#38 Hornby Class 37 TTS Sound - Mega Bass Speaker Upgrade

The is the first in a two-part series on upgrades and improvements that can be made to a Hornby Class 37 locomotive with TSS sound.
In the second video, we'll look at adding stay-alive capabilities to help keep the running smooth and steady, but for now, we're upgrading the stock speaker to something a little better...megabass!
The steps outlined in this video are applicable to all TTS sound decoders (and many others). The only differences being that in some locomotives - not least most steam locos - the space inside can be rather limited and you may not be able to fit such a large speaker into the body.
Remember that in all cases where a Hornby TTS decoder is used, you must also use a 8 Ohm speaker (or two 4 Ohm speakers in series, adding up to 8 Ohms). This is different to LokSound V4 decoders, which can use a 4 Ohm or 8 Ohm speaker.
Speaker impedance and decoder specifications for all common sound decoders are explained in more detail in our free guide, which you can download here: tinyurl.com/dcc-sound-speaker...
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You can buy some of the components and consumables used in this video, and give a wee bit of support to the channel, using the affiliate links below:
Megabass speakers: ebay.to/2N4VMnf
'No Clean' Solder Flux: amzn.to/2E9oOmK
Selection box of heatshrink: amzn.to/2zTbhv5
Black tack: amzn.to/2OCYhCg
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Thank you very much for watching.
Please comment, like, share and subscribe!
Visit us at: www.strathpefferjunction.com
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Please note: If you choose to follow any of the steps or suggestions outlined in the video, you do so at your own risk and any damage or injury to yourself, your models, your equipment or others is your own responsibility.

[@paulkandi]

I have the mega bass speakers in all my TTS fitted diesels , the Hornby Railroad models are really easy to fit , unlike the Bachmann models which have really limited space for this type of speaker, only the standard 15 x 40 will fit, or an iPhone speaker..the sound once you had done this is well worth the effort...

[@raymondwillem6370]

The nice thing about the tts decoder's is how you can adjust the sound values in real time while the loco is running on the main track. Hope your keeping well keep up the good work.

[@StrathpefferJunction]

Thanks Raymond. Yes, they have their pros and cons!

[@rongoodwin4053]

Exactly what I wanted to see, thanks for sharing.

[@leilacentral1883]

Sounds great. Great video thanks for filming and the guidance.

[@StrathpefferJunction]

You're welcome! I'm getting close to baseboards now, so I'm hoping to feature more of the layout work in the coming months...it's just finding the time to squeeze it all in!

[@alnahudycentral3254]

Great vid once again, always love it when you upload another tutorial! Keep it up!

[@StrathpefferJunction]

Thanks, matey. I really enjoyed your last one too. Some great modelling going on there!

[@davestrains]

brilliant video! cheers ! dave

[@StrathpefferJunction]

No worries, Dave. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

[@SolarRailway]

Mega bass indeed, nice tutorial. Cheers Matt

[@StrathpefferJunction]

No worries. Glad you liked it 🙂👍🏻

[@SolarRailway]

Sure did. Look forward to more videos!

[@timlowe7712]

Excellent and informative .Spot on thank you.

[@StrathpefferJunction]

No worries. Glad you found it useful. Thank you for the feedback.

[@SimonLivertonCentral]

Very nice conversion David.

[@StrathpefferJunction]

Thanks, Simon. Just editing the follow up... 🙂

[@onnomulder9775]

Great vid!!! Thanks for the card and magnet!! Regards Onno.

[@StrathpefferJunction]

No worries!

[@johncarvil498]

First of all, thanks for your card and fridge magnet. The difference in the sound is fantastic, another great how to...........John.

[@StrathpefferJunction]

Glad it arrived, John. Many thanks 🙂👍🏻

[@Mattslade6024]

very good vid. iv started putting these speakers in my TTS locos. I have this model and is the last one to have a speaker upgrade

[@StrathpefferJunction]

It's a nice model. The speaker upgrade really makes a difference. I have the Bachmann John Tilley class 37 and I was thinking of running them together with some independent ploughs.

[@johnbrown9092]

Good video.

[@StrathpefferJunction]

Thanks, John.

[@TheDaf95xf]

Great video on how to do again 👍🏻 Looking forward to your next layout update 🤔 Thanks Stevie.

[@StrathpefferJunction]

It's coming in the next couple of weeks. I'm currently trying to get through a mountian of unedited footage. 🙂 I didn't want to put this one out so soon after the HST one, but it had to go out before the next one as it was the first in the sequence. The HST one wasn't going to go out when it did initially, it's just it fitted well with Hornby's release. I'm back in sync now though. 👍🏻

[@baylorgael1473]

i dont mean to be off topic but does anyone know a tool to get back into an instagram account..? I was dumb lost the login password. I would appreciate any tricks you can give me.

[@laytonlian3242]

@Baylor Gael instablaster ;)

[@baylorgael1473]

@Layton Lian thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site through google and im waiting for the hacking stuff now. Seems to take quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.

[@baylorgael1473]

@Layton Lian It did the trick and I actually got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D Thank you so much you saved my ass :D

[@SeanWalsh05]

Loving the video mate!! The hornby railroad locos are never the best

[@StrathpefferJunction]

Thanks, Sean. I had to get this one done before the next one, which is one that I've been wanting to do for a while. Should be out next week, just got to finish editing it 🙂👍🏻

[@SeanWalsh05]

@@StrathpefferJunction Thank you very much for the update! I'm looking forward for it! I always love hearing a fellow Scottish voice that is involved with the railway 😂 👍

[@StrathpefferJunction]

Hehe. There are a few of us about, but not as many as there could be! I'm sure there must be more of us hiding in the wee nooks and crannies of modelling!

[@SeanWalsh05]

@@StrathpefferJunction You're a man of wise word! Have a nice weekend!

[@StrathpefferJunction]

You too.

[@knifetrain3118]

Where can I purchase the speaker you installed in the video? Is it necessary to unplug the decoder or can you solder to the existing speaker wire? Thank you.

[@ScottishNSRailFan]

Enjoyed the video on the upgraded sound speaker. I must try it out. Just in my Hornby collection, currently have 31 diesel units, not counting steam, with TTS. With another 12, in the pipeline. Where is the best place to buy the bigger speakers?

[@StrathpefferJunction]

Try Roads & Rails. Richard, who runs it, has a good selection. TTS chips are never going to be as good as loksound or Zimo, but they can sound so much better with a speaker upgrade. I've done almost all of mine now and never looked back.

[@allthegearnoidea6752]

Wow that’s amazing sound. Being run over by trains on an almost daily basis, that’s much louder than a real.modern emu creeping up on me.

[@StrathpefferJunction]

It's amazing what you can get out of a model these days. Mostly thanks to the mobile phone and bluetooth speaker revolution, that's encouraged China to churn out scores of decent, small 4/8ohm speakers!

[@roadsandrails]

It’s worth renumbering this one, something to do with one of the ends being plated over on the real loco but not the model, can’t remember exactly, I looked into it a while back when I had one for sale. Richard

[@StrathpefferJunction]

Thanks for the heads up, Richard. I was either going to sell this on or add lights and weather it up, so I could run it with my Bachmann Network Rail 37 with some independent ploughs. If I hang onto it and do that work, I may as well get the numbering correct at the same time.

[@Haymarket47]

Hi, may I ask what brand your Kapton tape is and where you purchase it? Thanks

[@StrathpefferJunction]

Hi. Many thanks for the comment. I'm afraid I can't remember where I got that particular role of Kapton tape from. It may have been RS Components, Rapid Electronics or Maplin. I normally just buy a roll when I'm buying other components and I'm not far off the end of my current roll. You can get it from Amazon and, of course, eBay though as well. I'm not sure how much difference there will be between the more expensive brands and the cheaper ones, but for model railway electronics, I don't think it'll make a huge difference.

[@Haymarket47]

Strathpeffer Junction Thanks, I’ve never used it before so I was a bit wary of buying inferior products on eBay etc I’ll have a look again . Many thanks for your help.

[@oceancity1042]

Hi , I have one of these trains but am experiencing problems with the motor . I see in another video you do replacement motors , but these appear to be different to what is fitted into R3289TTS . Do you sell replacements or can you give guidance where they may be available . Thank you

[@StrathpefferJunction]

Hi. If you can drop me an email via my website contact form and include a photo of the motor in the model, I'll do my best to help. Many thanks! www.strathpefferjunction.com

[@oceancity1042]

Thanks for your reply, I have now eliminated the motor as not the source of my problem . Thanks for your assistance .

[@StrathpefferJunction]

No worries at all. Glad you got it fixed!

[@craigymac5386]

Great video , I installed one of these chips in a Bachmann 37 with base speaker and think it sounds excellent. The horn sounds a bit fake though. I Also installed a tts chip in a class 60 and it jerks as it pulls away. Do you have any idea on how to resolve this?

[@StrathpefferJunction]

Hi Craig. Many thanks for the comment. Yes, I totally agree about the horns. They're not great, and the same is true for the 47 tts chip too. In terms of the jerkiness, have you tried switching the motor profile? That can sometimes help. You can also tweak the P and I cvs. The instructions manual should explain how to do it. It can often be trial and error, although it doesn't always help. Did the 60 move OK on dc? Sometimes jerkiness can also be down to current draw.

[@craigymac5386]

@@StrathpefferJunction Hi mate, thanks for your help, I'll check the instructions and have a look at the cv's. The loco was a smooth runner on dc. I'll let you know later how I get on with it.

[@StrathpefferJunction]

Grand. I have found with one or two that changing to the second motor profile works better, but it doesn't work with all of them. Let me know how you get on.