioned. Use the biggest one that will fit. Their smaller one will slide into the front of the boiler for the chuff sound which sounds silly coming from only the tender. I use them in all my locomotives and as I use QSI Titan decoders, I’m able to utilize the true stereo of the decoder to have the chuff come from the front speaker. Very realistic sounding.

Peter

Here’s a NJCB 2-4-4-2 with Tang Band speakers front and rear. The video was made with a camera so it’s not in stereo.

https://youtu.be/KuFtif8UL_w?si=IHBVPNlbIClUYkPv

Peter

Peter, thank you.  I've had good results using Tang Band's 2008S and 1925S (both rectangular) speakers in diesel installs.  In my particular case a circular (or perhaps square) speaker would probably suit best in the tender due to optimizing size.  Your suggestion of a second speaker in the boiler is good advice which I shall follow.  May I ask which Tang Band speakers you use (tender and boiler)?

Some of the tear-out/retro-fits, I've done, over the years, yielded, 16 ohm speakers, from early Weaver, and MTH, that had Dallee sound systems.  TMCC, early 1990's, may be some of the first 8ohm speakers. You also need to be concerned about the speaker wattage. 1 watt, works fine, there are 2 watt speakers, that may be a bit-much, for the early sound boards. Some speakers, with flimsy paper speaker diaphrams can be a problem. Speakers, mounted in the fuel tank, also, tend to pick metal debris, from the track road bed. Again, do your homework, IMO, Mike CT.  Atlas, at one time,  had some small/flat/durable speakers, that worked well, in fuel tanks, example: SW9 models.

As mentioned, Parts Express gives the specifications of most all their drivers. The two to pay most attention too are “ Free Air Resonance” or Fs. The lower number the better as this is an indication of low frequency response. Also Sensitivity. The higher number the better. That is an indication of volume for a given amount of power in. Typically 1 watt gives xx db. Frequency response is a bit more subjective, more of a guide. Most of the rest of the numbers are used to determine the optimal enclosure, rarely attainable in our trains.

I agree TangBand are excellent if you can find one that fits.

Pete

I can’t remember the model number but as I said, I install the biggest that will fit. I take a measurement of my space and then look at the specs. Remember you can cut the tabs off the speakers to make them shorter as I use the super sticky double side tape to secure them. As for the smoke box speaker I measure the diameter and the width of the speaker. Remember the speakers thickness will mean it has to be a bit less than the diameter. I believe in all but one of my locomotives I used the smallest one they make.

Hope this helps,

Peter

PM me if you want.

@Mike CT posted:

You also need to be concerned about the speaker wattage. 1 watt, works fine, there are 2 watt speakers, that may be a bit-much, for the early sound boards.

FWIW, most of the wattage specifications are for the maximum power, not the required power.  MTH uses 5W speakers and they're plenty loud.  Also, I've tried low power speakers that didn't have the same dB rating for MTH and they're not nearly as loud as the MTH 5W speakers.

...thank you all.  As for the second speaker, into the front of the boiler, how should it be oriented?  Aimed forward, rearward, up or down?  Also, unlike the tender, the only existing opening in the boiler shell is through the smokestack.  I really don't want to start drilling extra holes in the shell.  Thank you.

@tigermoth posted:

As for the second speaker, into the front of the boiler, how should it be oriented?  Aimed forward, rearward, up or down?  Also, unlike the tender, the only existing opening in the boiler shell is through the smokestack.  I really don't want to start drilling extra holes in the shell.  Thank you.

Well, it's normally oriented to the opening that allows sound to escape.  Having it totally encased inside the boiler shell is going to greatly affect both the sound quality and volume.  My guess is you're not going to find the speaker all that useful without any means for the sound to escape.  At the very least, you'll want a proper baffle to maximize the sound from the speaker, a bare speaker inside would be a weak tinny sound.

John, the Tang Band speakers I am referring to are a compete unit that has its own baffle/box

see below.

There is usually an opening to the saddle that the boiler rests on allowing the sound to get out by the cylinders. I drill a few holes in the bottom of the boiler within that saddle so they are invisible once the boiler is replaced. In this case, I would mount the speaker assy facing down. If (rare) there is an opening to the inside of the boiler within the stack, I face it up. These Tang Band speakers are strong and the sound is evident with the open stack or a few holes in the bottom of the boiler.

Peter

If you install more than one speaker, it is important to wire them in SERIES and not parallel. Parallel wiring doubles the impedance of the speakers and overdraws the amplifier current. Which can burn up the amp. Ask me how I know.

I’m glad you brought that up PRR man!  I keep forgetting about that using the Titan decoder as it has 4 speaker wires. There are numerous speaker wiring diagrams available on line showing the difference.

Peter