Repairing GPS but am unable to find a speaker (edit: decided to add a line-out)

[Razor512]

I am currently repairing a navigon 2100 GPS that would not boot. (lacked the equipment to properly test all of the components so I replaced as many passives as I could with replacements from other scrap electronics, and it somehow worked though I am still not sure what exactly failed. (the GPS has been in a car for the past 3-4 years including hot (35C+) summer days with the windows closed and in direct sunlight )

I got it to boot properly and work normally, but the speaker is not very loud and kinda distorts. If I flex the speaker diaphragm the distortion stops, and after a while of doing it, the speaker gets slightly louder, but the diaphragm material is pretty hard  (kinda been left in a hot car for a long time and the heat may have damaged the speaker)

I am able to find 26mm speakers, but none that have the screw mounts, and the mounting post for the speakers and the rubber lip, to hold them high enough to get close to the speaker grill, then some kind of lip or gasket material that is on the face of the speaker, presses directly against the speaker grill.

My main issue is finding a replacement speaker. The speakers that I have been finding, had the diaphragm extending out past the height of the rim, so gluing a piece of plastic to raise it high enough to press against the speaker grill will not work, and no one seems to sell speakers that have that gasket thing on the rim.

Is there anything that can possibly be done for the speaker?


speaker1 by Hamster768, on Flickr


speaker2 by Hamster768, on Flickr


gps1 by Hamster768, on Flickr


gps2 by Hamster768, on Flickr

[Smokey]

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/CLS0261MAE-L152/102-1558-ND/1630872

That kinda looks like the exact same speaker.

:Edit:
Maybe not exactly the same, but pretty close size wise

[Razor512]

Just checked and it looks really close, just worried about the frequency response range,  (just did a test with the current speaker and much of the audio was in the 300Hz range, and in cutting off all audio below 540 Hz, it made the voice in the recording sound really weird)

didn't think to look at the frequency response before.

If all else fails, I am thinking about running some wires out of the GPS (speaker connector), then figuring out the proper way to wire it (eg if any resistors are needed) to connect it to the stereo line-in of the cars radio, or connect it directly to a speaker glued to the outside of the case since outside, I will have around 50mm of space before it gets in the way of the GPS mount.

edit: had the device give a few auditory directions (demoing a route) while recording on a microphone that has a frequency response of 20Hz to about 22,000Hz.


freq1 by Hamster768, on Flickr


freq2 by Hamster768, on Flickr

I am pretty much going to take apart an old cellphone that has a decent speaker, and see if I can glue it into the area (different shape but similar size)

hopefully it works

[Razor512]

Just did a test with a better speaker (though much larger) and went to a old  TV .

It could not drive the speaker too well but the audio quality was almost a night and day difference in quality.

Since I cant fit that, I would just like to go with a line-in connection (there is enough space to add a headphone jack, and the car has a line-in connection.

Does anyone know what would be needed to properly lower the output power of the speaker output to work with a line-in connection which generally only requires a very low power signal ? Also, is it a good idea to use a headphone splitter and connect both an MP3 player and GPS to the came line in port (to hopefully get both audio sources playing through the car speaker system?

(Had the GPS playing a music file, but the vocal commands that it gives also sound much better an lifelike )

GPS-frequency-response-new-speaker2 by Hamster768, on Flickr


GPS-frequency-response-new-speaker1 by Hamster768, on Flickr