[MRCA] Loudspeaker, Crystal LS-685/U

[KA1LHZ]

I use that cord to replace LS-166 and KY-116 cords in my shelter. My
friend John also has a labeller (I think it's a Dymo) that prints on
yellow shrink tubing to make a reasonable facsimile of the 'official'
nomenclature labels.
73
De KA1LHZ

On 05/13/2012 07:23 PM, B Smith wrote:
>  SJ 18/2 "cord" ( type black, stranded wire size 18, two conductor,) 
> available from your local electrical supply house makes an excellent 
> speaker cord and has a rubber insulation.  SJ cord with larger wire 
> sizes make excellent power cords. The white "cord stamped labels  with 
> wire size etc is easily removed.
> I usually put a 1 inch section of yellow heat shrink 3 inches from the 
> end to make it look official.
> Z
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Al Klase" <ark at ar88.net>
> Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2012 2:57 PM
> To: "Military Radio Collectors Association" <mrca at mailman.qth.net>
> Subject: [MRCA] Loudspeaker, Crystal LS-685/U
>
> Gang,
>
> Most back-pack radios were not designed for loudspeaker operation, but
> there are a lot of situations where a speaker is a handy addition.
> Something like an LS-166 will plug right in, but there generally isn't
> enough audio do make it as loud as you'd like.  Plus, the damn thing
> weighs 3 1/2 pounds.  (Just the thing for hand-to-hand combat.)
>
> Alex, K2AJR showed up with an LS-685 at the recent MTA meet in 
> northern
> NJ.  He later emailed regarding an E-bay seller who had the 
> two-for-$20,
> shipped.  I ordered a pair immediately.  They arrive the other day.
>
> This speaker was designed to be used with some component of the 
> Singars
> family.  It's plastic and weighs 1 pound.  The connector is wired
> strangely, and was designed to NOT mate with the standard U-228 we all
> know and love.
>
> Disassemble the connector, and move the wire on PIN-E to PIN-B.  While
> the connector is apart, grind away the extra locking lug adjacent to
> PIN-E.  This make it a U-229 equivalent.  The cord on the first 
> speaker
> I worked on was defective.,  There had to be some reason the Army 
> threw
> it away.
>
> Connected to a PRC-77, the LS-685's acoustic output measured within a 
> dB
> or so of my LS-166.  However, when connected to my PRC-104 the LS-685
> was 10dB louder, a welcome improvement.  A quick measurement of the
> speakers impedance showed 200-300 ohms, versus 600 for the 166.  So if
> the radio has a lower output Z, this speaker will be louder.
>
> 6 ounces of the weight of the stock speaker is the heavy shielded coil
> cord.  I went with a lighter cord and cut the total weight to 11 
> ounces.
>
> The speaker has a built-in belt clip on the back, which in turn has a
> key-hole punch out that can be hooked over a handy screw.  I think I
> like it!
>
> Al
>